GoPro Camera Review: Surf Hero | SurfboardShack.com

Filed in: Surf Equipment Reviews | On: January 10th, 2009 | Comments: (20)
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[youtube=epDwt99KVVU,425,4:3,NOLINK,NOAUTOPLAY]

The cool guys at GoPro Camera were cool enough to send me their new wide angle GoPro Surf Hero digital camera. These are the same guys that made the original GoPro waterproof camera that straps to your wrist. I’ve been using a Pentax WP Optio camera for a while now but those only work when someone’s willing to take photos of you 🙂 It took a while before the Surf Hero was released but it was well worth the wait.

GoPro Camera

I stuck the GoPro camera base plate on my 9’2 Kimo Greene longboard and surfed in tiny knee high waves in onshore conditions (see video above). Definitely not the most idea conditions for photos/video by any means but I was dying to try the camera out. I got home and downloaded all of the video and I was stoked to see how good the quality of the videos came out. For a tiny little camera that’s reasonably priced ($150), I wasn’t expecting a whole lot in video quality but was impressed for what the GoPro camera could do. I have to say that the video quality is better than my Pentax WP Optio which always turns out cloudy/blurry in the water.

Buy Online at GoPro’s Official Site

gopro2 Screen grab of GoPro with suction mount

Here are a few specs of the GoPro Surf Hero Camera:

170 degree wide angle lens
5 Megapixels
Comes with stick-on base plate and FCS plug mounting system
Takes 56 minutes of video or 5 megapixel photos every 2 seconds for 65 minutes (with 2 GB SD card)
Waterproof housing
USB cable
Works on both longboards and shortboards
You can purchase extra base plates for other boards

GoPro Tips:

Make sure you scrape all the wax off your board and clean the surface where your mount will be with acetone…any residual wax will weaken the adhesive.
On longboards (9’0+), you can position the base plate anywhere from the tip of your nose to a foot below. I made the mistake of sticking the base plate 2.5 feet below the nose on my other longboard and while the shots/video came out fine, the camera ended up being directly under my chin while paddling.
I would stick the base plate as close to the nose as possible (needs to be wide enough to completely adhere to the deck on standard shortboards). The camera also works on fishes (I used it with my 5’10 fish). Again, the shorter the board, the better it is to position the baseplate as close to the nose of the board as possible. You want to make sure the camera can fit your entire body in the frame as well as the wave.
The camera works best in larger and steeper surf. I think it’s best to take a straight line and try for the barrel. Any type of pumping or aggressive turning looks weird (when the camera is facing you) and makes for dizzying video. If you look at the GoPro website, you’ll notice that barrels make for the best shots.
Be sure to buy rechargeable NiMN or Lithium batteries (costs around $30 for batteries and charger) as GoPro advises against using alkaline. The camera takes 2 AAA batteries and you also need to buy your own SD card (2GB max).
You can also use RainX on the housing lens to keep water drops to a minimum.
For Mac users, when deleting video/photos off your SD card, be sure to empty your trash can. If you don’t, your camera will think it’s SD card is full and stop taking photos or videos. I struggled with this for 3 days thinking my camera was broken or something was wrong with the batteries.
Be sure to keep the rubber seal in the housing free of dust, hair, particles, etc to keep it waterproof. GoPro doesn’t warranty against leakage so you’ll want to pay extra attention. You can remove the rubber seal and wash it with water to clean it but be sure to fit the seal back properly.

GoPro Suction Mount

suction-mount

I recommend that longboarders invest in the suction mount. The problem with the base plate is once you stick it on it’s next to impossible to remove. I took a couple off and had to cut it up like a pizza with a hacksaw. The adhesive is so strong that it’s difficult to remove it without segmenting it into several pieces.

You can use the leash tie stick on (little piece that you string your camera leash to) from your base plate set and use that to tie down the suction mount. The suction mount will come off if you eat it on a bigger wave so I do recommend you tie it down. If you mount it to the tail of your longboard you can simply tie the suction mount to your leash plug.

Improvements:

This camera is definitely worth the money but it would be nice if GoPro could add a few more features:

Provide SD card and increase storage space
Provide rechargeable battery pack
Provide preview screen so you can playback video while you’re surfing to check the angle of your shots

I know I’m being super picky with the requests above. On the whole I highly recommend photo enthusiasts to get a Surf Hero camera. GoPro will be selling a helmet cam attachment soon. You’ll be able to strap your GoPro to a helmet and take video or photos of your friends from all different angles. I’ll be sure to write more about that when I receive my helmet expansion kit.

I’m planning to move my base plate to the rear of my board and see how that angle looks. Hopefully removing the base plate won’t be too difficult.

Stay tuned for more video/photos in better surf!

