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DetectorGuy · 10-26-2011, 10:23 AM,

I have been looking at getting a better underwater camera for a while and looked at the first generation of the GoPro cameras. I was really impressed with them but doing some research... The HD Hero2 camera from GoPro seems like twice the camera. 11 MP still shots, with twice the lens clarity of the original. I hear the HD video is phenominal (at least above water). The video quality will be loads better than my old Sealife Mini. I heard there was some issues with the underwater focus on the originals but then someone came out with a flat lense retro fit to correct this. I want to pull the trigger on this Hero2 but wanted to hear what others think first.

Hydro · 10-26-2011, 11:30 AM,

I have the hero HD, all my youtube videos are shot in that..... I guess my major complaint is the hero is finicky for good sd card speeds, hates poor lighting, oversensitive mic with dry gloves. Stripped down controls has 2 buttons total

For the most part I use it mounted to reduce noise, there's a flat lens case for better underwater focus but I don't care enough to get it....takes decent video if you have enough light... small size is nice if shooting video isn't your foremost concern,

They are handy overall mostly dueto their size... arcflash has the 1st gen
Id buy a hero again

DetectorGuy · 10-26-2011, 01:10 PM,

Thanks for the info Hydro. Thinking about making an angle bracket that mounts to the goodman bracket of the HID light head so I can use the HID for lighting and as a "laser sight" of sorts... Where ever the light is shining, it is taking video. Also have plans of possibly using it on a rock climbing helmet to document recoveries. My fear of using it on the helmet underwater would be not taking video of exactly what I'm looking at. Another reason I would probably mount it to the goodman handle is so that I can turn it off and on during the dive easily. I have heard that these things spit out the video in a MP4 format. Is it hard to convert these MP4 files to MOV or MPEG files to be viewed on older computers?

Here is the link to the Hero 2 site:

Here is a link to another site talking about this new camera and the near future upgrade that will add WI-FI remote control to it (coming later this fall):

Aquaventure · 10-26-2011, 02:19 PM,

The Go Pros are great!! Especially for the money! The Go Pro 2 does have some improvements to it however besides the upgrade to 15mp stills these improvements may not translate underwater. The two issues the Go Pros have are the lack of contrast and detail at depth (15' and deeper compared to land) and it's poor focusing quality underwater.

The reason for the lack of contrast and detail at depth is their small sensor size. This is the same issue all digicams have. Even though the new lens is supposed to have twice the clarity and should help, without increasing the sensor size there will be no dramatic improvement over the original model in low light conditions. The Light & Motion Sola series lights are a great compliment to the Go Pro!

The other issue is it's soft focus underwater. This is due to the curved port on the housing and not the Go Pro camera itself. This is easily corrected by replacing the stock lens with the Aquapix flat lens. There are two versions available. The Aquapix flat lens ($45) and the Aquapix flat lens w/blue water filter ($55). The AP flat lens makes a dramatic difference! Without it, images and videos are anything but sharp and really negate the quality of shooting in HD.

With that said, for underwater use I feel you'd be happy with either model. We have the various original models on sale for $239, $229, & $199. The Hero2's are on order and are $299. Feel free to stop by and I'd be happy to go over all the Go Pro options with you.

Kind regards,
Steve Philbrook

DetectorGuy · 10-26-2011, 02:29 PM,

Thanks Steve, Will the Aquapix flat lense fit the Hero2? Maybe Gopro figured out this soft focus underwater issue, and the new lens might cover this area of the cameras advertised use?

Aquaventure · 10-27-2011, 08:25 AM,

According to our Go Pro Rep the housing has not changed, just the camera itself. So yes, the Aquapix flat lens will fit the Go Pro2. It is a very easy process to change the lenses on the housing as well - takes only a few minuets.

Steve Philbrook

Aquaventure · 10-27-2011, 11:57 AM,

After speaking with Go Pro, they said the new version does have a slightly larger sensor for enhanced low light performance. The Hero2 has a .84 v/lux light sensitivity as apposed to a 1.4 v/luv. Can't wait to test it!

Steve Philbrook

DetectorGuy · 12-18-2011, 10:31 AM,

I got my new Hero2 camera and started doing research on the add-on flat lens for underwater video. Seems that the Hero2 camera has a slightly larger lens (stands taller from the body of the camera). This taller lens on the camera hits the add-on flat lens at depths and according to aquapix, the housing or the lens can be damaged... Sounds bad but Aquapix is fixing this by sending out an 'o-ring' that is used as a spacer between the front of the camera body and the housing. I can't wait to try it all out. I made a new goodman handle for my DiveRite HID light that will mount the Hero2 camera just above and to the left of the light head. This should be compact enough for most dives, but with the light source 3" from the camera lens, I will more than likely get tons of back scatter in the video. I might need to just use this type of set up for bringing out the color of coral in clearer water.