Budget GoPro Cam?

[dennisc172]

I used it yesterday filming on the highest 4K setting, takeoff and 5 landings (filmed from downwind, stopped when 500ft again) and had 65% battery left.

 

[bluesideup]

Hi Sinistar

You do realize @SixPapaCharlie is one of the few (here) out there generating aviation videos. I am pretty sure if he could find another cost effective, aviation friendly camera to improve on videos with those lighting conditions...he would!

What video camera are you suggesting a person should use for this shot?

I only know what I know, and never post anything that I do not know. I have hundreds / thousands? of hours of footage with all different cameras, and the only solution I found is to use 2-3 Cameras in different positions, and that is the best I can contribute, to the low cost solution.

 

[CC268]

Hi Sinistar



I only know what I know, and never post anything that I do not know. I have hundreds / thousands? of hours of footage with all different cameras, and the only solution I found is to use 2-3 Cameras in different positions, and that is the best I can contribute, to the low cost solution.

Yea I mean certainly the best solution is one camera in the cockpit and one for outside the cockpit

 

[Eric Stoltz]

I see no one has pimped out the editing software from Blackmagic Designs, Davinci Resolve. For me, it is the easiest editing software I've used. I was mildly trained on Avid about 25 years ago, and have used since then Premier, all the Apple stuff, Kdenlive, Vegas, and corell. By no stretch of the imagination am I a pro, or even marginally good, but I can figure Davinci Resolve out faster than I thought I could. Huge online support, and easy to find stuff on youtube.

IT IS ALSO FREE. LIKE CHEAP PILOT FREE. The $299 full version is good if you know what you're doing, but 99% of a project can be accomplished with just the free version, imo. Even 4K, if you computer can handle it, or if you set up Resolve to proxy edit, very badass.

I got DR for the ease of multi-cam editing. Just tell the program what camera angles ya want in the edit, auto sync them, and the just click to cut during a playback. Freaking simple. I did, however, have to youtube it to get the ins and outs.

I like a 4 camera set up. Left wing looking at the cockpit, under the right wing looking at the wheels, one looking from behind the heads looking forward, and a goodest cam looking from the dash to the handsome and pretty faces.

 

[SoCalPilot88]

I see no one has pimped out the editing software from Blackmagic Designs, Davinci Resolve. For me, it is the easiest editing software I've used.

How easy is this software to use? Does it still take hours to compile the multiple raw data files, then come back and piece them together?

The videos I typically do involve time lapses whereby I take one image a second so I can later edit a 2 hour flight down to 20 seconds. Other videos capture cockpit audio. As a result, I'm not a fan of the default software settings which try to overlay with some cheesy music.

 

[Eric Stoltz]

How easy is this software to use? Does it still take hours to compile the multiple raw data files, then come back and piece them together?

I'm not sure what you mean, but I might if I know what kind of computer you are using. It sounds like more of a hardware thing than a software thing. I have a 2014 MacBook Pro that I use. For example, a 1080 render for a 20 minute video only takes about about 25 (think, I dunno, I watch a 6PC video and it's done rendering) minutes to put into a MP4. Your technique for making a video with timelapse might be the frustrating part. Maybe a full video, and edit out what you don't need/want, or just speed up the parts you want to go speedy?

Any new software that edits video is going to have a steep learning curve. I watched one video on youtube from Blackmagic about Davinci Resolve. I followed their example and made a video in parallel. What makes this hobby hard is that I don't have a guy sitting next to me telling me how to do something. So when I go out into the youtubes to find a way of doing 'it', I usually don't even know what to search, since I don't know what 'it' is.

 

[ktup-flyer]

Hi.


Can you please post a pic from your 5 that has both the In/ gauges and the Out, Pilot eypoint view. I have a 5 Black 4, 6 and No setting works well. I have to accept either or, if outside is OK, inside is not and vice versa.
What setting are you sing that you found to work?

Pretty sure I just used manual focus

 

[CC268]

I see no one has pimped out the editing software from Blackmagic Designs, Davinci Resolve. For me, it is the easiest editing software I've used. I was mildly trained on Avid about 25 years ago, and have used since then Premier, all the Apple stuff, Kdenlive, Vegas, and corell. By no stretch of the imagination am I a pro, or even marginally good, but I can figure Davinci Resolve out faster than I thought I could. Huge online support, and easy to find stuff on youtube.

