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PostPosted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 8:02 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 7:43 am
Posts: 110
Location: Lakeland and Anna Maria Island, FL
Hmm. My rudder doesn't swing like that but I have a 2014 AI. And maybe I drive better than you do, Keith. LOL - just kidding. It does look like you found a good solution.


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 9:23 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 1:58 am
Posts: 2893
Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
Thanks for the heads-up Keith. I just found another use for my secondary external steering lines. I will cleat the rudder centred when on the trailer.
Image

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 7:54 am 
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
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Location: South Florida
GoPro Hero 3+ Black Action Camera -- Burst Mode


Because of some of the great videos that have appeared on this forum, I’ve taken an interest in action video cameras. I have used my Nikon 100sw to take videos of my mini spray skirts in action; but, now I’ve taken the leap—I purchased a GoPro Hero 3+ Black. One thing that helped me get over the hump was the book “How to Use GoPro Hero 3 Cameras” by Jordan Hetrick (http://www.amazon.com/How-Use-GoPro-Her ... ords=gopro) I’ve had my Hero 3B+ a little over a week, and one thing it did was get me out for 3 day-sails during that period. Of course, I took lots of video, but that needs some work before it can be presented to this forum. What is so appealing in the Hero 3 camera is (1) solid, waterproof housing, (2) seemingly unlimited ways of mounting it, (3) a wide variety of shooting modes, and (4) WIFI capability. One mode that intrigued me was the burst mode. It is capable of taking 30 still shots in 1 sec. Think of that if you could catch a dolphin coming up beside you, or those loggerhead turtles that poke their head above water but dive the instant they see you.

I put the burst-mode capability to work photographing a great egret, also known as a common egret or white heron. This egret lives near my local launch and sometimes hangs around. I got these pictures, actually 30 pictures, but I have only shown the first 6 here. They were captured as the egret took flight. There was a strong wind coming over my right shoulder towards the egret. It is interesting to see him rotate in flight to take advantage of the wind to push him further from me. These were the first 6 pictures, taken in 6/30 second. You might think, “Those are nice pictures of that bird.” Yes, the Hero 3B+ did very well, but there is more to the story. Here are the pictures.

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Those pictures are not the originals. Here is the burst-mode original of the previous picture, the 6th picture.

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This original was typical of each original, and it shows at once the strengths and weaknesses of the Hero cameras: (1) they have a wide angle, fisheye lens, so you get a very wide point of view (POV). You don’t miss much with this camera, and the fisheye lens does not distort badly. (2) The focus is good, near & far. That is all to the good. On the other hand, the camera does not have an LCD to help frame your picture or video. Frankly, the camera is so small, it would be tough to fit a useful LCD on the it. Its small size & light-weight are a real plus. In this case, as the egret lifted off, I quickly pointed the camera, pushed the capture button, and got 30 pictures. As you can see from the original above, the camera was tilted. I used Photoshop Elements to straighten and crop each original to get the 6 close-ups. You can see the approximate crop outline in the original.

It is amazing how small the GoPro Hero 3B+ is. You can lay 3 of them side-by-side on a US dollar bill. The camera is usually used inside its waterproof case (good to 40 meters under water). Frankly, I would be very skeptical of some action cameras “waterproof” claim. For example, the new Garmin Virb action camera is waterproof to the IPX7 spec (1 meter under water for 30 min), the same spec as Garmin’s handheld GPS units. I learned many years ago that an IPX7 spec will not protect electronic units from dying after getting repeatedly splashed by saltwater. With the routine dousing our AI/TIs take, I don’t think an IPX7-spec device is going to last long if not protected by AquaPac/Drypak type bag.

When using the 3B+, I miss the superzoom capability of my Canon 30is camera. The Hero action cameras have no zoom. On the other hand, the Hero 3B+ has so many modes and other capabilities, and the videos are generally very good (see Abisal12 video postings), so I plan to get a lot of use out of it.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


Last edited by Chekika on Sun Dec 22, 2013 5:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 3:23 pm 
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Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am
Posts: 1701
Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
Brilliant stuff Keith. This camera technology is getting more amazing by the day. You're dead right with your comments about waterproof claims. For our sport, I work on the principle to buy equipment that's waterproof, then treat it as if it isn't. I use a Panasonic Lumix and if you read the fine print in the instruction manual, you need to submerge the camera in a few inches of fresh water after every salt water outing and the seals need to be replaced every 12 months by an authorised dealer ( about $150-200 ). So 2 seal changes costs the price of the camera so therefor nobody does a seal change and just crosses fingers that the seals last a few years. I'm sure that the Hero's waterproofness would be way superior than that of the Panasonic's, but the thing with all of them is that it only takes one small hair to cross the seal while closing, or the catch on the camera door not to click closed properly and you can kiss the camera goodbye.

I love this burst mode function. And also the quality of the shots even after major cropping in editing. Looking forward to seeing more over the next few weeks.

Have a great Christmas mate.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 5:56 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
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Location: South Florida
Thanks for your comments, Slaughter. Of course, some of your videos, as well as those of Stringy and Abisal12, were prime motivators to get me to thinking about videos in general and then, a real video camera. It should be fun as I "learn the ropes."

