I'm highly considering buying a GoPro camera to film some of this years safari. I think they provide neat travel/bakkie shots and what not but I have never used one.

Are they easy to use? Easy to download and edit? Anyone prefer a particular model? Any and all help would be great.

We use the HERO 3 quite a bit filming Tracks Across Africa as well as our other series. Very easy, and around $200 I believe.

Costco currently sells them with a nice accessory pack for $199. I have no personal experience but my adult son uses his for scuba and hog hunt video and loves it.

Anyone want to sell a used one? Sounds like they are not good for typical hunting situations but I am considering using one on a waterhole that I can control from a blind. Might be neat footage but I don't want to spend a lot...more of an experiment than anything.

We used one in March. It captured some great footage. Driving with it attached to the Cruiser, dashboard shots, we even tried using it attached to someone's forehead walking around. Also good for bad weather since it is waterproof. The quality of the footage it shoots is also excellent.

they are great for "other shots" - but hunting shots, they are just too wide to see much. great planted somewhere for up close stuff or like Mike said on a vehicle (or on the road and run over them with vehicle). I like some of the shots Dave has gotten with elephants walking right over them. I would love to put one on a bait and have a cat feed right with it...

It is not the right camera for filming impact shots but a lot of other fun uses on safari.

GoPro is the hot name in action cameras bit I prefer the Drift cameras. They mount more elegantly on a hat or cap, they have a built in screen and excellent remotes as part of the package. Properly mounted on my hat they stand up to 500NE recoil easily without shifting.

I have had the reassurance of reviewing the footage later the day after missing a kudu and clearly seeing how the kudu jumped away and the shot falling without any sign of impact and the kudu clearly outside the point of aim. It was wonderfull to have because it happened on a concession where I may hunt without a guide and tracker.

It does a sparkling job of capturing the ritual of preparing to leave the truck, walking through the bush, watching the trackers at work and finding your dead trophy.

For me it does a the job of capturing the essence of why we hunt, the scenery, the walking, dejected faces after a failure.

I compiled a 20 minute movie of a 10 day hunt in Zim which is always a lot of fun to watch and brings back the essence of that hunt almost to reality. 90% of the footage was captured on actioncam.

Tomorrow my new Drift will be delivered, after probably 30 days of hunting, 5000 miles overlanding through Southern Africa and some whitewater rafting my Drift has seen better days.

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Herald:
they are great for "other shots" - but hunting shots, they are just too wide to see much.

Exactly my experience. Fun cameras, but they do not replace a real video camera. "Other Shots" is a great way to describe their best uses.

quote:

Drift cameras

I agree with what has already been stated in that these cameras are good for action shots and other fill-in clips, especially if you are creating a photo slide show on standard video. I opted to go with the Contour Roam2 camera instead of the Go-Pro simply because it it foolproof (switch on/off) and is tubular (half the length of a small maglite) so it fits on the side of a hat well. Something to at least consider.

Im researching Drift now. Can you suggest a model that comes with a remote?

Yes, I should have added that the Gopro is definately for "up close" type shots due to the fisheye effect at much distance. Do you guys have links for the Drift, etc. cameras. They sound interesting.

there is a reason that GOPROs dominate that market. the quality is way above the others. especially the new black edition. if you get one, spend the extra couple hundred and get the black edition ($399).

I would suggest a gopro as a 2nd camera (or maybe 3rd), but don't take it as your main camera. If you are just going to buy one, buy a regular HD camcorder.

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Herald:
I would love to put one on a bait and have a cat feed right with it...

Then follow the cat around with a baggie until......nevermind.

www.driftinnovation.com

I think the GoPros are great, I went for Drift because it mounts easier on a hat, has a built-in screen and comes standard with a remote. When I started off this was all add-ons for GoPro.

Comparing GoPro 2 to my old Drift HD170 I think GoPro has a slight edge image quality wise. That said my Drift is still working despite a lot of abuse and a similiar age GoPro has died.

I am keen to explore the narrower field of view offered by the newer models, my new cam is arriving tomorrow.

When all is said and done about what equipment is best, to get good video footage is extra work that requires effort. I have had some luck in getting good footage but at other times have just ignored the cam altogether as getting a trophy in the salt required complete attention on only the trophy.

Boy, so many options both in cameras and in mounting applications. GoPro Hero 3 Black edition, Drift HD Ghost and Contour+2 are my final three.

Tom, I urge you to listen to the guys who film all the time. A go-pro, or anything like it is great for "other/cool" little shots. I like em. It will however, be worthless for filming - hunting, with the exception of putting the Go-Pro3 at the bait site on a cat hunt, and use the remote feature to start filming on demand. Cool stuff, but just another angle

You need an HD camera of some sort, even an HD Handycam can do a decent job on a safari, as often the shots/hunting is not real far away. Of course without a good external mic of some sort, the audio will generally suck, but the footage can be good.

But that beats the heck out of a real/professional set up. One single set-up to film for a professional video/tv hunt, to include the camera, batteries, both shotgun and wireless mics, SD cards, etc, etc - we will easily have over $10k into each one, just to start filming.

Jim- that's a great idea, but I haven't found a PH that will let me do that...

Thanks Aaron. I suppose I should have been more clear. I have a cameraman along to film me but I'm just wanting a neat option for some of the travel and bowhunting part of the trip. Thinking of putting one on a waterhole for a day on time lapse or something cool.

