Question about GoPro type cameras.

H

harmonica44

I was thinking of getting one for shots hooking the camera up to a car or camera helicopter. I took a look at how they look on youtube, and in the store where I live, but the thing is, is that the image is way too wide.

Are their any GoPros or anything like that with a lens equivalent to 50mm at least?
 
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harmonica44 said:
Okay thanks. I won't get the chopper but I still would like to hook a camera on a car for driving shots. I want to have a 50mm close up shot of an actor, through a windshield. Or at least no lower than 50mm, to avoid barrel distortion.

Any way to get that without shakiness with a DSLR and 50mm lens, since it's mounted to a driving car?
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A very simply way to get a steady shot of an actor in a car while driving is almost the obvious. Just lay on the hood of the car, and have the actor drive it and shoot the actor. I mean I am not saying driving 5+ miles an hour, but you know 1-10 should be fine, and long as they don't slam on the breaks. I did this for a shot, turned out really cool. Just watch the speed and how you are laying sitting, and to not block to much of the view the driver has.
 
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harmonica44 said:
Thanks. I saw that tutorial too. But I don't know how I am suppose to control where the balloons go, since it's not very maneuverable. It seems they can only stay mostly in one spot, and cannot really travel.
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Unless you attach the system to a string.

You're not going to get as good footage that you would get from a go-pro, but if you run some tests you could probably get something decent.
 
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Oh okay the point of wanting to do a 50mm DSLR was to get better results than the GoPro lol. But I will do some tests and see if the string can turn it well enough.

Another thing is, what if I didn't put the GoPro on the Phantom, but a camera just as light, that does not have the fisheye look and has more manual controls, but around the similar weight?
 
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A DSLR might have better image quality, but a GoPro will be cheaper, easier, and probably will look better in the end. If you want to shoot someone through a windshield, rent a GoPro. Or shoot from the back of a pickup looking at the car, with a zoom or prime lens. Or use google and type in "DSLR car mount". Or instead of relying on the internet, go test and try out things yourself. Or hire an aerial videographer that knows what they're talking about, and can explain to you - why [insert ridiculous question here]. Try out the balloon thing, do google searches, but more importantly - make something.

I'm not sure why I'm even responding. You usually ignore everyone's advice, and/or give up on that cool shot you want, and start another thread for color grading, lighting, or how to achieve [something ridiculous that you are not going to achieve because you do not have the budget and/or experience].

Maybe you should pull out a camera, get some actors, and shoot something - regardless of how terrible it is. But then again your reputation will be wrecked and you'll never work in the film industry ever, right? :rolleyes:

Write a script.
Get your gear.
Get a friend.
Shoot.
Edit.
Post.

DONE!

I have a headache. Why did I even bother. I give up.
 
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ChimpPhobiaFilms said:
A DSLR might have better image quality, but a GoPro will be cheaper, easier, and probably will look better in the end. If you want to shoot someone through a windshield, rent a GoPro. Or shoot from the back of a pickup looking at the car, with a zoom or prime lens. Or use google and type in "DSLR car mount". Or instead of relying on the internet, go test and try out things yourself. Or hire an aerial videographer that knows what they're talking about, and can explain to you - why [insert ridiculous question here]. Try out the balloon thing, do google searches, but more importantly - make something.

I'm not sure why I'm even responding. You usually ignore everyone's advice, and/or give up on that cool shot you want, and start another thread for color grading, lighting, or how to achieve [something ridiculous that you are not going to achieve because you do not have the budget and/or experience].

Maybe you should pull out a camera, get some actors, and shoot something - regardless of how terrible it is. But then again your reputation will be wrecked and you'll never work in the film industry ever, right? :rolleyes:

Write a script.
Get your gear.
Get a friend.
Shoot.
Edit.
Post.

DONE!

I have a headache. Why did I even bother. I give up.
Click to expand...

Well Said, Nothing More. Carry On.
 
