GoPro: Tips & Tricks
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GoPro: Tips & Tricks
Does anyone here at this forum have any tips and tricks regarding the use of the GoPro when flying, and how to get the best footage? 
And how is the regulation and laws when filming in GA-aviation where you guys fly?
Just got the GoPro 3 Black, and I must say, it`s awesome.
And how is the regulation and laws when filming in GA-aviation where you guys fly?
Just got the GoPro 3 Black, and I must say, it`s awesome.
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- Just do it. Experiment with it. See what works for you.
- If you're filming through the prop, due to the way the GoPro shutter works, the prop will look really distorted. This can be fixed by inserting a "Neutral Density" filter between the GoPro lens and the housing. An ND filter removes a certain percentage of the available light (all colors equally), thus forcing the GoPro to use a slower shutter speed. This blurs the prop so the distortion becomes less visible.
- Consider the GoPro to be a fire-and-forget camera. Turn it on before taking off, then forget about it until after landing. It's very, very easy to become distracted from flying, because you also want to be a full-time cameraman.
- You may want to get the proper adapter cable if you want to record intercom audio too.
There are some legal aspects to consider when mounting the camera outside. In short: It's most likely illegal, but it's only illegal when you get caught, right? (Apart from that, more and more clubs are now prohibiting this too.) If you do want to mount the camera outside:
- Forget about sound quality. Just use the waterproof housing in case of precipitation.
- Only mount the camera on the fuselage or wings. Not on any moving surface such as the ailerons or rudder, or all-moving tailplane. Apart from the fact that your movie frame will move, there's also the issue of control surface balance to consider. If the control surface is not properly balanced, then it may be far more susceptible to flutter. Which can be deadly.
- When you tether the camera to something, consider what happens when the camera does fall off. Will it bang in the slipstream against the fuselage or wing, possibly doing 100's or even 1000's of euros worth of paint damage? In that case it's probably better to lose the camera altogether. Furthermore, make sure that there is no opportunity for the tether to jam a control surface somehow.
- To see if the suction is strong enough, mount the camera at the desired spot and just leave it in place for a few minutes. If the camera is still safely in place after a few minutes, then it's most probably good enough for flight. In my experience, the camera falls of all by itself in the first few minutes, or it will not fall off at all.
- I have personally never experienced an aerodynamic disadvantage of mounting a GoPro outside. Not even in gliders, not even at the wingtips.
For editing afterwards, I've got an iPad 2 with the Apple iPad Camera Kit and iMovie. Works great, very easy to learn, and can export direct to YouTube, Facebook and whatnot. The only thing I can't do yet with that combination is convert a series of timelapse photos into an MP4.
Here's an example of what you can achieve. 100% GoPro Hero 2.
(Note that the intended audience for the video is the participants of this gliding week, not the general public. At over 10 minutes it's too long to be used as a promotion video. That's also the reason it's unlisted.)
- If you're filming through the prop, due to the way the GoPro shutter works, the prop will look really distorted. This can be fixed by inserting a "Neutral Density" filter between the GoPro lens and the housing. An ND filter removes a certain percentage of the available light (all colors equally), thus forcing the GoPro to use a slower shutter speed. This blurs the prop so the distortion becomes less visible.
- Consider the GoPro to be a fire-and-forget camera. Turn it on before taking off, then forget about it until after landing. It's very, very easy to become distracted from flying, because you also want to be a full-time cameraman.
- You may want to get the proper adapter cable if you want to record intercom audio too.
There are some legal aspects to consider when mounting the camera outside. In short: It's most likely illegal, but it's only illegal when you get caught, right? (Apart from that, more and more clubs are now prohibiting this too.) If you do want to mount the camera outside:
- Forget about sound quality. Just use the waterproof housing in case of precipitation.
- Only mount the camera on the fuselage or wings. Not on any moving surface such as the ailerons or rudder, or all-moving tailplane. Apart from the fact that your movie frame will move, there's also the issue of control surface balance to consider. If the control surface is not properly balanced, then it may be far more susceptible to flutter. Which can be deadly.
- When you tether the camera to something, consider what happens when the camera does fall off. Will it bang in the slipstream against the fuselage or wing, possibly doing 100's or even 1000's of euros worth of paint damage? In that case it's probably better to lose the camera altogether. Furthermore, make sure that there is no opportunity for the tether to jam a control surface somehow.
