Thought this might be an interesting thread to add to the DIY forum, someone can move if otherwise.

Here is my first attempt at filming underwater, bringing a striper to the boat. This is filmed in 1080P, edited and saved in HD. I think the field of view was medium, should change to wide next time. Thanks Niko for hooking and holding the fish nearby.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy10/PRBuzz/th_Rpstriper.jpg (http://s772.photobucket.com/albums/yy10/PRBuzz/?action=view&current=Rpstriper.mp4)

1. I routinely mount my GoPro "upside down" and there is an image orientation option in the menus. Setting this preference on the camera saves HOURS of imaging flipping on the computer.

2. I bought a telescoping pole ($20 Quikpod QPAK-COMPOD Compod Slim Extendable Handheld Tripod off Amazon) which you attach the camera and use to plunge into the water. I am not necessarily recommending this one there are many from which to choose. If your boat has high gunnels you will definitely want one with a longer extension range than this one.

I also tried to film some pods/schools of sand eels but saw nothing on the video, Note to self: point camera down more, looking up from below at the surface is very uninteresting.:)

that's pretty cool!!

thinking of buying a go pro to be permently mounted on rooftop to cover cockpit. heard that they were comming out with one that has a remote push to start. Anyone know? also any recommendations on where to buy? tks..

A $6.95 tripod mount installed on a busted St. Croix rod. Using it as a pole for end game underwater shots as well as cockpit cam shots from up high...

How did you secure the mount to the pole? Do you get any "bouncing" from high above?

I now try to shoot all my video in inverted (upside down) mode and have that option chosen, it takes forever for a PC to invert those scenes and it can be a nuisance to switch up/down modes before each segment.
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the tripod mount has a 1/4-20 threaded connection. I threaded a 3" stainless stud into the tripod mount and had the busted blank cut back just to fit the stud, then poured epoxy into the tip and then treaded it into the rod and inverted it so the epoxy filled any voids in the tip around the stud. rock solid. (My tackle shop made it up for me!!)

I have not tried video from that position yet. It fits fairly snug though. There is a little play but I have to try it. I mainly did it for underwater near boat shots. I am preparing for the white marlin I plan to catch this summer. :)

thinking of buying a go pro to be permently mounted on rooftop to cover cockpit. heard that they were comming out with one that has a remote push to start. Anyone know? also any recommendations on where to buy? tks..


That is mainly what I use it for (cockpit cam) You can install a semi-perm mount just about anyplace and remove the camera and leave the mount fairly quickly.

You can get them from their website, amazon, ebay etc....

The remote is out and works. WHat does not work is the wireless streaming. It should be soon though. You will be able to stream live video wireless to cell phone, ipad, etc. (I dount it will work underwater though....:( , now that would be cool!)
http://gopro.com/hd-hero-accessories/wi-fi-bacpac-remote-combo/

A $6.95 tripod mount installed on a busted St. Croix rod. Using it as a pole for end game underwater shots as well as cockpit cam shots from up high...

Jim,

Thanks for the great idea! I had an old Penn pole lying around that should work much better as a monopod than a fishing pole :rotf2: and already had the tripod mount.

I bought 3" 1/4 20 bolt to use as studs. I ground the bottom ~1/2" into a squarish shape to help against turning within the epoxy (over engineering?). I cut the pole just above a wrapped guide to provide extra support from splitting. Drilled the hole with a hand held drill, filled with epoxy and screwed in the stud using the tripod mount. I tried to line up the mount with the reel guides so as I know which general direction the camera will be pointed while submerged. The finished length is about 5 1/2ft.

That'll work! Nice.

I finally got around to trying out my troll pro attachment. I rigged up a Sebile swimmer on a release clip so the lure trailed behind the housing about 5' and then trolled it over the hedge fence bar. Now please bear with me...it has a 32oz trolling weight and hit the bottom as I was letting it out. But once I let it out far enough it came off the bottom. The visibility kinda sucked in the sound and I didn't play with any hue or color editing so it is very green but if you view in full screen you can see the lure and a couple of bluefish hit the lure. I know it is lame but this is the first go.
first troll pro video - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROSYMGRMKI4&feature=youtube_gdata)

I normally use it as a cockpit video camera fixed to the pilothouse and that gives a nice wide angle shot of what is happening and kind of looks like this:

The audio gets muffled even with the skeleton door but I ordered a new case that allows me to hook up my external mic and that should be much better

That's great, makes me want to buy one of those live video/TV cams to give real-time feed on what's happening below!
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The strike in slow mo looked pretty cool,BTW you def did a good job on the home made mount pretty rugged ,looks like the camera did some sea scape grading.

GoPro finally released the Android ap for controlling the wifi. Got mine yesterday and updating the firmware was much harder than it should have been :fury::wall::smash::fury: but FINALLY got it working and paired with my Android phone.:uhuh: Besides full remote control of the camera, you can get (near) real-time images on the phone. Can't wait to see how fair under water (spec is 3m) the wifi signal sends.

Mr. Sandman looks like a new toy for you on the Nomad....you don't need the gopro remote, there are both Android and iPad/iPhone aps out now.

