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PD14 + GoPro hero4 Silver crash course. Pro tips? Do's and Don'ts? NOOB traveling soon.
FFP916
Newbie Location: Sacramento, CA Joined: Oct 20, 2015 13:04 Messages: 13 Offline
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I've been tinkering with the GoPro for about a month. I've been exploring PD14, reading the user guide, watching tutorials and scowering CL forums for about a week.

Because I'm so new, I'm casting this broad topic to solicit your experiences before submerging myself in a trip to New York.

I'm a fast learner, but hopefully you can help me avoid any mistakes before they're made on my trip. I have 3 weeks before I leave.

So, do you have any pointers that are need-to-know before I go? Eventually I'll be a PD14 and GoPro master, but I've got to cram now for my first big trip with my new toys.

I think my biggest concerns/questions/blind spots are GoPro video settings (or any source ie. iphone, cybershot) vs PD14 production profiles/settings. But what do I know?

Thanks in advance! Dell XPS 8700
WIN 10 64-bit
i7-4790 (8M Cache, up to 4.0 GHz)
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz - 4 DIMMs
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 4GB DDR3
HDD - 1TB SATA 6Gb/s,7200RPM
TonyL [Avatar]
Newbie Location: Nr. Coventry, UK Joined: Oct 10, 2015 04:07 Messages: 46 Offline
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Having only just bought PD14 and not having a GoPro I can't be specific about either of them. But, as a Mobius Actioncam (dashcam) owner and video editor, for recording a trip I suggest you:

1 Record at highest res.
2 If poss. set duration to 5 min. files
3 Set to NOT loop
4 Ensure mem card will take one day's worth of recordings
5 Have laptop to offload each day's recordings
6 Test offload and storage routine
7 Empty card at end of each day
8 Do a few test runs to verify it all works OK
9 Load into PD and check you can edit OK
10 Check cam is recording after every time you start engine

TonyL Self build Xeon W3690, 12GB RAM, 850EVO SSD, Asus 2GB GTX960, Win10H 64bit, PD14
iMac 27" Retina 5K i5, 24GB RAM, Radeon M295X 4GB, Bootcamp Win10H 64bit
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TonyL had a lot of good advice...What do you plan on filming?....GoPro's aren't the best for most non-action filming. i have 4 GoPro cameras and most of the time I shoot at 1080 60 fps. I like shooting at 60 fps because it gives me the option of smooth slow mo if i need it, but it does eat at your memory card..which i run 32/64 gig cards depending on which cam i'm using.

If you are going to be carrying it around for a full day at a time, I would recomend a a good portable battery to keep the cam's battery charged up, one short coming I find with many of the GP cams are not so great battery life...

i don't have PD14....yet...but have had no issues slicing and dicing GP footage in PD11, 12 and now 13
FFP916
Newbie Location: Sacramento, CA Joined: Oct 20, 2015 13:04 Messages: 13 Offline
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Thanks for the feedback from both of you!

My gopro is mostly for home action videos, like yourself xr650Lou... But on this trip I plan to use it to record our tourism as a POV experience to be relived on screen. I know they're terrible for capturing landscapes and cityscapes but I'll add some still photos to the video for that. I won't be recording 24/7 (walking down streets, riding the elevators), but I think the footage will act as nice active pieces of a chronological slideshow type video. I can't wait to plug it in to a power supply and film a timelapse from our hotel window (we're staying ON Times Square!!).

Anyhow, back to your techinical advice... I do have 3 batteries, which should last all day and charge in the hotel room. I currently have one 32gb and one 64gb micro SD, if I need more, I'll buy em while I'm there. I too have been fliming at 1080p 60fps for action vidoes, but I'm considering 1080p 30fps for the trip (especially since timelapse is played at 30fps and I don't plan on any action slo-mo).

I've been practicing tirelessly with different production settings on PD14. I think I'll have to choose a single resolution and FPS and stick with it the whole time - whether it's narrow, medium or wide frame.

Thanks again, keep em coming. The more 2nd hand experience I can gain, the better! Dell XPS 8700
WIN 10 64-bit
i7-4790 (8M Cache, up to 4.0 GHz)
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz - 4 DIMMs
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 4GB DDR3
HDD - 1TB SATA 6Gb/s,7200RPM
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i wouldn't say they're terrible at landscapes and such, just not ideal...HOWEVER for POV they are pretty cool...i like Med width because it gets rid of most of the fish eye.....because they are so light using a selfie stick or the headband mount works nice if you have to carry for a long time.

