GoPro Hero 4 ? NOPE Hero3+

Update: It's here and it's called the Hero3+
OK that's original.
Here is a link to their page and the new sales demo video.
GoPro.com
Hero3+ video

So the good: color balance modes, better battery.
New lens, better in low light. smaller.
Not so good: still no exposure lock, no 1/4 20, no long exposure
times.  Nothing hits me as a wow I need to go buy this now.
I'm thinking the Hero3+ will be missing from my family
portrait above just like the forgettable Hero960.

The one thing I'm most excited about is the new protective lens.

I noticed that on YouTube the new "WOW" video to sell the camera
is listed in the "sports" category. The video was almost exclusively
Sports shots, so I guess this is the target market.
There was not one time-lapse shot, RC or other use shown.
Too bad, I guess all the 15 year olds on YouTube are right,
GoPros are for sports.

I will continue to use them for almost everything but, until
another manufacturer makes the camera I want.
 
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It's that time of year when the interwebs start stirring about all kinds

of new products that will be arriving just in time for Christmas

and it's time for one of my favorite subjects,

 GoPro.

Is there a GoPro Hero 4 on the way?
I made a video that discusses that possibility and my observations,
predictions and wishes for GoPro's next offering.

Click here to watch.

No way to know what is really coming down the pipe.

One thing is sure, the cameras are getting better with more

features than ever before.  Soon we will have HD plus

cameras everywhere, and they will be tiny.

My wish list this time for GoPro?

1/4 20 mount on camera.

Make it entirely black.

Manual control or AE exposure lock.

16 by 9 stills

Longer still exposure times.

Better battery 

and maybe even a Hero3s that will talk to you

or even a Hero3 Pink.

DIY GoPro Frame

One is ugly, one is almost elegant in it's simplicity.

Both solve a simple problem, how to shoot with a "naked" GoPro.

The companion video will show you how I made them click here to watch.

The best ground breaking feature of GoPro Hero's was that it included

a water proof housing.  The cameras have proven to be so versatile that

you soon find that you want to shoot out of the water and want to record

good sound.  You can't do that when the camera is in a water proof case.

The company now sells a "frame" housing and a skeleton case.

Both are kind of expensive for occasional "naked" shooting.

The frame is only made for the Hero3.

Years ago before they came out with the "frame" I made the DIY frame

at the top of this page for in car shooting.

It is ugly but it works.

A few bucks in parts and you can make your own.

My new "naked" mount, see below, is inspired by the GoPro

mounts RC plane and copter users developed.

A few bucks for a strip of aluminum, a screw,

and you're in business.  I have been using this new mount for

in car shooting with great success.

The only downside, it does not work with an LCD back.

So? Need a GoPro frame mount? Buy one, or you can try

and make your own. Either way have a great time shooting.

Green Darner Dragonfly

It's a rare occasion, but every year our garden doubles as a way station

for one of the largest dragonflies you will see, a Green Darner.

We have never seen any other behavior but rest.

I am sure the other life stages of the fabulously colorful

insect must be amazing to watch.  Our limited time with our guest

is still and uneventful.  This of course makes for a wonderful opportunity

for photography.

So, without anymore rambling I offer you a moment with Anax Junius 

the Green Darner Dragonfly.

.

GoPro Hero 3 LCD BackPac Warning

Recently I had a problem with the GoPro Hero3 LCD Touch BackPac soft door.
The LCD comes with four back doors, One is a splash door with a soft plastic
cover that allows you to use the touch LCD screen.  It is flexible and thin, not made for
deep diving.  It is also not made for extreme pressure changes.
On a recent flight my touch back door bulged out damaging it.

My flight was cross country so we probably reached altitudes of 30,000 feet or higher.

Usually cabin pressure is kept to about 8 to 10 thousand feet.

Before my trip I had installed the touch backdoor on my Hero3 at sea level.

As the altitude rose on the flight the pressure pushed the plastic film

door out until it became deformed. 

 

I did a search to see if there was any information on this problem.

