Cornwall 2009

[Pav]

you may miss this thread padaxes as its titled Comanche camera mount... BUT lots of ideas for all types of cameras and guns ;

http://forums.deeperblue.com/uk-ireland/81413-comanche-camera-mount-bracket.html

Not sure why I havn't something sorted yet! Work is a real distraction!!

I'm trying to decide if to go for a gopro myself as they seem so neat for all sorts of aplications.. in the surf, on the yak, and spearing. I did think all the gopros were wide angled? I know you can get different setups (the surfers one comes with a board pad). Anyone know if the cameras themselves are all the same spec?

 

[Padaxes]

Well from what I see you can by the camera without a mount and pick the mount that fits your needs best. Also there are two kinds normal and wide angle. the wide angle is more expensive.

Im def going to get one I think , My dad is a paraglider so i think we may go halves as he's interested in using it too. They look pretty versatile!

 

[gutshot]

It all depends on the housing you get with the camera. I got the basic hero5 wrist cam but you can't fit that to your speargun. I got the motor sport expasion pack which comes with a different housing and good fittings too. Then used the sticky pads whick come with the gopro housing and used sikaflex for a little more security. It works great!

Batteries are a little more tricky although and i have been trying rechargable ones but make sure you get the 2000mh ones or you wont get 5 mins of life.

 

[scottwilson]

As far as I know theres 3 versions of the actual camera.

Gopro hero 3
Gopro hero 5
Gopro hero 5 wide angle lense

One big downside with the hero 3 is its crap in low light and you land up with a lot of dark green footage. the video is also soft in comparison to other cameras on the market.

as far as batteries go my advise would be Energizer ultimate lithiums. I bought 12 off Ebay for £13. Ive used 1 set 3 times now and got over 2 hours of video out of them.

Leaking is a problem. Mine used to leak but now I wash is under the tap and press the buttons while the housing is submerged in the basin. I do this just before I load the camera into the housing and again when I come home and touch wood Ive had no more leaks.

For those of you who have the gopro 5 theres some good news in way of a firmware which will be released shortly allowing you to use 4gig cards giving you just short of 2 hours of video.

Ive changed my camera mount to Gutshots setup now as It works a treat and takes seconds to remove the housing from the gun

 

[gutshot]

as far as batteries go my advise would be Energizer ultimate lithiums. I bought 12 off Ebay for £13. Ive used 1 set 3 times now and got over 2 hours of video out of them.

After i posted the message before, i made sure the rechargable batteries where fully charged and i tried them again while i was working. I got 2.5hrs of standy and over and hour of video. I think the batteries were not fully charged before but now i need to try them on a dive. I was going to go in on the south coast this weekend but todays winds look like they may have stuffed things up there! Once i get them in the water charged i will post another report.

 

[nickever]

Hi guys,

Got my hero 5 camera yesterday and then stupidly realised that the wrist strap version I have got will not work the extra mounts I also got and fit on my speargun! Doh!

Have tried to rig it up using a few bits and bobs from my toolbox, and have it mounted okay now but I think I may have to bite the bullet and get the motorsports expansion kit and have it rigged up properly like you gutshot. I have the same gun as well so thanks for the pictures - should make life easier when I get all the bits.

Guess it is an easy mistake to make - didn't feel the subtle differences with the various hero cams were made very clear! Something to be aware of all you guys out there considering getting one...

 

[gutshot]

The same thing happened to me but at least now i have 2 housings so i am covered for all occasions.

Still considering getting in for a quick try dive on a new reef on the high tide slightly offshore. Sould help keep the viz a little better after the southerly winds yesterday. Any on the south coast seen what the viz is like today??

 

[Pav]

I hadn't realised the housings differed? I was being tempted by the surfers kit so I I could use it for surfing / and spearing. Is it just the motorsports expansion kit that you would need with this? I like the bracket option you have glued to the gun. Ideal answer to having something that is quick to fit / remove. Is it still a fiddle, or is it something that you could do in the water if you had the camera in your bouy and decided you wanted to use it during a dive?

Have you any photos? The 2sec burst mode could offer some nice stills.

 

[SurfnSpear]

I am going to jump in today and tomorrow as I think it will be more surf than dive later in the weekend. I also wanted to do my favourite south coast spot on the push today as I reckon there's going to be more about, however the water looks very clean here in Newquay. Nice bit off sun between the clouds! Anyone wanting to buddy up let me know.

