GO PRO Cameras

I was able to come up with a quick last-minute solution to mounting the GoPro inside the cabin. It's not perfect, but very easy to do and doesn't modify the plane in any way (important for renters like me).

http://youtu.be/E9n-_7GjB4A
 
pplsteve said:
Livitup, sounds like yours is working properly. The reviews I read were saying less than 1 hr. Maybe only the black model is buggy?
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The more I think about it, I seem to remember it locking up once, requiring me to pull the battery to get it to respond to button presses. I think at the time it was turned on, but not recording, so I have no idea if pulling the battery while recording would corrupt the file.

Battery life is definitely more than an hour. My lessons are usually 1.2 or 1.3 on the hobbs, plus 15-30 minutes before and after the flight. My last lesson video clocked in at 1:27:25. The battery was not exhausted by that point, though I don't know if it could have done a whole second lesson (I recharge it after each flight).

Editing these takes longer than I ever imagined though, I'm still working on packaging my first recorded lesson to a YouTube friendly package.
 
Thanks for the update. Just curious, what do you use for your editing?
 
spinfire said:
I have experienced a hang with my Hero3 once. I just removed and reinserted the battery. They do come out with periodic firmware updates and as a software engineer I know that bugs are a reality. Definitely I'll be keeping the device firmware up to date.

The video quality is excellent (including the optical quality) for the price of the device. I haven't noticed any issues with corruption.

I was also surprised to find that the time lapse mode gives you a bunch of still images rather than making a video but there are plenty of tools to stitch them together. Here is a tutorial for the free movie maker software that comes with Windows: http://timelapseblog.com/2010/04/12/windows-live-movie-maker-time-lapse-tutorial/
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They are not bugs.....they are undocumented features!!!!
 
You guys think it is acceptable and legal to record my flight lessons with it mounted on my head? Any rules to this kind of stuff?
 
JasonM said:
You guys think it is acceptable and legal to record my flight lessons with it mounted on my head? Any rules to this kind of stuff?
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As long as your instructor is ok with it. The big rule is don't get distracted. If it is even slightly distracting (which it probably is) don't do it!
 
ChrisK said:
As long as your instructor is ok with it. The big rule is don't get distracted. If it is even slightly distracting (which it probably is) don't do it!
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I've tried just about every mounting option you can think of to record my lessons, from the suction cup on the back side window (couldn't see anything), to it stuck to the side of the windscreen (great view, but the plexi windscreen causes the "jello" effect, and it fell off more than once),' to using the head strap. IMO this is a decent view, but makes my wife nauseous to watch.

IMO, the best results are to use a tripod in the back -- stick one leg on the back seat, one in the back pocket of the right-seat, and one on the floor behind the left seat. It take a bit more to get it lined up for the best view but you can see the panel, and right out the front of the plane.

And as ChrisK said, this is the LAST thing on your priority list -- once you start it, forget about it! Even when it fell off the windscreen I let it sit there until we were at a holding point where I could ask the CFI to take the controls for a min while I grabbed it to get it away from my feet.
 
Well, I showed up for my lesson this morning and asked if it would be ok to film, and my instructor was fine with it. I used the head strap and it never once got in the way or was a distraction. I like the tripod idea better though. I may have to give that a try. I have one of those. :)
 
kclimie said:
once you start it, forget about it!
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This has been the biggest frustration for me...

First I had the wrong cable, so my audio wasn't recording right. I got the right cable, and the next lesson I realized I had left the SD card in my card reader, so I didn't record. Next lesson I had the SD card, but the Hero's battery was dead.

Today I mounted the Hero, plugged in the audio, started the audio recorder, and... you guessed it - forgot to start the Hero recording. So far, after 8ish hours of lessons, I have one usable video with no sound - and one soundtrack with no video. :mad2:
 
livitup said:
This has been the biggest frustration for me...

First I had the wrong cable, so my audio wasn't recording right. I got the right cable, and the next lesson I realized I had left the SD card in my card reader, so I didn't record. Next lesson I had the SD card, but the Hero's battery was dead.

Today I mounted the Hero, plugged in the audio, started the audio recorder, and... you guessed it - forgot to start the Hero recording. So far, after 8ish hours of lessons, I have one usable video with no sound - and one soundtrack with no video. :mad2:
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You need a check list for the GoPro! :rofl:
 
Sweet! The GoPro is an unbelievable piece of technology.
 
ebykowsky said:
Ok, glad you said that because I definitely would have done that had I decided to put it on the outside.

