GoPro 10 with add-ons for Zoom and mph start/stop - can it be done ? - would buy today

swbca

@Horton recently posted a GoPro 10 box opening. I would love to replace my phone for Pylon videos but haven't been able to find information about a narrow focal length and start/top based on boat speed. My older Galaxy phone zoom works ok with the rear-main camera with the wakeye app and stops and starts with mph, but the video is choppy. Good enough to see what the skier is doing, but not easy to watch. Each frame is near-perfect with no motion blur, but the frame count drops down to about 10 frames per second caused by the high-speed panning of the trees in the background as the skier crosses the wake.

Most important is a focal length that provides a field of view like the Terry Winter screen shot below. GoPro has lens add-ons but haven't been able to find sample images that would reveal how the field of view might be on a boat pylon.

If a narrow focal length similar to this screen shot can be done on a GoPro with add-ons, please share the details. and, anything on start/stop based on boat speed ?

PLEASE NOTICE - the total image width is only slightly more than double the gate width at 28 off. Not concerned about the vertical field of view. On my screen the gates center at 3.5" and the total image at 7.5" with skier in gate at 28 off.

Horton

@swbca
The GoPro can zoom in far enough. No issue there.

The speed trigger functionality is beta software. To use it you have to download a different firmware version. When it works it works great but it is finicky. If you are not tech inclined I would suggest it's not difficult to have your driver turn the camera on and off.

503Kento

You might want to look into the backbone mod for GoPro for the ultimate in lens flexibility. https://www.back-bone.ca/gopro-mods/
I don’t have personal experience with it but I’ve got several 35mm lenses I’d love to use on my GoPro.

I’ve found the speed trigger mostly reliable on my Hero 7. It’s failed a couple of times but a camera restart gets it going again.

cacman

I have the 9. It works great with turning on and off at programmed speed. Easy to do on line to make a QR code. There is no shake and picture is great. If you zoom in to much camera can not follow you perfectly using orbit. If you have someone holding camera zoom in works great. After you record you can use software to zoom in and picture is pretty good. I use the second to the widest and skier is never out of picture. It is plenty good for evaluation of technique.

swbca

@Horton Is this from your GoPro ? If so did you crop the image for use in this ski review ? I am guessing this is a little narrower than your GoPro's native image.

swbca

@cacman @503Kento I have a friend who machined a pair of additional vertical pegs for the Orbit that are positioned to make the orbit follow the rope with less free play between the orbit and the rope. The reduces the problem of having the skier ski out of the camera view by a few degrees.

Can you guys post a full frame screen shot of one of your videos ? I am sure many skiers would like to upgrade from their phones if they knew a GoPro could have a field of view good for Pylon slalom videos.

Horton

@swbca no the above image was shot with a Nikon DSLR

cacman

swbca

@cacman Thanks for posting the screen shots. Is that zoomed or the default wide angle ?

cacman

second from widest.

swbca

@cacman This is the full frame from the main-rear lens of a 5 year old Samsung Galaxy phone. Same 35off rope length as your image . . . trying to see if I can get a GoPro to have the same narrower field of view. I am not sure why the skier doesn't ski out of video with this Orbit setup. Maybe it's because I learned to always ski with a tight line being too weak to catch slack when skiing short line.

I have heard of narrower angle lens attachments for GoPro, but never seen a sample video.

Mastercrafter

@swbca here’s a no-crop still frame right off a GoPro 7 with a bit of digital zoom (on the camera). It’s not quite your TW framed image but not horrible either. I'm at -15.

Please excuse the skiing. First couple of passes through the course.

swbca

@Mastercrafter Looks good to me except for the gloomy weather.

1. Is the recording done with the digital zoom or is it something you can have the camera do after the video is recorded ?

2. Is the zoom calibrated on a dial or slide bar or is it just guesswork each time you zoom ? In other words if you like it zoomed in 50% can you select that value for each session or just guesswork ?

