Speardiver Forum DVD

    An ambitious project occurred to me, putting together a spearfishing video comprised of footage from our members all around the world. I'm thinking 6 different members/locations. Each participating member will receive a Gopro HD camera with an underwater lens, which they get to keep, a $300 value. Each member will be expected to come up with about 10 minutes of underwater hunting footage, and about 5 minutes of dry footage; launching a boat, preparing for a beach dive, saying something about themselves etc. This will add up to a video about 1.5 hours long, most spearfishing vids are under an hour. The success of this depends I think on whether the Gopro camera video quality is adequate for a professional DVD.


    What do you guys think? Who's interested in participating?

    nice one dan.
    about the quality of the filming. i cant say anything about the particular gopro material. never used one , and so far i heard and seen a lot of contrery stuff. last info i had, that the filming is quit good once the lense is modified. but much more important is what and how people filming.
    as a saying goes: "all the gear and no idea", just having the best camera dont make the best movie.
    i will always enjoy videos where i can see people coming up with a creative and inspirational filming style.
    once the filming have some special quality it wont bother if its a little blurry or not full hd.
    bothers me much more to see all this recent full hd spearovids and they shaking the cam the whole dive that i almost get seasick.
    what timeframe you looking at for that possible project ?

    I agree with you that good content will more than make up for a little lesser quality.


    When you say time frame do you mean how long the participants will have to compile the footage? I would think at least one diving season, which would mean only summer in some places, and summer is already over. In other places it will be dependent on what time of year the vis is best. I think realistically at least one year.

    I don't feel like a $300 camera setup gives me the right to ask for ownership of really good footage. But I can't put more into it financially, and I would want to be reimbursed for the money and time I put into editing and production. Posting the segments on youtube may or may not get in the way of that, so I don't know. Anyways this is just to gauge interest and a little early to talk about such things. It's just an idea for now.


    BTW tinu the gopro underwater focus problem has been solved with a flat replacement lens.

    Yeah Dan. I deleted my post. In hindsight it did not seem relevant.


    I think this is a great idea and would love to see what our members come up with.


    I have a GoPro so the camera would not be necessary, and i am not sure i could take the pressure of actually turning in some footage at the end. Hopefully I can contribute something worthwhile to the DVD. I'll be the 7th person.


    I plan on being in the abacos, bahamas at least 4 more times before year end.

    Quote from Dan


    BTW tinu the gopro underwater focus problem has been solved with a flat replacement lens.


    that means that if i buy a new gopro now, it automatically comes with the new lens already mounted ?
    one year is a good timing for such project. and who knows, you may get material for a double dvd.
    great chance to come up with something really special.

    Ive seen some pretty good footage from those cameras. A tip I heard about using those cameras is to use the eyeofmine housing. It has better depth capabilities and is very clear. Check out some vids on youtube by a guy with the sn blessumm. He shoots his bids with a gopro hd and they are great. I was wondering what kind of skill level are you looking for to film this video. I would love to participate but Ive only been spearfishing for a little over a year and havent done any videography. I am big into photography though and i just havent had a chance to get into filming my dives.

    Quote from tinu

    that means that if i buy a new gopro now, it automatically comes with the new lens already mounted ?
    one year is a good timing for such project. and who knows, you may get material for a double dvd.
    great chance to come up with something really special.


    No you have to buy an extra attachment that sells for around $100. Unless they've come out with a newly designed camera already.



    Well first thing that comes to mind is that there are a couple settings on the HD gopro camera. Will it be filmed in the 720 or 1080 resolution.


    Who is doing the final editing and where is the music coming from?


    And whoever gets the cameras needs to have a computer and video editing software new enough to handle the HD camera.


    Also make sure to get the right flat replacement lens. I've seen at least one that crops out the edges on certain settings.




    Last thing is that the hd gopro camera has a super wide angle lens. So that means whatever is filmed will look far away at normal ranges. Just be aware of that.

    I'll play.... Could I shoot some with other HD cameras ? PM me a contract with specs. If I could shoot till
    June of 2011 I could get some off shore blue water action. I usually shoot twenty to one ratio to get some nice stuff.


    Cheers, Don

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

    Quote from tinu

    that means that if i buy a new gopro now, it automatically comes with the new lens already mounted ?

    No, Gopro as of yet doesn't have a solution. I am a dealer for Gopro, and sell a replacement flat lens that solves the focus problem. I'm currently offering an introductory deal on the Gopro for $259 which is the normal retail price, and I include an additional lens which is the flat lens (the lens sold separately is $42). All you do is unscrew the the screws that hold the black piece down, replace the lens, and tighten back down. There is no vignette effect in the R5 setting which is the best setting for filming underwater, it has less of a wide angle than the rest so things don't appear too far. This is what the housing looks like with the new lens.



    Here's a video Greekdiver shot with a modified Gopro housing. I've seen the original unconverted footage and it's good enough for DVD.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFs86FFllpY&feature=player_embedded


    Guys who want to participate should have some knowledge of working with digital video. However I would not expect any editing, only raw footage. All you have to do is make sure the footage is good/interesting.


    Wishihadgills, a beginners angle on spearfishing would be a great addition I think. As long as you don't put yourself at risk by multitasking.


    Don, I was counting on you :) It doesn't matter if the video is shot with the Gopro or not. I'll have to make the quality match though, can't have a high quality segment making everything else look bad. I don't know anything about contracts for this purpose.

    I would love to participate, I plan on making at least three of four trips to the Bahamas next summer plus I'll be doing a decent bit of bluewater off of Jupiter/Stuart.

    Quote from Dan

    I don't feel like a $300 camera setup gives me the right to ask for ownership of really good footage. But I can't put more into it financially, and I would want to be reimbursed for the money and time I put into editing and production.


    I think it is more than fair. I'd be a really willing participant.

    Davie Peguero

    Great idea !!!! If you fancy some footage from the Great Barrier Reef Australia, would love to participate... orderd a TIN MAN camera mount a few days ago.

    i would like to at least shoot you a brief bit about setting up and gearing up a kayak for diving. hau would be the featured guy maybe ben and myself on the tandem. you could choose to have diving images as well or not

    i like to spear fish

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