- To see if the suction is strong enough, mount the camera at the desired spot and just leave it in place for a few minutes. If the camera is still safely in place after a few minutes, then it's most probably good enough for flight. In my experience, the camera falls of all by itself in the first few minutes, or it will not fall off at all.
- I have personally never experienced an aerodynamic disadvantage of mounting a GoPro outside. Not even in gliders, not even at the wingtips.
For editing afterwards, I've got an iPad 2 with the Apple iPad Camera Kit and iMovie. Works great, very easy to learn, and can export direct to YouTube, Facebook and whatnot. The only thing I can't do yet with that combination is convert a series of timelapse photos into an MP4.
Here's an example of what you can achieve. 100% GoPro Hero 2.
(Note that the intended audience for the video is the participants of this gliding week, not the general public. At over 10 minutes it's too long to be used as a promotion video. That's also the reason it's unlisted.)
Last edited by BackPacker; 15th Jan 2014 at 08:36.
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There's a couple of aspects to that question.
First, is it legal to put a camera on the outside of your aircraft? If it's a CofA aircraft, most likely not, unless there's a provision to do so in the POH, and the camera is placed/used according to the CofA. If it's a PTF aircraft, you can write that provision into the POH yourself so it can probably be made legal. But in any case it's a murky grey area.
In the Netherlands there have been spot inspections by the aviation police and people have been told to remove exterior cameras. But no tickets have been issued to the best of my knowledge. Furthermore, my club has explicitly forbidden the use of external cameras. Not because of the cameras themselves, but because of people using duct tape or other methods to secure them, and these additional safety measures have caused damage. (Duct tape residu is also very hard to remove, which is a huge problem if the aircraft needs to be repainted, for instance.)
Second, is it legal to put the footage on YouTube? Well, if the material is 100% your own, putting the material on YouTube is definitely legal. Even if the material itself shows you committing an illegal act. But I don't think the police is going to investigate you for having an exterior camera, based on YouTube videos alone. (Although the police have investigated more serious crimes based on YouTube/Facebook videos.)
When things become more complex, is when you start using 3rd party content in your videos. Which happens a lot because your audience will not appreciate listening to engine and wind noises during the whole video. So you might be using 3rd party audio for background music. This is where things get interesting.
YouTube has automated detection of 3rd party content like background music called "Content ID". Which actually works pretty well. When YouTube detects that you are using 3rd party content, they will temporary delist your video, until you either acknowledge that you are using 3rd party content, or dispute YouTube on this. (I do not recommend the latter unless you have lots of time.) If you don't do anything your video will be removed at some point in time, I guess. You also get a "copyright strike" on your account, and multiple of these may lead to your account being suspended or deleted.
If you acknowledge the 3rd party content, then it's up to the 3rd party content owner what happens. Typically the 3rd party content owner will want to make some money from your video by showing ads alongside your video, where the revenue from these ads goes to the 3rd party content owner. In this case, your video may not show on mobile devices, where placing ads alongside the video is not possible. The 3rd party content owner can also ask YouTube to restrict the video to certain geographies, or block the video altogether.
Loads more info here: https://support.google.com/youtube/t...ef_topic=16579
Third, you need to consider whether it's legal to create aerial footage over a certain area, or of a specific object. This was particularly the case in the Netherlands, where a cold-war-era statue prohibiting aerial photo/videography in general was only repealed last year. But almost every country will still have anti-espionage laws on books that forbid you from making photos or videos of certain military and other strategic installations. So it might be wise not to release footage that was shot over an active military base, or something like that. To be honest, prosecutions because of this are extremely rare, but on the other hand, if you do get prosecuted you can end up in jail for a long time. Use common sense here.
First, is it legal to put a camera on the outside of your aircraft? If it's a CofA aircraft, most likely not, unless there's a provision to do so in the POH, and the camera is placed/used according to the CofA. If it's a PTF aircraft, you can write that provision into the POH yourself so it can probably be made legal. But in any case it's a murky grey area.
In the Netherlands there have been spot inspections by the aviation police and people have been told to remove exterior cameras. But no tickets have been issued to the best of my knowledge. Furthermore, my club has explicitly forbidden the use of external cameras. Not because of the cameras themselves, but because of people using duct tape or other methods to secure them, and these additional safety measures have caused damage. (Duct tape residu is also very hard to remove, which is a huge problem if the aircraft needs to be repainted, for instance.)
