GoPro How To and Tips

What is a GoPro?

Before you say it, yes I know it’s a camera.  But a GoPro is more than just a camera.  It’s a wearable tiny piece of magic.  It demands a fairly high price for the average consumer at £359.99 for the Hero 3+ Black Edition and admittedly it took me a full six months to go from staring at them in surf shop window displays to actually handing over my hard earned cash.  Once I did however, I didn’t look back.  Quit staring, start buying and get out there, wherever there is!

I opted for the Hero 3+ Black Edition as I wanted my purchase to be a little future-proof.  I figured it would be a while until they improved beyond 4K video resolutions and even if they did, I wouldn’t need it.  The 12mp camera function with a frame rate of up to 30fps in burst mode also gave me comfort.  But what does it all mean I hear you ask?  Okay, let’s start at the beginning.

Basically, a GoPro camera takes still pictures and it records video with audio.  The model or edition of camera you choose will determine the different options available to you for both functions.  The Hero 3 White Edition is the entry level camera and is priced at £199.00, the Hero 3+ Silver Edition is the mid-level camera priced at £279.99 and the Hero 3+ Black edition is the all singing, all dancing top of the current range camera priced at £359.99.  Which camera you buy will probably be determined by both how deep your pockets are and what you plan on using it for.  All editions have different specs so it’s worth digging in to the fine detail and spending your money wisely.  On the Hero 3 White Edition still pictures are recorded at a maximum of 5mp, the Hero 3+ Silver Edition at 10mp and the Hero 3+ Black Edition at 12mp.  Only you can decide which you need.  Obviously, the higher the megapixels the higher the quality of the picture.

All models are capable of performing time lapse image capture and have burst photo modes, which basically means when your subject is moving very fast, you have a better chance of getting a decent picture as it takes between 3 and 30 images per second depending on the edition.  I took the picture below in St Ives, Cornwall when I met the world's most excited dog.  The speed it was running created a great action shot.

In video mode you have a range of options for quality but all editions are considered to be of professional level, your options are from 720p up to 1080p on all models with the Hero 3+ Black Edition also including 1440p, 2.7k and a whopping 4k cinematic quality.  Only problem is, the higher quality you record in, the better computer you need to process and edit the images.  This is something to be taken in to consideration and its worth looking at GoPro’s website for the minimum system requirements for using their editing software GoPro Studio 2.0 which is free to download.

In terms of SD Cards, if you buy a Hero 3+ Black Edition you will need to buy a Class 10 Micro SD card to ensure smooth recording and transfer.  They are a little dearer but they make all the difference.  The cards are currently running up to 64GB with Lexar and Sandisk and this gives you the most room to record.

All editions come with the waterproof housing but in British waters you will need to purchase some Anti-Fog inserts to prevent the camera from misting if you are using it under or in water.  You can attach it to a bike seat post, handlebars or forks, mount it on a surfboard, kayak or bodyboard, wear it on a chesty or a helmet or even stick it to your car windscreen.

There are fast becoming more and more accessories available for GoPro camera’s from floating handles such as The Bobber to see through extension poles such as the GoPole Evo.  Wearable, yes wearable accessories also include wrist mounts. Check out your options at www.gopro.com

Why should you bother?  Well to be honest, if that’s you’re mindset it’s probably not the camera for you.  It’s for the adventurous at heart, those people who love nothing more than kicking up dust under a bike tyre, grinning like a Cheshire cat as you glide down the front of a wave or simply putting on a snorkel and mask and exploring the unknown.

Would I recommend it?  Absolutely.  Sports cameras simply don’t come any better than this.