Film I'm a fucking HERO me.

[Scouse]

'cause my g/f bought me a GoPro for my birthday yesterday.

Bit of a shock. I've not bothered because I've always thought it was a bit self-important videoing your experiences. Who wants to watch me mountain bike unless I fall off eh? I'm hardly Danny Mac.

But to be fair, it was a really nice gesture and I've now got one to play about with. MTBing videos will ensue I'm sure. Possibly with falling-off action shots, so if that happens I'll post 'em here.

So. Advice! Anyone got one? Is the GoPro video editing software any good or should I use some other software? (And do I *really* have to install QuickTime? ffs?!).

What about taking video? @Tom any tips? @ECA any things I should avoid / definitely be doing with it?

Advice and info and random opinions desired purlease anyone!

 

[caLLous]

No you absolutely do not have to install Quicktime. I've not even installed the GoPro software; I use Premiere Pro because it has built-in lens correction profiles for the GoPro (for most if not all of its video configurations). I'm talking about the Hero3 so if you've just got one I imagine you're talking about the 4 so there might not be profiles for it yet (if you're fussed about correcting distortion). Otherwise I'm sure the GoPro software would be adequate.

Also, it's worth shooting with Protune turned on imo, it gives you a lot more flexibility to make fancier videos and lot more fiddling potential in post-processing. I saw some 4k30 footage the other day, it looks sublime. It's not going to break records in low light but for normal outdoorsy stuff it's amazing what you can achieve with such a ickle camera.

I'd try shooting in 2k50 so you have plenty of space to stabilise the video in post if needs be and reduce down to 1080p.

 

[Scouse]

It's a 3+ Silver (theres no way she could afford to spunk for a 4 Black on top of another year's subscription to 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine )

I wondered about the Adobe stuff - I've got a dodgy CS5 or 6 somewhere. Just didn't know whether it'd be worth poking about with it. What exactly do you mean about correcting for distortion (the fisheye?)

 

[ECA]

You can use any video editing software, gopros imo is pretty wank. The only reason to install their software is for a firmware update.

Protune is obviously worth switching on.
The silver 3+ I believe has wifi onboard, so you can connect with the ios/android app and use the app as a viewfinder and also adjust settings with it, definitely easier for somethings - especially skiing where you have gloves on and because it's helmet mounted you can't see the leds, also if you want to shoot remote stuff like wildlife without disturbing it.

You also have a loop setting, which means if you get a suction mount you can connect it to the 12v w/ a usb lead and run it as a fulltime dashcam if you wanted to, or just as a dashcam for short journeys if you rely on battery.
( You need the skeleton housing to let you have the lead plugged in + be recording at the same time ).

Also as you stated, yeah for the most part its navel gazing When I go skiing it's really just so me+group of people can watch our own skiing back for analysis, it's not really anything worth sharing or that anyone else is interested in seeing

Although MTB crashes are probably worth sharing

Also the battery you get for free with the gopro is a bit shit, you can buy larger capacity batteries on amazon/ebay with 20-30% more capacity.

 

[TdC]

looks good chum! happy birthday!

 

[caLLous]

What exactly do you mean about correcting for distortion (the fisheye?)

Yep, there's some pretty atrocious distortion if you choose the wide or superwide settings. Correcting it takes the result from this:

to this:

This doesn't really apply for skiing and biking I guess (Gopro themselves label it as feeling more "immersive" with the distortion) but I think it has its benefits (certainly in shots with a clear horizon like the above).

(The towers on that bridge actually do lean away from each other so take that into account)

 

[Scouse]

Tried it out for the first time at Cannock Chase this weekend. She got me a chest mount for it (gopro's own).

Footage turned out pretty good. Shot in 960x50. Battery lasted for the duration of the ride (10Gb worth of video, didn't shoot uphills - just the alongs and downs) - but conked out as soon as we'd got back to the car (literally, as soon as). I reckon we were out 3 hours in total if we include the pauses for going uphill and stops - so I shot just shy of an hour and a half's video.

Bad things? Well, the audio. I was very audible but the sound pickup not very far away at all goes down sharply. But that's all I can complain about really.

