GoPro® Cameras For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
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Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2016958641
ISBN: 978-1-119-28554-0
ISBN (ePDF): 978-1-119-28556-4; ISBN (ePub): 978-1-119-28555-7
Compared with traditional camcorders, the GoPro is a superhero, able to leap tall buildings in a single … er, smartphone click. Your first inclination when hearing about such a unique camera is to think it costs a lot of money, but that’s not the case. The GoPro is cheap. Very cheap.
The GoPro challenges conventional notions of where you can put a camcorder and continually challenges users to find new and exciting places to capture movies and photographs. You can control the camera from a distance through an app on your smartphone, thus keeping you out of harm’s way. It’s waterproof too, so you can capture video footage under the wettest of circumstances, submerging the camera to record stunning underwater sequences right out of the box.
The capability to work in weird places would go only so far if the GoPro’s image quality were subpar. In fact, the GoPro can capture 4K video at a rate of up to 30 frames per second (fps), depending on the model, so you can capture unique high-quality video at an affordable price. High-definition (HD) offers even higher frame rates, up to 240 fps.
This rugged little camera can go anyplace and produce exciting new perspectives. It works for everyone from amateurs to pros. Families use it to document their daily lives; students experiment with it; photographers use it to supplement camcorder footage. GoPro has even spread to the professional arena, with an increasing presence in broadcast news programs, movies, and television shows.
I’ve had a blast making movies and playing with my GoPro, so I hope you’ll think that I’m the right dummy to introduce you to this camera.
The new and improved GoPro Cameras For Dummies helps you make sense of GoPro moviemaking. Through my experience as a still photographer and a television producer, I describe how to use your GoPro to make movies, take still images, and make time-lapse sequences with fresh techniques and the latest cameras in the line.
Think of this book as a quick information stop where you can find out what you need and get back to work. It includes cinematic tips, effects that will impress your audience, advice on effective edits, and even some cool uses for your GoPro.
I wrote this book for people who have different proficiency levels but have similar ambition for making compelling movies and pictures. Some readers have already made their mark in conventional video production and want to add one more weapon to their arsenal. Others come from the still-photography sector and are fascinated by the GoPro’s still and time-lapse capabilities. Still photography is an untapped resource for GoPro, thanks to its ultra-wide-angle lens and unlimited mounting ability. Simply put, it’s a great camera for capturing images with a unique perspective. Hobbyists, family documentarians, students, and now artists are all looking to understand this new, exciting phenomenon. The goal of this book is to make sure that everyone gets the knowledge he or she needs to use the GoPro.
GoPro Cameras For Dummies is divided into four parts; each part details the phases of understanding GoPro moviemaking as effectively as possible. You will no doubt have a preference for a particular area. You may relish the section that pertains to understanding the camera, or you may skip ahead to the filmmaking techniques or the cool places you can use a GoPro.
Part 1 provides the reader with a swift overview and capability of the updated GoPro camera system. Whether you’re a beginner looking to make movies with this unique camera, a working professional creating fresh visual perspectives for your movie or segment, or anyone in between, this group of chapters covers the newest GoPro models, types of users, and important accessories for making movies.
If you think the chariot scene in the classic film Ben-Hur was spectacular, imagine if they had GoPros back then. The GoPro changes the way you shoot action, yet regardless of the device or camera, the language of cinema remains the most important aspect for making a movie. The following chapters explain filmmaking technique specific to the camera so you can produce an impressive movie with your GoPro HERO.
Shooting video is only the first part of the process, unless you want to simply play your raw footage and bore your audience with a few moments of the good stuff, and the rest the warts and blemishes. Editing lets you show the viewer exactly what you want, thus creating the “wow” factor. This section covers editing your movie on a computer loaded with GoPro Studio editing software.
The Dummies version of a top ten list will provide insight into fun places to mount your GoPro, professional applications, and making your movies and pictures better by avoiding the pitfalls of using it.
What’s a For Dummies book without icons pointing out great information that’s sure to help you along your way? In this section, I briefly describe the icons used in this book.
Like every For Dummies book, this one comes with a free Cheat Sheet that brings together some of the most commonly needed information for people learning to use, in this case, GoPro cameras. To get the Cheat Sheet, head for www.dummies.com
and enter GoPro Cameras For Dummies 2nd Edition Cheat Sheet in the Search box.
Part 1
IN THIS PART …
Understand the GoPro camera.
See what you need to get started.
Find the right mount.
Choose the right accessory.
Chapter 1
IN THIS CHAPTER
Discovering GoPro’s magic
Finding out what GoPro can do
Comparing the different models
Working with the GoPro apps
You’ve probably heard the old saying, “Good things come in small packages.” Sometimes it’s true, as in the case of a diamond ring. That sparkly rock is small, and many people would agree that it’s good. But a mosquito, which is smaller than a diamond, isn’t good at all, especially on a warm summer evening.