 GoPro has a article about it in the support section of their website.

Read here.
http://gopro.com/support/articles/lcd-touch-bacpac-backdoor-bulge

So let my mistake help save your LCD Touch BackPac.

If you are going to fly or traverse great altitude changes, make sure

you do not have this backdoor on any of your GoPro cameras.

I made a companion video to this article, check it out Click Here.

Or watch below.

CSI and My Little Garden

When you have a garden, you sometimes find yourself in the middle

of a mystery.  Pieces of seemingly unrelated evidence, death, distruction

and very few answers.  You can get on the interweb and search,

check all your handbooks and still nothing.  Every once and a while you get

a break.  I found this creepy little cocoon actually a pupa while digging a new

plant bed. My interest peeked after I thought I saw it move.  I quickly

cleaned it off and sequestered it to a jar.  Then put it under video surveillance.

The results, where too creepy not to share.

After capturing this wiggle-athon, I placed the pupa in a container
and waited to see who would emerge.
About a week later, I found this little moth in the container.
Its a Cabbage Looper, I think. 
For weeks I had been fighting a loosing battle against caterpillars
on my cucumber plants, and now I had my answer.
Years ago I posted some photos of "Cucumber Bandits"
Now I know the rest of the story.

Cabbage Looper moth lays eggs on cucumber.

Eggs become caterpillars and then eat my cucumber plants.

Then turn into pupa, below and turn brown see top of page.

How To Paint Light With A GoPro Hero3 Black

Update: If you want to try this, do not update your Hero3 Black with the new

app firmware 3.03. The new firmware disables the exposure lock on

.5 and 1 second time-lapse interval modes. So we will be back to auto everything.

As you might guess I am not happy with this, I updated my Hero3

not knowing the exposure lock feature was being taken away.

Now I have to figure out how to back my camera up.

 

 A couple months ago I wrote a post about the Siesta Key Drum Circle.

In it I used a GoPro Hero3 Black Edition to get some cool light

painting still photos and time-lapses, check out the video click here.

So how did I do it?

Short answer, long exposure still photos.

Long answer, you have to trick the all automatic POV camera.

The GoPro Hero3 Black Edition is the latest in a series of

"point of view" POV cameras made for sports and adventure

photography.  It's made to be idiot proof, so it's all automatic.

This new camera has a much better chip then previous models

so it is much better in low light.  A new feature to this model

is that the exposure will lock in time-lapse interval mode (stills).  

So if you want to do light painting, you need to get the longest

possible exposure, which is a half second at 2.8 at ISO400.

When you start your time-lapse the exposure will lock on the first frame.

So, if you put a lens cap on the camera, making it shoot black,

the auto exposure will open all the way up.  Then pop off

the lens cap and do your light dancing.

I set the time-lapse interval mode to a half second so

that the camera is always shooting with no pause in between shots.

Important note, if you start a time-lapse during the day
with the lens cap on, all your photos will be overexposed.
This trick is only for night shooting.

Below are some sample stills and camera setting shots.

I made a companion video to this blog post with new light painting

time-lapse shots, check it out here. 

Kaua'i

There are two kinds of people on Kaua'i, those that see the chickens and 

those that pay them no mind.  Of course, yours truly shot tons of photos

of the wild ubiquitous island residents, marking me as a main-lander.

Oh well, so much for fitting in.

The Hawaiian island of  Kaua'i is amazing.  A treasure.

If you can, go, but be cool and leave her as nice as you found her.

Below are some photos and a list of links to YouTube videos I shot on our trip.

Kalalau Valley Kauai Time-Lapse 

Kilauea Lighthouse Time-Lapse 

Hanalei Bay Time-Lapse 

Kauai Green Turtle Close Encounter

Kauai Sunset 

Ke'e Beach to Hanalei Time-Lapse Drive

Kalapaki Beach Kauai GoPro Time-Lapse 

 Po'ipu Beach Panning Time-Lapse

Lihue Marriott Resort Room Tour