Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 23, 2017 21:19:13 GMT
Helena bought me this GoPro Hero5 on the weekend and have been playing around with the settings and trying out various things with it. The quality of footage you can get is quite amazing and it goes right up to 4K as well.
I also have a Sony video camera as well as a GoPro copy but they only reach hd 1080p.
The biggest advantage that the Sony has is a zoom lens and precise white balance by taking a sample of white as a reference but the GoPro has quite an amazing wide angle view
Worst part of the GoPro is the audio, but I am able to get it louder and cleaner, either via a USB microphone or by tweaking it in my video editor.
They're very useful little cameras.
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jello
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GoPro
Jan 23, 2017 21:32:04 GMT
Post by jello on Jan 23, 2017 21:32:04 GMT
So should we expect death defying videos of you skateboarding and bungie jumping shortly Ian?
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Rabbit
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GoPro
Jan 23, 2017 22:09:04 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Jan 23, 2017 22:09:04 GMT
More like slo-mo videos of me putting a headphone on. Basically, I get fed up carting a bigger camera around so for the occasions, I'll just have a small lump in my pocket so it serves a dual purpose. Also for what it rains, I don't like taking the Sony out.
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Rabbit
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GoPro
Jan 24, 2017 13:31:20 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Jan 24, 2017 13:31:20 GMT
They probably pulled it because of the copyright on the music Gordon.
The Hero5 is expensive but it also has a few useful things. Voice control is great if you just jump in a pool say, with it on the side. You can tell it to start and stop filming remotely. There is also a stabilisation control for exactly what you filmed there. Not sure if the 4 has it. Stabilisation works well, but does cut the size of the picture in a bit to compensate.
Also having a touch screen makes all the controls way more accessible. Especially white balance and exposure.
I was really surprised at the quality available on it tbh. I filmed in 2.7K and mixed down to 1080. It goes up to 4K as well, although shutter options are more limited up there. In 4K, you can only film at 25FPS whereas at 2.7K you still get fantastic resolution and can also up the shutter speed to 50FPS which helps with sideways movement quite a lot.
One strange thing is the audio. Not brilliant, but worse when it is in the protective case supplied by GoPro. The case affects it. So I bought a cheap silicon case and for some reason,the sound is better that way and then I process it on the computer later as well. I just use a simple program called Filmora which also allows you to 'enhance' video footage. That seems to work well if you get a slightly fuzzy shot.
It also takes 12MP still shots in burst and lapsed time which is nice. Quality is OK as well.
The Hero5 surprised me but the price is awful.
Mind you, the Panasonic ain't cheap. Trouble is that it's not a portable thing really. I'd hate to be lugging it around on holiday. Great for hotel shots or going out in the car, but not walking around anywhere touristy.
I use the Sony for most stuff and have a little cheap digital thing for rainy days or swimming pool stuff or anything where I might drop it. The little digital thing lacks quality though which the GoPro brings back big time.
In Florida, we all went to a water park for an afternoon, so I took the little plastic thing with me going down water slides and underwater shots, and managed to edit that into quite a nice memory. That wouldn't have been possible with the Sony.
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Deleted
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GoPro
Jan 24, 2017 14:15:59 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2017 14:15:59 GMT
Well to be fair, my Panasonic was purchased primarily for it's stills capabilities and I've only really used it twice for video. It does have the advantage of full 1080p with image stabilization, built-in stereo mics and a hot-shoe for attaching an externel mic. If I bought a GoPro it would only be for the kind of 'movie' I've posted above. If I were looking for sound I'd look at external mics then sync it in PP later.
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Rabbit
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GoPro
Jan 24, 2017 16:27:56 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Jan 24, 2017 16:27:56 GMT
The post sync is a great idea. Even a little digital recorder would work well placed in a pocket or close by.
There is also the option of a usb external mic on the GoPro. The lead is a rip off though.
2.7K video is a nice touch because production can be then ripped down to 1080p. Works out pretty well actually and colour production is good. My Sony stops at 1080p.
What is surprising with the GoPro is just how much control you have over white balance, shuttter speeds, ISO., spot focusing, and exposure. It has an awful lot going on in a little package and has made me take a closer look at how I use the only actually. Much more at exposure and using 'manual' a little more and not being so lazy improves things a lot.
I guess that high price for the GoPro has to be justified somehow!!
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Deleted
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GoPro
Jan 24, 2017 19:43:54 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2017 19:43:54 GMT
When I bought the Panny it was to replace a Nikon D80 rig that I had. The Panny did everything pretty well. Trouble was it does nothing very well, with the possible exception of video. So for my last birthday my friend donated his old Nikon D200. I couldn't be happier. It's old, only 10MP but you've seen the photos. I love it.