What was interesting was that at times you can clearly hear my heart beating - which I guess you'd expect on chest-mounted cam on a bike ride

 

[Poag]

Theres a guy in the office whos got himself a head mounted thing, like those head torches?

Hes got it on in the office taking a picture every 15 seconds of his day.........

Hes also got a selfie stick.


Anyone with a GoPro is assumed to be a self important prick until proved otherwise....

 

[caLLous]

Tried it out for the first time at Cannock Chase this weekend. She got me a chest mount for it (gopro's own).

Footage turned out pretty good. Shot in 960x50. Battery lasted for the duration of the ride (10Gb worth of video, didn't shoot uphills - just the alongs and downs) - but conked out as soon as we'd got back to the car (literally, as soon as). I reckon we were out 3 hours in total if we include the pauses for going uphill and stops - so I shot just shy of an hour and a half's video.

Bad things? Well, the audio. I was very audible but the sound pickup not very far away at all goes down sharply. But that's all I can complain about really.

What was interesting was that at times you can clearly hear my heart beating - which I guess you'd expect on chest-mounted cam on a bike ride

The audio is bad, there's no two ways about it, but I guess it's the price you pay for such a teeny little device that you don't even notice is there. The first thing I do when reviewing video from the drone is mute it though, you should hear the racket the propellers make when they're 6 inches from the GoPro. You literally can't hear anything else.

Also re: the battery, I have no idea how long mine lasts. Because I've got it plugged into the drone via USB to send the video feed to the screen on the transmitter, it evidently thinks it's plugged into a PC and takes power from the drone so the GoPro's battery always seems to be at 100%, even after recording 1080p50 for 25 minutes. I wish it wouldn't tbh because I want the drone's battery for flying but there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it.

Anyone with a GoPro is assumed to be a self important prick until proved otherwise....

Well, that's a retarded way to look at it.

 

[Poag]

Well, that's a retarded way to look at it.

Maybe, but every time i've seen someone with a GoPro, and thats about 20-30 times. They've been selfe sticking themselves or doing time lapses of there own day. I dont cycle much so most of the time i just walk for exercise and fresh air. I see guys on motor bikes and MTBs with selfie stick mounted GoPros infront of them, or held in a hand filming themselves.

I've also seen a couple of the MTB selfie sticks lose the gopro when they smashed it into a tree as they were to engrossed with themselves to see the tree.......


So as a sample, 100% of GoPro users i've physically seen, have been selfie users. I've heard of people mounting them on drones n stuff, seen the odd youtube, but never seen one in person

 

[Poag]

Also re: the battery, I have no idea how long mine lasts. Because I've got it plugged into the drone via USB to send the video feed to the screen on the transmitter, it evidently thinks it's plugged into a PC and takes power from the drone so the GoPro's battery always seems to be at 100%, even after recording 1080p50 for 25 minutes. I wish it wouldn't tbh because I want the drone's battery for flying but there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it.

If you've got some time, you can try covering one of the power pins in the USB jack to stop it drawing power on the drone. Its the first pin on the left, if the 'open' area is up. Cover it with a bit of sticky tape should do the job...assuming its a full size usb plug. Eitherway its the first and last pins on the full size. Mini and Micro are the same but far more fiddly.

That may work to stop it drawing power from the drone. However it may also cause it to not accept the drone as there, some devices require power to come down the cable before they start negotiation with the other end. Trial and error i'm afraid

 

[caLLous]

Yeah that terrifies me. It's a Mini USB on the side of the GoPro which plugs straight into the gimbal, like:

Honestly it doesn't seem to have much affect on the flight time, it's supposed to be able to go for 20-25 minutes on a charged battery and that's pretty much what it does. It just irks me slightly that I could be getting a bit more and am not. At least the GoPro is always charged though.

 

[Poag]

TBH the camera will draw a most 500ma/h. While the props draw massively more than that, so indeed it will only affect flight time by seconds rather than minutes

 

[Jupitus]

Also re: the battery, I have no idea how long mine lasts. Because I've got it plugged into the drone via USB to send the video feed to the screen on the transmitter, it evidently thinks it's plugged into a PC and takes power from the drone so the GoPro's battery always seems to be at 100%, even after recording 1080p50 for 25 minutes. I wish it wouldn't tbh because I want the drone's battery for flying but there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it.

