GoPro 3+ versus 4+ and ideas for mounting

The big changes for the 4+ series is 120 frames @ 1080P (great for slo mo) and the touch screen. It's either or, not both.

The second hand market is exploding and price dropping as previous 3+ junkies are dumping their old for the latest release.

For mounting hardware go to the on-line auction site. I just picked up several mounts including head and chest, suction, clamp, etc for under $15. The quality is every bit as good as OEM.

I'm still looking for various mounting positions too. I've mounted mine on the bridle wires facing rearward and got some great shots, but definitely am looking for other options for variety.

I've had good luck using a curved adhesive mount just in front of where the bridle mounts to the hull. Use the bridle or a safety line in case the mount comes loose.

Dave,

Have you had any issues with the camera coming loose when pushing hard? I've got a H16, so it's fairly easy to bury the bow, or at least have a significant amount of water flowing over it.

I've seen good vids with guys strapping a PVC extension of the back of the boom several feet. After having my goPro stolen, I've bought a gear pro cam. LCD touchscreen on the back and same specs as a goPro but they're $89 with every accessory mounting option you can think of.

a few other comments/questions....

1) higher resolution and fps I don't think that really is so important to me and comes at the cost of battery/space. I'd simply like to get some decent quality clips once in a while and probably also won't jump on the trading up bandwaggon. So sticking with last years model with the ability to return/exchange it at Costco easier than at Amazon doesn't seem like too bad a compromise...

2) losing the camera seems like it could happen too easily. Any suggestions how to guard against that? I saw there's some tethers and floating back panels as accessories. Do folks use any other safeguards?

3) between the remote and the GoPro app what do most of you prefer? Since either uses WIFI I assume that becomes a drag on batterly life during use. The GoPro app seems a lot easier to navigate then the toggle menu on the remote that comes with the camera. Is there a preference with respect to battery life or does it really not matter since the battery won't drain before storage is used if the camera is only turned on for actually recording clips?

4) What resolution is decent enough and a good compromise for battery life and storage space. I have a 64GB SD card right now and am hoping I won't need a second card..

5) A compact case that will easily carry the most needed accesories w/o taking much space, any suggestions for that?

marekli wrote:
I don't think glueing the standard mounts to anything is really an option

The safety line is the key. I don't use this weird rubber attachment but just tied a safety line somewhere at the case (I think it was at the hinge)

Here I used a curved adhesive mount on the mast. You can see the safety line at 00:26 (I forgot to attach it.....)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pelqd5CKUgI

A good mouting point is on your hat, also with a safety line. Use a tripod mount with an appropriate bolt and washer. Watch the very first image of this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24R_BmTW64U

Edited by Andinista on Oct 20, 2014 - 07:31 AM.

I haven't had it come loose yet. But my mounts have been there for a few seasons and I think they are niw permanently attached. I also have a safety tether (real rope not those silly ones gopo sells) and a floating back. Not sure the Orange floaty back is going to be big enough to spot if it every completely breaks away.

Marek,
Battery life is crap (especially on the slopes) so get some spares. Generally speaking, bitrate is not going to affect battery life. The remote and app both work well. If you want to turn off wifi, just use the buttons. I use a pelican case for travel for all the GoPro stuff, and just carry what is needed for the specific use (i.e. spare batteries, mounts, etc.)

I am on my 3rd go pro (one was lost at sea, one just died after several years)
I have used the supplied mounts, on my bows (top), front beam, mast, hat and boom

The mounts will eventually fail so a lanyard is a must

the iphone app is not very useful on the water, and i don't own a remote... so i usually just manually operate the camera

On topic, camera-positions fixed.
- On tiller
- On tiller-bar
- On bowsprit, and if you're flying a spi, a 3 feet pole extension.
- At the rear of the boom, using a extender pole ( or paddle).
- Flat-mount between bridle tang and bow.
- Flat-mount between rear beam and transom.
- Mounts in the mast
- Clamps on the diamond-spreader.
- Or caption-style with a improvised tripod on the cat.

