GoPro tips for new GoPro owner?

[KTM200/stevo0987]

Just got a Gopro hero 3 silver edition and i need help with what back door to use. where to mount ect.....
Thanks

[KTM200/stevo0987]

Thanks i will go get the app... my bike quiet so i guess the open door will do but ill try the enclosed one first.. what if you put electrical tape over the holes will it sound as good?

[awa355]

I have my sound sensitivity set to 70%. I get engine noise and very little wind noise. I believe that the smartphone/wifi app can suck the battery life a fair bit.

[Jay GTI]

The open back has another benefit, besides clearer engine noise, you also stop getting condensation issues on the lens cover. Even with the anti-fog inserts I found I would get condensation problems. Open back, no issues at all.

Other thing to consider is mounting. I use the helmet mount, as it's all I have, but a mate uses his with a chest mount. The chest mount definitely gives a better perspective, the helmet view tends to lose detail on the trails, i.e. whooped out trails look flat, etc, whereas the chest mount view seems to capture this detail much better.

Also consider a static mount, or stand. One of the issues you will encounter is, there are only so many times you can watch yourself ride from the same angle without it getting skull-crushingly boring. If you have a static mount you can dig into the dirt, at least you can make your own ride-by vids, can get a bit tedious putting the camera at a good spot, the walking back to your bike and riding past, going back to pick up the camera, stopping at the next good location etc, but makes for a much better vid.

I assume you know that Sony Vegas Pro is the best editing software?

[Matt_TG]

The 100% / 70% options for sound relate to the 'beep' noise when you press buttons or start / stop recording. There's also an 'off' setting. It doesn't alter the sensitivity of the microphone - well at least it doesn't on my Hero Silver 3.

I have used the fully enclosed case and the skeleton backdoor and find I like the skeleton backdoor better, the full enclosed case muffles the sound too much if I need to record talking etc, but the bassy sound from the bike is awesome. Your call and I guess tape over the slots would provide some protection against dust without muffling the sound too much ... unless it comes loose and starts flapping about! Seeing as it's offroad though I would personally use the fully enclosed case.

This was my first attempt at recording some footage, I put music over it but you can still hear the bike - this was in the fully enclosed case. Sorry, it's on the road :)

http://youtu.be/g01ICdJHLlg

My tip is use the rubber leash thing to clip into the holder and reduce the vibration noise as the microphone will pick up the sound of plastic rattling (as it did on my clip). Here's a YouTube explanation of the white rubber "thing"

http://youtu.be/1kYRIzTc-b4

Have fun, I have really enjoyed my GoPro.

[awa355]

What resolution size were you recording with? Good clear picture. I hadn't realised the 100, 70% sensitivity was for the beep volume. Thanks for that.

[Matt_TG]

That was 720 at 50fps (PAL). I used the GoPro Cineform studio to edit it and applied the ProTune filter. YouTube scales it back a bit but for most purposes I have been using 720 and if people want to watch it in HD they can click the button :)

[awa355]

My one has the options, NTSC or Pal. Which should the camera be set to?

[Matt_TG]

In NZ our TV system is PAL - 25 / 50Hz or fps. NTSC is 30 (29.97) / 60 fps. If you intend to plug your GoPro into your TV it would be best to have it set for PAL. Even though I don't do that I still use PAL as my format as that's what I'm used to and the additional 10 fps isn't my key consideration. I also export my videos based on PAL colour settings and fps.

So, it's up to you but PAL is what we use 'round here.

Here's a webpage that details the differences:

http://www.diffen.com/difference/NTSC_vs_PAL

Google for more info and make your mind up that way.

[Jay GTI]

My one has the options, NTSC or Pal. Which should the camera be set to?

PAL is our standard, but most TVs can handle both and the internet doesn't care.

[awa355]

I had thought that the more frames per second from NTSC would give a smoother sharper picture. I have switched to PAL and wil compare the difference tomorrow.

[andy 101]

I had thought that the more frames per second from NTSC would give a smoother sharper picture. I have switched to PAL and wil compare the difference tomorrow.

There is alot more difference betwwen pal and ntsc other than the frame rate, I shoot with pal on all my vids, but I am not explaining it all here, you will have to google it.

[KTM200/stevo0987]

I will be using the open backdoor for my first ride with it up in Tangowahine valley. and i will also be using the Gopro video editor since i am only new to editing videos

[FLUB]

NTSC = Never The Same Colour :-)

PAL has 625 lines making up the full picture whereas NTSC only has 525, so PAL has the better picture resolution. Also way better colour control.

[cynna]

dont put in in a drawer face down - my lens got scratched everytime it slid when i opened and closed the drawer....

[KTM200/stevo0987]

dont put in in a drawer face down - my lens got scratched everytime it slid when i opened and closed the drawer....

haha nah i keep it on the mounting plate thats on the box..
And the sound is alot better with the open door not much wind noise either i went up and down the farm track with it in my hand.. cant wait to get some videos on youtube of some rides. the contour got run down and the record switch stoped working so i though i might as well buy a Gopro

[Dent]

I suggest you use the 30/60 fps options. The PAL/NTSC naming is misleading, unless you have it set to the lowest resolution it only changes the frame rate.

The free gopro software got a lot better a while ago, and I now find its quite fast and easy to use. I also use handbrake to encode to h264 before upload to youtube.

I find 720p 30fps or 60fps on the helmet mount to work well. The chest mount is also good if its setup right. I find they tend to be less stable than the helmet mount.

[oldguy]

I run with the open back door most times, unless it looks like its going to rain, or if Im at the beach around the waters edge or in it. as for mounting, if its only the basic kit then your helmet is your only option, on top or on the side, left or right, the chest mount is good. The Go Pro is pretty robust in its case so if your handee at fabricating, you could make your own brackets to mount where you want.

My Buell using suction cup to frame open back door, setting in cam to flip as cam was upside down.
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/vbtube_show.php?tubeid=318&sti=Last-ride-of-the-year-31-12-2013