Have a great trip!
CS2014
Senior Contributor Location: USA-Eastern Time Zone Joined: Sep 16, 2014 16:44 Messages: 629 Offline
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Tony has good advice FFP. Also record at 30 frames per second (fps) unless you are expecting very fast moving objects in your video. Also recording at 60fps will allow some slo-mo sort of editing if you desire.

I've recorded me fishing and liked the narrow(GoPro setting) - but you should experiment with this and select what you like.

Get a card that you can put into the GoPro that is the largest capacity and the fastest writing speed that you can afford and then live with it! Thus try to buy the best you can afford.

PD13 or 14... there will be a little learning curve but its a good editing program. Search the many issues to find answers and post new issues and you will get a LOT of help.

CS PD13 Ultimate - Build 3516, WIN 8.1, 64 Bit, 16G RAM, Intel Core i5 4460, CPU @ 3.2GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GT720, Graphics Memory(total avail.)-4093MB
LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray Drive
ynotfish
Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline
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Hi FFP916 -

I don't have a GoPro, but I use a few different GoPro mounts. The Sony 4K Action Cam has an adaptor.

Without knowing what you already have, I'd suggest getting one of *these* for travelling... works as a camera grip, extension arm/selfie stick & tripod.

I take mine with me on bike rides, even though the cam is typically helmet or handlebar mounted. Small enough to slip into a pocket in your backpack.

Cheers - Tony
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FFP916
Newbie Location: Sacramento, CA Joined: Oct 20, 2015 13:04 Messages: 13 Offline
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Good advice all around. I do have a lot of mounts, including the smatree version of the folding stick. It is awesome. Pocket size, sturdy aluminum and light weight.

http://www.amazon.com/Smatree®-Aluminium-Foldable-Multi-functional-Thumbscrew/dp/B00SXOLT3C

I just started testing the field of view options. Each has their place. It's nice that each different FOV still produces 1080p.

For those who have the GoPro and pd14 (with hardware acceleration capabilities), which production profile do you prefer, custom or not. I'm not at home so I can't quote the profiles I've tried. When I get a chance I'll post my first GoPro video and profile settings I used. I've read that some guys don't always use HA. I haven't tried without HA yet. Dell XPS 8700
WIN 10 64-bit
i7-4790 (8M Cache, up to 4.0 GHz)
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz - 4 DIMMs
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 4GB DDR3
HDD - 1TB SATA 6Gb/s,7200RPM
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I went on a ski trip to France last year with my GoPro Hero4.

1) You'll need more batteries. With constant filming, they only last about 45minutes at best. I recommend getting either Smatree or Wasabi brand. They're much cheaper. I took EIGHT ( with me for a full day on the slopes. A couple of days I did go through 6 of them.

2) Get the GoPro recommended SD cards at least. I got two 64GB Sandisk Extreme Pro. That's a little overkill for speed, but I had NO problems with them at all. You'll need at least two per day.

3) You'll need a laptop to save each days disc so you can start out fresh the next day. I didn't want to lug a laptop overseas so I got a 1TB Western Digital My Passport Wireless. It has a SD card reader built in and you can access it with your smartphone to check on your files, etc. I also renamed each file as Day1, Day2, etc. It worked perfectly.

4) I used, for first person prospective, 1080 Superview @ 60fps. It picks up allot more scenary and you and use slow motion with it. When I wasn't skiing and filming with the camera in my hand, I used 2.7k medium so you can use digital zoom and not loose your 1080 resolution. I found medium gave the most "normal" view.

5) I used ProTunes all the time. Set your sharpness to low. Set your ISO as low as you can. During the day 400. At night you'll have to go up higher but the video will become grainy. ColorDirector does a really good job of correcting dark lit scenes.

6) You want some sort of "selfie" stick. (I used a clamp on my ski pole) You want to show yourself there. I wish I took more of me skiing in the Alps. It was my best footage.

7) I'm sure I've missed a bunch of stuff. If I remember I'll repost here again. Have fun. Asus X79-Deluxe, Intel i7-4930K, EVGA GTX 980ti, G.Skill memory 16GB, Corsair HX1000 PSU, OCZ Vertex4 SSD, OCZ Vector180 480GB, (2)Western Digital Black 1TB(RAID0), Western Digital 2TB, LG Blue Ray Burner, Lite-on DVD Burner, Logitech G19 keyboard, Window
FFP916
Newbie Location: Sacramento, CA Joined: Oct 20, 2015 13:04 Messages: 13 Offline
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Thanks skibum.

