GoPro types vs. traditional cameras

[Glenn MacGrady]

I am very impressed with the photography and videography that folks are currently producing on canoe trips. I've never had a GoPro type of camera. Aside from the ease of putting one on your head/helmet while paddling, I'm interested in the pluses and minuses of GoPro types of cameras vs. traditional cameras.

Why do you take one rather than the other? Or do you take both?

Tripods? Other attachment mechanisms?

Other things like how many batteries, memory cards, power management. Video editing software you like. Etc.

 

[Marten]

I have stuck with the small cameras that have zoom capability. Many use the Go Pros but they would never work for the videos I put together. My camera still fits in my pocket but in video use it is almost always on a tripod which I feel is very important to make the best viewer experience.

 

[Gerald]

Marten, I'm curious. What camera are you using.
Thanks,
G.

 

[Robin]

I use a Go Pro exclusively, I carry a small point and shoot for stills, but for my videos I use an older Go Pro. I have a small niche audience on YouTube (2k), no one has mentioned video quality in almost 700k views so I’ll stick with the Go Pro.
I like the Go Pro for its dependability and toughness, I never worry about it when conditions get rough. I’m not a camera guy, and the ease of use of the Go Pro doesn’t interfere with my personal enjoyment of the trip
I have my Go Pro attached to my spare beavertail paddle with a bicycle handle bar mount. I don’t carry a tripod or flexable camera mount, very basic.

 

[Tryin']

I have a small niche audience on YouTube (2k), no one has mentioned video quality in almost 700k views so I’ll stick with the Go Pro.

What is your channel name? I love small channels.

 

[Benson Gray]

What is your channel name?

It appears that Robin Lauer at https://www.youtube.com/@RobinLauer is the channel you want. The Wooden Canoe Heritage Association has one at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiUfywu-e7oLi72GDH2e5cg which is even smaller than Robin's. Enjoy,

Benson

 

[ScottS]

After making a series of videos using a canon sx30HS (mid level point and shoot with a good zoom and full camera adjustments), I tried a GoPro. It was clearly good for action videos and it was waterproof, but I did not like the image format and the limited camera adjustments. It is always easier to shoot the image/video correctly than it is to post-process an off video into what it should look like.
One thing that I did - I wanted an actual eye view in my videos, so I mounted an aluminum bar to a helmet so that I could look through the eyepiece while shooting video. Really crazy looking, but it made good video with a true in person view

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I wanted an actual eye view in my videos, so I mounted an aluminum bar to a helmet so that I could look through the eyepiece while shooting video.

Scott, was this with the GoPro or the Canon?

 

[Greyfur]

My sister uses a gopro almost exclusively for travel stuff. I can't say anything about this myself because I get too annoyed with cameras to take any sort of pictures/videos but the gopro footage she shares from time to time looks good. She's using one of the newer ones, which also are waterproof without their cases. It has a little screen on the back and the lens without the case is not as fisheye-y. One of the clear advantages is that it is comparatively small, will fit into pockets etc without having to worry about getting it drenched or such. Battery time seems okay too.

It doesn't replace a conventional camera (on sensor size alone) but it offers a way to take quick videos and snapshots without endagering 1000s worth of gear.

 

[ScottS]

Scott, was this with the GoPro or the Canon?

The canon. When you're outside, an eyepiece is best.
A real camera also let me zoom, hold a focus, take a still, adjust the exposure, with one hand at any moment. I tried, but I just never liked the GoPro. Here's my first helmet cam - I later modified it for the larger canon sx30hs - had to run the bar across like a football face mask.
like I said, looked stupid, worked great.
I always wanted the viewers to see my arm and paddle sweep through the frame, just like in real life.

 

[Benson Gray]

This reminded me of Bill Mason's early version of a helmet mounted video camera as shown below. Old Town mounted a video camera in a waterproof case to the deck of a white water kayak around the same time. Their results were less impressive than Bill Mason's.

Benson

 

[Greyfur]

This reminded me of Bill Mason's early version of a helmet mounted video camera as shown below. Old Town mounted a video camera in a waterproof case to the deck of a white water kayak around the same time. Their results were less impressive than Bill Mason's.

Benson


View attachment 139659

This looks like something out of a sci-fi film. Helmet-mounted gatling gun.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

The canon. When you're outside, an eyepiece is best.
A real camera also let me zoom, hold a focus, take a still, adjust the exposure, with one hand at any moment. I tried, but I just never liked the GoPro. Here's my first helmet cam - I later modified it for the larger canon sx30hs - had to run the bar across like a football face mask.
like I said, looked stupid, worked great.
I always wanted the viewers to see my arm and paddle sweep through the frame, just like in real life.
View attachment 139658

That is very clever. I have that same helmet in green.

I took many canoe trip videos about 15 years ago with a video camera attached to a Manfrotto fluid head tripod in front of me in my SRT at face height, so I could zoom it and move it up, down, left and right. I had a way of lashing the tripod onto my floor D-rings, and the camera had a directional microphone atop so I could narrate. Unfortunately, I so disliked video editing that I never published any of those videos onto my canoe YouTube channel.

I used the same camera, tripod, head and mic to record and narrate women's basketball games, many of which I did publish on my women's basketball channel. That's where a learned to hate video editing. I could not understand the video editing software, my computer was slow, and so was uploading to YouTube. Sometimes hours. Maybe it's all changed now.

 

[Alan Gage]

I've never used any of the GoPro cameras but I've heard some competent users say that the video quality is good enough to capture a single frame of video and use it for still photos. I don't know how the quality compares to a still shot from a P&S camera but having that ability would be pretty cool.

Alan

 

[recped]

Here's a single frame extracted from a lengthy video taken with an old GoPro3 (I have a GoPro4 on my head)

 

[lowangle al]

That's a pretty good quality picture but your face looks a little fuzzy.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

That's a pretty good quality picture but your face looks a little fuzzy.

Yeah, but what I'm wondering, @recped, is what is that fuzzy in front of the green pack?

 

[recped]

Yeah, but what I'm wondering, is what is that fuzzy in front of the green pack?

That's is my paddling partner Douglas, he retired shortly after that trip and since then I've had a new partner named Fuddle Wuddle. Douglas wasn't the greatest partner, he barely said a word, never helped on a portage or around camp and was useless at scouting for upcoming rocks to avoid.

 

[Marten]

Marten, I'm curious. What camera are you using.
Thanks,
G.

I am using a Panasonic Lumix zs200 now. I had a zs100 but the gear for the lens retract started sticking. It had been dropped numerous times and saw a lot of use. When it failed after 5 years I expected to go with some new magic camera but found the zs was still the best value and just what I needed. I did go with the stronger zoom of the zs200. This camera has a larger 0ne inch sensor so not room for a lot of telephoto but I prefer the trade off. The 15x optical works really well for my video work if it is on a tripod. For hand held I am very impressed with its image stabilization. At $700 not a cheapy but it has so many things to play with in the adjustments that I like it. It is amazing what they have in this camera for bells and whistles.

 

[Marten]

I use the Corel Video Studio for my editing of videos. It has way more than I need in an editor as I try to keep things real without all the transitions and effects that are at your finger tips now. Once I got using it a few times I have found it easy to piece together a video with all the trimming and audio adjustments needed to make it worth watching. Even with my skill set I can separate the audio file and put it where ever I want. Even in a different video. Yeah, do not believe what you see and hear anymore. Very easy to trim out any words that did not come out right. I can advance each frame if looking for the best still to save as a photograph. Most of my thumbnails on youtube titles are stills saved from the video.