I think I'll stick to inside the aircraft. How do you guys attach the things to tiedown bolts? I don't own a plane, so I think that leasers may be a bit wary of me putting the camera on the outside of the plane or removing any parts to screw things in. And I don't wanna pay for that strut mount.
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FWIW, I have had plenty of success using the standard suction mount on the exterior and never had an issue - belly of the aircraft doing 150 kts low level through Monument Valley. GoPro didn't budge.
 
Fearless Tower said:
FWIW, I have had plenty of success using the standard suction mount on the exterior and never had an issue - belly of the aircraft doing 150 kts low level through Monument Valley. GoPro didn't budge.
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Is it stable enough? Do you get the jello wave?
 
Geico266 said:
Is it stable enough? Do you get the jello wave?
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Enough....there is a little vibration, but not too bad, although I haven't been too worried about making professional quality movies....at least not yet.
 
I have a Hero2 and generally am pretty happy with it. You can spend a lot to add stuff onto it (like a WiFi remote) and the LCD screen (IMHO that should have been standard - I have made too many videos with the camera not just in the right position).

The WiFi remote kit has made things a bit easier to manage. If you have a high def video that you stream endlessly, editing is a big CPU eater on your PC. I like now being able to run the camera and remotely shut it off unless there is something else to capture.

One annoying thing I hear on many GoPro video is the camera rubbing inside the case. If you are not using external sounds, you will hear a clicking sound on many videos. From what I can tell, it is the camera moving around a little in the case.
 
Fearless Tower said:
FWIW, I have had plenty of success using the standard suction mount on the exterior and never had an issue - belly of the aircraft doing 150 kts low level through Monument Valley. GoPro didn't budge.
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Be real careful with the suction mount. If I was you I would not advertise it. Among a number of articles I have seen where there was strong advice against using the suction mount externally, the GoPro CEO recently said in an article that using the suction mount on the exterior of any airplane is verboten as far as the FAA and GoPro is concerned(EAA Sport Feb 2013). Furthermore if you go greater than about 6000 ft AGL it WILL fall off, though I know for a fact it WILL fail below that as well(about 4000 AGL while doing chandelles--the pilot was happy that the camera did not dent his plane as it was attached by a safety string and banged about quite a bit). I have been using mine in the cockpit and get good quality pictures.
 
douglas393 said:
Be real careful with the suction mount. If I was you I would not advertise it. Among a number of articles I have seen where there was strong advice against using the suction mount externally, the GoPro CEO recently said in an article that using the suction mount on the exterior of any airplane is verboten as far as the FAA and GoPro is concerned(EAA Sport Feb 2013). Furthermore if you go greater than about 6000 ft AGL it WILL fall off, though I know for a fact it WILL fail below that as well(about 4000 AGL while doing chandelles--the pilot was happy that the camera did not dent his plane as it was attached by a safety string and banged about quite a bit). I have been using mine in the cockpit and get good quality pictures.
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I use the suction cup and then put gap seal tape on it as a precaution.
 
douglas393 said:
Be real careful with the suction mount. If I was you I would not advertise it. Among a number of articles I have seen where there was strong advice against using the suction mount externally, the GoPro CEO recently said in an article that using the suction mount on the exterior of any airplane is verboten as far as the FAA and GoPro is concerned(EAA Sport Feb 2013). Furthermore if you go greater than about 6000 ft AGL it WILL fall off, though I know for a fact it WILL fail below that as well(about 4000 AGL while doing chandelles--the pilot was happy that the camera did not dent his plane as it was attached by a safety string and banged about quite a bit). I have been using mine in the cockpit and get good quality pictures.
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Funny because when I was doing this (a couple years ago), GoPro was specifically recommending the external use of the suction mount over hard mounting because of legality concerns with the FAA.

I can see where they are coming from (CYA) and understand the point you're making, but I can also say from personal experience that it held well above both 6000' AGL AND above 12000' MSL.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Funny because when I was doing this (a couple years ago), GoPro was specifically recommending the external use of the suction mount over hard mounting because of legality concerns with the FAA.

I can see where they are coming from (CYA) and understand the point you're making, but I can also say from personal experience that it held well above both 6000' AGL AND above 12000' MSL.
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I fully agree and when I originally had my first GoPro I read the same thing. I think it was on the one of the Cessna Boards when a discussion came up about mounting and I said exactly what you said, and go thoroughly trashed for my comments. I did some research on it and even called GoPro and asked them, and they specifically told me that they could not and would not codone the practice nor recommend it and actually recommended against putting any of their products on the outside of the plane. In my research I found the 6000 agl concern and it has to di with the loss of external air pressure which makes sense. Now to tell you the truth I use three suction mounted cameras on the inside of my plane and have been to 8000 AGL with them and they have not fallen off, so I think it is more with some loss of suction and the velocity of the slipstream, and so is probably more complicated than just 6000 ft agl. I can email the article to you if you want. Just PM me.
 
