GoPro 3

ScarySquirrel · 10 Jun 2013 at 06:14

My 64Gb Sandisk SD seems to have been killed by my GoPro today. It started showing No SD, and no matter what I did it wouldn't work. Whenever I plug it into my laptop it says I need to format the card in order to use it. It seems, from Googling, that this is a common issue recently.

I'm absolutely gutted as I had a load of footage I really wanted to keep. Any ideas?

Raymond Lin · 10 Jun 2013 at 07:13

Had the same thing with a 4GB card 5 years ago.

I think I RMA it.

Have you tried any data recovery software yet?

Phate · 10 Jun 2013 at 07:34

DoubleCheese said:
Have you considered a head mount of some sort? You'd have both hands free then.

The problem with a headmount is, say my mask gets knocked off and gets tangled with the go pro...that could be a big issue when 30m down

ScarySquirrel · 10 Jun 2013 at 21:18

Raymond Lin said:
Had the same thing with a 4GB card 5 years ago.

I think I RMA it.

Have you tried any data recovery software yet?

Not yet, I can't find any software that is free and that I trust. Any recommendations for Windows?

rhysduck · 11 Jun 2013 at 10:29

SS: Recuva is brilliant and free Recuva ....

Here a list: http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/best-free-recovery-software-1141256
I've used Undelete360 with good affect too...

ScarySquirrel · 12 Jun 2013 at 23:34

Thanks for the recommendation. I actually just came back to say that I did end up using Recuva and I got my files back, I was then able to format the card and it's working again now.

I bought a 32Gb card in the meantime though, and I'll use that for now.

Phate said:
The problem with a headmount is, say my mask gets knocked off and gets tangled with the go pro...that could be a big issue when 30m down

Chest mount and a pole would be a good combo for diving I reckon.

Phate · 18 Jun 2013 at 12:27

ScarySquirrel said:
Chest mount and a pole would be a good combo for diving I reckon.

Well Jen's friend did offer to lend a pole for it but she forgot to pick it up, I'll beat her accordingly for that.

I have however managed to manufacture a wrist strap of sorts and I have a chest strap, so there are options

Hamish · 18 Jun 2013 at 12:38

For diving I usually just use a lanyard to clip the GoPro to my BCD and point it at things that are interesting. That means I can drop it if I need to without losing it. I don't think the Chest mount would give very good shots as it just points down most of the time.

Pole mount could be good for doing selfies or getting into tight spaces.

If you can afford it get a frame with torches on which means it's easy to hold steady and torches make a huge difference underwater.

Phate · 18 Jun 2013 at 12:42

Hamish said:
For diving I usually just use a lanyard to clip the GoPro to my BCD and point it at things that are interesting. That means I can drop it if I need to without losing it. I don't think the Chest mount would give very good shots as it just points down most of the time.

Pole mount could be good for doing selfies or getting into tight spaces.

If you can afford it get a frame with torches on which means it's easy to hold steady and torches make a huge difference underwater.

Yeah I have a lanyard so I can drop it if need be. On the wrist strap I won't be holding it so I can just point my arm at things

Chest mount will be limited, but safe.

Should be able to get some good stuff though!

darrant1234 · 18 Jun 2013 at 14:11

I put a lanyard through the hole at the bottom and then round my wrist. Meant I can point the camera where ever I need it and drop it if I need to hands. borrowed the camera from work so didn't want to play about with mounts etc.

I've had the go pro 3 black to 43m in scapa flow 2 weeks ago worked great

Below is a part of a dive (30m ish), bit green but I didn't use any filters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCcUDcal7W4

Nexus · 18 Jun 2013 at 14:44

Glaucus said:
Found this, does this sound about right?

