Snake River Prototypng Blurfix for GoProHD - Customer service report.

[fdarden]

Rarely do I run across blindingly excellent customer service. Yesterday and Today I had just that happen and I wanted to share it with SB. I own a Snake River Prototyping Blurfix modification with CY filter, for my GoProHD camera. Yesterday morning, I was doing some filming on a wreck at about 120ft. Most of the dive, things were going normal. At one point, I descended below the hull of the ship, by the bow to record some large grouper under the bow.. Deepest part of the dive. Shortly after that filming, my Blurfix CYANfilter went POP! and cracked Thankfully the Blurfix does not invade the GoProHd's housing, so there was only water between the housing lens and the filter. I dive quite a bit - nearly every other day, and I love having my GoPro with me when I do. Yesterday (it was a Sunday) I ordered a new lens at full retail from Snake River's website. I suddenly realized that I could not locate the rubber gasket for the filter. I emailed Snake River, and asked if they could add a gasket to my order. Within minutes I received an email reply back, which stated that they appreciated my business, and would include one in my order! I emailed them back, and thanked them, and pointed out what had happened to my lens, as well as pointing them to my youtube videos. I explained the lens cracking more for anecdotal purposes, as I thought they might find it interesting. Instead, I got an email back telling me that part of my purchase price had been refunded because I was close to the rated depth, but hadn't exceeded it, My new filter is already on its way! I am at a loss as to how they accomplished all these business feats of strength without even being asked, but needless to say, I am thrilled. Its rare these days that you find someone that takes such great care of their customers, and I wanted to pass this along to other members, in case you consider ordering one of their great products. If you are considering a Blurfix mod for your GoPro, I highly recommend this one, as it allows you add/switch ANY 55mm camera filter onto the GoPro, including the all important CYAN filter to restore color to dives below 40 ft. when full spectrum lighting is not abundant/existent. I end up using the CYAN filter about 85% of the time I am filming in the water. Makes a huge difference. Very happy with these guys!

Frank

 

[Gdon]

Hey Frank, I also have the GoPro Hero HD with BlurFix mod. I have not had the amount of dealing with Snake River that you have but what business I have had with them has been great. I love the video I got with the clear UV Filter and I purchased the Cyan one from them since their price for this particular filter was the best I found. However I suffered an inner ear barotrauma just after I got the filter and so far have not been able to try it out. I hope to in the spring.

1. Can you point me to your videos on Youtube?

2. While it is true that you can use any 55 mm filter with the Blurfix I should point out that SnakeRiver is selling the ones that survived depth testing. A few that they tested failed at less than 100 feet. See the last page of: http://www.snakeriverprototyping.com/BlurFix Instruction Manual_sm.pdf
Also the thickness of the filter can affect the amount of vignetting.
They did some testing so I went with the ones they selected. If you try a different filter your mileage may vary.

 

[fdarden]

Gdon, thanks for clarifying the filter tests. I was at 120 feet. The filter was rated for 130 feet. That was the basis for the partial refund. I wasnt expecting any refund. I actually hate to admit it, but I paid VERY little attention to the depth rating of the filter! And that is how I broke it. I am VERY new at shooting video underwater, so I am not real proud of my work yet, but here is a link. It actually was very shortly after this filming that the lens cracked. While its important to use the rated filters, I suppose just being able to switch them at all is a huge feature. Also, being able to just remove them, and shoot without the Blurfix, and add it back by simply screwing it on is a pretty huge advantage.

moray eel - YouTube

 

[Gdon]

I am also a very new underwater videographer. Our videos look very similar in some respects and I suspect we learned some of the same things in the process (like the importance of a steady camera). I tossed out at least half of the footage I took because of camera shake but here is 2 minutes of my best: Diving the Graveyard of the Atlantic, August 2011 on Vimeo

But I was more interested in the effect of the CY filter and while I see some improvement in color (reds) I am actually a little letdown. Can I assume there is no post-production color correction? (My sample had the clear UV filter and a little color correction done in Sony Vegas)

Of course we could spend a few thousand dollars for lights to go with our $380 cameras to get good color ; )

And I agree about the advantages of the Blurfix. There are a few drawbacks but they are quite minor and the improved focus underwater is well worth it.

In addition to the good info on ScubaBoard about using the GoPro on dives, If you have not seen it there is also helpful info at GoProUser.freeforums.org • Index page

 

[fdarden]

My clip is raw footage. This is not the best for sure, and I have yet to find a real stable platform to eliminate camera shake, that is also convienent to carry.. So far the PVC pipe has been the best. I think the red filter really performs best on the reef. On the deep wrecks, there is barely enough light to take video without artificial light, which more or less removes the need for the CY filter. I will be experimenting around with different mounts. I am going to switch to larger PVC for my next dive. Hopefully that will steady the camera. I will upload some reef video without the CY lens so you can see the difference.
Nice footage of the shark, BTW!

 

[Gdon]

Nice footage of the shark, BTW!

thanks, nice shot of the eel's tonsils!

I put my GoPro on a Goodman handle and that works well for holding it while still having my hand free to do dive stuff, but its harder to steady it. I was thinking that a one foot stick of some sort on one or both sides would help me with a visual reference to hold it level. But of course that would make it harder to handle esp getting on the ladder. BTW I heard of one guy who just clamped his GoPro near the hook and left it there while diving. The fish come to feed where the hook is set so he got some good footage.

Here is a good example of how good the filter can work (not my video but it shows off the Blurfix and CY filter well): Shark point Koh Phi Phi headcam scuba dive on Vimeo

last question.. on the eel video, what mode did you use? I was using R3 but I might try R2 since R3 (60 fps) needs more light than R2.

 

[paulw]

Rarely do I run across blindingly excellent customer service. Yesterday and Today I had just that happen and I wanted to share it with SB. Very happy with these guys!

Frank

I have had the same service from Bill and Reston and believe that is standard operating procedures at Snake River Prototyping. These guys go the extra mile and then cross that line. After I received mine it developed a leak and they called and emailed me several times until they solved the issue, great service from extremely nice people!

 

[fdarden]

Used my replacement filter at 120' yesterday!!! No cracks this time!
These were all done with R3 mode, using the Snake River Prototyping blurfix lens, and the CYAN filter add on for it. Thanks for the tip, I will try R2 mode on today's dive.

Captain Dan first time diving - YouTube