Jeff Goodman’s Red Sea Underwater Videography Course with the GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition

Red Sea March 2014

I have just returned from Marsa Shagra in the Red Sea where we held another successful underwater video course in association with Red Sea Diving Safaris (www.redseadivingsafaris.org) and Oonasdivers (www.oonasdivers.com).

Course students at Marsa Shagra. March 2014

Flying from Gatwick to Marsa Alam and then a short transfer to the resort, I was struck by how few holiday people there were to be seen. This was no doubt due to the press and media inferring there was a lot of political unrest throughout Egypt. I had no problems and so interviewed a few of the guests at Marsa Shagra to ask about their experiences. The interviews can be seen here.

The upside for us few visitors was having the house reef to ourselves. The water was clear, warm and safe. A great place for the video course.

Recently I have been mounting my GoPro +3 Black edition on the top of my standard Gates housing. This gives me a great wide angle perspective at the same time as the normal zoom range given with my small Sony Handycam. So, with a single rig, I can video great establishing wide angles and then concentrate on the mid shots and close ups. There can be a slight difference in the colour balance values between the GoPro and the Sony, especially when ambient light is predominant, but this is easily correctable in the editing and the two cameras match really well. Another really cool thing about the GoPro is its quick release mount which allows me to take it off and hold the camera in small spaces where otherwise it would be impossible to get a shot.

This image of the Coral Trout is taken from a GoPro video frame. The beautiful fish was hidden well into the coral and very shy about coming out to be filmed. Normally I would have had to leave it and move on, but with the GoPro now released and in my hand, I was able to ease the camera near to the fish without touching any coral. The trout stayed relaxed while gliding in and out of my frame.

For the next dive I decided to leave my handycam ashore and work solely with the GoPro.

One of the problems with very small cameras is holding them steady. It’s not so bad when you are moving or tracking, but often stationary shots will show a tell-tale shaking that can spoil the video image.

The Ikelite ‘steady tray’ solved this problem for me.  Easy to use and very effective, the grips are comfortable and well spaced either side of the camera. The addition of quick release light mounts for either handle made the whole rig a joy to use. For lighting I tried the Ikelite ‘Gamma’ video light which for its size is a great little light and the diffuser over the front gave a very useful angle of coverage for video use. The light takes two CR123A batteries which can be either Lithium or rechargeable.

Towards the end of our dive I found a Hawksbill Turtle fast asleep on the sand with its head pushed tight up against a small outcrop of coral. Normally I would have left it to sleep as there was no way to get a good picture without disturbing it. However, with the Gopro, many things are possible. The little camera just fitted between the coral and the turtle and its super wide view gave me a nice shot of both turtle and diver behind.

The turtle shifted in its slumber moving its head to get a better look at the reason for being disturbed. This gave me the opportunity to slip the little camera in closer and get a different perspective before leaving the turtle to slip back into its dreams.

It’s what the GoPro is all about. Getting shots that would be very difficult to achieve with bigger cameras. And is there any loss in quality from going small? No. Shooting at 1080i the images cut really well with my HD handycam.

If you already have or are thinking of getting a GoPro, I would highly recommend you consider the removable LCD touchscreen. It is compatible with the  HERO3+, HERO3 and has limited compatibility with HD HERO2 and Original HD HERO (Click here for more information).

For many users the camera’s wide angle is sufficient for sports and action use and the resulting images can be stunning. For more precise imaging, as with underwater wildlife videoing, the ability to accurately frame is an immense bonus. You can be sure of not cutting off a diver’s head or getting the fins of your buddy in an otherwise fabulous image of a dolphin. After all, framing is an important part of any photographic or video process. You wouldn’t dream of shooting blind on land and now you don’t have to underwater.

It has been said the touchscreen monitor drains the camera batteries very quickly but I haven’t found this to be the case. One battery easily lasts me an hour’s dive with the camera and monitor switched on. Of course spare batteries are a good idea so that one can be charging while the other is in use.

If you would like to find out more about Jeff’s Underwater Videography courses, visit www.jeffgoodman.co.uk or email him at jeffgoodman@supanet.com.