20 Comments »

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danielkrymow, on February 21, 2009 @ 2:26 pm |

can i use on shortboards as 6″ or 6.1 ??
thanks

Neal, on February 27, 2009 @ 10:11 am |

danieldrymow, it will work on a board 6’0. I tried it on my 5’10 fish and it worked fine…I think if you go under 6’0 you may need to use a board with a wider nose so that the mount has enough area to stick. Obviously, the more narrow the board the farther down the nose you need to move in order to secure the baseplate. And if you try to attach the baseplate to a shortboard that’s say 5’10, it will probably be too close to you to get your whole body in the shot.

Phil, on March 20, 2009 @ 3:44 pm |

How long do batteries last? –

mc, on March 31, 2009 @ 11:10 pm |

to capture nose riding, would you recommend placement to the side of the stringer?

nice vid. I want one!

Neal, on April 16, 2009 @ 8:24 am |

Phil,

I bought crappy rechargeable batteries from Radio Shack and they last a little over an hour. If you continuously film, you’ll run out of disk space (1 hr non-stop) before you run out of battery.

Brandon, on June 17, 2009 @ 6:55 pm |

yo daniel can use it on a 5’4′ even… i am 5’10 and ride a 5’10… i placed the camera 8 inches down from the nose and still the camera gets the entire view perfectly…

eric, on January 16, 2010 @ 6:46 am |

Cool review…question:
I’m 6’4″,,,you think I need a longer board for me to fit in thr camera frame

Neal, on January 16, 2010 @ 10:39 am |

@eric take a look at the video I shot to give you perspective. I’m 5’5 and my longboard is 9’2.

It should easily fit you in the picture if you ride a longboard. You can also try moving the camera to the very end of the nose of your longboard. A shortboard may be quite tough however.

Andrew, on June 6, 2010 @ 1:52 pm |

Can you use the gopro surf hero with the wrist attachments?

LAWS, on August 14, 2010 @ 11:40 am |

how do u mount it on the back of a 6 2 or any shortboard

Neal, on August 14, 2010 @ 1:48 pm |

@LAWS you can either a) use the stick on mount the camera comes with and attach on your tail b) use the suction mount http://custom.surfboardshack.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/suction-mount.jpg (you can buy on gopro site) c) create your own custom mount. The tricky thing I found is when mounting the camera on the tail of your board, you need to mount the camera high enough so the spray coming off your rails doesn’t blur the shot.

You can try using the stock stick mount but I think it’ll be too low and the adhesive they use is stronger than cement. The problem with the suction mount is it’s really bulky and on a shortboard it may get in the way. It’s not too bad on a longboard but you have way more foot space on a 9 foot board than you do 6’0. You just need to experiment but know that you need height.

Neal, on August 14, 2010 @ 1:50 pm |

@Andrew, last I checked the new gopro didn’t fit with the old wrist attachment…the new cameras are wide angle (bulbus lense) and because of that won’t fit in the housing.

laws, on August 19, 2010 @ 1:39 pm |

cool thanks..i figure mounting on the back my legs are gonna be in the way and constantly be hitting it when i stand up..

Gordalicious, on August 23, 2010 @ 6:13 pm |

Here’s another suggestion for the mount. Use a velcro pad. One side on the board and one side on the camera mount. This along with a back up leash, of course.

pijent, on October 29, 2010 @ 11:08 pm |

how do you move yours base plate to the rear of the board? how dou take it off and use it again?
do you need a new 3MVHB?

SurfsUP, on November 20, 2010 @ 8:36 pm |

hey, sorry to bother you but are the still photos of decent quality? since its only 5mp… coule i just edit the video and take a freeze frame? and what battery do you recommend i buy if i get an 8gb sd card? thanks keep ripping it up!!!!

Franco, on November 26, 2010 @ 4:51 am |

If I use the small mounts, will the camera come off IF I wipeout on the wave? For example if the wave is about 10ft?

Dave, on December 28, 2011 @ 6:24 pm |

Got this camera for christmas from my wife. Just used it for the first time, I have a board made from a local shaper who put fcs plugs in the nose and tail so I can mount the camera. I followed all of the instructions, and during its first uses the clip on the top of the camera that holds the casing closed broke off. This caused the camera to come out of the casing and be lost. Neither go pro or best buy will replace it. Look in the warranty it states go pro does not cover any damaged or lost products during water activities cause of what they stated, “User error while sealing case”. All in all dont buy this product unless you want to throw 250.00 in the ocean

Marv, on February 8, 2012 @ 4:15 pm |

I have not problems attaching the baseplate to my longboard but on the shorty the baseplate wont attach fully probably because of the board’s curve and the plate being too big.
Has anyone had problems mounting the camera at the back of board and kicking it?

Sebastian, on March 8, 2012 @ 6:08 pm |

Shut up dave, ive taken out my camera on a day with at least 8 ft set waves and i had absolutely no problems with the housing even when i got pummeled and my leash snapped, your dumbass probably didnt clamp it shut, so you dont need to be bagging on the camera for your dumbass mistake

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