livitup said:
Today I mounted the Hero, plugged in the audio, started the audio recorder, and... you guessed it - forgot to start the Hero recording. So far, after 8ish hours of lessons, I have one usable video with no sound - and one soundtrack with no video. :mad2:
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My fix for this when it happens is to stick an alternate audio track onto my soundless video and no one will be the wiser. :yesnod:
Well almost no one, I did have one friend that noticed that I was flying over Clemson University and the audio was a New York controller giving clearances into JFK. :dunno:
 
Where do you get the adapter/cable to connect the plane intercom to the gopro?
 
What are you guys using to mount the thing internally to the cockpit? I need a mount that holds it in place at least through mild maneuvering, if not out to 7.5G's. I tried the suction cup on the canopy the other night and it wasn't happening.......other thoughts? There are a few places in the cockpit where I can use a clamp, just not aware of one being on the market (not saying there isn't such a thing, just that I am pretty much a noob). Thanks!
 
35 AoA said:
What are you guys using to mount the thing internally to the cockpit? I need a mount that holds it in place at least through mild maneuvering, if not out to 7.5G's. I tried the suction cup on the canopy the other night and it wasn't happening.......other thoughts? There are a few places in the cockpit where I can use a clamp, just not aware of one being on the market (not saying there isn't such a thing, just that I am pretty much a noob). Thanks!
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I have mounted it using the suction cup to my windshield, and the back passenger windows, and they have never fallen off. I have not done 7.5G's but have done a fair number of steep 60 degree turns, and a higher number of chandelles and they have never fallen off. There are third part devices availble as well to mount them just google GoPro Hero Mounts and I think you should find something that works for you. Also a number of people have used the head strap with good results.
 
The biggest risk I think with the suction cup is the fact that the suction becomes less relative to the surrounding air pressure the higher you fly. At some point at altitude, the holding power has to drop off enough to lose it's hold. Now, maybe the plane can't fly that high practically-speaking, but I've seen at lest one video showing the mount losing it's "grip" at high altitude. I've used the suction cup several times when my plan is to fly from sea level to say 3000 feet or so, but not to climb way up there.
 
greghughes said:
The biggest risk I think with the suction cup is the fact that the suction becomes less relative to the surrounding air pressure the higher you fly. At some point at altitude, the holding power has to drop off enough to lose it's hold. Now, maybe the plane can't fly that high practically-speaking, but I've seen at lest one video showing the mount losing it's "grip" at high altitude. I've used the suction cup several times when my plan is to fly from sea level to say 3000 feet or so, but not to climb way up there.
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Yeah maybe that was the problem....I was at like 35k when I kicked on the autopilots and tried it......prob 12k cabin pressure at the time. Maybe I would have more success on deck and down low. That said it was a beautiful rare sunset with a low undercast blowing snow, and like arctic clearness above. I wanted to get a good video of some cloud surfing and then the approach through the weather to a snow flurry. Would have been cool. Guess just one of those things that just lives in a memory now though :(
 
35 AoA said:
What are you guys using to mount the thing internally to the cockpit? I need a mount that holds it in place at least through mild maneuvering, if not out to 7.5G's. I tried the suction cup on the canopy the other night and it wasn't happening.......other thoughts? There are a few places in the cockpit where I can use a clamp, just not aware of one being on the market (not saying there isn't such a thing, just that I am pretty much a noob). Thanks!
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Be very careful about where/how you mount it....I was talking to a Prowler NFO a couple months ago that was using a helmet mount I believe and the pilot pulled some heavy positive g's....the GoPro came off and hit his thumb hard enough to split his thumb open. They had to abort the flight and RTB because of the bleeding.

That said, I know a Super Hornet guy who has done some filming with a camera in the cockpit. I'll ask him how he mounted it the next time I see him.

One thing I wouldn't recommend in a jet is the head band mount. I was watching an L39 video on YouTube recently and the guy was constantly adjusting the thing. Every time he pulled any g's, the headband would slide down or off of his helmet.
 
pplsteve said:
Where do you get the adapter/cable to connect the plane intercom to the gopro?
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If you have an unused intercom jack, this cord, with a 1/8 to 1/4 inch adapter, worked just perfectly for me, and it's only $7.

If you only have a 2 place intercom (or 4 people in the plane), then the splitter cable from Spruce is what you need.

If you want to record directly on the GoPro, then you also need the GoPro USB/Audio cable, though I choose to use a separate audio recorder (digital recorder with microphone input connected to plane's intercom) and a standard cable.