Best wishes to you, Slaughter, and all of our friends.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


Last edited by Chekika on Sun Dec 22, 2013 7:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 6:35 pm 
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Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
I really enjoy the video production side of it. I've always liked documentaries ( especially when there's water involved ) and can only hope to ever get good enough to do something on the same level on a low budget. Great fun trying though.

Here is a link to Vimeo School which helped me with some of the basics https://vimeo.com/videoschool

We had better stop hijacking this thread with camera talk mate. The author is a cranky old bugger. :lol:

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.


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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 1:45 am 
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Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm
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Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
Welcome to the GoPro club Keith!
I hope you have as much fun with the little camera as I've had over the last few years. I'm still using the original GoPro HD. Yours is, I think, 3 generations on and greatly improved in image quality, frame rate, features and smaller size.
I found R3 @720p/60 fps to be the best mode on mine but yours is capable of 720p/120fps. Should make for some great slomo!
Looking forward to the results from your future expedition trips.

PS-Some of my best clips have come from just mounting the camera at the end of a 2m pole (using the seat post mount) and draping it over my shoulder. Surprisingly there is very little shake for a camera that doesn't have image stabilization. The wide angle lens helps a lot.


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 27, 2013 4:48 am 
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Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2013 7:16 pm
Posts: 13
long time lurker, first time poster.
i love this thread, and has been the source of much armchair entertainment while i have been putting away my pennies for an island, looks like i will have one in a few months,
cant wait to have the feeling!
great thread,
cheers
joel


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 27, 2013 2:03 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
I finally got a gopro for Xmas, so no more crappy cell phone videos from me. ( just crappy gopro videos from now on from me) (lol)
Bob


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 6:21 am 
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
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Location: South Florida
@Ozjoel--Joel, glad this thread has given you some inspiration and motivation. Let us all know when you get your Island. I take from your Hobie name that you are an Aussie--correct? (Or, do you live near Disney World here in FL where they film "Oz, The Great and Powerful"?)

@Fusioneng--Bob, you can post your "crappy" videos on this thread any time. Look forward to them.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 3:41 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Ok guys here is my first video using the GoPro3 that I got for Xmas.
(don't laugh too hard)
The local Hobie Island club (Dolphin Island Club) went out for an outing on Saturday (12-28), the winds were a little higher than what we normally get around here, and as everyone knows my TI is rigged for lower winds, where I'm usually twice as fast as the other islands, but when the wind gets to 15 mph my huge sails actually hurt more than help. The boat still performs well directly upwind or downwind, but because of all the sail area, it tends to want to tip over on a reach in higher winds (almost did tip over once when I couldn't release the main control line fast enough, tipped to almost 45 degrees when I finally got it loose and recovered).
We launched at City Island and sailed up and back to the Ringling museum (about ten miles total for the day), I had my motor on and running the whole time, but it was just idling, or propelling just enough to overcome the huge drag that the motor shaft puts on the boat. I used 1/4 tank of gas for the day (about $.25 cents worth of fuel). Top speed for the day according to my GPS was 9mph and average speed was 5.6 mph (my normal average is 6.5 to 7mph in light winds). I stayed with the group most of the trip, but when we were near the end I decided to open mine up and did an upwind run at about 20 degrees off the wind (the best point of sail for my boat). All in all it was a fun day of sailing, and I think we all had a good time.
Ok here's the video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs6XBEiuR2Y&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

Bob


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 3:55 pm 
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Location: South Florida
Bravo, Bob, bravo! Good first video. Do you always sail on flat water? If I were going that fast with those winds (what were the winds?) I would be getting all kinds of spray off the bow in 1-2' chop.

I think we are going to have some fun with these new GoPros. BTW, I'm over here in Sarasota for the next couple days w/o our AIs. Nancy and I are celebrating our 45th anniversary.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:31 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Kieth:
Actually the winds were quite unusual for the area, they are normally from the north or south, and the bay is north to south and very long but narrow so the waves typically kick up like your in a blender in Sarasota bay when it gets windy. Actually a bunch of Watertribers found that out the hard way in this last EC challenge, and several had to be rescued. Since the wind was from the west on Saturday and variable apparently the waves didn't get a chance to build, plus we were near the west shore.
The winds were from the West at around 12-15mph, but it kicked up over 20 mph from time to time. For me anyway normally when it's that windy it just too rough out there for me, which takes the fun out of it for me, I'm still recovering from some pulled muscles in my back, and it hurts too much to be out when it's rough.

Hey if you get out to St Armonds Circle stop into the Spice and Tea Exchange on the circle. It's a spice and tea shop, my wife Theresa is the manager, tell her who you are, but don't believe any of her stories about me and my boat ( LOL).

I learned a lot about Go-pro's video editing software, and now know how to compose movies, next time I go out I won't have to take 2 hrs of video to get 2 minutes of anything I can use at all. I now know how to download and use license free music from Youtube. I didn't know it was illegal to just put any old music into my videos till I played my first video attempt for my wife, and she warned me that it was illegal (US copyright laws), and I would get in trouble if I posted it (oops), thus the reason for the cheezy Xmas music.
I'm gonna have fun with these GoPros
Bob


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:52 pm 
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Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
Now TRAT is what Christmas cheer is all about Looks great Bob!

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2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 5:06 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 2:31 pm
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Location: Kailua 96734
Thanks Bob! Nice jib. :mrgreen:


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