New to gopro questions

[Scuba.com]

I wouldn't recommend purchasing at the airport for a number of reasons:
1. what if they are out of stock? Then you're out of luck.
2. if you really want the Black, and they only have the Silver, do you really want to settle?
3. it's always a good idea to be familiar with your gear before you go diving
4. you'll have the time to have all the accessories needed to get the best footage

I purchased my GoPro (the Hero 2) on my way to a dive. I was so disappointed with the results. The camera rocks, but without a tray and a red filter, the footage was shaky and the color was off.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I dive off of North Carolina mostly in water 80 to 130 feet. I consider our water here to be blue with viz from 20 to over 100 feet but usually around 50 to 70 feet. I plan to make my own tray.

1) With that background, would I need a color correcting filter? Would it be of any use at those depths?

2)I have a UK 100HID light, would that be of any use to rig up for day time diving?

3) Most of my shooting will be in wide angle,do i need the LCD? I am really not worried about battery life as most of my dives are 30 min or less and i only make 2 a day. 80 more bucks for diving is cheap really, but still 80 bucks.

4) Also, any thoughts on the benefits of shooting in 60fps 1080? I am leaning toward the silver. For the depths i dive would the black be better? Appears to me from shots on youtube the silver lets in more light?

Thank you.

You do not need a color correcting filter, but I think it will help. A normal dive light is way too concentrated and will mess up your video, burning out where the light is shinning. I have the hero 2 and the 3 black version. I think the hero 3 black is noticeably better. Not sure about the silver.

I shoot in 1080 60 and without a viewfinder. they are wide angle.. pretty much point and shoot has worked for me.. I recently got the mako spearguns red filter and it seems to work well. I think it makes the water look clearer and does add color. This is video from 120 feet with about 50 -70 ft vis (but it looks clearer in the video I think). It is a head mount and I was trying to spearfish, so it is not super stable. If your primary goal is video and you hand hold it... you can do better.

This was just clips from MS movie maker.. no adjustment in color, exposure etc.
[video=youtube_share;JIN1uz94HNQ]http://youtu.be/JIN1uz94HNQ[/video]

 

[toozler]

3) Most of my shooting will be in wide angle,do i need the LCD? I am really not worried about battery life as most of my dives are 30 min or less and i only make 2 a day. 80 more bucks for diving is cheap really, but still 80 bucks.

I drain a fully charged battery using the LCD after two tanks (~50 minutes each) shooting about 15-20 minutes per dive. LCD is set at about 1/3 brightness and auto-shutoff at 60s, the minimum. Camera is kept on the whole dive.

The LCD helps but is not mandatory. I like to hold the camera low, level with the reef, so very often I can't even see what's on the LCD.

 

[Auburn910]

I shoot in 1080 60 and without a viewfinder. they are wide angle.. pretty much point and shoot has worked for me.. I recently got the mako spearguns red filter and it seems to work well. I think it makes the water look clearer and does add color. This is video from 120 feet with about 50 -70 ft vis (but it looks clearer in the video I think). It is a head mount and I was trying to spearfish, so it is not super stable. If your primary goal is video and you hand hold it... you can do better.

This was just clips from MS movie maker.. no adjustment in color, exposure etc.
[video=youtube_share;JIN1uz94HNQ]http://youtu.be/JIN1uz94HNQ[/video]

Pretty awesome quality for $399.

---------- Post added May 4th, 2013 at 04:26 PM ----------

Dumpster,

Do you find the 1080 at 60fps is too dark at 100 feet? Many on here have commented only shoot 60fps in less than 40 feet. Your video you shared here looked pretty good to me. Assuming you were using the mako filter and 1080 at 60fps?

Thanks.