4K-15 (protune): 3.2 hrs @ 45 Mbps
4K-cin-12 (protune): 3.2 hrs @ 45 Mbps
2.7k cin-24: 3.2 hrs @ 45Mbps
2.7k-30: 3.2 hrs @ 45 Mbps
1080-60: 4.8 hrs @ 30 Mbps
1080-48: 4.8 hrs @ 30Mbps
1080-30: 7.2 hrs @ 20 Mbps
1080-24: 4.8 hrs @ 30 Mbps
1440-48: 4.8 hrs @ 30 Mbps
1440-30: 7.2 hrs @ 20 Mbps
1440-24: 4.8 hrs @ 30 Mbps
960-100: 4.8 hrs @ 30 Mbps
960-48: 4.8 hrs @ 30 Mbps
720-120: 4.8 hrs @ 30 Mbps
720-60: 7.2 hrs @ 20 Mbpswvga-240: 4.8 hrs @ 30 Mbps

But then what's the battery life like? Can you hook up external batteries?

I don't need a high frame rate, can you set it to take pictures every x-seconds.

Doing other things but the big one, is climbing Kilimanjaro next year, and would like to film the entire hike, then speed it up to say 30min or so video.

Glaucus said:
Doesn't really say much though about bit rate or battery life, well something on battery life.
Looking on youtube even a 30second time lapse, with wifi off, lasted under 2hours.

I have to confess that I sadly still haven't played around much yet with my Hero 3 Black.

Of what I have done, such as a timelapse using the WiFi feature on a fully charged battery, it lasted barely 40 minutes.

You could run it from a power source, but you will either need to use it without a case, or buy the skeleton housing, which they have now released for the Hero 3.

Alternatively, you can try and butcher a cable to slip it through the back of the standard housing with the non-waterproof door, like so:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Modify-a-Mini-B-USB-Cable-to-Power-an-Enclosed-GoP/

Ultimately though, using it connected to a power source, there are a myriad of other cameras that will offer a better still picture for a timelapse, and give better manual control. So its not really the cameras best feature. I personally stick to using it what it does best, POV video for sports.

geuben · 25 Jul 2013 at 10:31

Finished putting together a video from a short holiday with some friends a few weeks ago.

Shot primarily on my Hero3 Black. The intro shots were done on my D3100.

Nexus · 25 Jul 2013 at 10:53

Were you also using the chest mount there? Along with having it on the pole.

I feel you missed an opportunity there though with no 120fps footage though, super slo mo of people jumping into water always looks good.

geuben · 25 Jul 2013 at 10:59

Nexus said:
Were you also using the chest mount there? Along with having it on the pole.

I feel you missed an opportunity there though with no 120fps footage though, super slo mo of people jumping into water always looks good.

Yep. Lots of chest mount and pole mount stuff. I find the head mounted shots to be a bit wobbly so don't use that too much.

Slow motion stuff does look good but it can be a bit of a faff to change the camera settings on the fly. Also it would slow the pace of the video down and not really fit with the music. That said I am going there again next weekend so might get some do another video with some slow motion parts (going with friends who are actually man enough to jump off the bigger stuff so could look a bit more epic).

ChrisD. · 25 Jul 2013 at 11:11

Guys I get my Black Editon 3 tomorrow, well, it should be waiting for me. Will it have anything to mount onto my car?

DampCat · 25 Jul 2013 at 12:25

You can use the sticky pads but I wouldn't trust it. You can pick up the hero2 suction cup car mount for 20 quid ish and tat will do the job perfectly. Here's a short film I shot for a friend, my Hero 3 is mounted to the outside of the touring car and is doing 130mph or more.

https://vimeo.com/65087728

ChrisD. · 25 Jul 2013 at 12:45

Where are you seeing it for £20?

DampCat · 25 Jul 2013 at 12:54

I paid £23.45 on Amazon for the older version. I've got the order confirmation but might have gone now. I'll keep looking.

ChrisD. · 25 Jul 2013 at 13:00

I got the official GoPro one on eBay for £30, just hope it arrives tomorrow.

DampCat · 25 Jul 2013 at 13:02

Yeah I guess they were selling the old ones off cheap. Cheapest I ca see now is £29 from a few online cycle shops.