Looking for Advice: Basic GoPro Setup for Kayak

[Pinhead]

Heya Boys,

My fishing buddy moved to Idaho and has been bugging me for pics and a clip or two of my fishing day trips to SD & MB.

My cell phone clips and pics don't really cut it and he said I should look into a GoPro maybe for my PA14, basic/simple if that is possible?

I don't know anything about them, but I'm not a total putz when it comes to learning electronics. If anyone has a link or some advice on where to start for a kayak setup, that would be great. I'm thinking I could post them to my YouTube account and he can view them there.

Thanks....Pinhead Out!

[JohnMckroidJr]

Greetings Pinhead,

I started using GoPro's in 2014 and own every flagship model. I have not been satisfied with the knock off versions that I have tried.

Being a cheapy, For kayak use, the GoPro #7 Black has everything you need. I would not spring for an advanced model unless you have a powerful computer and want to dabble with hi-res slow motion. I don't like the 8 because it is less interchangable, and the 9 is slow. 10-12 are larger, have slightly better stabilization, and are very similar.

I am not a youtuber, so maybe some of the guys who are will recommend the newer models for the advanced stabilization, but to me it does not seem necessary.

A camera boom can be made out of PVC piping and a $20 selfie stick. If you don't want to make something, the Railblazer camera boom works well.
When I am landing a fish, I usually run 4K/60 and make still photos from the video. You can get by with 1080/30 but 4k/60 sometimes catches a nicer photo that allows closer cropping without compromising resolution.

I would paint the PVC or shrink wrap electric covering over it to prevent sun exposure from making it brittle.

Electric shrink wrap cover is cheap at harbor freight. Used Go Pros are readily available in pawn shops and on Offerup, Mercari or FB market Place. Try to find one that includes a quality micro SD card, lots of counterfieit on ebay, so buy on Amazon for easy returns. Check GoPro site to see which ones work, if you have a cheap sd card, it won't record well.

Good luck

[Pinhead]

Hey now, that is just the kind of dope I was looking for! Thanks for all of the info. I'll start looking for the GoPro 7. I like the used idea and the $20 selfie stick! Thanks much!

[bernie3674]

So I use this thing call action hat, it gives you great first person view, and any go pro thats gopro 8 and above will give you really good result, I am using gopro 11
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVV...R5QxVM5yIRofVQ

[PapaDave]

I have two of the ver. 8, work just fine.

I did do something a little different though, I added extended batteries, runs about 7 hours. I don't like fiddling with them on the water, I'm WAY too clumsy.

Another thing, if you go with making a PVC mount, they do work, just make sure you don't rely on the sticky pads, use something solidly attached to it.

Don't ask...

[Pinhead]

Real nice footage on the GoPro 11. I also like the idea of extended batteries, I can be a putz too. I started shopping on eBay, lots to sift thru. Thanks for all the advice so far guys.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by bernie3674

So I use this thing call action hat, it gives you great first person view, and any go pro thats gopro 8 and above will give you really good result, I am using gopro 11
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVV...R5QxVM5yIRofVQ

Nice youtube channel! Your PV footage is nostalgia for me as that is where I grew up many decades ago.

I am curious what you don't like about GP 7 black? I run one behind me in 4k/60 with an extended battery so that it is always running. It's small, and gets the job done.

I don't like wearing the action hat, but have a GP 12 standing by on a head strap if I hook something that merits high res/fpm coverage. I use a GP 10 and 11 for forward view booms. When the battery burns out on the newer units, I sometimes use a back up GP7 on the forward video, and honestly don't see much difference in value. Many desktops can't even handle the higher resolutions with high video frame rates.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by PapaDave

I have two of the ver. 8, work just fine.

I did do something a little different though, I added extended batteries, runs about 7 hours. I don't like fiddling with them on the water, I'm WAY too clumsy.

Another thing, if you go with making a PVC mount, they do work, just make sure you don't rely on the sticky pads, use something solidly attached to it.

Don't ask...

The ver. 8 is a good camera, I just don't like it because it was the only camera that GoPro made in that form. Ver. 5-7 are identical size as are 9-12 identical of a larger size.




I did the extended battery on my back camera. Instead of PVC, I went with and extendable paint roller pole. I have also used Subtig batteries, but I went with a 20000mah phone power bank. If the weather was cool, It will run nonstop 4k/60, but during the summer months in Sth Florida, it overheats, and shuts off every 2-3 hours provided I do not have a battery in the camera. If I leave a battery in the camera it overheats in about an hour. Once it overheats, It needs 15-20 minutes to cool down before running it again. The overheating is an issue with all the models. They took the GPS out of ver. 12 so that it will stay cooler and runs longer.


One of the better photos from the back camera continually running. I was fighting a king Mackerel hooked on a jig while a Sailfish ate my right side live bait and started jumping towards the kayak -- dam near jumped in.....