GoPro cameras

[dahoeb]

I'm thinking of getting a GoPro camera, but before I drop the money, I'm hoping to pick some brains here about them....

Do the video recordings suck up huge quantities of HD space? Is it pretty much just like pulling vids/pics off a regular camera or thumb drive?

For the purpose of a scenario....am I correct to assume that the gopro start recording right before you get in a fight?

Mounting it on masks pretty easy?

Any wisdom or recommendations you can share is appreciated, I'm very unfamiliar with this corner of pball.

[going_home]

I wouldnt mind messing with a game cam but most seem to have not given much thought to a good mounting system for paintball masks.

And the gopro is like mounting a huge target on top of your head.....

Watch a couple gun mounted cam videos and you'll see why thats just a dumb idea.

;)

[BLachance75]

I used a camera for a year, mounted on the so of my mask. I'd turn it on at the start of a game and then record until the game was over. Then you have to cut it all up and edit out all the boring stuff. I stopped bcause the video just wasn't that good. It is hard to see what you are shooting at if it is over about 20 feet away.

[Nobody]

The Inception Designs camera mounts are the best. They mount securely and will not mark up your barrel. The are found here (http://www.inceptiondesigns.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1814).

If you have picitanney rails, you can also use this (http://www.inceptiondesigns.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1477).

[Laku]

GoPro are generally pretty bad for paintball use (form and function)

Ideally you'd want to have something that has narrow field of view, small profile from the front and of course good image quality.

[going_home]

The Inception Designs camera mounts are the best. They mount securely and will not mark up your barrel. The are found here (http://www.inceptiondesigns.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1814).

If you have picitanney rails, you can also use this (http://www.inceptiondesigns.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1477).

Nothing against Inception, I support them, but its just a dumb idea to put the camera on the gun.

Mount it on the mask if you want watchable videos.

[bowcycle]

I bought a new Ion/Contour to use at OK D-Day. I really like the video slider that will also turn the camera on. It was great functionality, pulling the videos down to my computer is super easy (just like a flash drive), and the phone app that lets me check the view of the camera was extremely helpful.
It was also a huge plus that the camera doesn't need a case, has a replaceable lens cover, is naturally waterproof, has a smaller profile than the gopro, and costs a lot less.

For the negatives:
the mounting systems aren't great, but ziptie-ing it to the side of my mask worked great and kept the profile even smaller.
you can't see any of your targets in the video
even using the lower-quality HD recording still takes up a lot of space (get the 32gb at a minimum)

However:
the quality of my video was as good or better than the many gopro heroes, the ziptie-to-mask mount held the video more stable than those using the gopro mounts, those using gopros were definitely jealous of the ease of operation of my camera, and it did a great job showing unit movement even though you can't see what we're shooting at.

[Walker]

My GoPro works fine... I just use a bicycle helmet mount, and zip tie it through the vents over the lens.

Easy to use, looks where I look.... I like it.......


Walker

[going_home]

My GoPro works fine... I just use a bicycle helmet mount, and zip tie it through the vents over the lens.

Easy to use, looks where I look.... I like it.......


Walker

Post up a video !

[cudamelland]

I won a r7 replay a few years ago and used it a lot. It clamps onto the feed neck and has a small profile. It has a rechargeable battery that last all day ( i turn it off when i leave the field) it uses an usb cable so you can charge it in your car if you need to and i use a 64gb SD card. Its a sweet set up tho editing is a pain and time consuming. Like posted before it has a wide lens and its not great for anything over 10-20yards. Also it's a lot easier to clean when the camera is on your marker

On another note I run a pawn shop and have a GoPro hero+ LCD new in box if that's the way you want to go.
http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd512/cudamelland/me.jpg (http://s1223.photobucket.com/user/cudamelland/media/me.jpg.html)

[zondo]

I have a couple of vids with a Contour mounted on the side of my mask... comes out really nice when I play it on my living room TV!

I have a GoPro Hero Session as a gift, I have yet to try it out but it's much smaller than the previous model.

[dahoeb]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Going off what I've found online and what you guys have been putting out there, I'm leaning toward a contour mainly because of the $$$ and form. Putting it on the mask is my preferred method, but the Grillz mask with the visor doesn't make for a lot of easy mask mounting options though. I'm sure plenty of zipties can fix that though :D

[Nobody]

There are benefits and hiderences to any camera and mounting system. So to a point, what works for one, might not be the best fit for you. I would play around with a few ways to find what works for you. It goes from guns, masks, barrels or cameras and where they mount.

