Go Pro Hero 3 Mounting?

[Just another canuck]

I've bought a Go Pro Hero3 Silver Edition. I would like to know what I need to mount the camera to all parts of the aircraft. From my understanding there is a tri-suction mount that works quite well. What about attaching to the front of the float? Does anyone use a type of tether system in case the camera does come off? Also, what other accessories should I purchase? I don't need the wi-fi remote as I can use my phone. Is the LCD touch bacpac and battery bacpac necessary? Again, from my understanding the battery bacpac is for extended filming so in that case, it wouldn't be necessary for myself. And since I will primarily be using this device mounted to the outside of the aircraft, I assume the LCD bacpac is also not needed. What about extra chargers and cables?

I'm brand new at this so anyone with any knowledge is much appreciated.

Thanks very much.

JAC

[Adam Oke]

Does anyone use a type of tether system in case the camera does come off?

I have not used a GoPro yet, but I have always wondered about tethering. I wonder if it is worth it to tether, as a flailing GoPro smacking around on a fuse/wing could potentially do more damage than the actual value of the GoPro camera itself....

[Just another canuck]

I was thinking of that as well. After all, I think most of us have seen the damage a seatbelt can do when left hanging out on the fuselage.

[Adam Oke]

One thing I do know is that you will want a fast SD card for HD video, so that it will perform at it's best. You can get a 32GB SDHC Class 10 (10MB/sec) relatively cheap nowadays. The Class number represents how many MB/sec.

[esp803]

I'll vouch for Iced_Aussies (Sorry Kiwi, couldn't resist.... welcome back to Kanader BTW) work with a gorpo, it's pretty stellar. I've been riding a dirtbike down in South America for the last couple weeks and will continue to do so for the next three months. I've got the GoPro 3 Silver aswell and use the sticky mounts on the bike and helmet, works like a charm, and they don't move. A friend down here has one mounted to his surf board with the same system. I suspect those two sports are more trying then on a float plane. I would recommend the adhesive mounts for the floats, they don't budge.

E

[chicken hawk]

I wouldn't trust the suction cup mount on the float, the sticky mounts are the way to go. They can be reused as well, just go buy yourself a roll of the 3M tape at an automotive/paint store. The only problem we have run into with the Hero 3 up in the cold is battery life. At -30 you will only get 15-20 min of video time. The battery back pack as well as having a spare battery warm in your pockect seems to be the solution.

[iflyforpie]

I wouldn't trust a sticky mount. I've got a Contour HD at the bottom of Kootenay Lake thanks to that 3M stuff. Yes, I prepped the surface with isopropyl alcohol and it was on there for a couple months before it decided to let go.

I use the strut mount for our telemetry antennas with the camera mount screwed to it... no messing around. It even has an LSTC.




I've also got another one that picks up a circular access panel with structural screws so I can get a few more creative angles.


Suction mounts... some people swear by them... but in the words of Brain Farm, "It's only a few hundred bucks if we lose one... no big deal."

[Just another canuck]

I found a strut mount you can buy online but it quoted being able to fit small Cessnas. Looks like it would work well though. http://www.aerovideo.net/ I have a friend who swore by the suction mount until he lost his GoPro off the tail of the aircraft he was flying. He ended up buying one of these: http://store.cinetics.com/cinesquid-system/ and he swears by this one. Works good as long as you clean the surface well. Pricy though and I would prefer to stay away from the suction mounts if I can. I don't trust them as is but am also wondering how well they do at altitude. I suspect they may come off if flying for a couple hours up high. Has anyone experienced this?

I ended up buying the roll bar clamp. I think it will work in a lot of different scenarios and it was cheap. And I bought the lcd screen... good for still shots and setting the camera up.

I still don't know what else I should get. Any other ideas? Has anyone mounted one to the front or back of the float?

This thing is getting expensive. I hope my phone works as a remote or I'll be out another 100 bucks.

[rightwinglow]

I've seen them mounted to the outside of otters/beavers using the suction cup mount.

I've been using the GoPro the last week flying the champ around here. Suctioned inside a few different spots. Should pick up the roll bar mount too I'm sure it would come in handy. As for other things to get with it, the battery back is good if you're filming in the cold. Also the $20 for the bag of random stuff is always good. Never know when you'll need to replace something.

I'm still new to using the gopro, now for my question. When using the timelapse setting how/can I change the photo rate? every 2 seconds is to much for what I am doing. Also best cost effective program for editing on PC?

[seniorpumpkin]

Gopro says the suction cup is good to 200 statute miles per hour, that is assuming the surface is perfectly clean. 5 minutes on youtube and you will see countless gopros falling off cars due to suction cup failure. It's amazing how the slightest bit of porousness can be a deal breaker for the suction cup. That being said it's my favorite mount, you can put the camera anywhere at a moments notice, and if you're trying to make an interesting video, sometimes you need that kind of flexibility. A tether would be a good idea if there were NO chance that the flailing camera could cause damage if the primary mount fails. Is your $300 camera worth damaging an airframe? The roll bar mount is definitely a better value than the handle bar mount- it can go bigger (not as big as a Cessna strut), and if you need it to go smaller you can easily use a shim.
To my knowledge mounting a gopro on the outside of an airplane is not legal in Canada unless you go to some lengths to certify the mount. Surely transport isn't surfing the web looking to bust you, but if you're serious about your career or your license tread carefully. Pilots have been fired for a lack of discretion here. If there were any type of incident your camera could easily be viewed as a contributing factor.
I don't know what software options are available for a pc, but I tend to recommend final cut pro for the simple reason that if you need help there are several courses and videos on youtube explaining how to use every function you can imagine.