Second, is it legal to put the footage on YouTube? Well, if the material is 100% your own, putting the material on YouTube is definitely legal. Even if the material itself shows you committing an illegal act. But I don't think the police is going to investigate you for having an exterior camera, based on YouTube videos alone. (Although the police have investigated more serious crimes based on YouTube/Facebook videos.)
When things become more complex, is when you start using 3rd party content in your videos. Which happens a lot because your audience will not appreciate listening to engine and wind noises during the whole video. So you might be using 3rd party audio for background music. This is where things get interesting.
YouTube has automated detection of 3rd party content like background music called "Content ID". Which actually works pretty well. When YouTube detects that you are using 3rd party content, they will temporary delist your video, until you either acknowledge that you are using 3rd party content, or dispute YouTube on this. (I do not recommend the latter unless you have lots of time.) If you don't do anything your video will be removed at some point in time, I guess. You also get a "copyright strike" on your account, and multiple of these may lead to your account being suspended or deleted.
If you acknowledge the 3rd party content, then it's up to the 3rd party content owner what happens. Typically the 3rd party content owner will want to make some money from your video by showing ads alongside your video, where the revenue from these ads goes to the 3rd party content owner. In this case, your video may not show on mobile devices, where placing ads alongside the video is not possible. The 3rd party content owner can also ask YouTube to restrict the video to certain geographies, or block the video altogether.
Loads more info here: https://support.google.com/youtube/t...ef_topic=16579
Third, you need to consider whether it's legal to create aerial footage over a certain area, or of a specific object. This was particularly the case in the Netherlands, where a cold-war-era statue prohibiting aerial photo/videography in general was only repealed last year. But almost every country will still have anti-espionage laws on books that forbid you from making photos or videos of certain military and other strategic installations. So it might be wise not to release footage that was shot over an active military base, or something like that. To be honest, prosecutions because of this are extremely rare, but on the other hand, if you do get prosecuted you can end up in jail for a long time. Use common sense here.
Last edited by BackPacker; 15th Jan 2014 at 11:59.
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I wear mine on a headstrap for filming my flights. Don't have to worry about mounting it. It sits reasonably well under the headset but occasionally I have to tighten the strap , as it works loose, otherwise you end up balancing the weight of the camera on the bridge of your nose which is uncomfortable to say the least.
I also have an audio cable that goes between my headset and the camera which records all comms as well
I second the fire and forget mindset. I turn it on before I start the engine and it is the last thing I take off. If for some reason it becomes a problem in flight it gets pulled off and shoved in the seat pocket. I'm there to fly not film primarily.
As for Youtube and stuff. I edit snippets and put them up online but if I'm flying with an instructor I try to edit out the dialogue between us.
The way I look at it is that I made the decision to display my flying , flaws and all for the world to see, he didn't. SO out of respect for his privacy i do that.
if he's actually flying the pane for what ever reason then I send him the clip beforehand and ask his permission before posting
I also have an audio cable that goes between my headset and the camera which records all comms as well
I second the fire and forget mindset. I turn it on before I start the engine and it is the last thing I take off. If for some reason it becomes a problem in flight it gets pulled off and shoved in the seat pocket. I'm there to fly not film primarily.
As for Youtube and stuff. I edit snippets and put them up online but if I'm flying with an instructor I try to edit out the dialogue between us.
The way I look at it is that I made the decision to display my flying , flaws and all for the world to see, he didn't. SO out of respect for his privacy i do that.
if he's actually flying the pane for what ever reason then I send him the clip beforehand and ask his permission before posting
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Using decent, but still cheap, video editing software can make a huge difference to the final result. Cropping, panning and other fairly simple effects can easily make a typical gopro fisheye view look far more interesting.
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If you are thinking about dipping your toe in the mini camera water it may well pay you to nip over to you tube and have a look at comparison videos between the go pro and the Mobius and ask yourself why there is a 300 quid difference in price?
The Mobius does a great job, costs £60 and takes screw-in alternative lenses for those who hate the extreme fisheye look.
