GoPro Field of View?

I think Makai is the resident expert: http://stokereport.com/rant/useful-gopro-accessories

My advice...ditch the gopro, bro. Mounted front or rear it doesn't matter, that perspective is lame. Use it to record your trip, or get some straight-on line up shots of other surfers on the inside...otherwise, go surf, have fun and fehgeddabout messin with a camera while trying to have a good surf session.

Fatnewt, I think that was Waveglider's post.

I'm not a big fan of the GoPro POV views unless it's on a monopod.

A T2i + underwater case (approx $1500?) + Tamron 17-50 would be a killer setup.

@ cloud: I have the original GoPro HD Surf Hero, but am going to add the new Hero 2 to my camera arsenal soon.

I absolutely love this camera, for both videos and stills. Having taken both, however my video in the water is limited at this time, and the pics turn out great for such a minimalist camera set up. I will not mount it on any of my boards with the adhesive mount for the simple reason that it will be very difficult to take off without damaging the glass. Thus I suggest that you use an older board, or go with the hand held or wrist mount. Maybe even consider a helmet if you're not opposed to using one in the line up. And lastly, you can always use the FCS camera mount plug but would need to have it installed on any board you use, either on the nose or tail.

Here's a few stills I'd taken when I first acquired the camera in the water, and some out of odds and ends. Color is fantastic, but remember, this is a very wide lens and you will notice some vignetting on the corners, so remember when shooting, be sure to get as close as possible for maximum subject matter, then crop after uploading for prints, unless your subject looks OK with the corners rounded. Otherwise everything will be very distant in the stills and videos.

BTW, if you decide to go with a Digital SLR and purchase a water housing, you'll be spending more on the housing than the camera and lens. They will run you about $800 +.

IMHO, go for the GoPro 2.

Hope this helps, Makai

>"this is me not bending my knees" pictures

Well put. Makes me wonder why the board mount for the gopro is not gyroscopic so that the viewer gets a sense that the surfer is actually turning and not just doing a series of weird squats.

I can see using a GoPro mounted facing you to try to improve your own surfing.

And then never, ever showing it to anybody else.

cloud,

you can't beat a hero2 surf edition for $299. the stills on the new camera are insane @ 11mp. you should shoot in the highest fps (60 or 48 on the newer cam). that will keep things smoother on playback. experiment with mounts and shooting in order to get things dialed in and to figure out what yields the best shots.

make sure to get some anti-fog inserts, a floaty backdoor, and an lcd screen. if you are interested in the original hero, pm me...i have a few extras i'd be willing to part with.

on some of the smaller diameter handhelds, you can wrap them with bar tape and hold em in your teeth while you paddle.

sure you can spend $1500+ on a dslr, but i'd rather buy a camera and a surf trip to use it on. just my $.02