Sennheiser make some nice wee mics for the GoPro, as do Rode. Any one of those would do the job very well I think. The only downside, as you say, seems to be the connection method but that just seems to be the price you have to pay for such a small package. A GoPro4 would do the job for me. 1080p is enough and I doubt I'll ever own a 4k telly. I certainly wouldn't buy one as at the moment all our video watching is either via Netflix on my 13MB connection or Blu-Ray. We don't have cable and frankly I don't want it. One of the great upsides of moving to a foreign country is that we don't watch broadcast TV. Don't miss it one bit actually.
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Rabbit
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GoPro
Jan 25, 2017 22:15:39 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Jan 25, 2017 22:15:39 GMT
I have to say, the GoPro Hero5 is impressive.
Every Wednesday, I take Lucy to a trampoline lesson. I have to sit somewhere else, behind bars!!!
This was an extreme test where I wouldn't normally consider videoing even with the Sony since I have to be quite far away. The metal grid is in my way. The lighting is just dreadful - almost as orange as street lamps in the night. It's also a very low light.
So I decided to film in 2.7k so that I could zoom in on my editing software without doing the quality in too much. I underexposed so the ISO rate stayed at 400 to try and keep noise down. Then I could brighten the image on my software.
I tried to correct the colour, but tbh, it was going to be weird whatever I did so I did a kind of compromise.
Shot at 50fps originally in order to keep motion as smooth as possible and then processed down to 1080p for tv and 720p for YouTube.
I used wide angle in order to get depth of field and also to use the cram bending effect on the window to form a tv shape, but that wide angle setting on the GoPro works very well and it's easy to cut into the middle later on via editing software to get a more 'standard' view if you want. As long as you shoot in very high definition.
The GoPro shows just how good it is in daft conditions .......
Definition on YouTube isn't anything like on my 55 inch tv but motion is captured without jitter, even on a big screen and it 'pops' better on tv. To think..... a camera just over two inches wide!!! Amazing little device.
I'll have to do some more 'normal' footage now, but I wanted something really nasty to do just to see what a mess I get from the GoPro, but it copes well.
The only thing that is 'lacking' on the Hero5 is absolutely 'manual' control. If you set the shutter speed to 'auto' you can lower the exposure (unfortunately, I suspect via altering the shutter speed which can cause jitter). If you set the shutter speed and lock it into a manual setting, you have no exposure control since the aperture isn't that wide in its adjustments.
This isn't only on the GoPro though. Commonly with other cameras, if you set aperture, you can't set shutter speed separately which forces a slight lost of control in that if you want a shallow depth of field, you are forced to use an 'auto' shutter speed which can in turn, produce movement jitter in the final image.
Ideally, the shutter should be set at twice the frame rate but this isn't possible with these constraints.
The GoPro does the same although there are some little exposure tweaks that you can do.
I forced the camera to film no higher than 400 ISO for Lucy's footage in order to reduce grain. The image was dark, so I then had to bring the brightness up on my computer software. It's a kind of workaround of you want better footage in low light as it was yesterday. That footage was shot two stops under.
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Rabbit
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GoPro
Jan 26, 2017 11:26:15 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Jan 26, 2017 11:26:15 GMT
So far, if anyone is considering lashing out the high price for the GpPro Hero 5, while it is an excellent device, it's only really as good as you are with a computer I think. I really like it for its portability and the quality of footage that is possible from it. Quite amazing actually.
I have a few tips though if anyone is going for one.
In low light, fix the ISO to max out at 400 and process brightness later on the computer. (Lessens noise) If you are going to post manage colour, use 'native', if not, I find the GoPro colour very good in most situations although can be too contrasty in bright sun. 'Flat' might render better in those conditions. Play around with exposure control when using 'auto' shutter speed. Spot metering is very useful and it is right there on the camera via a long screen touch. You just touch the area for metering. Take footage in 2.7k. It's a massive file, but then, you can cut into the footage and so get more 'zoomed' in shots without losing HD. Use a tripod!! If you're just shooting a 'scene' and don't need movement, take it as a photo and move it in software as a photo. It works well and integrates nicely with the footage. (Two of my shots in the opening of the video above were photos that I moved) Time lapse is awesome for those boring shots where you need to cover a lot of land say, in a journey for cars. (Ie: 'getting there' shots) Take the camera out of the mounting. That mounting affects the sound from the camera. I bought a cheap silicon case with lens cap. I put the camera on a phone grip which attaches to a tripod. Much quicker and sound isn't affected. If you can be bothered, a digital sound recorder in your pocket is useful for better sound. If you clap on film and on sound at the same time, you can then sync the sound by finding the peaks (where you clapped) and match them up. Then turn off the camera sound for post production. Looks and sounds very professional.
It is a pretty amazing little camera but like so many, it has its quirks. The Hero5 is one of their better ones imo. It has an improved sensor as well so picture quality is extremely good. (Potentially)
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