GoPro?

[viper69]

Has anyone here used a GoPro for ocean trips under the sea? If so, what did you think of their product?

All cameras are a compromise, and Im NOT dropping a grand on an underwater housing for my DSLR.

 

[Tentacle Toast]

Has anyone here used a GoPro for ocean trips under the sea? If so, what did you think of their product?

All cameras are a compromise, and Im NOT dropping a grand on an underwater housing for my DSLR.

Yeah, as a matter of fact. My friend took me out diving for octopus...he had his, & I used his wife's. Footage was great...

I have no idea what model it was though. It was VERY small, mounted to the oxygen strap on my shoulder, & that was all she wrote, until he uploaded the footage. Probably worth having a couple around, I get the impression they're relatively inexpensive.

 

[SpookySpooder]

I've used the Hero8 underwater and it's alright. Mainly use it as an action cam for my moto rides but it works for sports.

Records in 4K+ and the stabilization is good without a gimble.

Not gonna win any awards with the footage though. The lense aperture is pretty nonexistent being a tiny flat lense lol

 

[viper69]

Yeah, as a matter of fact. My friend took me out diving for octopus...he had his, & I used his wife's. Footage was great...

I have no idea what model it was though. It was VERY small, mounted to the oxygen strap on my shoulder, & that was all she wrote, until he uploaded the footage. Probably worth having a couple around, I get the impression they're relatively inexpensive.

Thanks- helpful! The footage was good?
How long have you been diving? Was he using a light with it?

Octopus are incredible to observe, I’ve seen 2, very lucky.

I’ve seen quite a bit. GoPro, SeaLife, Olympus, and also considering a case for my small Sony RX100 VII.- that case would OK in price, ie it’s not a thousand dollars!!

 

[SpookySpooder]

For that price just get two GoPros with all the accessories and get multiple angles.

 

[Wolfram1]

the older models are nothing to write home about, i still have a hero 4 lying around but the footage never impressed me so it has seen little use.

 

[Tentacle Toast]

Thanks- helpful! The footage was good?
How long have you been diving? Was he using a light with it?

Octopus are incredible to observe, I’ve seen 2, very lucky.

I’ve seen quite a bit. GoPro, SeaLife, Olympus, and also considering a case for my small Sony RX100 VII.- that case would OK in price, ie it’s not a thousand dollars!!

Yes, I thought it was exceptional, to be honest. His setup included a light that I believe was automatic based on lighting, mine either didn't have a light, or had one I had to operate manually, which I didn't. If it wasn't for the small size of the thing, I would have declined its use altogether.
I only dive when I visit him, I have my hand held the entire time, LoL.
Octopus ARE INCREDIBLE ANIMALS; this guy has established uncanny relationships with several in the wild. 1000' from his dock, he has bimacs, & routinely sees rubescens. I've seen dofleini on several occasions as well, & THAT'S a treat, because they just have this presence..

I have absolutely no idea what models he was using then, or what he uses now. I'd be more than happy to find out for you, if you'd like...

 

[Ratmosphere]

My girl had one she used on her tropical trips. Older model, footage was ok!

 

[viper69]

Yes, I thought it was exceptional, to be honest. His setup included a light that I believe was automatic based on lighting, mine either didn't have a light, or had one I had to operate manually, which I didn't. If it wasn't for the small size of the thing, I would have declined its use altogether.
I only dive when I visit him, I have my hand held the entire time, LoL.
Octopus ARE INCREDIBLE ANIMALS; this guy has established uncanny relationships with several in the wild. 1000' from his dock, he has bimacs, & routinely sees rubescens. I've seen dofleini on several occasions as well, & THAT'S a treat, because they just have this presence..

I have absolutely no idea what models he was using then, or what he uses now. I'd be more than happy to find out for you, if you'd like...

What a lucky guy! And lucky to have that friend!

I’m curious what he uses and recommends? A DSLR with housing and accessories will take superior underwater images provided you have the experience and the gear. Before I hop off the deep end, I stop gap, like a GoPro, SeaLife or Olympus would be the best route. I don’t get the chance to hit ocean areas too often these days, and certainly not dive areas like FL, HI etc.

Thank you in advance

 

[Tentacle Toast]

What a lucky guy! And lucky to have that friend!

I’m curious what he uses and recommends? A DSLR with housing and accessories will take superior underwater images provided you have the experience and the gear. Before I hop off the deep end, I stop gap, like a GoPro, SeaLife or Olympus would be the best route. I don’t get the chance to hit ocean areas too often these days, and certainly not dive areas like FL, HI etc.

