GoPro hero3+ black edition advice please

There is no "best card" per se. but a class 10 SDHC at the largest size supported would be best. At least a 32 gb card. Depending on what setting youre shooting at (resolution/frame rate) you can potentially fill a 32gb fairly quickly. I would recommend another card or two.

Similar to above you may or may not need a second battery. I personally like to leave my camera running the whole time im in the water so I use the battery backpack. I prefer to open or mess with the camera as little as possible.

As for the hard drive, almost any HDD will be compatible with your mac. HD video takes up a lot of space and if you are like me and never want to delete footage then you can fill it pretty quick. I recommend something in the 1 TB range. They have come down in price a bit and are pretty reasonable. They make larger ones if you need or have the cash but it takes a while to use up a TB.

For editing I highly recommend Final Cut Pro X for mac. Its simple to learn to get the basics but can be very powerful once you start to get comfortable.

Random advice. Everything appears farther away and harder to see. If you can barely see it while diving then it may not show up at all on video. I havent messed with a red/magents filter but I have heard good things. Use a rubber band to secure the case. I know the new clasp is a major improvement over the last one but a .01 precaution that could save your 400$ camera is worth it. Also depending how you have the camera mounted I would recommend a back up tether. I have seen mounts of all sorts fail and people loose cameras as a result.

Good luck and can't wait to see some awesome videos.

That's some very good advice. Thanks Xan.

1. What is the BEST card to buy?
SanDisk Extreme microSDHC.

I find that my camera works better and is less buggy with smaller cards. I am able to shoot roughly 45-60 minutes of HD footage at 60-120fps with a 16GB card. I would go with a few smaller cards rather than one "big" card. Both mine and Mark's GoPro "ate" our bigger memory card and cause a lot of headaches until we switched to smaller sizes.

2. Should I buy a spare battery?
A spare battery is helpful as is the battery bacpac. That helps with shorediving since you wont want to be opening your case and changing a battery on a kayak or in the water.

3. Should I buy a spare card?
Yes, always keep at least one backup. It will save you headaches for when you get somewhere and the card you brought stops working.

4. What external hard drive should I buy and use for my Mac?
Any portable Western Digital eternal HD should suffice. I just picked up a 1TB drive for around $80

5. What editing program would you suggest I use for my GPB3+?
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere will give you lots of flexibility and options.

6. What other advice and or suggestions could you offer to help a computer challenged new GoProBlack3+ user, make good videos?

- Shoot in higher frame rates. Ex. 60 or 120fps.
- However you mount it (head, mask, gun, pole, etc)...make sure you secure it to yourself.
- Pick a subject and stay on it. Don't move the camera around like a crazy madman.
- Get as close as possible to your subject. It's a wide angle lens.
- Avoid shooting in low light when possible.
- Shoot lots of different footage to keep your videos varied and interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXfMIdb-2cQ

Bump for input plz!
All info of current 3+ users welcome

the backpack is a valuable add on for the reasons mentioned...

I'd recommend too Final Cut Pro X, and if you go with this one, the Adobe premier or any other more advanced editor that allows full color correction, the filter aren't necessary. Being a translucent material, the filters will reduce the amount (maybe not much) of light entering the camera and you can do the color correction with a lot more control on the software. Once you know the adjustment you like, It's very easy to adjust the next footage.

About the 60-120 fps... I shoot at 60fps since it is for me the sweet spot for fluid footage but not compromising lightness to much... the higher the frame rate, the darker the footage will be... If you always have sunny days and clear water 120fps won't hurt and gives amazing slowmos... for slowmos, try the optical flow but don't abuse it (as with any technique)

I prefer the medium FOV... In wide things look too small and far away. Also I don't like the distortion that in wide is too much for me.

For external drive, choose preferably a fast one: 7200 rpm. SSD would be awesome but $$$$$$$$

I f mounted on the head, move it slowly!! like you're a diving sloth (I mean it ) I get seasick from some vids I see on youtube )

Fro the Macbook pro, how recent is it? Maxing out (not by apple specs but OWC specs ) the Ram is also a very good plus. using an SSD will also make you're computer look like a different one. I have a almost 8 years old macbook, just maxed it's ram and fitted an SSD... the difference is unbelievable...

That what i can recal right now but keep in mind i don't know much about it

Quote from hau

Thanks to all here who graciously take the time and effort to help me and others learn how to best operate the GoPro.
Getting all the components together has been slow for me here in Guam, (shipping from the US can take weeks and weeks) but I should have everything together in the next couple of weeks. I am compiling all the information I can before hand. Also all the great help here has helped me to buy the correct stuff (memory cards, batteries, etc).
Thanks everyone :toast2:

Hope the mount doesn't take too long to arrive

Thanks! Very helpfull!
Any thoughts on video looping to keep camera running always on and keeping file size reasonalble?
Anyone using U1 cards?
Picked up a 64g u1 for 50$. Hope i have luck with it!

Quote from Slingador

Thanks! Very helpfull!
Any thoughts on video looping to keep camera running always on and keeping file size reasonalble?
Anyone using U1 cards?
Picked up a 64g u1 for 50$. Hope i have luck with it!

Can you explain better what you intent to do with the loop?

The function runs a continuous loop the length of your choosing, overwriting it untill you press the shutter.

The idea would be to run say, a 20 min loop, and keep it constantly rolling, then after you shoot a fish you Press the shutter and start over.

The Drift has a similar feature, that is supposed to make it a better alternative than the go pro.

In the sense that you cam keep the total file size down and not miss the action.

Still looking into it, will likely do some experementing.

I debating how, I want to film, always recording in the water and generate massive amounts of footage that becomes a pain to deal with, but capture spontanous moments. Or. Just stop amd start when something fishy happens but miss many fish that creep up on you and potentialy forget to hit record.

Not sure if any of that makes sense. Would love some feedback on anyone using the hero+
Thanks!

I just got the camera and am playing with

Not sure how one would deal with action at the end of a loop that carried over.
But seems like a very good idea. Thoughts?

It depends on your style of diving and where you have your camera mounted. If mounted on a gun or pole it is easy to check if the camera is filming and taking short clips of action works ok. If mounted on a mask or head strap it is difficult to tell when the camera is rolling and trust me you WILL forget what it is doing.

I personally prefer to capture everything and cut out the excess. Friends of mine that selectively shoot miss a lot. You never know when something awesome is going to happen. Plus you capture a lot of filler video without even trying.

sometimes interesting things happen and you don't realize it until you then see the vid. The loop would eliminate this since you only "save" the ones you do notice.

I use the camera in the speargun and keep it always on standby... I record every dive (on before going down, Off once I resurface). Also I can quickly start recording if something interesting happens.
I do it this way to have small files that can easily be renamed, sorted and deleted if uninteresting... fiddling with 1 or 2h clips is a lot more difficult

Having it on the mask, you can use the dive watch to, using the reflection, check if it's recording (assuming you have the LEDs on). For the mask, having a quick release mount, makes it easier to check if everything is OK and to use different POV

Quote from marginatus

Having it on the mask, you can use the dive watch to, using the reflection, check if it's recording (assuming you have the LEDs on). For the mask, having a quick release mount, makes it easier to check if everything is OK and to use different POV

I have the Gopro Hero 2 and i just listen to the amount of beeps for its start/stop, on/off or lcd function while under the water to tell me what its doing and that works for me but i dont know if the Hero 3 is the same.

Hi Hau,
please check the manual as I think the remote is waterproof up to around 10ft (3m).
Also wifi it's a no go underwater or trough water (has to do with WiFi frequencies).... but you can test it