I do have a go pro, I like it but I see I can buy a 14 mpx Nikon 3100 and zoom lens in Asda for 40 quid less that the Go Pro. If I hit both very hard with a hammer there's only one of them whose parts I can count on my fingers.
Rob
The Mobius does a great job, costs £60 and takes screw-in alternative lenses for those who hate the extreme fisheye look.
I do have a go pro, I like it but I see I can buy a 14 mpx Nikon 3100 and zoom lens in Asda for 40 quid less that the Go Pro. If I hit both very hard with a hammer there's only one of them whose parts I can count on my fingers.
Rob
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The gopro would be hugely more useful if it had interchangeable lenses. I'm not that keen on the very wide angled lens so I bought a narrower angle lens but removing the old one and inserting the new one was outside my technical ability.
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You don`t have to use the wide angle.... You could easily change this to normal mode and even narrow mode, just do it in the settings!
It`s very easy if you use the GoPro App
It`s very easy if you use the GoPro App
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Second, is it legal to put the footage on YouTube? Well, if the material is 100% your own, putting the material on YouTube is definitely legal. Even if the material itself shows you committing an illegal act. But I don't think the police is going to investigate you for having an exterior camera, based on YouTube videos alone. (Although the police have investigated more serious crimes based on YouTube/Facebook videos.)
After being contacted and cleared to land, they then bimbled down the runway with other traffic on final and upon being asked to expedite, they then BACKTRACKED down the active runway, causing another flight to be forced to go around. Then they got themselves hopelessly lost 3 times until Ground then sent them a "Follow Me", you could hear the exasperation on the radio.
I then posted this video on YouTube but was soon approached by the local government and was advised that posting extracts from Air Traffic Control was illegal in Germany and also in most European Countries, so was "requested" to remove the video or face the consequences of a prosecution under the German "Fernmeldegeheimnis" laws which prohibit (amongst others) listening in to Radio Transmissions. A successful prosecution, I was advised, would not only cost me money but could cause me to lose my licence due to the obligatory "Zuverlaessigkeitsueberpruefung" which we are regularly subjected to.....
So my tip: if it's ATC talking to YOU, you should be ok. If it's between third parties, this is a severely dark grey area.....
I have successfully mounted a Go-Pro on the strut of a high wing aircraft using the helmet mount which uses straps. There's no shake or wobble at all up to 150 knots. But when it faces forward, you only get about ten minutes of useful footage before fly splats, atmospheric moisture and general pollution smears the lens.
I know people have use the suction mount to attach Go-Pros to glider wings. The smooth surface and lower speed makes this work. However, remember that the suction mount works on differential pressure and as you climb that will reduce. They have come off!
I know people have use the suction mount to attach Go-Pros to glider wings. The smooth surface and lower speed makes this work. However, remember that the suction mount works on differential pressure and as you climb that will reduce. They have come off!
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As for putting radio up - see here: http://www.pprune.org/atc-issues/206...tions-law.html
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Try and mix up the angles so it's not all of the same thing. In a Cessna 172 I mount it where the windshield wraps towards the door under the air vent with a RAM suction mount so it can easily be swivelled to show a a forward view and side view into the cockpit.
Obviously you'd pic a safe, level flight, moment to swivel the camera (if you have a passenger put it on their side).
I did a few circuits with the camera in different positions and edited it to look like one lap from the two different point of view. Also allows for edit points when you want to cut footage
The free GoPro Studio software is great.
Another thing is try and keep videos brief. One way to do this is speed up bits such as the taxi or a long straight and level leg where there's no extraordinary scenery. It also ads something different to the vision to keep the viewer interested.
With sound it's good to have engine noise, though I put some music in the background - which is good when you speed up the vision as you lose the audio.
I look forward to finally hooking up audio to the Go-Pro so I can include radio chatter. I have the right cables but just need a skeleton frame so i can access the mini USP socket on the side of the camera.
As for lens angles you can change them electronically in Settings, though I'm not sure how much it varies.
Oh yeah, if you're going to be in shot make sure you shave ;-)
Obviously you'd pic a safe, level flight, moment to swivel the camera (if you have a passenger put it on their side).
I did a few circuits with the camera in different positions and edited it to look like one lap from the two different point of view. Also allows for edit points when you want to cut footage
The free GoPro Studio software is great.
