Tried a search, but so many answers and none specifically answer my question. So...

I am about to buy a GoPro, thinking a Hero naked set-up. Will be filming using it underwater on a telescopic pole, or locked off to capture general wides, passing feet etc for cutaways.
Do I need to buy the tripod adaptor? Assuming this allows me to fit the cam to a tripod and onto my 1/4" adaptor for the tele pole.
Or does the GoPro have a standard thread on the base like any other camera?

Ta...

You'll need the tripod adapter since there is no thread on the case.
It's well worth it, since the camera can be used with many more types of support, including a 1/4" tripod mounting.

you do need the tripod adaptor. It's also not a bad idea to pick up one of their grab bags of mounts...pretty inexpensive, and they give you a lot of additional options. You may also want to have a look at eyeofmine.com. They "specialize" in GoPro accessories, case modifications ( i.e. they make a flat lens cover for U/W work that gives you sharper focus), as well as a variety of different mounting options that are non-standard GoPro fare.
They're great little cameras. With the new LCD back, the functionality of the camera has really improved too.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/new-micro-pov-camera-systems/491565-video-gopro-hd-hero-pole-cam.html

The link above is where I put my HD Hero on a pole and shot video. A counter balance helped with some of the shake, BUT I still need to deal with rotational issues. (Go to the link and watch the video.)


Bob Diaz

OK, thanks for all the replies, that is sorted.

Interesting what you say about the flat lens cover, Wayne. I'll have to take a look at that...

Watched your clips a few times, Bob. I think it will be easier for me, as the cam will be on the end of a pole which is resting on, or possibly clipped to, the side of a boat.
When on a pole, I will only be using it for drifting along grabbing whatever appears out of the deep!

If you want your underwater shots to be sharp you'll definitely need the modified housing from eyeofmine.

Thanks Mark, got to buy the camera first...still trying to get lenses sorted after swapping from lifelong Nikon user to Canon 7D.
I'm assuming footage without the flat lens adaptor is still pretty good? The cost of the adaptor and shipping makes it a toss up between that and a 16GB card plus a spare battery for the 7D, choices, choices...

It's not a lens adaptor, it's a modified underwater housing with a flat surface over the lens. Using the stock housing your images underwater will be very soft. Don't know why GoPro is taking so long to come up with a fix for this themselves, but the fix offered by eyeofmine works just fine.

...I think it will be easier for me, as the cam will be on the end of a pole which is resting on, or possibly clipped to, the side of a boat.
When on a pole, I will only be using it for drifting along grabbing whatever appears out of the deep!

The issue will be that the GoPro camera will be asymmetrical drag in the water...even drifting will not eliminate currents in bodies of water you'd have sworn weren't moving at all (lakes vs rivers, etc) and the stress on the pole will shift as the boat turns...if you're adrift, you won't have steering.

I had two GoPros on the end of a pole...(actually I simply used the roll bar/handle bar mounts and used a long paint roller extension pole) and we had the boat under power to try to hold position and the rotation force is constantly there, but also changing with the compass direction of the boat and the angle we're engaging the current (in a very sheltered bay...). I shot some footage of a shipwreck in relatively shallow water (about 20 ft to the deck) for fun on a camping trip a couple years back...the constant tendency to rotate is obvious in the clip...and I had two cameras, so the drag on the end of the pole was far more symmetrical than you'll have with one camera.

Lake Superior Shipwreck Footage-GoPro Camera on Vimeo