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Well I am pre-production right now for a short and trying to get all the actor's in one place. In the mean time I would just like to figure out how to get good shots with this GoPro while I am in pre-production.

How do you make the footage match other DSLR footage though, in a GoPro? Let's say we have a sequence shot with a DSLR, 1/50th shutter speed, and no barrel distortion, and then we cut to a GoPro shot, at high shutter speed, and LOTS of barrel distortion on a face of a car driver, and it just looks silly.

How do you keep the audience from not thinking something went wrong with that shot?
 
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harmonica44 said:
Well I am pre-production right now for a short and trying to get all the actor's in one place. In the mean time I would just like to figure out how to get good shots with this GoPro while I am in pre-production.

How do you make the footage match other DSLR footage though, in a GoPro? Let's say we have a sequence shot with a DSLR, 1/50th shutter speed, and no barrel distortion, and then we cut to a GoPro shot, at high shutter speed, and LOTS of barrel distortion on a face of a car driver, and it just looks silly.

How do you keep the audience from not thinking something went wrong with that shot?
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I would say if the GoPro footage is placed properly in the timeline, and with the way you are editing, it really shouldn't look silly at all. For instance take a look at this, the GoPro footage does not take away from the video, it just adds to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYthI8sVTME (Do note the GoPro footage is the face stuff, and the aerial shots is a think a DSLR)
 
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Well that video looks good for the most part, but the shutter speed is still high looking in the daytime shots. And 0:52 seconds in the video, on the close ups of the people, the barrel distortion is of the extreme. The shots I want to get of a driver through the windshield will look horribly silly with that lens. They don't even look human in a close up. Is that fixable?

Other than those two issues and the need for an ND filter perhaps, the GoPro looks fine though.
 
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harmonica44 said:
Well that video looks good for the most part, but the shutter speed is still high looking in the daytime shots. And 0:52 seconds in the video, on the close ups of the people, the barrel distortion is of the extreme. The shots I want to get of a driver through the windshield will look horribly silly with that lens. They don't even look human in a close up. Is that fixable?

Other than those two issues and the need for an ND filter perhaps, the GoPro looks fine though.
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The GoPro is really known for that type of look, my advice is if you do like that look then run with a different camera, such as a DSLR.
 
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Krught said:
The GoPro is really known for that type of look, my advice is if you do like that look then run with a different camera, such as a DSLR.
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I could use a DSLR for the car shots of the driver as long as I can get the 50mm lens is stable enough. I've noticed some people will put the Go Pro on the front of their car, and use it to show the road, like at 6:55 in this film riot example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgN6UEP_6l4

Doing that though, makes the road look very wide, and it will probably look like the car is driving faster, if the road looked more narrow. I just don't want to hook my good DSLR onto near the bottom end of a car while driving, if I can help it.

For the shot of the driver through the windshield I want shot like this on Gene Hackman, at 2:33 in the video and other spots:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzEloJ5venk

Can you imagine the shot working just as effectively on his face, if it were shot with a GoPro?
 
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harmonica44 said:
I could use a DSLR for the car shots of the driver as long as I can get the 50mm lens is stable enough. I've noticed some people will put the Go Pro on the front of their car, and use it to show the road, like at 6:55 in this film riot example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgN6UEP_6l4

Doing that though, makes the road look very wide, and it will probably look like the car is driving faster, if the road looked more narrow. I just don't want to hook my good DSLR onto near the bottom end of a car while driving, if I can help it.

For the shot of the driver through the windshield I want shot like this on Gene Hackman, at 2:33 in the video and other spots:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzEloJ5venk

Can you imagine the shot working just as effectively on his face, if it were shot with a GoPro?
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I can see the shots working perfectly fine with a GoPro or a DSLR. A GoPro might be as easy as tape (literally, duct tape), while a DSLR might be a little harder to pull off the look you are wanting, but still relatively easy. Easiest way I could think of is sit in the car, and lean out the window while someone else is driving and shoot that wheel look with a DSLR, aka getting the exact look you are looking for. Doing it that way might be harder because of shake but you might be able to hold it steady enough to get a shot of what you want stable enough. Also doing it with a DSLR would let you control the camera and the look of what you are trying to achieve.
 