Small cameras rarely solicit as much disdain as mosquitoes do. Most of us accept the compromise of function for size, understanding that it’s acceptable for a camera to have less quality and fewer features in exchange for traveling well.
The GoPro, however, shatters that compromise like a rock on a plate-glass window. This pint-size wonder not only fits in the palm of your hand, but also easily mounts anywhere. Put it on a bicycle helmet to capture the rider’s perspective. Mount it on a surfboard and not worry about frying the electronics, thanks to its watertight housing. How about mounting it on an inexpensive remote-control drone (more appropriately known here as a quadcopter) and recording overhead footage and something that was out of the realm of possibility for consumers a few short years ago? (Check local ordinances first so you don’t fly your airship too close to a restricted area or violate privacy and security of others. More on that in Chapter 6.)
The GoPro is a pint-size, consumer-priced camcorder that yields professional results and does lots of cool stuff thanks to its Wi-Fi capability, superior performance, and extreme portability.
The GoPro doesn’t take up much space, so it’s easy to pack, carry, and mount in interesting places. The most feature-rich model, the HERO5 Black is a shade under 3 inches long, so it would take a bagful of these cameras to occupy the same amount of space as a conventional camcorder. The HERO5 Session and HERO Session are even smaller. Regardless, the diminutive stature of GoPro becomes even more important when you mount several cameras in a confined area and that’s a good thing, because these little guys are often used in bunches.
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall” doesn’t apply to the GoPro because it weighs ounces, not pounds. Since the camera is small and lightweight, you can place it almost anywhere with little concern that it will fall because it’s too heavy. Earlier GoPro models captured movie files on an SD card, but because the camera got smaller and lighter with each upgrade, it now uses a petite microSD card (see Figure 1-1) that holds up to 128 GB of pictures and movies.
Wishing for the existence of such a camera just a mere generation ago was quite a stretch, like wanting a Pegasus in your barn. Fret no more. Your sanity is safe — at least when it comes to the existence of a durable, inexpensive camera that goes anywhere while capturing high definition video and even 3D video. All it takes to accurately capture whatever situation you have in mind is an optional, inexpensive mount.
Just a few years ago, ambitious users who attempted to put an expensive camcorder in a place where it didn’t belong usually didn’t get a compelling piece of work; rather, they often had to pick up the pieces of their smashed cameras. That’s less a worry these days, thanks to the design and durability of the GoPro.
Beyond being small and well designed, a GoPro can go anyplace you go and mount almost anywhere. Moviemaking has always had the dubious distinction of being a cumbersome endeavor, usually because of the size and weight of the equipment. It’s quite refreshing to have a high-quality camera with ultra-wide optics that fits in the palm of your hand and that has a mount for almost every situation.
Capturing footage in nonconventional places is the GoPro’s job description. The tougher the situation, the more impressive the results. The GoPro is shock-resistant and waterproof, which are good qualities for a camera that can mount on almost anything, moving or otherwise. The next time you’re inspired to mount the camera on Fido for a dog’s-eye view, feel free. Shock your friends and neighbors when you decide to take the camera into the pool to shoot an underwater sequence (see Figure 1-2).
The GoPro doesn’t resemble a conventional camcorder, nor does it behave like one. It looks more like a small square box with a protruding lens than a sleekly designed camcorder. Although you can hold it like a traditional camera, it is equally effective (if not more so) when it’s attached to something.
Just a few years ago, merely having a moderate wide-angle view on a camcorder was a minor coup. Going reasonably wider often meant using one of those poor quality wide-angle adapters that screwed on the filter or clamped over the lens. Adapters produced exaggerated distortion, especially on the edges, creating a foggy appearance. The GoPro provides a wider perspective than those old accessory lenses, as shown in Figure 1-3, and does it with impressive optical quality.
Here’s why:
Here are a few ways to wear it (More will be discussed in Chapter 2):
What can a GoPro do? Here’s a more relevant question: What do you want it to do? Asking this question is more like asking yourself about your own wishes and desires for unique video footage. When you determine what you want to capture, all you must do is connect the camera to the appropriate mount and press the Record button.
The following sections cover a few special capabilities of the GoPro.
Although still-photo capability rarely (and rarely means almost never) finds its way onto the list of reasons to buy a video camcorder, GoPro is the refreshing exception to that rule. It not only gets up close and personal with its ultra-wide-angle view (see Figure 1-5), but also does it with extreme sharpness. You can take still capture even further by capturing a scene at preset intervals to create a time-lapse movie. Although the current editions of the GoPro have excellent still-photo quality, it increases with each model.