IT IS ALSO FREE. LIKE CHEAP PILOT FREE. The $299 full version is good if you know what you're doing, but 99% of a project can be accomplished with just the free version, imo. Even 4K, if you computer can handle it, or if you set up Resolve to proxy edit, very badass.

I got DR for the ease of multi-cam editing. Just tell the program what camera angles ya want in the edit, auto sync them, and the just click to cut during a playback. Freaking simple. I did, however, have to youtube it to get the ins and outs.

I like a 4 camera set up. Left wing looking at the cockpit, under the right wing looking at the wheels, one looking from behind the heads looking forward, and a goodest cam looking from the dash to the handsome and pretty faces.

Davinci Resolve is very good. I used DR for a while, but I will say it’s not as user friendly as Premiere Pro if you are completely new to editing. Especially if you have to transcode to another codec. That said, DR is a very powerful editing suite, and the free version is quite impressive.

 

[Huckster79]

Do the jack splitters work so there can be a spot to plug the gopro in? Do the exterior mountings need approval of anytype?

 

[Eric Stoltz]

Do the jack splitters work so there can be a spot to plug the gopro in? Do the exterior mountings need approval of anytype?

If ya look up Nflightcam, they make the best adapter for connecting a GoPro to the intercom. I just plug mine into a spare jack in the back. Make sure you get one that matches the cam. The 5 6 7 take an adapter before the other adapter can be used.

AFAIK, the FAA made a letter stating that a external cam mount is fine so long as yer not stupid about it. Some screw into a screw hole, some span an inspection plate screw or two, some skewer on a tiedown ring, and some strap to a strut. The suction mounts should only be used inside so they can break your knuckles when they release.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[Pilawt]

I see no one has pimped out the editing software from Blackmagic Designs, Davinci Resolve. For me, it is the easiest editing software I've used. I was mildly trained on Avid about 25 years ago, and have used since then Premier, all the Apple stuff, Kdenlive, Vegas, and corell. By no stretch of the imagination am I a pro, or even marginally good, but I can figure Davinci Resolve out faster than I thought I could. Huge online support, and easy to find stuff on youtube.

IT IS ALSO FREE. LIKE CHEAP PILOT FREE. The $299 full version is good if you know what you're doing, but 99% of a project can be accomplished with just the free version, imo. Even 4K, if you computer can handle it, or if you set up Resolve to proxy edit, very badass.

I recently downloaded the free version of DaVinci Resolve 15 and tried it out. Amazing -- it is a full-featured suite and works great. My son, a professional video editor who uses Final Cut Pro, recommended it and said he could do just about anything with DR that he does with FCP.

 

[Sinistar]

Hi.
OK, here is what I am talking about, see pic, the inside the Cpit is unacceptable to me.

Hi Sinistar
I only know what I know, and never post anything that I do not know. I have hundreds / thousands? of hours of footage with all different cameras, and the only solution I found is to use 2-3 Cameras in different positions, and that is the best I can contribute, to the low cost solution.

Okay...first lets verify...you are wanting the video from behind @Radar Contact's head to look more like this? I think everyone wishes it would look closer to this right?



If so, these are the adjustments in Adobe Lightroom:

Exposure -24
Highlights: -7
Shadows: +60
Vibrance: +7
Saturation: +21

...so this means the data (at least quite a bit) is already there in the frame (and video stream). But you have to be careful. Lets say he turns onto the runway and more directly towards the sun. The gopro will increase it shutter speed even higher (eg. 1/2000 to 1/4000) to not saturate the outside sky. That means the panel area will become even darker and will need even more of the shadows adjustment. But its already near its limit. Actually, with a ND filter in place to blur the prop its probably already running above the lowest ISO setting so there is some noise. Remember, the shadows adjustment quickly reveals noise as you take it higher and higher.

