How to Record Your Hunt Using a GoPro Camera
You’ve seen those fantastic YouTube videos of people hunting and thought it would be wonderful to do the same thing, but don’t know where to start? More and more hunters are employing a GoPro action camera to capture the action and show off their hunting skills, but there is more to it than just pressing record then uploading your footage.
Let’s have a look at how to do it correctly and give you some tips on the best ways to record your hunt using a GoPro camera.
1. Ensure you Use the Right GoPro Camera
Before you think about recording a hunt using a GoPro for hunting camera, ensure you have the perfect camera for the activity.
However, this aspect becomes a matter of individual preference. Investing in the best camera is the answer to getting clear videos. When choosing a camera to use for such an activity, ensure you understand the capabilities of camera you intend to use.
GoPro cameras are extremely popular and even the basic GoPro Hero 3+ Silver Edition is more than capable of recording your hunt. The newer models such as the GoPro Hero 4 Black and Silver editions provide fantastic video quality and 1080p HD, but you’ll need to be prepared to pay a little extra.
Additional Equipment
A gimbal stabilizer will help to keep your recorded footage steady and smooth and will also significantly improve the quality of your videos.
These gimbals can be pricey, but it’s definitely worth the investment to get the perfect shot if you are not mounting your camera.
2. Mounting
The last thing you want is for your camera to fall or be knocked off of whatever you’re attaching it to. There are many different mounts out there, choose one to suit your requirements and budget.
We’ve used several clamps over the years and used them to clamp our GoPro to a gun barrel, the stabilizer of a bow, the roofing panel of a treestand, and even a low-hanging tree branch.
3. Blackout Your Lights & Audio
GoPro cameras have two lights that shine when recording. When recording your hunt, it’s essential to blackout the camera lights. You require blackout housing to do this.
The lights will be hidden by the Blackout housing, as well as the silver body of the camera, so you won’t have to worry about animals being scared away.
You should also consider any beeps coming from the camera which could spook an animal. Learn how to change these settings on page 67 of the Hero7 Black user manual.
4. Check Your Environmental Conditions For Recording a Hunt
Make sure you check local environmental conditions as well as state and federal laws before recording a hunt. You should always double-check for hunting restrictions where you’re headed to see if GoPro hunting videos are even allowed in that area.
If GoPro hunting videos are legal, then the weather is usually the next thing to consider.
For hunting videos, you should take into account what time of day you’ll be recording your hunt since this can affect visibility. You will want to record the hunt during morning and evening hours when there is good light for GoPro hunting video footage.
Also, check the moon phase because hunting videos are easier to shoot during a full or near-full moon.
Ideally, you will want hunting videos that show animals clearly without too much glare from the sun. If there is just no way around recording your GoPro hunt video under harsh sunlight, you can just try to get videos when the sun will be in front of you and not directly at your back or behind the animal.
The type of lens you use with your GoPro camera will depend on the environment that you are hunting in. For example, if you’re going on a coastal hunt and there is a high salt content in the air and mist and fog, then you’ll need to invest in a lens that can handle these conditions.
5. Employ the Highest Frame Rate
The frame rate of your GoPro camera is important considering that there may be alot of movement to capture. The highest frame rates make videos appear more fluid. This translates to a better definition even if there will be a lot of movements.
There are different GoPro cameras in the market supporting a range of frame rates. Setting a frame rate at 60 frames per second can work best for you. However, setting that high rate is complicated in a way.
With the older versions, you must reduce resolution first before setting those higher rates.
The current GoPro versions support up to 120 frames each second. However, setting the camera at these frame rates isn’t much necessary. You only need to do this if there are plans to use the camera in slow motion.
6. Adjust the Field of View
GoPro cameras have wider-angle lenses than conventional cameras. Users can increase the field of view according to their desires.
A wide field of view provides an opportunity to capture more happening in the surrounding. Setting to a wide field of view doesn’t mean you will have distorted videos especially to the edges.
Newer GoPro camera versions in the market have up to three fields of view settings. You can switch the view from wide, narrow to medium depending on what you desire. Before recording, make adjustments to see whether your video is clear.
There are no rules that state the best field of view. You only switch to the view that provides clear videos.
However, it’s important to use medium or narrow when taking close-ups. Consequently, a wide field of view is excellent for expansive views.
7. Adjust the Audio
Most people forget about adjusting audios before they start recording. These cameras record obvious natural audio. Typically, the natural audio provides you with a certain degree of authentic vibe.
However, it won’t stand up the best if you need something professional or polished as such.
Adjusting the audio prior is one way to deal with the sounds of what you record. Editing audios clears all noticeable pops, crackles, and everything undesirable within.
Another option is to use background music in its place. You may also keep the natural sounds and just correct all faults.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has given you some useful tips on how to record your hunt with a GoPro camera.
With a little bit of post-production and incorporating all or some of the ideas above, we’re sure you will get the best end result on your next hunt recording attempt.
