Another GoPro Question.. A little different

[buckeyeguy1]

So.. Will be coming back down again next weekend and my son had asked if we could get a GoPro to take with us. I actually thought this would be a pretty cool idea so I ordered one. Hero 4 Silver (the one with the LCD back) Along with the GoPro, I ordered an extra battery, 2 battery charger, the Handler handle and 3 64GB microSD cards.

Now, I have 3 questions for the experienced:

1) How much memory do you bring? Im going to be on a 7 day trip. I have literally TBs of SD and CF cards, but only have the 3 64GB of microSD cards. I plan on shooting in 2.7k 30fps, 1080 30fps and 1080 60fps, all using Protune. The GoPro website says that is approx. 2hr 56min of recording time per 64GB card. At first I thought that 8 hrs of recording time would be plenty, but am second guessing myself. It breaks down to just over an hour of recording time per day. I don't plan on having it running the whole trip, but want adequate memory since I don't plan on taking a computer to save all the cards to. I should also note I don't plan on recording shows, just us riding the rides, walking around and swimming.

2) Do you use the Anti Fog Inserts? Wasn't sure if you had many problems with the housing fogging going in and out of AC.

3) On most rides, do YOU use the supplied protective housing or a frame type housing? I saw that they offer a frame that squeezes around the camera itself and wasn't sure if anyone uses those. It doesn't offer any protection, just eliminates having another cover over the lens. I was going to buy one, but kind of thought I would just use the "skeleton" back for it. Its just the NON waterproof back that goes on the clear case that supposedly allows better audio and use of the LCD, but is not waterproof.

 

[Accident]

1) This one is really hard to guess but I think your well stocked on cards. If your son runs it nonstop, then you don't even have 1 day worth. if he gets only the night shows, that's a couple hours if you do them all. safari, 30 minute ride.. most rides 5-10 minutes with some going longer. if he's going to unlock his long lost desired to be a disney vlogger then you might only have enough for the flight to get to disney and nothing for the trip.. 4 64G cards is a very generous amount to start with.. You'll know in 2-3 days if it's enough or how much more you might want. amazon, amazon prime now and disney themselves will rescue you and you can leave the laptop at home.

2) my daughter has never asked for anythign anti-fog and we live here.

3) my daughter uses this same mount, we have whatever was in the box. you not attaching it to a skateboard and roaming around disney parks with it getting in harms way, you should be fine without spending any more money.. of course the exception is water for waterparks and such.. I don't remember what it comes with but a waterproof housing might be worthwhile if you plan to use it around water (remember it rains here, daily). although it's not rainy season right now but it's just starting to be that.

the only thing it sounds like your missing is to learn how to use it and what settings you might want. Start exploring with it now, build up your arm muscles to hold it up for long periods of time. get used to holding it up and semi steady.. figure out what settings you like for different lighting conditions.. basically, don't wait until your at disney to figure out how it works and if it's taking good video.

enjoy your trip.

 

[Si C]

It'd also be worth looking into microphone muffs, one thing I see a lot on WDW Vlogs on youtube is people with great videos but you can't hear a thing because of the wind noise.

 

[lifepaused]

I purched a go pro 5 for my trip in September. I have brought a few accessories for my trip as well. . The difference is we are taking a laptop so we can transfer the footage each day. The accessories I have are Wrist Strap, head strap, mini tripod, selfie stick (now I learnt can't take selfie sticks in park), Sholder Mount, small hard case to keep stuff in, 1 64gig card (getting another one duty free), and have just purchased another 3 batteries.

With having no where to copy your files to, I would suggest a few more memory cards and maybe one more battery. To get more video on your cards only use 1080 at 30fps, unless you want to do slow down video which should be caught at 60fps. I have watched a lot of youtube videos to ideas. I have also gone out and done some videos to see how much I can record with one battery. Battery life is more of an issue.

I would not try and shoot everything and shoot more sparsley.

 

[ExCMbeau]

So.. Will be coming back down again next weekend and my son had asked if we could get a GoPro to take with us. I actually thought this would be a pretty cool idea so I ordered one. Hero 4 Silver (the one with the LCD back) Along with the GoPro, I ordered an extra battery, 2 battery charger, the Handler handle and 3 64GB microSD cards.

Now, I have 3 questions for the experienced:

1) How much memory do you bring? Im going to be on a 7 day trip. I have literally TBs of SD and CF cards, but only have the 3 64GB of microSD cards. I plan on shooting in 2.7k 30fps, 1080 30fps and 1080 60fps, all using Protune. The GoPro website says that is approx. 2hr 56min of recording time per 64GB card. At first I thought that 8 hrs of recording time would be plenty, but am second guessing myself. It breaks down to just over an hour of recording time per day. I don't plan on having it running the whole trip, but want adequate memory since I don't plan on taking a computer to save all the cards to. I should also note I don't plan on recording shows, just us riding the rides, walking around and swimming.