I'll be picking up the 3 when my brother finally gets his corporate connections up and running. I'll add some of my suggestions when that happens. I have owned all releases of the camera since it went HD. Great toy and I'm hoping the new camera performs better in low light.

PRBuzz,

My Christmas list includes a second camera. I have my doubts it will give you a live signal 10' underwater but may as well try it. A live feed to a cockpit mounted ipad will be insane!

My quadcopter has a cam mount

What kind of range do those quadcopers have???

on 2.4, standard r/c about 800 feet

My daughter has the GoPro and the wifi does not work once the camera is put in the water. She was very disappointed as I sure you guys will be when you try it.

Mike

When you attach various accessories to the back of the GoPro, such as the battery pak, LCD screen or Wi-Fi, then try to put into either the head or chest harness the camera will not lie flat and sits at about a 30deg angle. :smash: Not really user friendly. :wall:

I just purchased the helmet mount and this solves the issue by pushing the camera farther out and permitting a wide variety of adjustments. Only $8 :uhuh: Might be a little clumsy/awkward but sure I can get used to it.

the wifi back-pack was a band aid. I think the new one has it built in.

the wifi back-pack was a band aid. I think the new one has it built in.

Yes it was a band aide for Hero/Hero2, new Hero3 has 3 versions: White $199, Silver $299 and Black $399 all with built-in wi-fi.

The Hero3 seems to be a ground up re-design of the camera including the flat field lens. Still accepts LCD and battery paks!

Just got my hero3 white up and working with the iPhone app
Looks pretty sweet, should be fun
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So ya, you could totally spy on the world with this thing. Camera works up to 600' from the iPhone and shows real time video on the phone. Just a slight delay. Don't have to be recording either. Just on standby
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Send it down below a boat... tell me how deep it goes :)

Also, did they get rid of the fish eye distortion in the video?

Ordering mine by month's end
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I have the fisheye lense but that's the one I wanted anyways. Most of the time it will be mounted up in the tower pointing down
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GoPro dredge cam unit: trollpro.com

Think it's $150 (GoPro not included)

Making my dredge! I decided to go with thinner walled NDS plastic (drain) pipe vs. standard PVC. Any thoughts why I should NOT use this? I reinforced the cap with a piece of starboard so the eye bolt doesn't rip out the cap. Initial length overall about 16". Toughest part is going to be securely mounting the GoPro. Shown is the standard housing but I do have the Underwater Housing on order. So far excluding the $50 for the housing, got $25 for all the parts. BTW: I have 8' of 4" NDS pipe leftover if anyone interested in building one of these.

Looking good, waiting till spring to put it in the water?
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Buzz... should you add a weighted keel on it to ensure it remains in the proper orientation?

Buzz... should you add a weighted keel on it to ensure it remains in the proper orientation?

I have 12oz of weights (3 x 4oz inline) siliconed into the inside of pipe which seems to define a bottom line orientation, not unlike filling a sailboat with rocks/lead. I still might have to put a keel-like spline though along the bottom?

I also changed out the ss eye (open gap) with a galv closed loop eye so the pulling cable attachment has no chance to slip through a gap. I hope to find a 2 - 2 1/2" x 3/8" ss closed loop eye bolt.

Camera mounted using the GoPro wrist mount accessory and a platform constructed from a 4" gutter PVC adapter. Might run a safety cable from from front attachment site to the camera, just in case.

12 oz of wts spread along the bottom should help a lot... Is this about 50 % the wt of the entire assembled dredge with the camera?... sailboat keels are usually about 40-50% of the wt of the entire boat... and you are not countering wind against the sails....

The business end pulling using 7 strand 720lb test cable. Inline 24oz sinker.

Gonna R&D as is and have a couple ideas for keel and/or wings but I believe in the KISS principle first.

Just ordered some underwater lights for R&D....

Paint it like a big pogie.
Looks good looks like it'll work fine

In ready to throw my gopro on the trash I have literally rebuild 2 marine diesels in less time than have figured out how to edit video on this stoopid thing!
Redicilous. Definitely NOT plug n play. Update the camera update the pc, wrong frifgin program on and on and on nothing but failure. :smash: :wall:
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Paint it like a big pogie.
Looks good looks like it'll work fine

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I've already asked O.D. Mike to air brush it like a poagie! Thought about mac pattern but not quite right shape.

Paint it like a big pogie.
Looks good looks like it'll work fine

In ready to throw my gopro on the trash I have literally rebuild 2 marine diesels in less time than have figured out how to edit video on this stoopid thing!
Redicilous. Definitely NOT plug n play. Update the camera update the pc, wrong frifgin program on and on and on nothing but failure. :smash: :wall:
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I'll take it!

Paint it like a big pogie.
Looks good looks like it'll work fine

In ready to throw my gopro on the trash I have literally rebuild 2 marine diesels in less time than have figured out how to edit video on this stoopid thing!
Redicilous. Definitely NOT plug n play. Update the camera update the pc, wrong frifgin program on and on and on nothing but failure. :smash: :wall:
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I had issues with mine, returned it.....

