GoPro general discussion thread

[FF Drifter]

GoPro 'action camera' tips, tricks, feedback, and discussion. Just a place to share/discuss the best way to get NSX-specific footage with these things.

Older but related threads:
GoPro Wind Noise
GoPro sound recording
best spot for the gopro

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Some things I've figured out in the first month of trying to take NSX footage:

-the suction cup (GoPro brand) is quite good. I've not tested it to their claimed 'good to 150mph' but it does seem pretty sturdy. I am hesitant to stick it to any 'large area' body panels though, like the hood, doors or trunk for fear of it popping or reshaping the metal. Instead I tend to stick it to the B-pillar/fenders which feel stiffer.

-addendum to the above: the suction cup/arm is great... but only when not going that fast. Anything at highway speeds gets really shaky if the mount sticks out and 'away' from the car, such as on the B-pillar or on the roof. If the mount is stuck so the camera is pointed 'into' the wind, such as on the windshield or within the bumper, this isn't an issue. Or! just drive slower.

-spot meter setting. I think this is only on the 3+ models, but may also be on the 3 Black. Spot meter is great if you're using the camera from inside the car but want footage of what is going on outside. It is a setting designed for filming a bright/well-lit area when the camera is physically located within a darker space.

-lower FPS = better for dark. I have only a GoPro 3+ Silver so I don't have as many options as the higher camera models but almost universally it seems everyone recommends that scaling back the FPS is better in low light conditions, such as when I'm rolling out of the garage at dawn or driving home in the late evenings. So far from the clips I've played with, the 1080x60FPS clips definitely look worse than the 1080x30FPS clips. I will continue to experiment with this.

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Also wondering what other folks are using for video editing software.

I am currently leaning towards Sony Vegas 13 (came out just last month I think), but that's mostly because I've worked with previous versions of Vegas before and I don't have a Mac. The Windows 8/touchscreen-friendly tweaks to this latest version are pretty stupid, but so far it seems familiar.

GoPro Studio is really basic, but it is also free. I am using this so far to pre-process the raw footage off the GoPro; takes up a shit ton of disk space but I think this is better for the editing process overall. Also the GoPro Studio snipping tool is pretty good for cutting out long/boring footage.

Anyone use anything else?

 

[akira3d]

I'm going to follow this thread largely because I have had my GoPro 3 HD Black Edition for over a year, but have not had enough time to devote to untangling all of its issues.

I got mine over a year ago, but encountered serious issues with the SanDisk 64GB microSD cards not being reliable enough to work with the Pro modes. I lost a lot of footage and a couple of timelapse sequences I shot in Mexico during a family reunion. The card was completely trashed and data recovery was not possible. As a result, I have serious trust issues...and I think twice before using it.

I did shoot one NSX drive with the GoPro inside the windshield. I haven't even had time to do more than pull a couple of the stills I shot from within the footage and play around with After Effects and Premiere Pro CS6 to see how I plan to color grade the video. I did play around a bit with removing the spherical lens distortion...not sure which I like better.

 

[FF Drifter]

GoPro puts a lot of emphasis on making sure that Class 10 microSD cards are used. I had personally not ever heard of such a thing until I started trying to buy memory cards for the camera (I had just assumed microSD cards in general would work). That might be worth checking into. Additionally, always check for firmware updates. In the few months I've had the camera, the firmware has been updated twice.

 

[robr]

I'm curious how people are using these to record continuously when driving. I had assumed there was a way to just loop the video but after reading up, it appears you record for fixed duration, then manually erase everything and start over. Is that the case?

 

[FF Drifter]

You can do both. There is a loop mode for constantly rolling footage, like what you see with the Russian dash cams. Your last 2 hours of driving (or however much memory space you allocate) are always on the memory card. The more typical way to use the GoPro is to record like a conventional video camera ~ you hit REC to capture as much video you want for a set time, then you can pull the clips off the device.

 

[robr]

Thanks for the clarification, good to know.