This is a post about the GoPro Challenges that I continue to experience. In a previous post about “Pheasant Hunting with a GoPro” I touched on challenges with wind noise and the poorly implemented voice command system. As I use the camera more, I have encountered the additional challenge of sorting and storing captured videos.
Challenge #1 - Wind Noise
The microphones on the camera are very sensitive to wind noise. It takes very little wind to obscure the audio. To make it worse, the camera struggles with the voice commands when it is windy.
In an attempt to reduce wind noise on the captured videos I purchased a WindSlayer which is a foam camera cover. It actually works well in light to moderate winds up to about 15 mph. It does not seem to impact voice commands.
Getting the camera to respond to voice commands in windy conditions is a challenge. I have to make sure I speak clearly and loud. Given that we like to hunt quiet, this can be a challenge at times. The camera does have a button on top that will toggle recording but it is a pain to use while walking and carrying a gun.
Challenge #2 - Voice Commands
A nice feature of the GoPro is the ability to use voice commands. The problem is the implementation was poorly designed and/or implemented.
To start recording a video you say “GoPro start recording”. To stop, say “GoPro stop recording”. Simple enough except the camera cannot distinguish between “stop” and “start”. If the camera is not recording and you say “GoPro stop recording” it will start recording. If you are already recording and say “GoPro start recording” it will stop recording. This flaw combined with windy conditions, that sometimes cause the camera to ignore commands, results in missing important shots or recording lots of nothing. I noted this challenge in a recap post last year.
I recently reviewed the available commands and I think I may have a partial solution using two additional voice commands. Recording can be started using “GoPro Capture” and stopped using “GoPro stop capture”. These commands do not seem to conflict with each other. I will try to use the new commands on my next trip. Wind caused ignoring of commands is still a problem.
Update: Using the “Capture” and “Stop Capture” works better, so far. If you are already recording and then say “GoPro Capture” nothing happens, which is a good thing. If you are not recording and say “GoPro Stop Capture” nothing happens, which is a good thing. My only reservation is that when the “Capture” commands do not work, is it because the camera did what it is supposed to or because it did not hear you correctly due to wind noise. Still, this is a better solution than using the the “Stop/Start Recording” commands.
Challenge #3 - Sorting and storing captured videos
When we are hunting and the dog starts tracking, I never know if we will see a bird or not, so I record. If I think we are in an area that may have birds I will record. Basically, when in doubt, record. The challenge comes when I get home and have 30+ Gig of video recordings.
My normal process when I get home is to review the clips and delete any clips that are not significant. But this takes a lot of time because many of the clips may be 10-15 minutes long. Even fast forwarding, it still takes time. If I find a clip I want to keep I change the file name to include notes like “Track to hen” or “Rooster down”. This makes it easier when I go to edit the weekly recap videos. While on my fishing trip last summer, I got into the habit of giving the camera a thumbs up or down before ending the clip. Then I just deleted any clip that ended with a thumbs down, which did save some time.
Once I have the clips that I want to keep all renamed then I have to store them. It is not unusual to have 10-20 Gig of video clips from a single trip. This adds up quickly. To save space on my computer hard drive I copy the files to a USB drive for long term retention. In the 2 plus years I have been capturing hunting videos I have about 1.5 Tb of saved video. Pretty soon I will have to start deleting some of the older clips.
Summary
This post covers some of the GoPro challenges I experience while hunting and how I am working through them. Despite the challenges, I do enjoy capturing the videos and being able to relive the experiences.
