Newbie GoPro questions for Bonaire trip

[Telstar2112]

New to the board here and spend a few hours reading through posts and still have a few questions and confirmations to be had. Going to Bonaire in March. This is a bit of a summary of what I think I learned, but after reading so much started to confuse myself!

I will be mainly focused on videoing small stuff, so for this discussion plan to have the FOV set to narrow. And I think to get closer to the small creatures plan to go with a monopole, and am debating about how much light to buy. The only thing I own so far is the Hero4 Silver. Will also get red filter and considering flip/macro set-up.

From what I read it seems like the gopro4 can focus down to about 1' at closest. Is that true? Or is it more like 18" underwater?

A close up lens (+10) will let you focus between 8" and a foot, so is that even worth it to just gain a few inches? Although I read somewhere it is 6" to a foot, if so, then it seems like it could be pretty useful. Anyone have much experience with a +10 close-up?

A macro lens will let you get very close, down to about 3 inches, but with a very short depth of field. From what I read you really need a tripod or some kind of support to get any decent macro footage. Is this true? I cannot see how one could use a tripod or stand without killing something on the reef in most cases (and then my wife would kill me!).

How about using the macro for stills? Would you need a tripod for that as I can see being able to hold steady for just a second being easier?

If macro is to difficult should I consider the +10 close-up as a better option? 6" may be more realistic than 3".

I'll admit I did not read much about stills yet but I have a question, I know I can have the camera automatically take stills at an interval while shooting video, but can you take them manually instead, while shooting video?

Also, are the stills able to be set to higher resolution than the video when taken during video? If not, is there any difference from grabbing a frame?

Does the macro lens (Macromate +15) work above water as well?

With Bonaire's clear water and diving mostly less than 60' deep, for most shots I imagine I can get away with red filter and no lights, correct? Lights for the most part are only helpful very close-up , say 4' or less, correct?

I know I asked a lot of questions above but any help to digest all this is much appreciated. I really would like to do a fair amount of macro or close up, and realize the GoPro may not be the best for this, but am hoping someone can let me know if it is worth attempting.

PS, while I am new to gopro and photography, I am not so new to diving and have very good buoyancy control and Bonaire is easy diving with very little current (usually).

Thanks!
Steve.

 

[Kharon]

I just got back from Bonaire. Here are my conclusions.

Use the red filter even shallow in bright sun. Use something like VSDC Free Video Editor to do automatic color correction (Auto Levels)

Use the shortest pole you can. It's far easier to keep a short one steady while your body moves. I actually used this - similar to brass knuckles: https://www.aliexpress.com/popular/plastic-knuckles.html. Amazon used to carry it but couldn't find it now. It holds the camera on your fingers and you don't have to think about it - no chance of dropping the camera but it's there when you want to take a pic/vid.

I tried a wrist mount and a head mount (even though I keep my head very steady getting the camera pointed at what I'm looking at is problematic). Neither worked as well. For night dives I used https://www.amazon.com/niceEshop-Mo...75340&sr=1-39&keywords=gopro+hero+accessories to attach the camera to my primary light. It sees what you see.

Definitely, absolutely, no question - NO tripod. Keep your buoyancy under control (perfectly) and you don't need one. Get an empty tank and get your weighting down perfectly. No air in your BC means less buoyancy problems.

Macro and 10+ are the same re. problems with holding steady. Why the focus on macro? Bonaire will blow your mind with the numbers and variety of fish life. Last trip I saw courting between honeycomb cowfish. I didn't need/want macro ever on Bonaire. Take a look at this "sampler"
Won't need lights except for night dives.

Don't know about stills. I use an ActiveOn CX Gold (GoPro Hero 4 Silver essentially same). I video at 1080 - 60 FPS. I have no problem taking snapshots (VLC Media Player, also free) from the video for viewing on a big computer monitor or flat screen TV. Don't think they would look as perfect blown up to poster size.

 

[Telstar2112]

Thanks for the info and the video. The monopoles are nice since I can keep it short, like 11" or extend it to 3', but I agree that will be hard to keep steady extended and most things you can get quite close to. Wonder if I am better off with a tray. By focusing on macro, I was meaning for most of my questions. I do plan to do plenty larger stuff as well. The macro life there is amazing though, if you get real close face down above one of those highly crevassed bulbous coral heads, such as at 1000 steps, it is amazing what you see in there, all manner of cool creepy crawleys. Plus the banded coral shrimp and stuff like that down amongst the anemones are really cool.

I like that clamp for the light and will go ahead and get that.

Still curious as to if anyone here has had good luck with close-up or macro handheld, seems like it may be too difficult. I still have lots of questions to search for answers on. All fun and can't wait for Bonaire!

Thanks,
Steve

 

[carlkcarlk]

I capture stills from video via a GoPro 4 Silver. Some regular and some macro. Here are pictures from Cozumel in late Summer. I have the Backscatter.com system including the flip-down +15 Macro and flip-down filter.
Eels, an Octopus, and Sharks in Cozumel | Facebook

To get the macro in focus, I just move it around slowly and then pick the clearest frame. For this trip, I didn't use a light, so the macro pictures were all very, very blue so I turned them black&white. (I do have a new light, but I didn't want its added complexity on these dives).

I have the camera set for one-button video and either 24 fps or 30 fps, which thus controls the shutter speed.

I love this setup. I get "good enough" pictures with very little underwater work. The tradeoff is more work at the computer, but I enjoy that.

- Carl

 

[Telstar2112]

Cool pics and thanks for the info. I'll likely get at least one of the lenses and a light

 

[large_diver]

Re: macro, I think it all depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you want the highest quality macro video with absolutely no shaking, you want a tripod. No matter how good your buoyancy control is, you will see at least some movement when filming macro. But again, it comes back to your goal.....very good vs. great macro footage. That said, a tripod is not usable in all situations (wall diving, dense coral, etc.). Also worth noting that a tri-pod can be helpful even if you can't completely put it down....bracing even 1 or 2 legs against the bottom can help.

If you are focusing heavily on macro, again if the goal is excellent vs. very good, you want lights. Macro is where decent lights really pay off, since the distance from camera to subject is so short. Also, a tray is definitely preferable to a pole if your are doing lots of macro re: stable footage.

The pic below was captured from video footage taken with a Hero4 Black. Settings = 1080p, 60fps, Medium FOV, Protune on. No filter, Backscatter Macromate mini lens, dual SOLA lights. Joby tri-pod. Distance from camera to subject was about 3-4 inches. This was in low visibility (15 foot vis) ocean water here in New England

All that said, if you are using it for the first time, it may be better to just stick to a tray and lights/filter before fiddling with a tripod