Attention Tech Geeks - Using A Go Pro At WDW

[KateDrake]

Just wanted to say thanks for this awesome thread! I just got DH a GoPro Hero for Father's Day, I'll have to have him look through this later. We're taking it river rafting in Banff, but I think it will have to make the trip to Disney as well!

 

[Fishteacher]

We recently returned from a Disney Cruise with ours. We were THRILLED with the video but a little disappointed with the still pics. Because they are fairly new, many of the cast members were pretty confused about how to take a pic without a view finder. I am not sure if this had anything to do with the poor still photos. We plan on trying to take some still pics on our own to see if the picture quality improves. Overall though, I would DEFINTELY recommend this camera to anyone.
(We have the GoPro Hero 3+ Silver)

 

[Raenstoirm]

HATED IT at WDW!
I LOVE the gopro (hero3+ black). I took it on our 7 day cruise and it performed perfectly. I could not have asked for a better camera. Great stills and video and the 3+ black has a feature where it can take stills and video simultaneously that I used a lot on the cruise. After the cruise, we spent 36 hours in WDW and after such great results in the Caribbean, I only brought my gopro to the parks with us. I have zero good pictures and video from WDW. (The only pics going in the scrapbook are those taken with our iPhones and I HATE iPhone pictures .) The gopro doesn't like dark, so the ride footage is grainy. We were a few rows deep into the 3pm parade so I put my gopro above me on a extendable handle expecting awesome footage. Nope, because there is no viewfinder, I had it pointed at the wrong height, I got peoples' heads and the center of the floats. It wasn't angled high enough to get the tops. I do have the viewfinder for it, so perhaps this fall, I will try again, but bring that with it. It will eat through the battery really fast, but may be worth it since it does take such awesome footage. I am a bit of a photo snob though and so I tend to carry my SLR.

If you are getting one (and, despite my negative review, I do highly recommend them), get the 64 g micro card ($60 or $80 on amazon) and at least 2 extra batteries (off brand was like 20 bucks for 2 extra and a double charger and there was no performance difference). That way you won't have to worry about space or battery. I also have 2 telescoping handles (one for scuba), the clip mount for person and the clip for things (I clipped it to our balcony on the cruise ship and got awesome footage of sunsets and spillways) and the view finder, plus 100 other things I bought that I didn't end up using.

 

[jhaig]

HATED IT at WDW! I LOVE the gopro (hero3+ black). I took it on our 7 day cruise and it performed perfectly. I could not have asked for a better camera. Great stills and video and the 3+ black has a feature where it can take stills and video simultaneously that I used a lot on the cruise. After the cruise, we spent 36 hours in WDW and after such great results in the Caribbean, I only brought my gopro to the parks with us. I have zero good pictures and video from WDW. (The only pics going in the scrapbook are those taken with our iPhones and I HATE iPhone pictures .) The gopro doesn't like dark, so the ride footage is grainy. We were a few rows deep into the 3pm parade so I put my gopro above me on a extendable handle expecting awesome footage. Nope, because there is no viewfinder, I had it pointed at the wrong height, I got peoples' heads and the center of the floats. It wasn't angled high enough to get the tops. I do have the viewfinder for it, so perhaps this fall, I will try again, but bring that with it. It will eat through the battery really fast, but may be worth it since it does take such awesome footage. I am a bit of a photo snob though and so I tend to carry my SLR. If you are getting one (and, despite my negative review, I do highly recommend them), get the 64 g micro card ($60 or $80 on amazon) and at least 2 extra batteries (off brand was like 20 bucks for 2 extra and a double charger and there was no performance difference). That way you won't have to worry about space or battery. I also have 2 telescoping handles (one for scuba), the clip mount for person and the clip for things (I clipped it to our balcony on the cruise ship and got awesome footage of sunsets and spillways) and the view finder, plus 100 other things I bought that I didn't end up using.

Hmmm, I was hoping to not have to take a camcorder AND a still camera but it might be my best bet?

 

[ricknroll]

I take a GoPro on every park visit. I usually use it mounted to a pole like the QuikPod so I'm able to get in the shot with the kids, particularly on rides. Sometimes I just use a wrist mount (3D printed from ebay - not the official one that points the camera in the wrong direction).

That said, I never use it as the only camera at the parks. It's always a supplement to my DSLR or camcorder. The GoPro is great for rides and to get myself in occasional shots, but the DSLR or camcorder always come out for the meet & greets.

 

[ricknroll]

You can see a lot of GoPro stuff in my November Cruise / World trip video - the pool, slides, rides and most of the stuff with me (adult male) in it is all GoPro (Hero 3 Black), while the meet & greet and other footage is mostly from a Canon camcorder. My QuikPod broke the first day of this trip, so all but the first few GoPro shots are using a wrist mount. Which reminds me - if you use a pole, make sure you have some sort of tether so you don't lose the camera if the pole breaks.

 

[FINFAN]

a "selfie stick" is also useful with the Go-Pro~ they run about $12 or so

 

[Tbiafore]

WOW!! Thanks SO much for sharing that!! I just can't imagine how much time you put into editing that, but it was certainly worth it

Can I ask--did you use your GoPro for the stills too? And what resolution were you shooting video at? Did you take a laptop to offload your cards during your trip?

For those who don't have one (yet...) I ask all those questions because you can take massively large files and cause yourself lots of issues with handling them (speaking for myself, that is). It took lots of work to get my hours of ski vids compiled and compressed into two DVDs (whereas this GENIUS got an entire Disney trip into a FUN 4 minutes!!).

I recommend anyone buy a couple extra cards and an extra battery. I also have the waterproof case (but beware--you'll need the external mic with it if you want any sound). I found the chest strap to be extremely comfortable. Also have a headstrap that you can just slap on your head of over a hat, not to be confused with the helmet mount. Like PP, I also have the Hero3 Black, which is the only one with any real low-light capability (per the mfg and word of mouth).

Didn't take mine last trip as we only did one park day, but I am soooooooo taking it next time! Thanks again for sharing and inspiring me to compile some of our trips into something that will let us really relive these moments, instead of just disjointed pics and bits of video.

Thanks for the feedback...here are some answers...

I used a GoPro Hero 2

Can I ask--did you use your GoPro for the stills too?
Some of the stills were done with the GoPro, others were with an Iphone 5.

And what resolution were you shooting video at? Highest res settings...always!

Did you take a laptop to offload your cards during your trip?
Yes, I left it at my hotel and just copied them off every night and also kept them on the memory cards in case the cards or laptop went out on me, I had a backup. I brought 3 batteries for the GoPro so it would last me all day and extra memory cards.

I used Windows Movie Maker to build the video...