As for the marine diesels goes, you're an artist!!!

Phil i think u need to bullet nose the that thing or it'll wabble like mad
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looks very similar to the troll-pro i have. You will need a keel weight and some foam to keep it upright underway. Use a bunker spoon like weight externally and the foam inside

looks very similar to the troll-pro i have. You will need a keel weight and some foam to keep it upright underway. Use a bunker spoon like weight externally and the foam inside

Was thinking about buying the trollpro but decided to try and build one on my own, for the fun. In the end I hope to have some accessories not found on the trollpro. Just hope it works, they said they did R&D for over 2yrs to get it to swim right.

Not sure if anyone is interested, but this is pretty cool...

Saltwater kayak fisherman: Modifying the GoPro Hero2 – night lighting (http://www.saltwaterkayakfisherman.com/2011/12/modifying-hero2.html)

Got to do the first testing on the dredge prototypes yesterday, they seem to work OK! Generally trolling about 2-4mph depending upon wind direction. Was very cautious as didn't want to snag bottom but they seem to pull along pretty well. Shown in the pic are the 2 designs being tested.


http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy10/PRBuzz/th_Firsttestshortver3132013_zps5f5a0ada.jpg (http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy10/PRBuzz/Firsttestshortver3132013_zps5f5a0ada.mp4)

Looking good Buzz!!!

Not exactly about the GoPro, but I was wondering if anyone has experience with the similar Contour or Contour2
Amazon.com: Contour ROAM2 Waterproof Video Camera (Black): Camera & Photo (http://www.amazon.com/Contour-ROAM2-Waterproof-Video-Camera/dp/B009CN8VRK/ref=dp_ob_image_ce&tag=topitems03-20)

About $100-200 cheaper and waterproof right out of the package.

Anyone have any experience with them?

There are countless youtube videos comparing all the different cameras. The gopro is also waterproof right out of the package (comes with the waterproof housing) and in my opinion has better video quality than every comparably "rev'd" contour out there.

Remember, the Hero 2 is 199 and the Hero 3 white is 199

Not exactly about the GoPro, but I was wondering if anyone has experience with the similar Contour or Contour2
Amazon.com: Contour ROAM2 Waterproof Video Camera (Black): Camera & Photo (http://www.amazon.com/Contour-ROAM2-Waterproof-Video-Camera/dp/B009CN8VRK/ref=dp_ob_image_ce&tag=topitems03-20)

About $100-200 cheaper and waterproof right out of the package.

Anyone have any experience with them?

Spent about 45 min trolling the smaller dredge at 1.5-2mph today. Worked great actually and spent alot of time bouncing on the bottom. Some fish actually were attracted to the commotion. Here's a short teaser where I found a tog.

GoPro Dredge trolling: Tog found - YouTube (http://youtu.be/MCqLAGDRDKI)

Mr. Sandman: here's some extended video showing how resilient that PVC contraption is bouncing off rock and scraping bottom. I dragged it for almost an hour today and never ONCE got snagged, just kept bouncing off rocks. In some cases dragging the bottom attracted some fish, cunners?

Dragging the dredge - YouTube (http://youtu.be/bjV2Iscro4g)

Trolled the GoPro dredge today and happened to catch this school of macs:

Mac school - YouTube (http://youtu.be/ATr42rbem0g)

Played at Race Pt today, found some stripers and lobsters:

GoPro Dredge stripers & lobster Race Pt MA 5.28.2013 - YouTube (http://youtu.be/dmGoYP25HhA)

(go to the youtube channel and watch in 1080P)

Looking good! What model do you have? I am thinking about getting the latest gopro3 and dedicating my "older" unit to the stick for boatside video.

I started working on making an attachment so I can troll inside a hookless dredge but it has become a back burner task at the moment.

I am all Hero2 with many back accessories. I haven't even tried to play with the wireless connect to the smartphone while on boat, it work fine on land.

I wish Hero2 and Hero3 stuff was interchangeable! You even need different battery paks.:smash:

Are the mounts interchangeable?

Are the mounts interchangeable?

Don't know

Hoping to make the water less green, just installed a red filter into the dive house frame. there are several red filters which install over the housing lens but worried they would not stay while trolling, especially at >10k when I forget to pull in the dredge.

Got a red + ND filter for $15 from Ragecam via eBay. I think any piece of red mylar will work the same. Came with the hex tool to remove frame but that sucks as it strips easily.

First video using the red filter. Dragged the dredge cam across Devil's Bridge.

http://youtu.be/WJxfBm-8_Z4

Make sure to select 1080P !

More dragging across Devil's Bridge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnl1LFRm8rI

Scup, black sea bass and tog visualized!

That is cool, nice job Phil.
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love it! looks great!

Just splurged on a Hero3 black with a pile of accessories- chest/helmet mount, tripod, spare charger/battery and some solid 32 gb cards. Gotta love cash back rewards.

Need to finally get with the program on this fad!

Any other essential peripherals out there? Or just general tips for usage?