Which Go-Pro?

[Rob9550]

As the title states, which Go-Pro do you all recommend? I plan on mounting it to the tower tow point for rear viewing and the windscreen for forward. Thanks for the help.

 

[Eric Popper]

We use the Hero Black 3+. It was the best one when I bought it. I think they are advanced by at least 1 generation now.

I use the suction cup on the windshield sometimes. The only problem with this is that it doesn't get everyone on the boat in the pictures.

I did once suction the camera to the hull so I could see the "jet-action" but the water was too turkey. It did stay on up to about 30mph, but it was for a short time as I became convinced I would lose the camera.

I also use a clamp mount on various parts of the tower. This seems to be best if I want to get pictures on the boat of people. Usually I do a time lapse for this.

Facing backwards, the clamp mount works also.

One thing that you have to remember is that the GoPro is wide angle so anything far away, such as a skier or tuber, doesn't come out well. I saw a tow line mount once online but never could find it again.

I've also tried to hold a selfie-stick while knee boarding with mixed results.

I've also used it in various positions on my airplane.

It is quite versatile and very high quality. The durability is incredible. If you have doubts, google "go-pro falls from airplane into pigpen."

E

 

[Volffas]

I have a 3+ Silver and like it. But if I had to buy one today, hands down it would be the 4 Silver. The picture quality will be perfect for what you want to do with it and it has a screen so you can see what you are taking pictures of. The biggest problem with the 3+ that o have now is unless you are hooked up to wifi on your phone (which is kind of a pain in the butt) you don't know exactly what you are filming.

 

[eticket]

I just purchased the Hero4 Silver and the picture quality is amazing. As noted it is for close up and you can't make out faces for people behind a 50 foot + tube / ski / wakeboard rope. I got the arm/wrist mount which has been fun and also the chest mount but have not tried it yet. I am mounting to the boat with a RAM mount roll cage adaptor, super solid and allows me to move the camera around to capture any angle. I am sitting here trying to figure out the editing, will get it eventually but so far it makes me feel old! I can't seem to extract a still from video without using Facebook or YouTube, but I will figure it out and share some pics here soon.

 

[AJ DeCenzo]

The Hero4 Silver has a touchscreen viewfinder. Makes life a lot easier, especially when mounting. It also has ProTune features if you happen to be advanced in video/film making or photography.

 

[ToddW850]

I started off with a Hero 3 White. My first GoPro and it's what got my foot in the door. Wife bought me a Hero 4+ Silver for my birthday shortly after they came out. But because I had extra batteries/cases for the Hero 3, I exchanged it for the Hero 3+Silver. Hero 3+ Silver well worth it and I'm very happy. Hero 4 Silver would be a great buy too, because it has the LCD screen on the back.

 

[captainhook]

If you're not sure how much you'll use it, also check out the Xiaomi Yi. A much cheaper version that will do a lot of the same thing. It's not as nice as a GoPro, but hey, it's like 70 bucks.

 

[Yan Masse]

There is also the CyclopsGear CGX2 that looks really nice.

http://www.cyclopsgear.com/cyclops-gear-cgx2-4k-wi-fi-action-camera/71/

Demo video :

 

[subysti]

I've always used the contour roam cameras. Smaller and better video. If the military uses them for helmet cams they must be durable. Never had a problem with any of mine.

 

[Wayloncle]

Look up Action Camera 4K, I got one from National Parks Depot, exactly like a GoPro, mine isn't touch screen like it looks like it should be, but with the Icam app it's easy to use, and although I've never had a GoPro, I'd put the video quality up against it any day....I paid $91 for the camera and a whole box of adapters.

I have a video uploading to YouTube right now I will post when it's done.

 

[Wayloncle]

First time really editing a video, I used iMovie on my phone this morning to do it real quick. I need to put some music in my phone, I movie doesn't have a whole lot to choose from

I am really impressed with this camera for the price I paid for it. I bought a floatie handle for $6 and one of those super clamps that will clamp around my tower, that's what it is mounted with for all the driving video. The clamp with GoPro stamped on it is like $40, I got the exact same thing for $11 I think, just doesn't have the name on it.

