Would appreciate advice/insight on switching to GoPro

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shmuggy

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Location
virginia
# of dives
500 - 999
I was recently on a LOB and saw a cool GoPro rig which looked delightfully small and easy to transport. I wasn't able to talk to the owner of it due to an unexpected problem on the trip so would appreciate any advice I can get here.

I currently use a L&M Bluefin housing with a Canon HFS21 and am pretty happy with it but White Balancing continues to be a vexing issue for me. I have 2 Sola lights and have been very happy with the results at close range. Out in the blue if there is not good sunlight- the results in terms of color still disappoint me. I can often improve it using Final Cut Pro but it is a lot of work and never as good as the real thing.

How would a GOPro Hero 7 compare using the filters? I see some nice packages on Backscatter with filters and lights.

How easy is it to stitch the GOPro videos together? Is this a minor tweak or major hassle?

Would you take both on a trip for different conditions?

Do you think, from prior experience that GoPro will soon release a new version? That is my fear- I will buy one and a month later- they come out with a better one.

Anything I am not thinking of? Any help is appreciated.
 
shmuggy,

I cannot compare your camera rig to a GoPro setup as I'm not familiar with your equipment. I can tell you that I switched from a Canon compact with an external strobe to a GoPro Hero 4 silver (purchased because it had a screen in the back) and since have upgraded to the Hero 7 Black.

First, regarding a new camera being released: I wouldn't worry about it. The Hero 7 released in September of last year and the Black edition has all of the bells and whistles. For me, upgrading to the Hero 7 was all about Image Stability. I use my GoPro while mountain biking, snowboarding, chasing my kids around as well as diving. What bugged the hell out of me was the shakiness of the video out of the Hero4 I purchased the Hero 7 and the in-camera stabilization is seriously amazing. I do not regret my purchase at all.

I have used the Backscatter flipfilter system for a few years with pretty good results, IMHO. Here is a video I put together of a series of dives back in 2017:


You can use the GoPro video editor, or a number of other options. I use HitFilm (which is freeware) right now and I like it a lot.

The small form factor of the GoPro, the fact that you can put a complete rig together for $600 (Hero7Black, SuperSuit, Filter Kit and a handle) or so and the ease of use are big selling points. I've upgraded to a rig with 2 BigBlue 4200 video lights which I'll be trying out in Puerto Vallarta next month. My reason for going to lights from the filter system is that I want to get shots of critters in holes and under ledges, so lights are necessary.

There's my .02, I hope it helps. Good luck!
 
shmuggy,

I have used GoPro Hero 2 and 3+ with Backscatter dive filter and been pleased with the results.
I do not have lights and only a few times have needed them. Videos are usable just been better with lights.
Most of my dive video has been shot in Bonaire or Florida.
The smaller size of the GoPro camera is one of the reasons I like it.
I use I movie to edit my videos and find it easy to use. I have not done any color correction in post.
I recently purchased a Hero7 black for an upcoming trip to Bonaire, and plan to use both the 3+ and 7.

GoPro has a trade up program where you send in an old digital camera and receive $100 off.

Good luck.
 
I have a 6 Black with Backscatter filters/Macromate mini and a tray with arms/lights (Big Blue Black Molly V). The Macromate mini is far better than the Polar Pro macro lens. I just started using the tray/arms/lights, but during the day, the filters do just as good of a job for the most part and I did have a few times where my video was washed out from not having the lights positioned well but that's user error. I do like the lights for night dives, but I wish the arms were a little easier to take off so I could skip them for the day dives if I don't expect to be getting under ledges or in nooks. If you like macro, the 6 and the 7 do not have narrow FOV, only linear FOV so you would need to adjust the FOV to what you think you want before heading down. I was pretty happy with the macro video I got after some practice during our Indonesia trip in May. I haven't started editing the videos I took with my tray/lights/new macro lens yet, but we use the GoPro software often for both diving and other sports and it's pretty easy to split together/apart and modify.
 
I have a 6 Black with Backscatter filters/Macromate mini and a tray with arms/lights (Big Blue Black Molly V). The Macromate mini is far better than the Polar Pro macro lens. I just started using the tray/arms/lights, but during the day, the filters do just as good of a job for the most part and I did have a few times where my video was washed out from not having the lights positioned well but that's user error. I do like the lights for night dives, but I wish the arms were a little easier to take off so I could skip them for the day dives if I don't expect to be getting under ledges or in nooks. If you like macro, the 6 and the 7 do not have narrow FOV, only linear FOV so you would need to adjust the FOV to what you think you want before heading down. I was pretty happy with the macro video I got after some practice during our Indonesia trip in May. I haven't started editing the videos I took with my tray/lights/new macro lens yet, but we use the GoPro software often for both diving and other sports and it's pretty easy to split together/apart and modify.
Thanks it sounds like it will be good. I appreciate the info
 
A GoPro creates files in a folder on the SD card that can easily be moved to a personal computer or laptop for editing using any software that you like.

I have tried many different types of video software and for stitching together and cutting out parts of video I have found nothing better than Filmora Wondershare. The learning curve is fast, it's intuitive and easy to use unlike other video editing programs. It has tons of transition effects, starting and end credits, subtitles, effects, zooming and cropping, and has a "one touch" enhancement that does wonders to my diving videos. It's easy to remove the sounds from your video (think "regulator breathing") and add your own. There's a free full featured trial version that puts a watermark right in the middle of your video so it renders it useless but gives you the opportunity to try all the features, and it's not all that expensive.

[OFFICIAL]Filmora Video Editor(Win&Mac) | Download Video Editing Software
 
Polling the respondents so far for the benefit of the OP: the guys at Bluewater Photo INSIST that the GoPro 6's auto white balance is so good that you do NOT need filters (I assume this would be true of the 7).

See GoPro Hero 6 Review

What do you guys think? I have the 6 Black and I must admit I've never been nuts about the Backscatter filters, they produce a purplish or magenta tinge.
 
I don’t use a filter above 50 feet but I do use the 20-50 foot filter if I’m going below 50 feet and not using lights. Maybe it’s in my head but I think it helps the colors. I haven’t had a purplish tinge that I have noticed.
 
I just got the Hero 7, have not yet used it but I am trading up from the Hero 4 which I've used for 2 years with the Flip 5 filter system alternating with video lights.

The Flip 5 has shallow, mid and deep filters. I find the deep to be useless, making everything dark and very red and if I'm that deep I'm probably using lights anyway and you cannot use lights and the filters at the same time the results are terrible. Even the mid is too orange at all depths so I've done away with it. I use the shallow filter for depths of about 20 ft all the way to 100+ feet when I'm not using lights and the results have been good.

Don't know what the difference will be with the Hero 7 but based on my personal experiences with the Hero 4 and what I've read about the Hero 7, I expect I'll only be using the shallow filter if any.

Note that I use the Dive+ software on all my videos which reduces the need for red filters even more.
 
Polling the respondents so far for the benefit of the OP: the guys at Bluewater Photo INSIST that the GoPro 6's auto white balance is so good that you do NOT need filters (I assume this would be true of the 7).

Nonsense. Note they compared auto white balance of 5 versus 6 but did not compare filter versus no filter. Auto white balance is greatly improved but there are still improvements from using filter or post-processing. See another thread just started on Filter Results.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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