2) Do you use the Anti Fog Inserts? Wasn't sure if you had many problems with the housing fogging going in and out of AC.

3) On most rides, do YOU use the supplied protective housing or a frame type housing? I saw that they offer a frame that squeezes around the camera itself and wasn't sure if anyone uses those. It doesn't offer any protection, just eliminates having another cover over the lens. I was going to buy one, but kind of thought I would just use the "skeleton" back for it. Its just the NON waterproof back that goes on the clear case that supposedly allows better audio and use of the LCD, but is not waterproof.

I have the exact same Go Pro and my kids love it. Just a few weeks ago we all started a YouTube channel to share the videos of the family having a good time. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOa1oR91nmcCf0O289CR6ug
I also use that camera to record my lap sessions when I take my car to the race track. I will pass along what I have learned.


1. I use 1080 60 fps in normal recording mode. If I need to use ProTune I do it in editing. My last trip to Disney I averaged about an hour and a half of recording per day. That is mostly meet n greets, themed restaurants, and some rides. I always have a laptop with me and move my videos over to it when I get in for the day. I never felt like the memory card was ever an issue. In an emergency I have used the WiFi and app to move videos to my phone to free up space. So my first suggestion is make sure you have the app on your phone and it works. The problem I have is the battery. You are only going to get about 45 minutes of recording out of each battery with normal usage. You can get a little bit extra by turning off the LCD panel on the bag. You really don't need the panel to be on to get a good shot. It is small and in bright sun hard to look at. It mostly just helps with setting/lining up a shot or changing settings. Squinting at that screen gets old. Here is my second tip. All you really need to do is make a tiny mark in the middle of the square lens portion of the case. A tiny white line will work. This will help you center your shots. Just put that white dot in the center of what you are recording and the wide angle lens of the camera will do the rest! I did this when I have my Hero 3+ that didn't have a screen and it worked great. I never got a bad shot.

2. Never had an issue with fogging. I just took it to an indoor water park and never had an issue with temp changes or humidity. Here is another tip. When you use the camera for water treat the lens cover with RAIN X. It will keep water from beading up on the lens and ruining your shot.

3. I have three cases. The waterproof case, the frame, and a skeleton case (not skeleton door). Unless you are going to be in water don't use the waterproof case. It ruins the audio and it can make the camera overheat (it does gopro no matter what you claim!) if you record for long periods of time. I also don't suggest using the frame housing unless the camera is in a secure environment like a car or a room etc. My day to day case is the skeleton case. It looks just like the waterproof case except it has an open back, open side, and open on top for the microphone. This is the best choice for non water use. It protects the camera, has better sound, and gives you access to all the ports. Because I use the skeleton case I can have access to the charging port which brings me to another tip. POWER BRICK! I suggest bringing a power brick to plug into your camera when it isn't in use. This can also be used to charge a phone so it is a great thing to pack around!

The video in my signature starts out in the waterproof housing and then when we start playing in the arcade is out of the case. I am just holding the camera. This will give you a real world example of the differences.

 

[LSUfan4444]

How much memory do you bring?

I bring an external hard drive and transfer all the videos daily. Then, once editing/production starts I delete the ones I don't want. And no, I don't bring anything for fogging.

 

[ThornXBL]

What I did to prevent fogging was to just cut a tiny piece of paper towel (even toiler paper works, assuming it's not 1 ply) into a small rectangle, and have it on the side of the GoPro while it was locked inside the waterproof housing. I only used 1, and it was about the size of a dime, but you could theoretically use a couple and make them a little bigger if desired.

The strip(s) absorb moisture inside the waterproof housing and are easily replaced each day.

 

[buckeyeguy1]

Thanks for the replies.
I'm probably going to skip using Protune mode for this trip. It extends recording time to over 4 hrs on 1080 60 and below. I do photography on the side (senior pictures and family portraits) and shoot in RAW. I figured Protune was about as close to a RAW file I could get in my particular model of gopro. I think I will pick up one more battery and maybe the skeleton housing.

I think I'm going to take my a7 this time for F&G, so I do have another option for video recording if the bug hits me.

 

[dreiwhit]

If you don't want to stock up on memory cards, I did see a device before our last trip that lets you copy the contents of a SD/Micro SD directly to a portable hard drive without having to go through a computer.

 

[RachaelA]

Last trip we filled like 3 64 gb cards but we were there 12 days. The trip before was 7 days and we filled maybe 1 3/4 cards. My husband films all rides, meets, parades etc.

I'm not the one that wears it but I'm pretty sure we just use the clear frame box thing (I'm great with terms haha!). We used a wrist strap the first trip and last trip my husband just used the handle with it.