[bowcycle]

As mentioned before, I just ended up ziptie-ing my Ion air to the side of my mask. A friend told me to angle it up just a bit and that made a huge difference. Most vids you see do not give you a good view of the field. That's because most of us tend to tilt our heads down a bit when playing. So if you tilt your camera up, it compensates and gives you good vids.


https://youtu.be/ihCSKCb1XKE

This is a highlights vid from our unit at OK D-Day this year. When there's a green mask in the vid (like the first clip), that's my Ion air. The guy with a trilogy cocker is using a newer contour. The rest are various versions of gopros.

[BLachance75]

I was using an Ion Air as well and I really liked the big record slider. It was really easy to tell if you were recording or not by just feeling where the switch was. I had the mount zip tied to my mask and used one of the 90* bends so I could adjust the angle easily.

[bowcycle]

I need to apologize for the Tippmann. I used my mag for most of the week, but switched to the tippmann for saturday in order to put it through its paces. I wanted to see how I felt about a dedicated FSR marker and then see how it worked with a hopper pouring paint.

Also, if anyone likes playing scenario games with a very hard-charging group that doesn't get involved in the politics, but just goes out to slay bodies, hook up with the MEK at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1058MEK/

[Justus]

I use a ContourHD1080 (original version I think, way before all the ROAM business) and record in 720p 60fps mostly. I mount it to a V-Force Grill mask too. I can put the visor on, but if I do you can see it in the videos. It doesn't block a lot, but it's noticeable. So I just run the mask with the visor off.

I used some small machine screws and nuts and just hardware-mounted the thing to the right side lens clip. It holds as steady as you have your mask on your face - not much in the way of wobble at all. You can get extra/replacement lens clips for pretty cheap too, so it doesn't have to be a permanent modification.

Here's a few videos I made with that setup:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmFVl5CdKbo (shows running at the end with a little wobble)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAQhm_aGXKU (shows some editing for dialogue and fast-forwarding)

EDIT: I'm not sure if YouTube supports uploading at 60fps now or not, but it certainly didn't back when those videos were first uploaded. So shooting in 30fps may make more sense if your primary purpose is to upload to the interwebs (and why not?)

[PaintballSmurf13]

I have a GoPro Session (which can be picked up for only $200)
with an Inception Designs barrel mount and it's actually amazing.
I have it set to 1080p Wide View so that you can see everything clearly. Considering the relatively small investment, I'm extremely happy with it.
When mounted, I don't notice it on my gun at all during the game. It doesn't obstruct my field of view whatsoever. The audio is clear and you can see the stream of paint out of the barrel.

I haven't mounted it yet to my head yet, but I've seen a lot of people mount it to their forehead with a GoPro brand head strap, so the camera sits just above the lenses.

I'd strongly recommend going with a company like GoPro just because of the immense support you get and the endless supply of mounts and features that you can utilize outside of paintball.

Hope this helps, good luck with whichever option you take.

[Rambo]

From watching youtube videos I feel like the best way to do it is to have a camera on your gun and a camera on your forehead, normally the forehead camera is preodominant, but when you get into a static firefight, you can switch views to the gun cam and kinda slow mo it down when you get hits.

This is expensive and also requires a lot of annoying editing though.

[dahoeb]

I ended up going with a used Sony Action Cam Mini. I saw some youtube examples and the video looked great. Another nice advantage is that you can adjust the image to reduce the "fish eye" affect that makes nearby things appear far away....that should help me see targets a bit better.

I had a mount constructed specifically for the Grillz in a 3D printer, it's pretty cool. I'll post a pic when it all gets in.

[bowcycle]

look forward to seeing it

[paint magnet]

I have the original GoPro Hero HD. It's clunky but the video is still excellent quality for what I do. The main pluses of that platform are the availability of cases and mounts; if you have the current edition then every surf/skate/paintball/motorcycle/outfitters/gear shop will have mounts and accessories for it. A friend of mine broke the mount for his JVC helmet cam on a motorcycle ride last year and we stopped about four places looking for one...every store sold GoPro stuff but nothing for his camera.

What are your intended uses for the camera outside of paintball? Like others have said, paintball footage can be hard to tell what's going on unless you're bunkering someone. When I bought my camera there weren't many viable competitors out, but I'd probably go GoPro again because their waterproof cases are rated to 197 feet and most of the competition is less than 30 ft.

I use mine for skiing, SCUBA diving, paintball, dirt bike, and kayaking videos. IMO there are better cameras suited to each of these respective uses but if you're only going to own one none works better than the GoPro.

[dahoeb]

What are your intended uses for the camera outside of paintball? Like others have said, paintball footage can be hard to tell what's going on unless you're bunkering someone. When I bought my camera there weren't many viable competitors out, but I'd probably go GoPro again because their waterproof cases are rated to 197 feet and most of the competition is less than 30 ft.