The fact that you are on a longer line and don't appear as a spec in the distance shows that your zoom is working very good. I am glad you posted this !

Mastercrafter

Welcome to Michigan. That was early April though, so I cant complain. This zoom was done before hitting record. There's a slider on the side of the screen, I can't remember if it shows a percentage or not. I've never had it "not work". I usually zoom in most the way, then angle the camera so the back of the boat is just in frame, like you see.

swbca

@Mastercrafter With this digital zoom feature, why do all the GoPro slalom videos I see make it look like the skier is on a 100' rope ? As I said, I'm glad you posted this.

cacman

I can zoom in but when I get to 35 off or shorter I start loosing the skier at buoy. With the right software you can zoom after you video.

Mastercrafter

Here’s the full video. Maybe there are issues with losing the skier at shortline. The Wake Eye I use has adjustments to pan past the skier, Ski Doc may not.

Also let’s take a moment to appreciate the great 28mph Prostar wake 🙃

swbca

@Mastercrafter What year ProStar ? I loved my 1986 ProStar that had a wake like an Everglades Air Boat, but according to experts, tracked like an Air Boat (compared to the newer boats).

Mastercrafter

Mine is a 2015.

skibug

I have a GoPro9 and have zero issues with the add on speed triggers, they work flawlessly. I use standard setting, wide, with 1.3 zoom. From 28 in it is great. If you want to zoom in post recording, you can do that with several media players. I do view my videos on a large computer monitor.

skierjp

@Horton maybe we can get Horton to put his Go Pro on his Ski Doc and show us what it looks like for 22 through 39. If it looks decent I would buy one.

swbca

@skibug Do you use the digital zoom that @Mastercrafter described ? His screen shot looked good to me . . getting skier close enough so its like sitting in the boat. I know digital zoom softens the focus, but that isn't visible in his down-sized BOS image.

This is a full frame from my phone's video. At 35 off the Orbit is following the skier through the turns OK. Is your view similar to this or does the skier appear closer or further away ? I want to switch to a GoPro because my phone doesn't handle the fast action in the video very well, but I don't want the wide angle I usually see with many GoPro videos.

swbca

@skierjp @Horton That's a great suggestion. It might help a lot of skiers make the switch from phones to GoPros. I would like see how much zoom you can use on a GoPro and still have the Orbit follow the skier through his turn. I don't want videos wider angle than my phone video directly above . . . . . where Orbit has no problem following skier's turn at 35off.

skibug

@swbca I use the digital zoom. Below is a normal zoom still from the video, the other is the post recording zoom from the video player.

OldboyII

After they will put option of speed trigger in the main menu, next minute I make an order ))

Martin

@skibug so the beta labs has speed trigger based on speed set up? Or just on and off when in motion/no motion? If that works well ill get the hero 9 black that beta is compatible with.

skierjp

Just want to see what Go Pro looks like at the different line lengths without any editing

MichaelWiebe

We're still on a GoPro Hero 3+, and the below is the narrow setting. That's the one we've been using for years. We have the Ski-Doc Orbit for mounting.
We are upgrading to the Hero 9 now, and will be testing out the narrow and zoom settings. We have the remote control start/stop with the 9, so the driver can wear it like a watch and start / stop at the green balls. After testing that, we'll try the GPS speed triggers. Hope this helps. And we appreciate suggestions for the Hero 9's best ski video settings.

swbca

MichaelWiebe
Is the narrow setting a digital or optical change ?

MichaelWiebe

Good question. I’m not the expert. Below are Hero 9 pictures. The heading says “lens”.
The zoom is digital, and is a different setting.

skibug

@Martin yes, speed triggers, just like wake eye. Starts on whatever speed you set and shuts off on whatever speed you set. One caveat, on the trigger, which is in the form of a QR code that is generated, there is a toggle button for "repeat" which you want toggled on. Otherwise it will only trigger on and off once. Repeat will trigger every time the set point are reached.