I took your experience, compared it to gopro's 'recording time' and 'battery life' charts, and came up with some numbers:

On the days you were using 6 batteries/day, you were recording for roughly 4.5 hours and filling about 96gb of memory card space. Does that sound about right?

Dell XPS 8700
WIN 10 64-bit
i7-4790 (8M Cache, up to 4.0 GHz)
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz - 4 DIMMs
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 4GB DDR3
HDD - 1TB SATA 6Gb/s,7200RPM
[Post New]
Quote: Thanks skibum.

I took your experience, compared it to gopro's 'recording time' and 'battery life' charts, and came up with some numbers:

On the days you were using 6 batteries/day, you were recording for roughly 4.5 hours and filling about 96gb of memory card space. Does that sound about right?





That sounds about right. I wasn't constantly recording, but sometimes let it run for a long time. One very long run, (and the battery may have been slightly used before I started the run) I had to change the battery half way down. I also had to deal with the case (lens) fogging up, due to cold weather. Yes, I was using the little moisture absorbing inserts that you can get. Take that into consideration if you'll be in cold weather. Asus X79-Deluxe, Intel i7-4930K, EVGA GTX 980ti, G.Skill memory 16GB, Corsair HX1000 PSU, OCZ Vertex4 SSD, OCZ Vector180 480GB, (2)Western Digital Black 1TB(RAID0), Western Digital 2TB, LG Blue Ray Burner, Lite-on DVD Burner, Logitech G19 keyboard, Window
FFP916
Newbie Location: Sacramento, CA Joined: Oct 20, 2015 13:04 Messages: 13 Offline
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1.5 days until departure.

I've got all of the hardware/accessories, 96gb of memory cards, and 3 batteries + a 2-battery charger. I don't plan on recording nearly as much as you did skibum, so I believe I have enough power and memory. If not, I'll buy more.

Most importantly, after some trial and error with the GoPro and PD14 I've decided to film in 1080p 30fps for the trip. I don't foresee the need for slow-mo, so 60fps will be overkill and space consuming for the circumstances. Plus, the time lapse default is 30fps so rendering will be consistent.

Thanks for all of the contributions. I can't wait. Dell XPS 8700
WIN 10 64-bit
i7-4790 (8M Cache, up to 4.0 GHz)
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz - 4 DIMMs
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 4GB DDR3
HDD - 1TB SATA 6Gb/s,7200RPM
[Post New]
Quote: 1.5 days until departure.

I've got all of the hardware/accessories, 96gb of memory cards, and 3 batteries + a 2-battery charger. I don't plan on recording nearly as much as you did skibum, so I believe I have enough power and memory. If not, I'll buy more.

Most importantly, after some trial and error with the GoPro and PD14 I've decided to film in 1080p 30fps for the trip. I don't foresee the need for slow-mo, so 60fps will be overkill and space consuming for the circumstances. Plus, the time lapse default is 30fps so rendering will be consistent.

Thanks for all of the contributions. I can't wait.


I recommend that you go to 2.7K with a medium field of view. This will give you the ortion to digitally zoom without losing resolution.

You may want to read this link.

Have a great trip.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Nov 12. 2015 06:57

Asus X79-Deluxe, Intel i7-4930K, EVGA GTX 980ti, G.Skill memory 16GB, Corsair HX1000 PSU, OCZ Vertex4 SSD, OCZ Vector180 480GB, (2)Western Digital Black 1TB(RAID0), Western Digital 2TB, LG Blue Ray Burner, Lite-on DVD Burner, Logitech G19 keyboard, Window
AlS
Senior Member Location: South Africa Joined: Sep 23, 2014 18:07 Messages: 290 Offline
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Tips for when you get back.
I have a Hero3+ Blk and I have found that for best results I use the latest GoPro Studio for trimming clips and color correction. Use the AVI files created by GP Studio and import into PDR14. These are Cineform codec which works great in PDR14.

I recommend you shoot 1080 60p or even 720 120p if you want to use slo-mo for HD.

It is truly an amazing little camera. The more you use it the more you will see it's potential.

Enjoy!
Al

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Nov 13. 2015 03:03

Power Director 13&14 Ultimate, Photo Director 6, Audio Dir, Pwr2Go 10
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