The popularity of the GoPro family of point-of-view action cameras is incredible and growing every year. When a product gets the featured segment on a 60 Minutes broadcast as this camera did earlier this fall, you know it's popular and approaching pop culture status.
Many folks will receive one of these for Christmas so I wanted to give some suggestions on what to try and what accessories you may want to buy to make it easier to shoot great video and photos.
SPRINGVILLE, Alabama -- GoPro POV action cameras have changed the landscape of videography and photography, making it easy for people to take high quality video and still photos. Here are some photos of the gear and photos taken with the GoPro camera. (Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com). First, if you plan to buy one as a gift, which one should you get? I approach this question the same way I do when buying a computer, flat screen TV or DSLR camera. Buy the best one you can afford with the most features because technology changes so fast. GoPro has 3 camera lines at present. The Hero 3 White, the Hero 3+ Silver and Hero 3+ Black (top of the line). The website explains the features of each. A really good comparison Hero 3 vs Hero 3+ is .
If you're lucky enough to get one of these cameras for Christmas, what can you do with it? Here are some ideas. Be sure and check out the videos below
1. Get the thing in some water! All GoPros come with a waterproof housing so get it wet. The first thing I did with mine is go to the lake to see if I could shoot video of some fish. It was in the spring and it wasn't long before I found some . I've used it when fishing with friends to video their catch from underwater. Just make sure you use the waterproof housing! The camera is waterproof only when enclosed in the waterproof housing.
2. Set up the camera and shoot a time lapse video. Time lapse is a series of photos taken over time. The GoPro will take a photo every second up to every minute. This camera makes it easy to do time-lapse videos of sunsets, construction, putting up the Christmas tree and other activities that take a while. There are simple apps for your computer that will help create time-lapse videos with ease. For Apple computers Time Lapse Assembler is very easy to use.
3. Attach a GoPro to a vehicle and go riding. I've attached them to ATVss, bikes and race cars. Several companies make handlebar mounts and GoPro has a suction cup that works great to attach the camera to any smooth flat surface. Kids love riding around on their bikes and trikes with the camera on the handlebars. Motorcycles are really fun when you record your trip.
4. Attach the camera to YOU! There are several ways to attach a GoPro on your body. There are chest straps, wrist straps, head straps and helmet straps. There is even a mount that attaches to a helmet with an arm that can allow the camera to look back at you! Try it while skydiving, swimming, hiking, diving, rock climbing, scuba diving, surfing or parasailing.
5. Get the camera up in the airThe cost of quadcopters and drones for the hobbyist have come down in price from over ,000 to less than 0. Some are powerful enough to lift a GoPro camera. It's a great way to combine two hobbies, Action photography and flying model aircraft. One company, Horizon Hobby, touts that its is "GoPro compatible". Take aerial photos and videos without ever leaving the ground and have fun doing it.
Show us what cool things you will do with a GoPro. Post your video and photographs in the comment section below. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Also, let me know how you pulled off the shot.
Here are some videos shot with a GoPro camera:
Check out the time lapse video of Barons fans entering Regions Field on opening night. The video is composed of over two hours of elapsed time. A photo was taken with a GoPro camera every 5 seconds, 2140 photos in all and compressed into just over one minute of video. (Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com). TALLADEGA, Alabama -- Time lapse video of pit road activity starting one hour before the Aaron's 499 Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday May 5, 2013. The video is one photo taken every 5 seconds for just over one hour. Over 850 single frames compressed into 50 seconds. (Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com). TALLADEGA, Alabama -- Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure offered hot laps at Talladega Superspeedway Wednesday September 25, 2013 to promote the upcoming Camping World RV Sales 500 weekend October 18-20. I got the chance to take a 5 lap ride with Sam Edwards at 180 mph around the high banks of the 2.66 mile track. (Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com). I found a couple pairs of bedding Largemouth Bass laying their eggs in 18 inches of water on a flat shelf about 10 feet from a steep drop off. We have seen Largemouth Bass bed in this same area for years but I never had a really good underwater camera to try to shoot pictures or video. My new GoPro Hero2 camera was just what I needed. I shot some video and photos about the surface first then took a small 6 inch tripod, attached the GoPro and waded out to the bed. The fish swam off for a few minutes but came back and charged the camera several times trying to scare it off. Using a flat lens housing built for the GoPro by a spear fishing equipment supplier near Miami the footage turned out very sharp. Bass build a nest , lay their eggs and guard them from attack for about two weeks. it is fascinating to watch. Check out the Bedding Bass video at Joe's Outdoor Office video blog on al.com. (Birmingham News Photo/Joe Songer).