The "attenuating" bit is the important part... without it, your recording will be useless.
 
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Speaking of GoPro cameras, have any of you been using the WiFi BacPac with remote? I just got mine and am having a ton of issues getting it to talk to the camera. Is there a secret reset that can be done so I can refresh the firmware updates for the BacPac and the remote?

Initially I was able to only update the firmware on the BacPac using the CineForm Studio software. The remote although recognized did not show as connected and no matter what I did, wouldn't.

Over the weekend, I tried again and was able to get it to update but it is not working correctly with the camera. Although I can see the camera screen on the remote, it will only start the video once and will not stop it. Not can I shut off the camera with the remote. I also noticed that after updating the firmware, the BacPac preview window no longer works on the iPad app.

Anyone have any ideas?
 
livitup said:
If you want to record directly on the GoPro, then you also need the GoPro USB/Audio cable, though I choose to use a separate audio recorder (digital recorder with microphone input connected to plane's intercom) and a standard cable.
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This applies only to the Hero 3 (the new one). The Hero 2 has a 1/8" mic input on the camera body, and no adapter cable is needed.
 
Geico266 said:
What causes the "jello" effect and how do you stop it? :confused:
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Here's an explanation of jello and other issues related to the camera mechanisms.
http://dvxuser.com/jason/CMOS-CCD/
You can minimize jello by mounting tightly, keeping vibration to a minimum. Also using a neutral density filter to fool the shutter into shooting at a faster speed. Some combinations of resolution and frames per second also seem to help on some cameras.
 
FWIW, the GoPro company stepped in its own do-do last week, when they tried to suppress a competitive review of their camera by sicking lawyers on the website that ran the review. Using the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act), they threatened to shut down the website, (and even the ISP who hosts it?), if the negative review wasn't removed. The review pitted the GoPro against the SONY HDR-AS15.
After an overwhelming reaction from the Web, GoPro is backpedaling and saying it was a mis-communication. Thanks, guys, now I'll be checking into the Sony.
Google GoPro and DMCA if you want to know more.
 
CT4ME said:
Here's an explanation of jello and other issues related to the camera mechanisms.
http://dvxuser.com/jason/CMOS-CCD/
You can minimize jello by mounting tightly, keeping vibration to a minimum. Also using a neutral density filter to fool the shutter into shooting at a faster speed. Some combinations of resolution and frames per second also seem to help on some cameras.
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Thank you! :D
 
CT4ME said:
FWIW, the GoPro company stepped in its own do-do last week, when they tried to suppress a competitive review of their camera by sicking lawyers on the website that ran the review. Using the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act), they threatened to shut down the website, (and even the ISP who hosts it?), if the negative review wasn't removed. The review pitted the GoPro against the SONY HDR-AS15.
After an overwhelming reaction from the Web, GoPro is backpedaling and saying it was a mis-communication. Thanks, guys, now I'll be checking into the Sony.
Google GoPro and DMCA if you want to know more.
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Here is there demo video. I love Sony stuff, but this camera sucks when comparing it to a GoPro.

http://store.sony.com/p/Action-Cam,...,-Cycling,-Hiking,-Wi-Fi,-AS15/en/p/HDRAS15/B
 
Geico266 said:
Here is there demo video. I love Sony stuff, but this camera sucks when comparing it to a GoPro.

http://store.sony.com/p/Action-Cam,...,-Cycling,-Hiking,-Wi-Fi,-AS15/en/p/HDRAS15/B
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I think that may be whatever codec they are using for web presentation that is creating that artifacting.

Check out this video for a direct side-by-side of the GoPro Hero 3 vs Sony Action Cam -- http://youtu.be/DlUUq7ARJRU

I must say, I am very impressed by the Sony. I have been a GoPro user for about a year, and have been very pleased with it, but that video makes me want to switch. It seems much crisper and way better for low-light, though the GoPro is warmer.

I don't particularly like their headstrap, how the camera is on the side of your head, I like how the GoPro sits right on the middle of your forehead for almost true-pov, but I like the Sony articulating suction mount better, those GoPro mounts are a giant PITA.
 
CT4ME said:
Here's an explanation of jello and other issues related to the camera mechanisms.
http://dvxuser.com/jason/CMOS-CCD/
You can minimize jello by mounting tightly, keeping vibration to a minimum. Also using a neutral density filter to fool the shutter into shooting at a faster speed. Some combinations of resolution and frames per second also seem to help on some cameras.
Click to expand...
I'm certain you meant a slower shutter (which trades motion induced artifacts for motion blur).
 
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