Another thing is try and keep videos brief. One way to do this is speed up bits such as the taxi or a long straight and level leg where there's no extraordinary scenery. It also ads something different to the vision to keep the viewer interested.
With sound it's good to have engine noise, though I put some music in the background - which is good when you speed up the vision as you lose the audio.
I look forward to finally hooking up audio to the Go-Pro so I can include radio chatter. I have the right cables but just need a skeleton frame so i can access the mini USP socket on the side of the camera.
As for lens angles you can change them electronically in Settings, though I'm not sure how much it varies.
Oh yeah, if you're going to be in shot make sure you shave ;-)
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Maybe we have something to learn from the Skydiving fraternity here.
They realized some time ago that the main danger of a camera is not entanglements, malfunctions or just its physical presence.
It's that they increase workload and tend to cause changes in behaviour.
"is it loaded ?", "did I switch it on ?", "getting the shot", "performing" etc etc.
For this reason cameras are prohibited until (I think) 200 jumps on the basis that users are more experienced and better able to deal with the additional workload.
Personally, I'm a big fan of the cameras when flying - they are great for post flight analysis and training and you can re-live the enjoyment of being airborne whenever you want.
Rather than just banning them It would be nice to see some of the issues addressed in pilot training - as is often the case, its the "meatware" that's probably more dangerous than the "hardware".
They realized some time ago that the main danger of a camera is not entanglements, malfunctions or just its physical presence.
It's that they increase workload and tend to cause changes in behaviour.
"is it loaded ?", "did I switch it on ?", "getting the shot", "performing" etc etc.
For this reason cameras are prohibited until (I think) 200 jumps on the basis that users are more experienced and better able to deal with the additional workload.
Personally, I'm a big fan of the cameras when flying - they are great for post flight analysis and training and you can re-live the enjoyment of being airborne whenever you want.
Rather than just banning them It would be nice to see some of the issues addressed in pilot training - as is often the case, its the "meatware" that's probably more dangerous than the "hardware".
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Minesastella , you probably have a good point there. I have quite a few flights where I've come away with no useful footage whatsoever, due to camera positioning going wonky or battery issues or something else.
I've even got half an hours worth of the back seat when I had to put on foggles and the camera just got in the way, so I pulled off the camera and shoved it in the back pocket.
I probably could have salvaged most of these but decided that flying that plane was my top priority.
Its annoying to look back and see an hour of the horizon at 45 degrees but not half as annoying as bending the plane.
I've even got half an hours worth of the back seat when I had to put on foggles and the camera just got in the way, so I pulled off the camera and shoved it in the back pocket.
I probably could have salvaged most of these but decided that flying that plane was my top priority.
Its annoying to look back and see an hour of the horizon at 45 degrees but not half as annoying as bending the plane.
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Quick revival of this thread with a top tip,
If you don't like the fisheye look from go pro and other action cams and don't want to lose res by cropping the tiny sensor with medium and narrow view there is a solution.
Fisheye Removal software | DroneVIDEOfx.com
It's completely free, works very well but is specific to those of you using FCX as your editor on Mac. The writers say they are working on a version for Premiere.
Rob
If you don't like the fisheye look from go pro and other action cams and don't want to lose res by cropping the tiny sensor with medium and narrow view there is a solution.
Fisheye Removal software | DroneVIDEOfx.com
It's completely free, works very well but is specific to those of you using FCX as your editor on Mac. The writers say they are working on a version for Premiere.
Rob
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GoPro or similar cameras and private flying
Hi there,
For the first time I used my Veho Muvi K2 camera (in essence a GoPro) when I was flying today. I used a single suction mount attached to the port side window of a C152 which gave a good view of the instruments and approaches during the circuit lesson however the video's I've got aren't as good as they can be.
The question is, what mounts can be used for a similar purpose and where is best to mount a GoPro or similar camera? Additionally, if mounting outside the cockpit, where is best to stick the camera?
Thanks in anticipation!
For the first time I used my Veho Muvi K2 camera (in essence a GoPro) when I was flying today. I used a single suction mount attached to the port side window of a C152 which gave a good view of the instruments and approaches during the circuit lesson however the video's I've got aren't as good as they can be.
The question is, what mounts can be used for a similar purpose and where is best to mount a GoPro or similar camera? Additionally, if mounting outside the cockpit, where is best to stick the camera?
Thanks in anticipation!