Taking A Gamble With A GoPro

After procrastinating for months, I finally decided to bite the bullet, and ordered a used GoPro Hero9 Black on Ebay. The pictures that were included with the ad shows a camera in what appears to be pristine condition. I realize I may regret this purchase, especially after reading so many complaints about the newer cameras. And it doesn't help that my old trusty GoPro Hero4 Silver has been reliable throughout the years. But, sometimes in life I guess we have to take a gamble.

The reason for this sudden decision is twofold:

1) My old trusty GoPro Hero4 Silver does not have Linear Mode, Horizon Leveling or Hypersmooth 3.0 stabilization, which I would like to have for my motorcycle rides. It cannot capture RAW images either.

2) The price was dirt cheap.

The GoPro Hero9 Black camera comes with a charger, two batteries, a SanDisk Extreme 256GB memory card, a case, and several mounts. For now, I am not interested using the MediaMod, since I prefer to use a Zoom recorder with an external microphone. This has been my preferred method to record sound for years.

I plan to use "this new-to-me" camera primarily for some of my basic hobbies like, motorcycle rides, kayaking and snorkeling. Nothing fancy.

Once I put this camera to the test, I'll hope to write an updated review. Never say never, but for now I am not interested in the Insta360 or the DJI Osmo. At least not yet.

GoPro Clickbait Nonsense

Just spent over 12 minutes watching a useless "clickbait" video about GoPro major fatal flaw. The video start by mentioning that since the very beginning, there is a flaw in every single GoPro camera ever made. 

To put this blog post in context, for the last several weeks I've been seriously considering upgrading my Gopro and getting a GoPro Hero13; the one with all the new bells and whistles. Which is why I decided to watch this video. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with my GoPro Hero4 Silver. It works flawlessly during snorkeling, kayaking and motorsports.

The fatal flaw is not even mentioned until the last few seconds of the video that I just watched. It took him 12 minutes to get to the point. During the first 2 seconds, he could've just said that the fatal flaw about GoPro is the overheating and be done with it. Not to mention, the video also included a sponsored ad about some product unrelated to GoPro. 

I guess this is the new norm. Content creators with professional looking videos, and lots of ads and blah content. All fluff, no real answer to their own question.

Tropical Island

A couple of months ago, I purchased a Telesin Dome Port to use on my GoPro action camera to try to capture 50/50 split or "one under and one above" the water underwater images in one photo. I don't want to jinx it, but this would be a first time for snorkeling, underwater photography, horse riding and night kayaking. 

If during this September trip, the love of my life or I can capture at least one amazing half-half picture, I'll be a happy camper. The planets will need to align big time for this to happen, but I am confident that it can be done. I can't wait for this trip date to arrive. It should be fun.

Kayaking And Landscape Photography

For the fist time ever, went kayaking with the love of my life in the Lehigh River. To say I had a great time is an understatement.

One thing I was not expecting, was to learn that this new hobby has inspired me and opened another door on my photography journey. Never in my wildest dreams I would've ever thought about combining kayaking with taking landscape photos. 

I need to be extra careful carrying my camera gear, and shooting while kayaking. The last thing I need is dropping my camera gear deep in the water. 

This is my favorite picture from my first ever kayaking adventure in the Lehigh River in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The kayak selfie was taken with a cheap point-and-shoot Sony Cyber-shot DSC-530 digital camera. 

I really like the background scene on this image. Even though I wasn't happy with the original plain dull grey sky, I used a replacement composite sky using Adobe Photoshop Elements. Once I get more comfortable with the kayak basics, and gain more experience doing this kayaking thingy, I am going to try incorporate photographing landscapes into this new hobby.