Look on the bright side!! When the drone gives up and falls helplessly and lifeless from the skies to it's doom, your camera will still be shooting sweet videos for you to send to Fail Army

 

[TdC]

your camera will still be shooting sweet videos for you to send to Fail Army

just remember to shout out to FH while faceplanting massively in to some concrete while trying to catch the falling drone and / or smiling when you're just about to catch the drone...with your face and / or chasing the drone makes you run in front of a bus and / or all of the above. Safety first!!

 

[Scouse]

Anyone with a GoPro is assumed to be a self important prick until proved otherwise....

I think they have their uses but that's how I felt about them really. I didn't want one, but the bird bought me one. I can't see me posting videos of my biking online, however - just for personal consumption.

What's a selfe? Is that one of those things that spins around your own head taking pictures of you? I've seen a few videos but I've never seen one in real life, ever. And I do a fair bit of biking.

 

[TdC]

recently for the first time I saw someone using a "selfie stick", but I lead a sheltered life. also, I'd be interested in your mtb vids Scousebacon. Been working up the courage to make some riding vids myself, and now that a mate has gone and gotten himself an MTB, and I am almost done with this stupid metal in my shoulder the time is neigh! or neigh! or close at hand!

 

[ECA]

So as a sample, 100% of GoPro users i've physically seen, have been selfie users. I've heard of people mounting them on drones n stuff, seen the odd youtube, but never seen one in person

I've only ever seen other gopro users when skiing

 

[Scouse]

I'd be interested in your mtb vids Scousebacon.

They're all a bit wobbly (and tame) and I've only the single ride at the mo - but I'll see what I can do. Was impressed with the quality (at 60fps anyway).

the time is neigh! or neigh! or close at hand!

Lulzyfacepalmystuff...

 

[Poag]

The guy who video'd his day yesterday has come in telling us hes edited the video together, and would anyone like to see it.

Absolute silence follow by a chorus of "fuck no"

 

[Ctuchik]

'cause my g/f bought me a GoPro for my birthday yesterday.

Advice and info and random opinions desired purlease anyone!

Get a quadcopter, mount it to that and you can take some genuinely amazing stuff (no not stuff involving ladies sunbathing nude on rooftops).

 

[Scouse]

Get a quadcopter, mount it to that and you can take some genuinely amazing stuff (no not stuff involving ladies sunbathing nude on rooftops).

Meh.

I've seen the footage you can get and it looks great - but tbh, it's not interesting enough to me for that reason. If I could have a quad-copter auto-follow me on 6 hour rides then I'd definitely be interested, but until then I just couldn't justify it.

 

[caLLous]

You actually can do that, I forget which one it was (maybe the Parrot?) but it can follow the GPS of your phone I think. Fun for a bike rides or skiing or whatever but it makes me cringe bigtime for day-to-day uses. I also have no idea how it deals with collision avoidance. "Badly" would be my first guess.

 

[Scouse]

just remember to shout out to FH while faceplanting massively in to some concrete while trying to catch the falling drone and / or smiling when you're just about to catch the drone...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsHMjWORFvI

 

[Poag]

I'm not clicking on your click heres, but yes the mild panic is awesome

 

[Scouse]

I'm not clicking on your click heres

What's them?

 

[Poag]

What's them?

Dem!

 

[Scouse]

Dem!

Ah - it's not my video. It's just applicable to what teedles said.

And I don't see those things on youtube. I see no ads, no overlays and I've turned off annotations by default. Adblock plus is your friend m8

 

[Poag]

Ah - it's not my video. It's just applicable to what teedles said.

And I don't see those things on youtube. I see no ads, no overlays and I've turned off annotations by default. Adblock plus is your friend m8

Know what, i was looking at your post going "You smug git i am using ABP" went and looked, no just AB...well bugger.

 

[Hawkwind]

Pros use AVID for editing, nuff said. Its better and cheaper than Adobe Premier.

Actually have Premier as well which was bundled with a mpeg card I purchased a few years back. Decent enough but overly complicated for simple things.