So another solution which is much more elegant and requires no post processing is to place a Graduated ND filter over the lens with the dark side to the top. Here is a simulation from the same original frame you posted:



...remember this is just a simulation with software. The trick is to get the filter setup properly from top to bottom. Not always easy with a round filter. In this case the graduated filter allows the camera to leave the shutter open twice as long. That also helps reduce prop blur. But there will also be funny cases like the top of his head might be darker than the bottom. The best graduated ND filters come in squares and can be slide up and down. But those are really sharp corners near your head and they are quite big.

Another option it to either illuminate the panel (directly with light or reflect it from outside). Reflected light would probably be best. As the sun goes down the amount of light needed would also go down.

And finally there is the very option that many use. They dedicate a gopro directly to the panel and do not include any light from the windshield. You get excellent lighting but you give up the combined shot you are after from behind the pilots ear.

If you are using Adobe Premiere and want to adjust the shadows in post processing use the following preset: "Video Effects / Color Correction / Lumetri Color"

 

[Sinistar]

View attachment 70692
Pretty sure I just used manual focus

This shot is kinda lucky regarding the panel being brighter than in many shots. The visors are down so the total area of % of bright area (sky) vs the rest of the image is rather low. So the camera lowered the shutter speed. You can tell this because the outside sky and trees are blown out and blurry.

But this is another way to get the panel to be brighter. Reduce the amount of outside area in the shot.

 

[Radar Contact]

Hi.
OK, here is what I am talking about, see pic, the inside the Cpit is unacceptable to me.

I'm by no means an expert on flying or filming. I've tried different positioning and settings and this is about the best I can come up with. You will see that different atmospheric conditions will change the inside/outside quality to some degree. If you can find a better quality view of both the inside and outside simultaneously I'd love to find out what it is.

 

[Radar Contact]

Okay...first lets verify...you are wanting the video from behind @Radar Contact's head to look more like this? I think everyone wishes it would look closer to this right?

View attachment 70714

If so, these are the adjustments in Adobe Lightroom:

Exposure -24
Highlights: -7
Shadows: +60
Vibrance: +7
Saturation: +21

...so this means the data (at least quite a bit) is already there in the frame (and video stream). But you have to be careful. Lets say he turns onto the runway and more directly towards the sun. The gopro will increase it shutter speed even higher (eg. 1/2000 to 1/4000) to not saturate the outside sky. That means the panel area will become even darker and will need even more of the shadows adjustment. But its already near its limit. Actually, with a ND filter in place to blur the prop its probably already running above the lowest ISO setting so there is some noise. Remember, the shadows adjustment quickly reveals noise as you take it higher and higher.

So another solution which is much more elegant and requires no post processing is to place a Graduated ND filter over the lens with the dark side to the top. Here is a simulation from the same original frame you posted:

View attachment 70716

...remember this is just a simulation with software. The trick is to get the filter setup properly from top to bottom. Not always easy with a round filter. In this case the graduated filter allows the camera to leave the shutter open twice as long. That also helps reduce prop blur. But there will also be funny cases like the top of his head might be darker than the bottom. The best graduated ND filters come in squares and can be slide up and down. But those are really sharp corners near your head and they are quite big.

Another option it to either illuminate the panel (directly with light or reflect it from outside). Reflected light would probably be best. As the sun goes down the amount of light needed would also go down.

And finally there is the very option that many use. They dedicate a gopro directly to the panel and do not include any light from the windshield. You get excellent lighting but you give up the combined shot you are after from behind the pilots ear.

If you are using Adobe Premiere and want to adjust the shadows in post processing use the following preset: "Video Effects / Color Correction / Lumetri Color"

View attachment 70723

Found this all very interesting! Thank you @Sinistar As you allude to, I think it would be insanely time intensive to try to edit to look like this on a 20-30 min video as you would have to keep changing as you turn towards/aways from the sun, the sun goes behind a cloud, IMC/VMC, etc.

I'm pretty simple and am happy with how the GoPro looks right from the camera.

 

[ktup-flyer]

This shot is kinda lucky regarding the panel being brighter than in many shots. The visors are down so the total area of % of bright area (sky) vs the rest of the image is rather low. So the camera lowered the shutter speed. You can tell this because the outside sky and trees are blown out and blurry.

But this is another way to get the panel to be brighter. Reduce the amount of outside area in the shot.

That's how it was the whole video.

 

[Sinistar]

That's how it was the whole video.

Were the visors down the whole time?