The GoPro liberates your imagination by allowing you to capture situations that in the recent past seemed like fantasies. Since the early days of motion-picture capture, people always had the desire to present each shot with a unique perspective. At some point or another, we’ve all wanted to mount a video camera on a car bumper to capture compelling footage or fly it remotely over the action on some hobby craft, but doing so was never feasible or practical. The ambitious efforts of the more adventurous often ended in a crash landing.
Now, with GoPro, those creative ideas are not only possible, but also practical thanks to the camera’s durability, unique mounts, and Wi-Fi communication. Here are a few things that GoPro makes possible:
Although all current GoPro models let you capture full-frame high-definition (HD) video, the quality and frame-rate options increase with the 4K setting. Using H264 compression, the GoPro compresses captured video files to fit more information on the microSD card, and the compressed files maintain substantial quality when opened. 4K is a high-resolution setting for video capture. Think HD and then quadruple the quality.
The GoPro system can make you feel like Inspector Gadget. There’s something very spylike about securing your GoPro anyplace you want — high or low, moving or stationary— and then monitoring the scene on your smartphone. Thanks to the camera’s various mounting plates, you can put it almost anywhere, even a boat rail as seen in Figure 1-6.
Here’s more of what you can do via Wi-Fi:
The latest GoPro line, HERO5, features two cameras with varying features and quality levels. Each model offers Wi-Fi capability. The HERO5 Black closely resembles the size and footprint of the previous model, though it no longer needs a waterproof housing. The HERO5 Session looks like its predecessor, but internally it’s been given a power jolt too. With 4K video capture, voice control, and some cool night functions, both models are equally amazing when it comes to quality, though each has features consistent with your needs.
Let’s delve further into each model.
Once upon a time, it was a range of tonal names that differentiated the GoPro HERO, including the Silver and White editions. And while many of these models are still viable choices, the latest version is only about the Black. It’s the big kahuna of the HERO line and it has been revamped so much that there’s only a need for a single model of this size. The most obvious difference with this model is its ready-to-go waterproof design, good for depths as low as 33 feet (10m), and face it, how many times do you need to go deeper? A lot, you say, then just use the optional Dive Housing; it’s good for close to 197 feet (60m).
Besides the built-in water protection, the latest entry is pretty feature-packed. Not only does it capture 4K video that can make your audience feel like they’re in the middle of the action, but also it can capture it with one-button simplicity.
Internal improvements help stabilize video in shaky situations, capture crystal-clear audio, and provide pro-quality photo capture. Combine that with voice control and GPS, the HERO5 Black packs a lot of punch in such a portable camera. (see Figure 1-7)
Other new features over previous HERO models include:
Stunning 4K recording: Capture 4K video at 30 fps as well as 2.7K at 60 fps for ultra high-resolution video.
Most of the power of the HERO5 Black, but half its size, makes the HERO5 Session a great choice when you’re looking to carry a little less camera without sacrificing a whole lot of quality. Not only can you mount it using a wide range of accessories, but you can wear it on your lapel like a corsage and capture the world with this incredibly portable camera. Stunning 4K capture, along with one-button simplicity makes this waterproof powerhouse a force to be reckoned with. (See Figure 1-8)
Other new features over previous Session models include:
Not only is it the smallest GoPro in the lineup, but it’s also the most inconspicuous. Easily worn, or mounted, it allows you capture impressive video and pictures in the smallest spaces. One-button operation makes it easy to start recording, but its small size provides less control on the camera. That’s no problem, since you can control the camera from your app.
Some aspects to consider:
Don’t worry if you’re not using the latest model. The last few generations capture HD video, and even 4K.
Every bit as relevant as its HERO5 Black successor, you can do everything with this model with minimal quality issues. Just like the new line, it captures 4K video at 30 fps as well as 2.7K at 50 fps for ultra high-resolution capture. It doesn’t have the built-in waterproof case, nor does it have a touch screen. But since it’s waterproof to deeper depths in its housing and you can always add an optional LCD Touch Screen Back, this model remains highly relevant.
Here are some of its features:
HD video capture: Captures HD video at up to 1080p (progressive) at 120 fps, making it possible to capture maximum detail even when applying slow motion in GoPro Studio.
Set tags on your video: The HiLight tag makes it easy to find the best part of your clip by setting markers while capturing footage.
Other features include:
The most no-frills model of the HERO lineup provides excellent image quality but not much else. It has a built-in waterproof housing with a built-in battery. There’s not an accessory port, so you can’t add a monitor, extra battery pack or Wi-Fi, so there’s a little more guessing with this one since you can’t see what you’re shooting.