Standard Gopro clamps are ok for most ocassions, my H2's are
all mounted with "Flymount clamps", Mafrotto also has a nice
range of clamps.

Camera's on you're body.
- Head-cam.
- Chest-cam.
- Wrist-cam.

Or, get a drone , quadcopter with "follow me" function for air footage.

In the end, we all want to sail our catamarans " dangerously" fast and
make some footage of that occasion.

Unless you want to exhibit your movie in a 1200 seats, IMAX theater,
what do you really need ?
In my opinion the Gopro H1 and H2 are just fine for our sort of
Video-registration, just click the "record" button and go.
1080p at 60 fps is fine for most home-movie experience.

More options means more time to set them and less time to sail,
also, did any-one consider taking the iPhone/Tablet out on the
water ?? I set my cams at home before going out sailing, make sure
there's enough batterie/SD card oomph and press the record button.

So, thank you Gopro, for bringing the 3 and 4 series to us.
The second-hand market will make the Hero 2 affordable to us.

As for lanyards, don't ever use the provided stuff, I use 2mm
dyneema lines for all my cams.

Off topic,

My set of Gopro stuff is the following;
- 1 x Hero 1 (speedo-cam)
- 2 x Hero 2
- 9 x batterie-pack
- 6 x 32 Gb sd-card
- Various Gopro mounts
- 2 x Flymount clamps
- USB SD-card reader
- 1 x 12volt car-charger
- 1 x 12volt 220volt charger
- Speedometer ( Garmin 201)
- Plastic case for all this and foamed to size.

André

Thanks everyone for the insights...and that's a lot of info Andre...a nice detailed listing of materials and methods you use.

For similar reasons as you I bought the "last years" model GoProHero3+ at a slight discount with the extra battery pack thrown in. I never owned one but understand it is somewhat the gold standard in action camera footage...I don't anticipate using it much more outside cat sailing, maybe on a bike ride, adventure hiking or on a horse back that's about all of the activities I can imagine that I do that it might make some interesting footage.

I have a Sony small Handycam for out of water purposes and have used the Iphone with a Lifeproof case and the floatie. I consider those splash resistant and try to keep from dousing it in the water...

I created a shopping basket that's been piling up various mounts and accessories at Amazon but have not checked out yet since it seems everyday there's a new idea that pops up...

Just my 2 cents worth. I have the Contour with GPS. I use it at 720 and watch my footage on a 50" TV.
The picture is awesome even in slow-mo. Using your camera at 1080 just eats up memory.

I mount it to everything. My boat, car when im racing at the track my remote control gliders and off road cars.
its a lot of fun to sit back after a day of whatever and relive the fun.

I say mount it wherever and make some cool videos. 😀

On my hobie 18, I put mounts on each hull in front the cross beam, on the boom, and on the mast. I had a 1ft lanyard with a carabiner...I always put the mount close to an attachment point for the carabiner.

The helmet mount is the easiest to deal with.

IMO the key to an entertaining video is to make the clips short and sweet. Edit together a bunch of different angles. And of course the crashes and close interaction with other boats are always the most fun to watch.

I had some footage from a perfect day of sailing at Lake Huntington where I was literally flying the hull the entire length only putting down the second hull to tack...it was perfect. When I watched the video...I was board after a few seconds. I have noticed that ideal sailing conditions don't always make for very entertaining video. The most shared videos were the ones with violent carnage.

The helmet mount is the easiest to deal with.

the footage from the helmet cam has lots of movement and if the skipper is looking around a lot, it is pretty poor footage (from a production/viewer point of view)

cisdubs wrote: Just my 2 cents worth. I have the Contour with GPS. I use it at 720 and watch my footage on a 50" TV. The picture is awesome even in slow-mo. Using your camera at 1080 just eats up memory.
I mount it to everything. My boat, car when im racing at the track my remote control gliders and off road cars.
its a lot of fun to sit back after a day of whatever and relive the fun.
I say mount it wherever and make some cool videos. 😀

Couldn't agree more, the reason I set my old gopro cams H1 and H2 at 1080
is, when editing the video the footage don't differ that much in quality .

genehacker wrote:
The helmet mount is the easiest to deal with.
IMO the key to an entertaining video is to make the clips short and sweet. Edit together a bunch of different angles. And of course the crashes and close interaction with other boats are always the most fun to watch.