I use mine for skiing, SCUBA diving, paintball, dirt bike, and kayaking videos. IMO there are better cameras suited to each of these respective uses but if you're only going to own one none works better than the GoPro.

Paintball will be the main focus for it starting out, but I can definitely see it branching into other things, like family get-togethers, fishing trips, shooting at the range etc., and I think it's also something that my wife and kid would find a million uses for too.

[bowcycle]

Paintball will be the main focus for it starting out, but I can definitely see it branching into other things, like family get-togethers, fishing trips, shooting at the range etc., and I think it's also something that my wife and kid would find a million uses for too.

We use my Ion a lot on family vacations and when rock climbing.

I found that if you take a ball cap with the grommets on the side and ziptie the camera to it facing bacwards (wear the cap backwards), it doesn't get any of the hat or your face in the shot. And with the adjustable cap, anyone in the family can wear it and still help keep the sun off your head and neck at the same time.

[dahoeb]

Good advice, Bow, I'll keep that in mind. :cheers:

[dahoeb]

Here it is! Tested it and it works pretty well!

9281292813

[OneSelfLost]

I saw a buddy of mine have his contour hd lens blown apart by a paintball.. Walked off the field with a hand full of parts. That looks like a pretty stellar setup you've got going on, I like it.

[dahoeb]

Ouch, that had to be a bit disappointing. I'd be pretty scared about taking a $150+ dollar camera out to a paintball field without some sort of protection :O

And thank you for the kind words!

[SuiciDal Sn Y p ER]

Ouch, that had to be a bit disappointing. I'd be pretty scared about taking a $150+ dollar camera out to a paintball field without some sort of protection :O

Did someone say protection?
92814

[Redic]

Head mount
No special mount. The head band mount from go pro was being worn

https://youtu.be/PIM26XU2BtM

Gun mount
And before you ask about that loud marker that is me
https://youtu.be/ZEGffNpHDmU


The key to the gun mount is being aware of it on there

[going_home]

Lotta bounce on the gun mounted video.

Some ground too.

Harder to watch.

Head mounted cam videos are hands down the more watchable video.

If its annoying to watch people will never watch the complete video.

Just saying.

[bowcycle]

The primary reason I don't do gun-mount is because I don't want to run 2 cameras and mess with all the editing that goes into making decent vids.
The reasons I don't do gun-mount for my main camera is because I keep my marker moving on purpose and ready to shoot in numerous directions and every time you're hit, you're looking at the sky and that's the end of the video. With head mount, you can watch the rest of the action unfold.

Also, I really like that mask setup for the Sony. It looks great. Look forward to seeing some vids.

[dahoeb]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBJPtVGh8Mw&feature=youtu.be

The deed is done! I just edited my first video....kinda fun...Overall cam results were pretty good...the lighting changes between the inside of the buildings and the outside was the biggest challenge.

Now go....behold my gloriously bad play!

[bowcycle]

Quality is as good as anything else and seems to look where you're looking. Also far enough out so that you didn't get a ton of mask or hopper in the shot.
Good stuff. Look forward to more.

[dahoeb]

Glad you enjoyed it! In the final battle, I was in some great gun fights from my bunker, unfortunately, the bunker was small and at an awkward angle that forced the hopper directly in front of the camera, so some of the best play of the event was obscured. But for 90% of the rest of the time, the positioning was pretty good.

And I think it'd be much easier to see the targets I was shooting at if there wasn't so much longballing out there. I'm thinking that smaller events, like regular walk on play, would be more favorable to getting in a bit closer. There were over 460 people at this thing :O

[Merce]

By far my favorite barrel condom I've ever seen.

[vintage]

side mount your hopper for a better view.

[dahoeb]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8rCaREo0sY

Some Automag actchun.

Had a brand new Xvalve I was going to use, but it's LX was on the fritz. Plugged in my 13 yearold classic valve that hasn't hadn't veen used or tuned since 2003 and it worked flawlessly.

[going_home]

Rather just have shooting and hollering and no "music" but thats just me.

Easy to watch and looked like fun.

;)

[dahoeb]

Rather just have shooting and hollering and no "music" but thats just me.

Easy to watch and looked like fun.

;)

Can't please everyone! But I did make a "going_home" version just for you ;)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D0QFSwkG5k

[going_home]

I liked it !

You cant hear stuff like "player check your gun" with the music.

What was the camo gun, an Etha ?

[dahoeb]

I liked it !

You cant hear stuff like "player check your gun" with the music.

What was the camo gun, an Etha ?

I see what you mean, it does keep a nice quality to it without the music.

No, it's a Tippmann Crossover XVR. A tough little spool valve shooter.