Gopro camera? Why?

Just curious what all the hype is all about? Fill me in. I have a DSLR that films HD. Isn't that enough. I guess it may be easier to handle?

Do you strap your DSLR to your helmet?

I don't have one and have never used one but I assume that's the advantage.

Can you get videos like this with your DSLR? :)

I think it has very limited applications in climbing, but they're great for mountain biking, skydiving/BASE jumping, skiing & such.

--Marc

They're an extremely effective chick repellent.

I agree. not for climbing. The helmet cam on climbs just doesn't work. Although i see climbing vids filmed with it by hand and I dont see the point of that. Haven't helmet cams been around a while?

weight , size , price, plus its waterproof, I use it on ski descents and its sick, I used it underwater snorkeling in Hawaii, and I have used it on my helmet for climbing, some great perspectives, but you need to be creative for angles. Keep in mind if you climb with it on your head, the camera looks everywhere you do, so a good climber always looks at there feet, so you can get some dizzy and disorienting video. but if your savvy you will get some great clips to edit into a good story. Great footage while looking down at a seconding climber., but sometimes not the best on the climber.

Can your digital camera go under water and fit in your pocket?

Scroll about half way down to the video. Not Go-Pro, but Contour.

Enjoy.

https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/journal/climb/video/video-bd-athlete-colin-haley-wears-a-helmet-camera-during-a-solo-ascent-of-aguja-mermoz-in-patagonia

Great for ego stroking these cameras are. And yes helmet cameras have been around forever. The first good one was what was called a GSAP. It was what once was a WW ll gun sight camera designed to film bombing raids from the turent's of the BC 29's and the like. They ran 50 feet of 16mm (about 2 minutes at 24 frames per second) ..... At some point during the sixties these army surplus cameras got rediscovered and became the first light weight "action cams." A company in California actually retooled these old cameras into state of the art cameras worthy of working on feature films. And to the point, I've put one of these old things on the helmet of a Czech "tower jumper" and it worked. Not good enough for the film, my fault, at least that what I was told, but she survived the three pounds on her head. The HD resolution is about half the quality of even 16mm but I wish to god we could have had a Gopro ten years ago!

Here's a quick clip I put together with a gopro shooting 720p/60fps and iMovie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlSVxiesiuc

JPVallone wrote:weight , size , price, plus its waterproof, I used it underwater snorkeling , and I have used it on my helmet for climbing, some great perspectives, but you need to be creative for angles. Keep in mind if you climb with it on your head, the camera looks everywhere you do, so a good climber always looks at there feet, so you can get some dizzy and disorienting video. but if your savvy you will get some great clips to edit into a good story. Great footage while looking down at a seconding climber., but sometimes not the best on the climber. Can your digital camera go under water and fit in your pocket?

Thanks for the well put answer. It could take you way more places and into more bad weather. I was once rapping down Stone Mountain NC(dome slab) in a CRAZY storm/downpour and the whole face was a huge waterfall with bigger waterfalls coming down all the water grooves(one of which we just got done climbing) and lightning was crashing all around. I was to afraid to take out my camera! It was one the craziest scenes ive ever seen. Wish I would have had the GoPro! Im now a believer.
Adam

biscuits wrote:Just curious what all the hype is all about? Fill me in. I have a DSLR that films HD. Isn't that enough. I guess it may be easier to handle?

That's like saying "What's all the hype about these Subarus? I have my Porsche Cayenne and it does the same thing, isn't that enough?".

Your DSLR films HD but it also costs how much? Gopro is $250. It's more affordable, less responsibility (a lot easier to cope with smashing a GoPro than a dslr), and easier to handle.

I can also say I've had my gopro down to 170' underwater on a tech dive in Lake Michigan in 34F water and it's rock solid. The wide angle still photos it takes are really good too. The one problem I have with the helmet mount and it might just be where I'm mounting it is it bangs on EVERYTHING. The case/lens is scratched to hell but the vid still turns out great and if I really wanted to all the parts are replaceable.

I've yet to see a helmet-cam climbing video that was interesting for more than 20 seconds.

Joe Kreidel wrote:I've yet to see a helmet-cam climbing video that was interesting for more than 20 seconds.

It definitely isn't the most exciting stuff but it depends on who your audience is. I made that film for co-workers and family and they all liked it. I wouldn't expect fellow climbers to be too enthused and I wouldn't use it in that regard other than to show we were there. If you're trying to make a film for fellow climbers I think you need a dedicated film crew, otherwise you're going to end up with a helmet cam or the typical butt shots.

These guys have it down to a science and make fucking bad ass videos with there Gopro helmet cams.

Pat Goodman's Blog

Joshua Levign's Climbing Blog

They are awesome for whitewater boating. Watching climbing is sort of like watching paint dry, but slower.

Nick M. I liked your video, ecspecially the shots looking down from the top of the route. Also enjoyed seeing the snowflakes coming down when someone was taking off on the last pitch. Not to be jerk but Cat in the Hat is not in the Solar Slab area, it's on the Mescalito. I agree with most of you. Helmet cams are way better for boating or skiing. Personally I think they are kinda geeky. Currently I am laid up with a bad back so little videos like this keep me physced. Have fun in Red Rocks.

Gopro makes a great little camera for sure! Lots of possibilities since it's compact and has great quality. I will admit though, if not captured at the right time and edited well, rock climbing footage shot with the head-cam attachment might make you dizzy.
This is one of the first vids I put together with the HD Hero…

High Sierra Link Up - Gopro HD from Pat Goodman on Vimeo.

Reed Fee wrote:Nick M. I liked your video, ecspecially the shots looking down from the top of the route. Also enjoyed seeing the snowflakes coming down when someone was taking off on the last pitch. Not to be jerk but Cat in the Hat is not in the Solar Slab area, it's on the Mescalito. I agree with most of you. Helmet cams are way better for boating or skiing. Personally I think they are kinda geeky. Currently I am laid up with a bad back so little videos like this keep me physced. Have fun in Red Rocks.

Hey thanks a lot! I didn't have enough footage (too cold!) so I ended up combining a few days. The video is actually shot at the route just left of Johnny Vegas, lower solar slab gully, and cat. Thanks for watching!

Nick

This is one of the better helmet cam climbing vids imho

youtube.com/watch?v=8uK6oJT…