GoPro rookie

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dukhnter7

Member
I invested in a GoPro hero 2. I have played with it a little bit and like the features. What program are you guys using to edit the video? I am planning on running my dog in some trials this spring and want to document them and edit the video down. Thanks!
 
Thanks for the tip! Heading out on a planted bird hunt on Sunday and plan on using the go-pro. I'll post some video if I get anything that works! :cheers:
 
Mine does no where near the job they sell on TV, kinda bummed about it to be honest. I would not buy another one. It works, just not that clear like the TV ads and there site shows. Unless I got a lemmon.
 
One thing that I have found is that if you want to be able to see the bird or see at much of a distance, you need to narrow the field of view setting. Otherwise it look really fisheyed and distorted.
 
I have done quite a bit of filming and here are my tips.

1. I agree the above regarding the narrow the Field of view (FOV). Depending on which GoPro, you may be limited. I have Hero2 and the narrow FOV is only an option at 1080-30 so you can't do slow motion well. Don't know the FOV options on Hero3.

2. The quality of the video on Hero2 is greatly limited by decreased sunlight. If you notice on the GoPro website their vids are always middle of the day. Their vids turned out so good because they have several cameras and likely Many, Many repeat performances to get the quality they want. The Hero3 is supposed to be improved in low light conditions.

3. There are several ways to mount, gun, chest, dog, head. Head has the best view by far. Gun mount sound great but if you want to video others they will get a littler upset if you point your gun at them to film. Chest mount is obscured by the gun and Non-dominant elbow. Dog views, you need a lot of vid to get very few seconds of usable clips because of the shaking while they run. Head mounts give the best view but You have to train yourself to look around with your eyes not your head. You also have to learn to walk softly to avoid bounce. When a dog is on point, you won't remember. I have been thinking about belt mounts which may work well but is limited by the depth of the vegetation.

4. When the weather is cold or wet, keep looking at the lens on the cover. You never know when it gets frozen over or fogged.

5. Quail hunting with the GoPro will almost never turn out satisfactory because of the size of the bird and the backdrop. It is always difficult to see a bird with trees in the background. Pheasant on the prairie is the best situation for filming. Large birds, Usually sky in the backdrop as they launch up.

6. When uploading to Youtube, there is considerable resolution lost despite uploading in 1080p.

Below is my vid that I put up after my North Dakota trip. You can see the image issues in low light, fogging/freezing lens, fog in case. Just note The still pictures were taken with a Canon SLR so the quality is outstanding. When walking in the "field of gold" look at the little blips off the tip of my shotgun barrel, those are birds at the far end of the field. In the original vid they are clear as day, uploaded you can barely see them.

To give an example of the quality difference of video taken between Point shoot camera video mode and GoPro, The short clip where you hear "ROOSTER", that was shot with a Canon P&S.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4flIs-TJps
 
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I have the go pro HD hero helmet. They clearly were not made with bird hunting in mind. Everything looks a mile away if you see it at all. Birds are dang tough unless the flushing dog is boot licking right in front of you. Even video of closer working pups looks a long way out, you can barely see the bird, or not at all. It will just be a matter of time and something that works much better will be here, thats what I am waiting for. I have filmed probably a hundred times and have like 6 short training vids that are remotely viewable at all. All my hunts, forget it, cant see a darn bird. Kicked up deer 40 yards away and had it right on them, can't see em. The go pro is a waste of money unless you want total close up work and a little doodling. You want good video, have a camera man film with a man camera.:D Now if you want to film your buds ice fishing 10 feet away, it will work great. Just dont get your hopes up for this super duper awsome experience like the dirt bikers, surfers, and race car drivers show on thier segments. That is all bs. PS I use movie maker too. Down load times are like a half a day though. Thats why I gave up on hunts. Cripes if you film for 2 hrs, it would take a week to load with high speed DSL. Then find out no one will see what you shot. LOL.
 
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just watched your video and was very impressed on the entire video, the action shots were centered in the screen and your editing looked professional. You showed just enough of the hunt before the bird jumped and waited long enough after to show the retrieve.

I have hunted DYI in South Dakota several years and have thought about North Dakota hearing that they have just as many birds but less hunters, i am assuming seeing all the other hunters in your video you were hunting with an outfitter on private property? With the dry conditions most of us have encountered it looks like there were plenty of birds where you were.

Great dog work and nice video thanks for sharing it.
 
FCSpringer said:
I have the go pro HD hero helmet. They clearly were not made with bird hunting in mind. Everything looks a mile away if you see it at all. Birds are dang tough unless the flushing dog is boot licking right in front of you. Even video of closer working pups looks a long way out, you can barely see the bird, or not at all. It will just be a matter of time and something that works much better will be here, thats what I am waiting for. I have filmed probably a hundred times and have like 6 short training vids that are remotely viewable at all. All my hunts, forget it, cant see a darn bird. Kicked up deer 40 yards away and had it right on them, can't see em. The go pro is a waste of money unless you want total close up work and a little doodling. You want good video, have a camera man film with a man camera.:D Now if you want to film your buds ice fishing 10 feet away, it will work great. Just dont get your hopes up for this super duper awsome experience like the dirt bikers, surfers, and race car drivers show on thier segments. That is all bs. PS I use movie maker too. Down load times are like a half a day though. Thats why I gave up on hunts. Cripes if you film for 2 hrs, it would take a week to load with high speed DSL. Then find out no one will see what you shot. LOL.
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If you narrow the field of view it will be much better.
 
Coincidentally, I just received a GoPro3 Black today. Now i have 8 months or so to fine-tune my cinematography skills, lol. I reckon I can practice while I'm fly-fishing.
 
koja48 said:
Coincidentally, I just received a GoPro3 Black today. Now i have 8 months or so to fine-tune my cinematography skills, lol. I reckon I can practice while I'm fly-fishing.
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I have heard that one of the downsides of the GoPro Hero3 was that the battery life was considerably shorter than Hero2. I can usually get a good 90 minutes of filming before it dies. I usually start and stop quite a bit so the segments are shorter rather than one long video. Helps in editing instead of having to continually watch a whole vid to find certain segments.

TG
 
That will likely be my approach, too. And I'll carry spare batteries. Thanks.
 
Shorthair Hunters said:
just watched your video and was very impressed on the entire video, the action shots were centered in the screen and your editing looked professional. You showed just enough of the hunt before the bird jumped and waited long enough after to show the retrieve.

I have hunted DYI in South Dakota several years and have thought about North Dakota hearing that they have just as many birds but less hunters, i am assuming seeing all the other hunters in your video you were hunting with an outfitter on private property? With the dry conditions most of us have encountered it looks like there were plenty of birds where you were.

Great dog work and nice video thanks for sharing it.
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Thanks for the comments. Our group of 12 +/- and 3-5 newbies each year. We put together a DYI for our group. We are mostly GSP owners from all over the country that converge in November to hunt.
 
Well, I got everything working. Had to download the GoPro Cineform Studio before I could get vids to play, but all is well now. I'll spend a Summer learning (including how to add music). This thing is gonna be fun!
 
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