Go Pro for Bimini Trip

[ArmyChief]

O.k, if @Bruce hasn't made me spend enough $$$ so far on this new boat. I am considering purchasing a Go Pro kit (Amazon has kits with booms, 64 Gig card..etc). I'm looking for input on best kit (model?) and place for price!

Now, I'm one of those people that spend days/weeks researching an item before purchasing. It "appears" I should just get the top-of-the-line Hero 4 Black. Only cause I may want to do slow motion during editing. I'm not a cheapskate, but sometime frugal..or weigh my purchases based on needs or perceived needs.

Lastly, I'll probably get Final Cut Pro for my Macbook Pro. Going to have to teach myself, since I know NOTHING about video editing. I have both Windows and Mac available. Is there an easier SW that works well for good results? I REALLy like whoever did the editing for the Tampa SeaDoo Exuma trip youtube videos!

TIA

 

[Murf'n'surf]

You can rent a GoPro if you don't want it laying around for 360 days a year.

 

[ArmyChief]

You can rent a GoPro if you don't want it laying around for 360 days a year.

really?...is it monetarily wort it?..IE..much difference then buying?

If a rental is $200 for the week....I'd rather ass $100 and just own it.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

really?...is it monetarily wort it?..IE..much difference then buying?

If a rental is $200 for the week....I'd rather ass $100 and just own it.

$35/week http://recordyouradventures.com/

http://www.atsrentals.com/gopro-hero2-video-camera-rental.html

Never used any of these guys but sure beats a few hundred

 

[justason]

gopro's are awesome...and the video software is user friendly....If you have kids they will probably use it and break it for you......

 

[Volffas]

My recommendation would be the Silver, it has a screen on the back to see what you are shooting and realistically you won't need anything more than 1080p.

If you do go with a black and end up filming in 4k or 2.7k you will either need a super computer to process all of the footage, or get used to VERY long upload and edit times.

And don't forget to check out the GoPro video thread for some good ideas on videos.

Good luck!

 

[soundshark]

You can get a lot done with just the free iMovie.
Once you learn iMovie, the transition to Final Cut will be a lot easier...

 

[Volffas]

Only cause I may want to do slow motion during editing.

And for what it's worth, this video was shot in 720p with a 3+ Silver, I think the slow motion is pretty good, and I could have slowed it down a little more. (The quality of that shot isn't that great because it was raining but when you're on vacation and it rains every day you learn to just enjoy the rain.) With a Hero4 Silver you will have even better slow mo, I just don't think that a black is worth the extra $$$.

 

[robert843]

O.k, if @Bruce hasn't made me spend enough $$$ so far on this new boat. I am considering purchasing a Go Pro kit (Amazon has kits with booms, 64 Gig card..etc). I'm looking for input on best kit (model?) and place for price!

Now, I'm one of those people that spend days/weeks researching an item before purchasing. It "appears" I should just get the top-of-the-line Hero 4 Black. Only cause I may want to do slow motion during editing. I'm not a cheapskate, but sometime frugal..or weigh my purchases based on needs or perceived needs.

Lastly, I'll probably get Final Cut Pro for my Macbook Pro. Going to have to teach myself, since I know NOTHING about video editing. I have both Windows and Mac available. Is there an easier SW that works well for good results? I REALLy like whoever did the editing for the Tampa SeaDoo Exuma trip youtube videos!

TIA

Anything 3+ will do great. No need for the 4k recording it will take for ever to do editing from that format. Even 1080p at a high frame per second rate can be very taxing even on a good computer. The Tampa crew did their own editing using the apple software and that whole video was recorded in 780p. Don't rent buy it you will be surprised how much you use it.

 

[ArmyChief]

The Tampa crew did their own editing using the apple software and that whole video was recorded in 780p.

They used the free Apple iMovie SW?

Thanks for all the info guys !

 

[robert843]

They used the free Apple iMovie SW?

Thanks for all the info guys !

They used iMovie for the intro credit scenes but the rest was done with the Mac software final cut. Not sure which version but definitely a several year old version it wasn't even the latest one at that time.

 

[Bruce]

Speaking of helping you spend money, you really need a quad copter to go with your GoPro. Who wants to film from the ground?