 

[robert843]

All the 3 and 4 models are pretty good. I would go with the silver or black model in each. A lot depends on what you plan to do with the footage. What I have is if you plan to edit it and make nice videos the editing software is just as important as the camera. Some programs loose a lot of quality in the editing process once you start converting files to an editable format.

 

[Rob9550]

We use the Hero Black 3+. It was the best one when I bought it. I think they are advanced by at least 1 generation now.

I use the suction cup on the windshield sometimes. The only problem with this is that it doesn't get everyone on the boat in the pictures.

I did once suction the camera to the hull so I could see the "jet-action" but the water was too turkey. It did stay on up to about 30mph, but it was for a short time as I became convinced I would lose the camera.

I also use a clamp mount on various parts of the tower. This seems to be best if I want to get pictures on the boat of people. Usually I do a time lapse for this.

Facing backwards, the clamp mount works also.

One thing that you have to remember is that the GoPro is wide angle so anything far away, such as a skier or tuber, doesn't come out well. I saw a tow line mount once online but never could find it again.

I've also tried to hold a selfie-stick while knee boarding with mixed results.

I've also used it in various positions on my airplane.

It is quite versatile and very high quality. The durability is incredible. If you have doubts, google "go-pro falls from airplane into pigpen."

E

I am trying to get a camera that will pick up the wife and kids on the tube and wakeboard. Is there an option that is better suited than a wide angle?

 

[Volffas]

I'm not sure what would be good to use to record them on the wakeboard and tube. About anything that you use will need to be zoomed in pretty good which will hurt the video quality.

To give you an idea of what the range is, in this video there are a couple seconds shot from our tower of our kids on the tube.

And for wakeboard videos you can always put a mount directly on the wakeboard

Or put the camera on your head while wakeboarding.

 

[Big Shasta]

One thing that you have to remember is that the GoPro is wide angle so anything far away, such as a skier or tuber, doesn't come out well. I saw a tow line mount once online but never could find it again.

Might have been this one, I know I posted it somewhere here. This was a hero 3 black. I'd stick with the 3. The 4 got smaller but the case is the majority of the difference and it's not capable of the same depths so that tells me it's not as tough.

This was using a roll bar mount. Worked awesome.

 

[eticket]

Here are some examples of the Hero4 Silver and tubing, unfortunately not enough detail to make out the fear of death on a loved one's face or properly capture a great wipeout! BTW those are my flailing limbs, the wife really got her revenge this weekend!

 

[eticket]

Might have been this one, I know I posted it somewhere here. This was a hero 3 black. I'd stick with the 3. The 4 got smaller but the case is the majority of the difference and it's not capable of the same depths so that tells me it's not as tough.

This was using a roll bar mount. Worked awesome.

Great mount idea, will try that next time out. I hope that tether is strong if breaks when being dragged behind the boat after the wipeout!

 

[Devin Jensen]

i have the hero 4 session, its tiny and very simple.... 1 button to get video or pics... I mount mine right on the wake tower facing backwards...

 

[Ronnie]

The go pros are great for close up footage but not distance. If you get a go pro and want footage of people tubing or boarding you will need to rig up your own rope mount. I tried with a modified roll bar mount (the side opposite the camera needs to be weighted to keep the camera from rotating / spinning on the line or you can see if a third party mount is available (I saw a kick starter campaign on one last year, as I recall he asking price was $60ish for a delta wing shaped weight with interchangeable bushings in several sizes to accommodate tow lines of differing thicknesses).

If you go with a GoPro I recommend the hero 4 silver best of both worlds where the quality and features are concerned.

 

[subysti]

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here is a vid of a friend wakeboarding with our contour on the tower mount. The mount rotates to follow the skier.