[Rowdy]

The rollbar mounts have worked well for me in the Beaver. Lots of great mounting options! I too would not trust the adhesive or the suction cup on the outside.

[ScudRunner]

Ive got the suction cup mount it works great for interior shots, don't want to attach it to anything on the out side the learjet with out it being anchored down pretty solid. I did purchase the LCD screen for it, I would not recommend it. It sucks battery fast, the touch screen is buggy and most of all it doesn't work half the time you clip it on and power it up.

[digits_]

Keep it quite close to the cockpit as well. For some reason, the range of my remote was terrible. I had to stick my arm out of the window to get it to respond.

Ah, and when you go below freezing, it just quits. Same thing happens if there is a lot of moist in the air. Maybe I had a faulty one, don't know, but it happened everytime. That was on a C172, I installed it on the strut of the left wing.

A reset always fixed the problem, but that's a bit hard while you're flying.

[seniorpumpkin]

I've definitely used my Gopro in the winter, I'd say if you're getting 15-20 min of video there might be something wrong with your battery. I've heard other stories about battery packs not performing well. I have two batteries and they both seem to do pretty well even in the cold.
As for the moisture on the inside of the case, ya that'll happen. Your best option is to apply rainex or icex on the inside (and outside) of the lens. This is a Gopro recommended fix, and if you fly a plane with boots then you'll probably have an easy supply of icex sitting around

[Just another canuck]

Got everything here now... I should have ordered the extra batteries and charger too. I will now. I was surprised there is no charger included in the original kit. The roll mount looks like it will work well in a variety of scenarios but I'm still considering the expensive suction mount that I referenced above. I'll wait a bit though.

What do you guys use for editing software? I'm on a Mac and as previously stated, I'm new so simpler is probably better.

[digits_]

I don't know the english word for it, but I used 3 of these (well, actually 6 since I needed 2 to tie it around the strut): http://www.aliexpress.com/item-img/Whol ... 11450.html

It worked perfectly for me at an airspeed of +- 100 kts. I put the default black clicky thingy on the plane with it, and I could easily click the camera on it and remove it as required.
If you put some foam/rubber thingies between the plastic thing and your strut/plane, it won't get damaged either.

[The Mole]

So its perfectly fine to mount an unapproved camera system to the outside of an aircraft. When did this change come about?.

[thatlowtimer]

Quiet you.

[The Mole]

Kinda reminds me of this....

http://imgur.com/w5Ijc?full

[Rowdy]

So its perfectly fine to mount an unapproved camera system to the outside of an aircraft. When did this change come about?.

I havent seen direct mention of anything being permanently affixed to the outside of the aircraft thus far

[FighterPilot]

Anyone have any experience with cockpit footage and getting intercom audio with the GoPro?

[Colonel Sanders]

When did this change come about?

Probably around the same time everyone started
clamping GPS mounts to their flight control yokes

[Pigeon91]

Anyone have any experience with cockpit footage and getting intercom audio with the GoPro?

If you want cockpit audio, a lot of people use this pass through cable to record it. http://barnstormeraudio.com/IRC.html
Just youtube barnstormer audio and you can see how it sounds and set ups.

You can also get a really small microphone and stick it in your ear cup of the headset and then plug it into the gopro.
I don't recommend this however.

Pigeon91

[beaverbob]

I'm in a good position here. I have no video camera.
So, which hero?

http://gopro.com/hd-hero3-cameras

Or, which other make to consider?

I like the idea of the WiFi controlled black version.

Bob

[Just another canuck]

Bob, the Black Edition is a slightly better camera than the Silver. I went with the Silver in order to save 100 bucks. If you have a smart phone, you can control the camera with it the same way you can with the wi fi remote included in the Black Edition.

However, 100 bucks isn't really that much money and after re-reading the specs, I kind of regret not going with the Black. I'm an amateur when it comes to this type of thing so it's unlikely I will notice the difference from the Black to the Silver for my own use. But the fact is the Black Edition is better and comes with the remote (in case you don't have a smart phone or lose it or break it, etc.) and IMO, is worth the extra 100 bucks.

I can't comment on other makes, but based on my research, the GoPro is the way to go. Something else to consider is the other equipment you have to buy. I bought the LCD backpack... I'm not sure why now that I think about it. I have a very good digital camera. But it is nice to take wide angle still shots with. I currently do not have a wide angle lens for my Canon, although I plan on getting one in the near future. So, the point is the LCD backpack is cool to take still shots with and also helps to set up the camera if you don't have a smart phone that gives you the preview display.... someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but the included wi fi remote from GoPro does not have this.

You will also need some extra batteries and a wall charger. It only comes with a USB charger. I got two aftermarket batteries and a charger for around 25 bucks. You can buy the Battery BackPack from GoPro. It's a larger battery which comes in handy for long duration of camera use. I never bought that because it isn't necessary for what I use the camera for. You will then need mounts. I bought the roll bar mount which will allow me to attach the camera to various places on the aircraft. I used it ice fishing this winter as well. There are a variety of mounts you can buy and a lot of people swear by the suction ones, but I chose to stay away from them. They're expensive and unless you're staying at low altitudes, I just don't trust them to stay put while climbing and descending through 10,000 feet of altitude.

Good luck with the purchase.

One more thing... they may seem expensive but for what they do, I personally think they're a hell of a deal.