Summer holidays are over for this year for us, just one bank holiday left and then…no not worth thinking about when the next one is!
It was interesting taking the GoPro on holiday, though possibly overkill for the amount of “action” video we took, but it survived a dip in the sea at least and the footage taken during one of the tamer rides is great. Sadly, unlike Disney, Universal force you to leave everything behind before you take your seat on their rides, so nothing to show after a long queue to get on their latest coaster VelociCoaster (which is brilliant BTW).
Not wanting to lug a gadget bag and the GoPro + batteries around with me every day, and as I’ve gathered more than enough stills of Disney over the years, it was quite refreshing just to wander round with a small camera attached to a wrist strap. Overall, this year was the lowest frame count for me in six visits, including the first time when still on 35mm film way back in 2000! There again, if I used as many rolls of film now as I did in 2000 and had them processed, the bill would be over £200 including buying the film initially.
What did I learn when using the GoPro in preference to a DSLR? Quite a bit re the basic stuff, the battery life isn’t great, so it was either pack a few extras and the Volta grip which includes the equivalent of 3 additional batteries is really handy to have for the parades and firework displays. Speaking of which, it was definitely worth reading a few web pages about low light filming, as the firework videos came out really well. The online mumblings about overheating issues were proved to be true, but that was when someone was trying to use the thing to film the whole journey down Interstate One to Key West from Key Largo, which was a bit unfair.
Of the extra bits and pieces I bought, just in case, Lens Mod 2.0 was probably not worth it for me. The superwide 170 degree view doesn’t suit the video I’m liable to take and look plain odd in a few cases. Also not good in rain where a single spot seems to stick to the centre of the rather curved lens, no matter what you try and to remove it. Oddly, I never got to use the Shorty grip/tripod/stick thing, mainly because Disney don’t let you in with selfie sticks, though that’s debatable and the Volta has a built in tripod when that was fitted and I’d somewhere to sit it.
Other than the overheating bit, one further hiccup came when using the Volta. This connects to the camera via USB C, so you either need an extra “door” with a passthrough to access the USB C connector, or the Media Mod case which includes USB C, micro HDMI and 3.5mm audio jack on one side and easy to access. Volta also includes a remote control button block which is Bluetooth connected to the camera in the same way the standard remote works. On a few occasions, this simply went AWOL, no response to any button, turn it all off, on, and re-pair the thing. Frustrating to say the least. As for taking stills with the GoPro, I won’t bother again, my iPhone is vastly better for the times I’ve not got a “proper” camera with me.
Where next? Well…… let’s say there’s a good chance there will be dogs eye view footage in a few months when he’s big enough to mount the GoPro on a harness!
