Sunday, September 16, 2012

GoPro Hero2 Macro Test Shots


A couple weeks ago, I shot a video of crazy ants carrying away a dead lizard.
The video is very funny but technically it was crap...... out of focus.
It got me thinking, GoPro cameras are very good POV sports cameras but
they have no macro capability.  So I went digging in my camera heap and
came up with this GoPro Frankenstein below.  Funny thing, it works.






It's a very simple temporary set-up, I used two rubber bands to hold
a small macro lens in-front of the GoPro housing.  You could use tape as well.
The little macro lens is part of a Bower Super Wide angle lens I got for
my Sony camcorders.  The macro lens unscrews from the wide angle element.
There is a permentent way to put a macro lens on a GoPro but it requires
taking the GoPro apart and screwing in a new lens.  So?  Do you have an
old macro lens in your pile of photo gear?  You may just have a way to get
 cool macro shots with your GoPro.







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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 4, 2012 at 2:49 PM

    exceptional job...thanks for the tinkering and ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  2. GetawaymomentsOctober 4, 2012 at 8:44 PM

    Thanks, Tinkering generally keeps me out of trouble :)=

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 11, 2012 at 1:45 PM

    Thanks! I Have a Hero3Black and was bummed about the lack of macro. After reading this I dug out an old Panasonic camcorder that I remembered had a macro feature. I ripped it apart and took out the forward most lens. Then I did just what you suggested using rubber bands to secure the lens to the GoPro. Amazingly it worked! Got some crazy close-ups of my kid's eye and have a fun weekend planned chasing bugs and other critters around to try and get some super slow mo macro vid. Great work, man!

    ReplyDelete
  4. LypDecember 6, 2014 at 9:47 AM

    Great pictures ! What a great job.
    You idea if this lens used for this purpose. Be of good quality? http://www.aliexpress.com/item/37mm-0-45x-Wide-Angle-Macro-Conversion-Lens-with-49mm-Front-Thread-for-SLR-DSLR-GoPro/1886823986.html

    Greetings from Portugal :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GetawaymomentsDecember 6, 2014 at 11:36 AM

      I'm not completely sure. I think it probably would but you should look into the new filter mounts and macro sets for GoPro cameras.
      There are a few companies that make filter holders that attach firmly to the gopro housing, then you use screw in macro lenses. These will work much better then my home made solution. If you have a macro lens already I would use
      my method listed above. If you don't, get a product tailor made for the job it will work better.
      Another idea, check used camera stores for an old macro lens kit, take your gopro and give them a test drive.
      That would be the cheapest solution.

      Here is a link for some of the new macro products for gopros.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCAsNh4vePI
      http://www.snakeriverprototyping.com/gopro-filter-adapters

      http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1015004-REG/polar_pro_p1007_macro_lens_razor_sharp.html

      http://www.amazon.com/GoPro-Hero3-Lens-3-8X-Magnification-Close-up/dp/B00GX332E4/ref=sr_1_2/185-8976753-6059622?ie=UTF8&qid=1417882796&sr=8-2&keywords=gopro+macro+lens

      Delete
  5. LypDecember 8, 2014 at 12:14 PM

    Thanks a lot. I´ll investigate the better option.

    Regards!

    ReplyDelete