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harmonica44 said:
Oh okay the point of wanting to do a 50mm DSLR was to get better results than the GoPro lol. But I will do some tests and see if the string can turn it well enough.

Another thing is, what if I didn't put the GoPro on the Phantom, but a camera just as light, that does not have the fisheye look and has more manual controls, but around the similar weight?
Click to expand...

Putting an ND filter on will slow down your shutter speed to match something that you are more happy with.

Generally people don't put anything other than the GoPro on the Phantom but the step up, the F450 or something I've seen people put the small Sony Nex on it
 
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Okay thanks. The DJI F450 though, is cheaper in price, so does that means there are any disadvantages by comparison to the Phantom? And the reason to get the F450 is because it comes with more Universal camera mounting options, compared to the Phantom camera mount, is that what you mean?
 
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You're asking if it is possible, yes, but it would require a bit of modding. To get smooth video on a quadcopter you NEED a gimbal. Most of the gimbals designed for the Phantom are also designed just for the GoPro
 
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Okay thanks. I am going to go the camera store and see if they have cameras of similar weight to the GoPro. Most cameras are fitted with 1/4 UNC threading. Perhaps I can get a screw thread, and hook it onto the gimbal somehow. Then screw the camera in on the screw thread. It will be upside down of course, when flying, but I can flip it post.

I'm guessing that the remote controls and live video feed, will cost a lot more to go with it though. Since I cannot find a quadcopter operator, it might just be cheaper to hire a person who has a cropdusting plane to get the shots.
 
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As far as I know, most gimbals don't screw into a thread, this is why i said the gimbals that small are mostly built for gopro because they sit tight in a casing built to the measurements of a gopro.

Phantom + gopro + gimbal + live video feed (fpv) You're looking at a minimum of $1500 and thats the cheapest in each category (except i assumed gopro black AND assumed you want a better camera anyway). That DOESN't include spare batteries, spare propellers etc. Good Gimbals and FPV systems are much more expensive.

Good quadcopters are much more expensive. The Phantom really is a learning entry level quad. It's like a 500d (t2i) and a 5d mk 3. 500d is the Phantom in this example.
 
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If you really want decent aerial footage, your least expensive route is to find a local helicopter pilot and butter him/her up for a ride. In my area, I can hire a chopper for $300.00 an hour. Most pilots will also do half hour flights. just remember the clock starts when the rotors start and ends when the bird is back on the ground.
 
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Yep I looked into hiring a pilot as well. I just hope I can get the footage I want within enough time that it does not go over $1500, otherwise I might as well have just bought the Phantom and all those accessories, and practiced with them.

I also found out that it is illegally to shoot a production movie with the Phantom where I live, unless you have a license and shooting permits. Unless the location owner gives you permission and is willing to say that you are not shooting a production but are just horsing around on private property. Then it's okay, but I would have to find location owners who will do that and that's where it gets tricky. Having a helicopter fly low over the city for movie making, I am not sure about. I will check on that next.
 
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Not just the phantom, any UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and it's for all of the US. (Though Texas it is banned). Currently it is only legal to fly as a hobby and commercially is 'illegal' or against 'the policy'. Currently there are some cases in the court which will decide whether these policies really have a standing, otherwise you'll be waiting until late 2015 if you want to use a uav commercially in the US 'legally'. Other countries such as my own (Australia) and the United Kingdom have commercial licenses set up which costs several thousand dollars at the time of writing this (highly probable to change soon, it's when not if).

If anything flying in the city is more illegal. A man in Manhattan has just been arrested for 'reckless endangerment' flying the phantom very stupidly literally ramming into skyscrapers, absolute idiot with no skill.

Edit I realized I made an assumption that Saskatchewan is in the US, but it's in Canada, I'm not sure of their laws
 
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