Thanks for all the responses guys. Keep it coming.

One thing to bear in mind about the GoPro is that it is a very wide angle camera for close up shooting.

It is good for putting by a bait or a waterhole, but anything at a distance is not going to be seen.

We actually take some of the smaller Sony HD video cameras and put them by a waterhole.
Such as SX260.


They so much better than a GoPro in many ways.

First they have a battery that lasts up to 12 hours.

Second the video is so much better.

quote:

Originally posted by Hunting For Adventure:
Thanks Aaron. I suppose I should have been more clear. I have a cameraman along to film me but I'm just wanting a neat option for some of the travel and bowhunting part of the trip. Thinking of putting one on a waterhole for a day on time lapse or something cool.

Thanks for all the responses guys. Keep it coming.

Ya, then a Go-Pro could give some cool/additional footage, IMO. Look at the GoPole, as well as the chest adapter, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Hunting For Adventure:
Anyone want to sell a used one? Sounds like they are not good for typical hunting situations but I am considering using one on a waterhole that I can control from a blind. Might be neat footage but I don't want to spend a lot...more of an experiment than anything.

i have a Go Pro 2 i bought 5-6 months ago and have never used. it comes with the WiFi adapter that attaches to the back of the camera and allows cell phone control. everything that came with it (all the mounting adapters, chargers, paperwork, housings, etc.) are as new as they have never been used. i realize this isn't the classifieds but if you are interested, send me a PM and i will make you a REALLY good deal...

if anyone is looking for a gopro this is about the best deal going right now

http://www.rei.com/coupon

buy a $20 membership (if not a member already) and get 20% off any one item. You would get $80 off the black edition, and after the $20 membership you still come out $60 ahead. free shipping too... offer good for a few more days.

Sample taken underwater with a Sony camera in an underwater housing. Notice thye difference in quality from the GoPro.

I got a PM asking how one can get the Sony Camera battery to last so long.

Sony offers several size batteries for the camcorders, and their also a setting where you can have the camera recording with the screen turn off.

We plan to take several of these Sony cameras and place them by some of the waterholes.

Tom - Enough of all this meaningless stuff, tell us where you are going hunting????

One things I can advise is don't put it on your gun. My son tried mounting his go-pro on his beretta shotgun to film himself shooting ducks. First shot, the camera went flying out of the mount. At least that's what he told me, maybe he just didn't want me to see that he'd missed the duck???

I'm heading to Botswana (outside Ghanzi in mid July) for plains game and Japan with archery in October. I've purchased two of these little cameras now....here's hoping I can figure out how to run them off of one remote!

quote:

Originally posted by Hunting For Adventure:
I'm heading to Botswana (outside Ghanzi in mid July) for plains game and Japan with archery in October. I've purchased two of these little cameras now....here's hoping I can figure out how to run them off of one remote!

Well, good luck to ya man - look forward to hearing about it. Especially Japan - that sounds awesome!!!!!

Yeah man, pretty excited about Japan. I'll let you know how it was. Hopefully have some cool GoPro footage as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Hunting For Adventure:
Yeah man, pretty excited about Japan. I'll let you know how it was. Hopefully have some cool GoPro footage as well.

Tom I think you'll like your GoPro's. I putzed around with mine at Vic Falls last year with good results. Especially after I got my DSLR wet from all the mist ha.

I wish you luck in Japan! I think we were just a few days late when we were there in november. Are you sight seeing anywhere else first? The jet lag is killer! Watch out for those bears!!

Peter,

You might enjoy the two clips I linked above.

I used the little midland 1080p camcorder on my last hunt and it was good for "other shots". It is wide angle and has a surprisingly good condenser mic. It is very simple with just an on-off switch.

Saeed,

Those are good comparison clips. For most folks it's hard to beat the size and ease of use of the GoPro's. I've thought of those housings before but I can't bite the bullet on the price of them. I need another HD camera first ha.

Tom, if you get the right attachments for the GoPro you can easily attach it to your bow. My friends and I have done this a few times. Just review the footage for vibration before you give it a permanent home.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Peter,

You might enjoy the two clips I linked above.

Saeed

Any chance they can be uploaded to something like Youtube so they don't have to be downloaded ?

(Am also having problems with my computer ATM
which means viewing on youtube is easier).

quote:

Originally posted by 505G:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Peter,

You might enjoy the two clips I linked above.

Saeed

Any chance they can be uploaded to something like Youtube so they don't have to be downloaded ?

(Am also having problems with my computer ATM
which means viewing on youtube is easier).

I am afraid not.

Just note to those who wish to use the GoPro by a waterhole for an extended period of time.

You can buy an external battery that is used to charge mobiles phones or ipads - some are available with up 15,000mA.

You can plug this into your GoPro and it will probably lasts all day.

I have connected one of our cameras to one of these - 5,000mA and I will see how long it takes to flatten the battery.

The camera started with a flat battery so we can calculate the time we will get from any specific external battery.

Saeed


Have a look a this software http://www.videoconvertermatte...m/gopro-video-editor

Been using it since day one

Somebody posted if one can upload to youtube so there's your answer

Quite slick

I use Premier Pro CS6 for editing and it works great.