Thank you in advance

You're speaking another language to me there friend...like I said, if it was more.than.a little boxy thing on my shoulder, id.have refused it, LoL.
I shoot him a text, let you know...

 

[The Snark]

@viper69 You need to contact professional divers and diving groups. Probably dozens of jewels out there, many found through extensive trial and error. Salvage divers are probably the best place to start. They work constantly with documentation / observation.

Welcome to the world of Harold Edgerton, the origin author experimenter in underwater photography. Jacques Cousteau's photographer.

Doc Edgerton - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[viper69]

@viper69 You need to contact professional divers and diving groups. Probably dozens of jewels out there, many found through extensive trial and error. Salvage divers are probably the best place to start. They work constantly with documentation / observation.

Welcome to the world of Harold Edgerton, the origin author experimenter in underwater photography. Jacques Cousteau's photographer.

Doc Edgerton - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Already done before posting here.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

I

Has anyone here used a GoPro for ocean trips under the sea? If so, what did you think of their product?

All cameras are a compromise, and Im NOT dropping a grand on an underwater housing for my DSLR.

I went to Baja Cali with mine, looks nice but for some reason stopped working quickly after using it. No clue why, before I got it I saw a TON of yt reviews talking about the constant problems but I was thinking it wouldn’t happen to me, well it did. I’d be cautious, I’m not sure what other products there are out there or if the newer ones are better

 

[SpookySpooder]

@viper69

Resolution was compressed once upon transfer and again upon uploading, but this should give you a general idea of what entry level (GoPro8) can do.

Footage taken near Sardinia, Italy. Heading to the island of Tavolara.

I've been told you can fix the tint of underwater shots with a slip-on lense cover, but keep in mind the lense aperture is like 1" x 1" and flat.

Higher resolution before compression, so it's better than is shown on YouTube.

Not amazing by any standards but for $200 it's not bad.

 

[viper69]

@viper69

Resolution was compressed once upon transfer and again upon uploading, but this should give you a general idea of what entry level (GoPro8) can do.

Footage taken near Sardinia, Italy. Heading to the island of Tavolara.

I've been told you can fix the tint of underwater shots with a slip-on lense cover, but keep in mind the lense aperture is like 1" x 1" and flat.

Higher resolution before compression, so it's better than is shown on YouTube.

Not amazing by any standards but for $200 it's not bad.

Thanks!!!! Yep underwater shots are often done with a red filter as that is the first wavelength to drop off. In fact many deep water animals are red.

 

[viper69]

I

I went to Baja Cali with mine, looks nice but for some reason stopped working quickly after using it. No clue why, before I got it I saw a TON of yt reviews talking about the constant problems but I was thinking it wouldn’t happen to me, well it did. I’d be cautious, I’m not sure what other products there are out there or if the newer ones are better

Whoa thanks-
I hadn’t heard that! I suspect I will rent one first.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

Whoa thanks-
I hadn’t heard that! I suspect I will rent one first.

Yeah, not sure if it’s a problem with the newer models but just simply search up GoPro not turning on and you can see a ton of vids of it and how to fix it, although I couldn’t get mine working again

 

[CutThroat Kid]

The one problem I have with my hero 8 black is that if it gets too cold the battery dies exponentially faster, so i have to buy/pack extra batteries. But I am talking about winter conditions. Snowboarding its usually not as bad but when I use it snowmobiling and it's getting dusted with snow, it dies in like 45 seconds. I think its dumb it cant stand the cold because my first gen gopro never had that issue and that was around 10 years ago. I suspect they made the batteries tiny and have smaller capacity so they can sell more of their proprietary batteries.

 

[Introvertebrate]

My bicycle headlight has a remote battery attached by wire. When I bike in the winter, I'll put the battery in my breast pocket to keep it warm. I suspect that technique would be less effective underwater, however.

 

[SpookySpooder]

FWIW my Hero8 has taken a drop from speed on my motorcycle at 60 MPH and the only damage was to the crash case.

That was a little over 2 years ago. I dunked it under the water from a moving boat this year.

The only malfunction I've ever witnessed on it, is that it started to record by itself one time. I assume I just pressed the button by accident on the case.

As mentioned above, battery life is not great. Even on a dry trip, you can probably record an hour to two hours on one battery pack. The saving grace is that you can fully charge 2 batteries at once in under an hour, so if you have 4-5 and a battery pack, you'll have enough juice for a day.

I have like 5 batteries because of this. It's most likely a direct result of the form factor. It's a very small camera. Hence small batteries.