Go Pro

[tguz]

I am thinking about buying a Go Pro to video our vacation this Summer. We love the hundreds of pictures we take on each trip but I wanted to try to get some good video but I have some questions that maybe someone can answer.

1. Will video taken on rides such as Slinky Dog Dash, Expedition Everest, Big Thunder Mountain, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train turn out to "shaky" to be enjoyable to rewatch? I'm pretty sure video taken on rides such as the Magic Carpets, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean would turn out great.

2. What is your preferred method of recording....holding it by hand, affixing it like a body cam, or affixing it to a hat? Do they allow you to bring in the little tripod things to make it easier to hand hold the camera when videoing?

3. Does anyone have any thoughts on if videoing is too much of a pain in the butt and I should stick to still pictures?

Thanks!

 

[KVH]

I only have one comment, technically applicable to still photography - are you going to the park have fun or going to take video? If you can do a body mount and then just push a button to start/stop, I would say go for it. Holding a video camera, trying to keep things framed, etc means YOU WILL MISS THE EXPERIENCE. Lesson learned from school of hard knocks.

 

[StageTek]

1. Will video taken on rides such as Slinky Dog Dash, Expedition Everest, Big Thunder Mountain, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train turn out to "shaky" to be enjoyable to rewatch? I'm pretty sure video taken on rides such as the Magic Carpets, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean would turn out great.

The lens is a very wide angle which mitigates some of the shakiness. There are several ride videos shot on a GoPro available on YouTube.

2. What is your preferred method of recording....holding it by hand, affixing it like a body cam, or affixing it to a hat? Do they allow you to bring in the little tripod things to make it easier to hand hold the camera when videoing?

The head rigs make of really shaky videos. We naturally move our heads quite fast. The vest rigs are a little better. I prefer holding the camera. But as you can see from my profile pic over there < I'm a professional camera operator. I often use a little Manfrotto Mini Tripod - it closes up to make a really nice grip and offers a lot of control.

3. Does anyone have any thoughts on if videoing is too much of a pain in the butt and I should stick to still pictures?

I love shooting video and prefer the GoPro to just about anything for this kind of work. It easily fits in the pocket of my Dickies Cargo work pants. And it takes darn good still, too.[/QUOTE]

 

[tguz]

I only have one comment, technically applicable to still photography - are you going to the park have fun or going to take video? If you can do a body mount and then just push a button to start/stop, I would say go for it. Holding a video camera, trying to keep things framed, etc means YOU WILL MISS THE EXPERIENCE. Lesson learned from school of hard knocks.

I'm going for fun and thinking of videoing at stops where I would usually snap pics, just so we have some fun things to watch later. I would also like to affix the cam somehow so I could click it on every once in a while as we walk through the parks. I wouldn't be trying to make it perfect because as you suggested, I would miss so much of the magic. Thanks for your insight!

 

[tguz]

The lens is a very wide angle which mitigates some of the shakiness. There are several ride videos shot on a GoPro available on YouTube.


The head rigs make of really shaky videos. We naturally move our heads quite fast. The vest rigs are a little better. I prefer holding the camera. But as you can see from my profile pic over there < I'm a professional camera operator. I often use a little Manfrotto Mini Tripod - it closes up to make a really nice grip and offers a lot of control.


I love shooting video and prefer the GoPro to just about anything for this kind of work. It easily fits in the pocket of my Dickies Cargo work pants. And it takes darn good still, too.

[/QUOTE]
Wow! Thanks for the reply! I never thought about how fast we move our heads. You gave me a lot to think about and some great info. I think I will probably video and use a mini tripod thing as that seems the best idea. Thanks.

 

[_19disnA]

I only have one comment, technically applicable to still photography - are you going to the park have fun or going to take video? If you can do a body mount and then just push a button to start/stop, I would say go for it. Holding a video camera, trying to keep things framed, etc means YOU WILL MISS THE EXPERIENCE. Lesson learned from school of hard knocks.

I agree, most everywhere I have been on vacation you have to think about whether it is worth the hassle to lug around all of your photo equipment just to catch a few good shots vs. just enjoying your vacation and taking shots when the opportunity arises. Scouting out the best photo location can take up a lot of your time. Video is far more complex (i.e. framing, keeping it still/level, duration, resolution, battery life, etc.) along with the sound you capture.

Also, at a very busy vacation place, it is unreasonable to think other people are going to stop where they are going for someone to take that perfect picture. You need to think about doing the best you can for the situation you have.

Might compare the features on several of the now available 'rugged' video cameras. Make sure to look for the features that are most important to how you plan to use it. Practice using any new camera BEFORE going on vacation.

 

[Kyle4858]

I am thinking about buying a Go Pro to video our vacation this Summer. We love the hundreds of pictures we take on each trip but I wanted to try to get some good video but I have some questions that maybe someone can answer.
[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]
1. Will video taken on rides such as Slinky Dog Dash, Expedition Everest, Big Thunder Mountain, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train turn out to "shaky" to be enjoyable to rewatch? I'm pretty sure video taken on rides such as the Magic Carpets, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean would turn out great.

2. What is your preferred method of recording....holding it by hand, affixing it like a body cam, or affixing it to a hat? Do they allow you to bring in the little tripod things to make it easier to hand hold the camera when videoing?

3. Does anyone have any thoughts on if videoing is too much of a pain in the butt and I should stick to still pictures?

Thanks!

I received the GoPro Hero 7 Black for Christmas. I'm still a novice, but it has very good auto stabilization (mostly negating the need for a gimbal). I wore it on a hand strap (sits atop the back of your hand) during all 4 races during marathon weekend. Even while running the picture quality was quite stable. I wore cargo-shorts in the parks after the races and just kept it in a cargo pocket and held it in my hand when I wanted to shoot video. The stability is pretty good.

 

[ionz13]

We brought a go pro Hero 6 for our travels to WDW and it worked out ok. We mainly used it for us to narrate our travels, so we kept it mainly hand held with the extending selfie stick that Go pro makes.

Positives:
- It's a perfect size b/c it fits in my pocket and allows me to manage my DSLR.
- The camera quality is great for well lit locations (not so great for dark or dim.
- Nice to be able to take at the pool, we attached a small lanyard and put cut off a section of a pool noodle to allow it to float if we "dropped" it in the pool.
- Good image stabilization.
- We used it for some go karting in Japan and it was great, but difficult for me to tell if i was recording b/c it was on my head.

Negatives:
- Microphone sucks. We had to add an external mic, which improves the sound quality tremendously; but no longer waterproof. In addition adding this adds some odd sizing now and doesnt fit in my pocket anymore. But still small.
- Cannot Zoom at all. Only good for close up video work.

I'd recommend the gopro as long as you can deal with the no zooming, modifying yours for a better mic, and the not so great low light video.