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Link to GoPro info some may find useful

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Link to GoPro info some may find useful

Postby videovillageidiot » Thu Jun 26, 2014 12:03 am

I purchased a gopro 3 black quite awhile ago and gave it to my son to figure out…he never found time. I retrieved it from him a few weeks ago and have so far managed to update the software and shoot a few clips in whatever default settings it came with. One clip was shot in the car when a deer ran across the road, but it came out looking like the deer was very far away. Clearly, I need to learn a lot!!!

I have been scouring the net trying to find understandable info and found this link…
http://abekislevitz.com/understanding-your-new-gopro/

The site is by a guy who works at gopro (or so he says…I have become such a skeptic these days). None of what he writes makes sense to me at this point, but I thought some of you might like to check it out. If you like the info he has a link to part 2.

I'm curious what settings any of you use.
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Re: Link to GoPro info some may find useful

Postby Steve Grisetti » Thu Jun 26, 2014 7:15 am

Go Pros, like most sports cams, include a very wide lens. This is a good thing, under most conditions. It gives you a wider field of view and, more importantly, it mitigates a lot of the effect of the bumps and humps sports cams usually take.

Take a regular video camera, zoom the lens in to extreme telephoto and then walk while you shoot some video. The zoom lens will magnify every step you take.

Now set the zoom to extremely wide and walk while you shoot some video. The steps you take and your movements will be less obvious.

The downside to a wider lens is that it does tend to magnify distance -- making things look much farther away than they really are. (For what it's worth, I discuss this in my Depth of Field article in my Steve's Film School series at http://muvipix.com/products.php?searchp ... =0&btn.y=0 )

This article also discusses depth of field with some great illustrations.
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutori ... -field.htm
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Re: Link to GoPro info some may find useful

Postby sidd finch » Thu Jun 26, 2014 10:16 am

I am familiar with Abe, he has some really great tutorials for GoPro.

For what it is worth the GoPro 3 series has the ability to shoot in quite a bit of different settings that are unique to the style of video you are trying to record. For the most casual user 1080P at either 30 or 60fps is the recommended setting. Then the choice of Narrow, Normal, and Wide depending on what you are after. These settings will suffice for most of what you will capture.

My philosophy is to keep the most "auto" of settings to begin with so that you have fun with the camera as you are getting to know its strengths and weaknesses. The fun part will propel your desire to investigate more of the cameras capabilities as you master the basics.

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Re: Link to GoPro info some may find useful

Postby momoffduty » Thu Jun 26, 2014 10:30 am

All those settings are confusing at first. Too many options. The first thing I shot was test video in the different settings (not protune) and brought the clips into the editor to actually see the differences. The clips were only 10 to 15 seconds each. I learn better when I compare my own test footage to the words.
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Re: Link to GoPro info some may find useful

Postby videovillageidiot » Mon Jun 30, 2014 9:55 pm

Thanks Steve, Mom and Sidd!

Yeah, Steve, I knew it would look different in wide vs narrow FOV, but, I was kinda' shocked to see just how far away the deer looked...kinda' like, is that a deer crossing the road or a fly moving on my windshield?

Sidd, Abe seems to be a good resource. I'm going to look for more of his tidbits. I have switched my resolution to 1080 and framerate to 30fps. Also, I'm trying out medium FOV.

Mom...thanks for the suggestion. I am trying to learn as much as possible in the shortest amount of time...BIG trip coming up and I'm so busy I may not have time. I am hoping that enough other people have a GoPro on the trip that we can all compare notes.

Thanks everybody!
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Re: Link to GoPro info some may find useful

Postby sidd finch » Wed Jul 02, 2014 8:51 am

If you are shooting a lot of action (deer running) try 60fps, Sunrise Sunset 30 fps. And 2 items of paramount importance. Be carful not to shoot into the sun for extended periods in case of sensor burn. And, also make sure you makes sure the white seal is clean of lint as this can impact the water tight seal.

Sounds like a GREAT trip and I look forward to seeing some cool footage.

Sidd
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Re: Link to GoPro info some may find useful

Postby videovillageidiot » Fri Jul 04, 2014 2:21 pm

sidd finch wrote:If you are shooting a lot of action (deer running) try 60fps, Sunrise Sunset 30 fps. And 2 items of paramount importance. Be carful not to shoot into the sun for extended periods in case of sensor burn. And, also make sure you makes sure the white seal is clean of lint as this can impact the water tight seal.

Sounds like a GREAT trip and I look forward to seeing some cool footage.

Sidd


THANKS for the shooting tips...there will hopefully be moose and whales...not much of sunrises and sunsets, though...at that latitude they say you don't get much of a golden hour glow during the summer. As far as shooting into the sun goes...I noticed that Cheryl's video from Mexico had a lot of brightness in it (like the sand). The GoPro seems to handle that stuff really well - but I'll be careful not to get carried away and point too much at the sun! The extended forecast seems to show more clouds and rain than sun, so I may be completely safe anyway... :(

As for the water tight seal, I noticed my backdoor doesn't "look right". I actually spoke to Customer Support at GoPro last week (their website couldn't serve up the LCD bacpac pdf manual). They are soooo nice. The guy e-mailed me the manual and then I happened to mention the door and he's sending me a new one in the mail, free of charge!! I think I'll attach the new door and, WITHOUT THE CAMERA INSIDE, I will dunk the case and then check to see if it stayed dry inside.

I think I'll be starting a new thread in the water cooler on questions for my trip 'cuz they cover a lot of subjects.

Can't wait to go - I have been designated the "documentarian" for the trip - we'll pool our photos and videos and I get to put it all together!!
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Re: Link to GoPro info some may find useful

Postby momoffduty » Sun Jul 06, 2014 7:04 pm

Have a great trip!! I was a little worried too the first time my GoPro took a swim.
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