True, short and sweet, working on that..

MN3 wrote:

The helmet mount is the easiest to deal with.

the footage from the helmet cam has lots of movement and if the skipper is looking around a lot, it is pretty poor footage (from a production/viewer point of view)

+ 1 , body-cams, in whatever position, do not work for catsailing footage.

One tip on using Gopro H1 and H2 in humid and colder climates,
put them in the cooler or fridge with the case open for half an hour.
Take them out and shut the case as fast as you can. Leave them for
5 min and wipe them dry.
That's what I learned after editing this footage.

http://vimeo.com/86071961

André

put them in the cooler or fridge with the case open for half an hour.
Take them out and shut the case as fast as you can. Leave them for
5 min and wipe them dry.

nice trick - will try next time

I make and sell a pivoting mount for the gopro and action cam that attaches to the forestay adjuster with just one pin hole. Easy to adjust and nicely priced.

Edited by buxton on Nov 06, 2014 - 06:22 PM.

Hi Andre,

Many thanks for your post and information.

Having just bought myself a cat, I have been researching GoPro mounting ideas and hit this thread.

I notice you have a Garmin in-front of your GoPro to give the speed - which was a great idea, and one I intend to replicate !!.

Can you tell me please - did you use any special attachments on that to secure it - or have you just used the strap it came with ? and where was your goPro mounted to get that view with Garmin in the foreground .... many thanks.

Tks - Mike.

Hello Mike,

First, welcome to this beach cat forum, as a new cat sailor you can find lots of
information and help overhere. Also, the people at this forum tend to be friendly.

As for your question, its stupidly simple.
I taped my paddle to the boom with pvc-tape and let it stick out for almost
2 feet. Then attached my Garmin foretrex 201 to the end of the boom with
a tie-wrap.
Used a standard Gopro tube-mount ( believe it was for cyclists ) to attach
it to the paddle.
Next was sorting out the focus-point of the Gopro H1, so the
digits on the Garmin were clearly displayed. Just a matter of trial and error with
a laptop nearby. No sailing required, just did it on the beach.
Record and play it back on the laptop.
As for the lanyard, I didn't use the standard strap from Gopro, Took a thin
dyneema line, put it through the camera and through a drilled hole in my paddle.
Drilled that hole at the back of the camera-mount, to keep it clear from the lens.

Hope this helps, André

meonshore-mike wrote: Hi Andre,

Many thanks for your post and information.

Having just bought myself a cat, I have been researching GoPro mounting ideas and hit this thread.

I notice you have a Garmin in-front of your GoPro to give the speed - which was a great idea, and one I intend to replicate !!.

Can you tell me please - did you use any special attachments on that to secure it - or have you just used the strap it came with ? and where was your goPro mounted to get that view with Garmin in the foreground .... many thanks.

Tks - Mike.

André

Ah thank you for the rapid and detailed response. I'm enjoying reading lots of the posts and looking forward to contributing where I can.

That all makes sense, and in fact I re-watched your video again and could see the paddle from a rear facing view particularly as your crew righted a capsize.

I'm without a boom as I'm starting with a Dart 16 and so I'll need to work this out slightly differently but it will certainly move me along the journey !

Thanks again
Mike

Just an idea,
Stick a aluminium tube in the lowest batten pocket...

meonshore-mike wrote: André

Ah thank you for the rapid and detailed response. I'm enjoying reading lots of the posts and looking forward to contributing where I can.

That all makes sense, and in fact I re-watched your video again and could see the paddle from a rear facing view particularly as your crew righted a capsize.

I'm without a boom as I'm starting with a Dart 16 and so I'll need to work this out slightly differently but it will certainly move me along the journey !

Thanks again
Mike

Thats a great suggestion - thank you.

Will try that.