 

[gutshot]

Easy to detatch. It is just a pinch clip. The best thing about using the sikaflex for the added security is that when you want to remove it a sharp blade would cut it away! I can't be sure but it looks like the surf kit you are on about looks like the same housing as the motorsports but it will come with different fittings. I doubt it would contain the arm!

 

[gutshot]

I am going to jump in today and tomorrow as I think it will be more surf than dive later in the weekend. I also wanted to do my favourite south coast spot on the push today as I reckon there's going to be more about, however the water looks very clean here in Newquay. Nice bit off sun between the clouds! Anyone wanting to buddy up let me know.

Are you sure about the surf? Tragicseaweed shows very light winds with at least a headhigh wave tomorrow. I think the surf could be quite good. I may be trying my luck later on today though! Where are you off to??

 

[Trelawney]

I hadn't realised the housings differed? I was being tempted by the surfers kit so I I could use it for surfing / and spearing. Is it just the motorsports expansion kit that you would need with this? I like the bracket option you have glued to the gun. Ideal answer to having something that is quick to fit / remove. Is it still a fiddle, or is it something that you could do in the water if you had the camera in your bouy and decided you wanted to use it during a dive?

Have you any photos? The 2sec burst mode could offer some nice stills.

I looked at the surf kit, and one of the lifeguards I work with has just bought one. There is big stick on pad for the front of your board, and an FCS plug that you glass into the tail. The motorsport pack is not needed with this kit as it has its own dedicated mounts.

I've taken a few photos with the Go Pro, and they come out quite well. Not SLR+strobe standard (perhaps too much to hope), but good enough. The first two have been photo-shopped.

 

[SurfnSpear]

PM'd you about it

 

[Padaxes]

So looks like the motor sports kit for spearing ?(the expensive one of course!). Im not too bothered about photo quality as its video im really interested in.

 

[Trelawney]

The video quality is excellent, though in the housing, the sound isn't great. But if you're underwater, who cares?

The m/sports pack is the way to go for ease of mounting, and you can get some cool angles when you start to play with it.

 

[Pav]

nice photos of the diver on the surface.
Do you have any taken at the bottom, as wondering if you would get enough light to take a photo of weed / fish / seals?

 

[Trelawney]

If you go onto my Youtube page to the Nepaul vid, at the end there are some stills taken of some Artillery shells that we found. They were taken in about 15ft of water at a distance of 1m from the subject. It wasn't a brilliantly sunny day, but the Wide angle lens seems to gather quite a lot of light. I would post them here but I'm at work at the mo. I'll dig them out when I get home.

Getting close to some fish might be a problem, but for flatties, congers :blackeye, crabs and friendly seals it would be fine.

 

[badlander]

Got in Falmouth area today around low tide.Vis was 5m more or less.Didn't see a great deal for the first bit then i was watching a couple of pollock and turned and saw a bass but it looked borderline so i watched it swim off.A few more dives and drew in some mullet so i took one.Covered a bit more ground which resulted in one more mullet caught and 2 more bass spotted,both undersized.Nice to feel that there is actually some fish about down this way at least!

 

[napper]

Not so many fish on the North Coast though mate !

Got in as the tide turned and the vis improved dramatically during the one and a half hour dive to about 2m at best. Only saw some sand eel on the way out from the beach and that was about it.....Still as they say nothing ventured etc and it was better than good getting into the water on such a lovely day.

 

[Lazuli]

Got in Falmouth area today around low tide.Vis was 5m more or less.Didn't see a great deal for the first bit then i was watching a couple of pollock and turned and saw a bass but it looked borderline so i watched it swim off.A few more dives and drew in some mullet so i took one.Covered a bit more ground which resulted in one more mullet caught and 2 more bass spotted,both undersized.Nice to feel that there is actually some fish about down this way at least!

Nice one badlander. Well done on the Mullet(s). I rolled on down to Falmouth today expecting to get in but I forgot my lube and when I saw the chop I lost my motivation. Vis seemed do-able though, just not enough reefy goodness for me at low tide today!! Your not from St Agnes are you....? A mate of mine told me that the surfer name for St Agnes is "The Badlands".

Itching to get in. Got a new Omer Cayman Carbon 75 to try out. Just got to figure out how I want to rig it then game on.