 

[ArmyChief]

I thought there was at LEAST one UAV already going

 

[robert843]

Speaking of helping you spend money, you really need a quad copter to go with your GoPro. Who wants to film from the ground?

Lol I almost pulled the trigger on one as a Christmas present to my self. The problem I run into is no one is ever willing to drive the boat and I don't trust anyone else to fly the thing. Especially over waster. It also would be difficult to bring on a ski. @ArmyChief if you want some great shots you will get it with a drone that's for sure as long as you have someone willing to either fly it or drive the boat.

 

[ToddW850]

You pretty much can't go wrong with any of the GoPro's. And if you have a boat, it's a must. Prices seem pretty consistent no matter where you shop for GoPros. I have the GoPro Hero 3 White. I went with that because it was $199 at Best Buy and I'm extremely happy. My son has the Hero 3 Black. Has a couple more quality features.

I've gotten some pretty great footage (if I say so myself) but still waiting to post my first video. I've thrown a couple together messing around, but nothing official.

 

[PaulyB]

I bought a Hero3+ Black from sams club two weeks ago for 299. It came with a spare battery and some extra connections. Unfortunately I lost it deep sea fishing in the Pacific about 30 miles off the coast of Costa Rica last week.... Im gonna wait and see if Sam's gets any more in stock and will probably buy it again... Groupon has the Hero4 Silver, which I believe is about the same as the 3+ Black for 379.99. Best Buy has a Hero4 Silver for 399.99 in a package deal that comes with some extras....

 

[Ronnie]

I've had and still have several go pros and quad copters. Here is my take.

Gopros: currently have a 3+ white and a 4 silver. Had a black 3+ among others. I get the most use out of the white version. It doesn't have as high a frame rate but it will record for 2 plus hours on a single battery. The black version will eat a battery every 30 minutes. The silver is the best buy for the money in the 4 series IMHO. You get the touch screen and more functionality than most people will use. If I could find a silver 3 + in good condition I'd buy it. Entry level 4 is cheap but not as user friendly, you can't take it out of the case so you can't simply replace the battery, you have to recharge it in the case. Incidentally the batteries for the 3 and 4 are different but the cases are the same. What ever you get buy extra batteries a 64 mb card won't matter if you don't have the juice to fill it.

Quadcopters: started with a used phantom 1, have a phantom 2 vision now and an air dog on order. Also have a small 1si for screwing around in doors. Most of them have the ability to hover hands free. If you want to drive the boat while the heli is in a hover it's totally doable but trying to keep the boat int he cameras frame is challenging. I've read that the new phantom 3 has a homing / tracking function so it will follow the remote but it will cost over $1k and none of the phantoms float without aftermarket modifications. You can put parts of pool noodles on to keep it afloat in the event of a water (crash) landing but all,you are really doing is trying to make sure you have something to recover and rebuild. If you want the killer arial footage of your boat on the water you have to accept that you may lose or damage that quadcopter everytime you put it in the air. Of you have a go pro mounted on it view it as another $200 to $500 at risk. You will also need to give up control of something, the boat or the bird. I give up the boat because my family and crew can and are willing to drive it while I fly. No one ever wants to switch places with me, ever. Like the go pros, buy extra batteries. Unlike the go pros care when they run down to 20% or less. Unless you customize the settings that bird will land itself once the threshold is reached.

Here is a little visual support for my statements above. Oh and before I forget. It takes me about 30 minutes produce 1 minute of edited video. This is down from over an hour. Getting the footage is only part of the deal, you will need to develop the will, skill and patience to edit video if you don't already posses those qualities. Some people are naturals, I'm not.

 

[robert843]

I agree with the above statement I have a 3+ silver and love it shopping for second one now waiting for someone to throw them on sale.

 

[ArmyChief]

What's the main difference between 3+ Silver and 4 Silver?

 

[smthng]

If a rental is $200 for the week....I'd rather ass $100 and just own it.

Hehe... he said ass. Sorry, had to do it.

Comparison of GoPros: http://shop.gopro.com/compare?category=cameras
Basically, the 4's can shoot 4K video, have better low-light capabilities, time-lapse, video rotation, higher bitrate, better sounds and have bluetooth. The 4 Silver has a touchscreen display, but half the framerate of the Black.