www.iska.ie

I am considering investing in a gopro camera. Has anybody successfully used the head strap and rolled? (not the helmet mounted one by the way). Or is the chest harness better? I am not interested in boat mounted as I imagine it would be better to capture what you are looking at?

I use a combination of mounts - all options work well. Deck-mounted facing forward/aft. The helmet mount is fine (and makes no difference - the quality of your roll is more of a factor), I also have a suction mount and a 2 foot length of old paddle shaft as an outriger (cg. Justine Curgenven) which works well. Finally, I have even seen cameras mounted looking back from the tip of the sweeping paddle blade for rolling, which gives a very interesting perspective! The field of view is wide enough for even the deck mount to work for general filming - just point the boat, and more stable than constantly moving your head (and the still photo option is good too).

[img size=300]http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd33 ... nshot3.jpg[/img]
[img size=300]http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd33 ... risode.jpg[/img]
StevePost edited by: ceegee, at: 2012/05/25 08:01

Handy GoPro Tip #1: carry a squeezy bottle of fresh water to rinse the dried salt off the lense periodically. Handy Tip #2: - buy the anti-fogging inserts (although I hear the newer models are greatly improved in regard to overheating/condensation). Handy Tip #3: - NEVER EVER EVER be tempted to open the case on the water, or if wet/salty on the outside.

Thanks CeeGee

I\'m still waiting for it to arrive and hoping to use the head (not helmet) mount. Hopefully the current model has solved the problem you were talking about. I also ordered the floaty back door in case it does come off.

Great tips. I\'ll report back.

I got it and have been experimenting with the \"narrow\" field of view. Its \"zero distortion sir\" but it seems kind of grainy. Theres a medium fov which looks better.

This came with a \"grab bag\" of mounts. Are these small flat surface adheisive mounts suitable for the deck of a boat?

I wouldn\'t trust any adhesive mounts. Plastic boats \"flex\" which undermines the adhesive. Glass boats have a more rigid surface which is better but it\'s much safer to bolt the mount to the deck using stainless bolts and rubber washers.

If like most you don\'t fancy drilling holes in your boat you need to have a backup in case the mount comes away. A tether using either paracord or steel trace wire ( you can get them in fishing shops). Redundancy is the name of the game. Even with a bolted in mount I still use a tether !! Surf launching gives the mount a hell of a slap.

Other options is to use cable ties to secure the mount onto your bungee or deck cords. This works quiet well.
Gopro have a suction mount which works great combined with a tether on glass boats. Plastic as I said before flexes but less so on the deck.

Hope this helps best of luck with it.

Post edited by: Brianmacmahon, at: 2012/06/07 20:40

Thanks. If I mount it on the deck I will also use a tether.
I also got a floaty back door which would mean that you could paddle back and pick it up if you noticed it falling off.