GoPro Alternatives

[erwabo]

Are there viable alternatives to the GoPro for mapping. I may end up building my own drone for this purpose, but it would be nice to use the Solo. I need to have continuous shots per second without having to keep hitting the shutter, and I dont think Go Pro supports that. Also the fish eye is making accurate photo stitching more difficult. Has anyone built any nice cost effective solutions that dont use the Go Pro? Thanks

 

[Maxheadspace]

Are there viable alternatives to the GoPro for mapping. I may end up building my own drone for this purpose, but it would be nice to use the Solo. I need to have continuous shots per second without having to keep hitting the shutter, and I dont think Go Pro supports that. Also the fish eye is making accurate photo stitching more difficult. Has anyone built any nice cost effective solutions that dont use the Go Pro? Thanks

I bought a used GoPro Hero 3+ Black on eBay ($127) and replaced the stock lens with a rectilinear lens to eliminate the fisheye effect. I first tried an Axion 4.35mm lens ($79), and it worked but I didn't like the quality. It's a 10MP lens, and the 3+ Black is a 12MP camera. The sales literature said it will work for a 12MP camera, but I'm not convinced after trying it. I then bought a 16MP 3.87mm lens designed for the Git2 camera and that works great in my 3+ Black. Nice quality lens, low to no distortion, and no fisheye effect. It was only $39 direct from the GitUp company web site. They also have a 4.4mm version as well, if I recall correctly. Must be an M12 mount for the 3+ Black and Hero 4 models.

It sounds like you're already doing mapping, but if not, grid (mapping) apps that I know of: iPhone - SidePilot. Android - Tower.

I know SidePilot snaps photos at whatever distance interval you set (not time) on the GoPro, but I don't recall with Tower. And I always use it on the gimbal, not the static camera frame. The downside to the Solo setup is that you have to manually enter the GPS data, which is kind of a pain, as you probably already know.

If you're planning to do plant/crop analysis with NDVI, disregard the above and get the IR/NDVI lens from Peau Productions, which is much more expensive.

I have a DIY drone that's set up to do this as well, but the benefit of sticking to a GoPro and the Solo is that everything is automated. Unless you want to switch to a Phantom and use DroneDeploy.

 

[erwabo]

but the benefit of sticking to a GoPro and the Solo is that everything is automated.

Well I haven't figured out a way to automate the shutter. From what I read this is available in the latest Solo firmware, im just not sure how to go about it. Always a few annoying limitations. I would love to be able to have telemetry data on the Go Pro video as well...but that's going that's going to require a separate camera, and video TX

 

[andrew.baker.142]

I use a Cannon S100 with CHDK loaded on the SD card. You can specify seconds between shutter and just go fly the grid without having to initiate shutter releases from the ground.
Downfall is you will have extra shots you need to purge, and the Pixhawk won't know when the pics were taken so geo -referencing the photos has a little more error.

 

[Maxheadspace]

Well I haven't figured out a way to automate the shutter. From what I read this is available in the latest Solo firmware, im just not sure how to go about it. Always a few annoying limitations. I would love to be able to have telemetry data on the Go Pro video as well...but that's going that's going to require a separate camera, and video TX

As long as you have at least a GoPro Hero 3+ Black or Hero 4, you should have automatic shutter functionality on the Solo. Have you tried any of the grid mapping apps? I haven't used Tower in a long time so I don't recall, but SidePilot snaps all my photos in a grid automatically. Used it last Sunday.

 

[erwabo]

I use a Cannon S100 with CHDK loaded on the SD card. You can specify seconds between shutter and just go fly the grid without having to initiate shutter releases from the ground.
Downfall is you will have extra shots you need to purge, and the Pixhawk won't know when the pics were taken so geo -referencing the photos has a little more error.

HAHA, as in you mounted a standard point and shoot camera? If so how? That gimbal is balanced pretty accurately to the weight of a GoPro

 

[andrew.baker.142]

I didn't use the gimbal (not needed for photos). Just used the stock fixed GoPro mount and. 3D printed camera holder.

 

[T Bird]

Well I haven't figured out a way to automate the shutter. From what I read this is available in the latest Solo firmware, im just not sure how to go about it. Always a few annoying limitations. I would love to be able to have telemetry data on the Go Pro video as well...but that's going that's going to require a separate camera, and video TX

Tower will do that. Just set up a survey grid. Super easy.

 

[T Bird]

Must be an M12 mount for the 3+ Black and Hero 4 models.

Does that apply to the 3.87mm also? Does that mean it's not a screw-in replacement on the H4?

 

[Maxheadspace]

Does that apply to the 3.87mm also? Does that mean it's not a screw-in replacement on the H4?

It is a screw in replacement on my Hero 3+ Black, so I assume it's the same on the Hero 4. M12 is just the designation for that thread design.

 

[T Bird]

It is a screw in replacement on my Hero 3+ Black, so I assume it's the same on the Hero 4. M12 is just the designation for that thread design.

Thanks- will give it a try!

 

[Maxheadspace]

Make sure if you buy a lens that it says in the description it will fit a GoPro Hero 4. There are a lot of lenses that look very similar, but even a GoPro Hero 3 lens will not fit a GoPro Hero 3+ Black camera.

 

[T Bird]

Make sure if you buy a lens that it says in the description it will fit a GoPro Hero 4. There are a lot of lenses that look very similar, but even a GoPro Hero 3 lens will not fit a GoPro Hero 3+ Black camera.

Thanks for the heads-up. The description is "F2.8 3.87mm 16M 90° FOV replacement lens for Git2/Hero4".
I have H4 Black & Silver. Left the fisheye in the Black because sometimes that's the shot you want. Put one of the less expensive Peau's in the Silver, don't really like the result. For $40, I'll try this one.

 

[yarrr]

Are there viable alternatives to the GoPro for mapping. I may end up building my own drone for this purpose, but it would be nice to use the Solo. I need to have continuous shots per second without having to keep hitting the shutter, and I dont think Go Pro supports that. Also the fish eye is making accurate photo stitching more difficult. Has anyone built any nice cost effective solutions that dont use the Go Pro? Thanks

Check out the Gitup Git2p. You can lock exposure and ISO, with an intervalarometer, 90 degree lens. This is the same camera as the Mapir Survey 2, with a slightly different lens.

 

[Maxheadspace]

Check out the Gitup Git2p. You can lock exposure and ISO, with an intervalarometer, 90 degree lens. This is the same camera as the Mapir Survey 2, with a slightly different lens.

I have the Mapir Survey 2 and it is a good camera, but like all the non-GoPro action cams, it won't fit the Solo gimbal.