Must-Have Accessories - GoPro

May 30th, 2014

Must-Have Accessories - GoPro

Enhance your underwater video recording ability with these must have GoPro accessories. Whether you have the Hero4, Hero 3+, Hero 3 or other GoPro model, these are accessories you won't want to leave home without.

Spare Battery

Don't even think of getting a GoPro Hero without a GoPro spare battery. You will regret it. Consider this item a mandatory purchase. One battery doesn't last long (typically about 60 minutes underwater, possibly less), and it takes a while to charge. Always have one or two spares ready to go. For $20, they are definitely worth buying.

LCD BacPac

If you are going to create video that you show to anyone outside of your immediate family, you will need the GoPro LCD BacPac to compose your images. Without it, you will have no idea what composition you are getting and are effectively shooting blind. You may not need it all the time, and it does reduce the battery life - but when you do need it, it is pretty darn important. (Update: the new Hero4 Silver camera comes with a built in LCD)

Dual Battery Charger

The GoPro dual battery charger will save you a lifetime of charging headaches.Without it you have to plug the USB cable into your GoPro camera to charge, meaning you cannot charge a battery and use the camera at the same time. This accessory charges 2 batteries at once. This allows you to charge a spare battery while you're using the camera, and quickly charge multiple batteries over night to be ready for the next day of diving.

Dual Battery Charger for Hero4 (Includes 1 spare rechargeable battery)
Dual Battery Charger for Hero3, 3+

Handle, Pole, Tray, Etc

When shooting underwater, you will need a way to supoort or extend the GoPro. The GoPro camera is so small and the frame so wide that often when people attempt to just hold the camera and shoot they end up with thier finger tips in frame! In addition, it is difficult to steady the camera when just holding it in your hand for nice smooth footage. Lastly, using a tray or other handle allows you to add lights and further improve your video / photo quality. Here are our top picks for GoPro Trays underwater.

Sea Life Aquapod: The Sea Life Aquapod is excellent for underwater video. This is for two reasons - first of all, the GoPro is very wide and needs to be close to the subject. Second of all, marine life doesn't like when you get close. It can extend just a little bit, or a lot, depending on your needs. This will allow you to photograph marine life like never before, such as dolphins swimming under your boat, skittish sharks, life in ponds, and much more. In addition, its great for those underwater selfies!

If you are diving underwater and want to take video of marine life behavior, schooling fish, other divers, etc. - you will want to keep the GoPro very still - which means you will want a tray with 2 handles. This will also allow you to mount a video light if you get one. The Ultralight Control System GoPro tray and handles for $129 is a nice modular system, an the handles can be reused with other underwater camera setups.

Other tray options include flexible arms for attaching video lights which allows you to fully adjust and place the lights for more creative lighting opportunities. Flex arms are light weight and easy to adjust. The Beneath the Surface GoPro Double Tray is a great option. BTS also offers the tray in a single handle version if you want a smaller tray and one video light.

Lastly a simple handle solution is sometimes all that is needed. The BTS Multigrip is a great option, as a simple handle that is great for use both underwater and topside. In addition a short flex arm can be attached to the base for adding a single video light.

Here's another great example for the R-innovations tray, pictured below for $110 (not including light & clamp).

Filters and Lenses

The Polar Pro Switchblade, which only costs $70, is a must-have accessory for photographing fish and marine life while scuba diving. It consists of two flip filters - a red filter, and a macro lens. You can use either filter, lens or both at the same time.

The red filter is vital to bringing back red and orange color if you are diving deeper than 10ft deep. This red filter strikes the perfect balance between bringing back vibrant colors without causing too much light loss, like some deep-water filters do. The red filter will work for subjects that are any distance away.

The macro lens will allow you to get sharp images of subjects that are 12 inches away or closer. The GoPro does not focus closer than 12 inches, so the macro lens will make underwater photography of a myriad of small subjects possible.

There is also the magenta filter available for shooting in green water, like freshwater lakes, quarries, etc, as well as good topside options like the polarizing filter which reduces glare on water and snow, and increase the contrast in your GoPro footage.

Video Lights

For the best possible color underwater, you will want to use a video light. Please note that video lights do not affect the entire scene, but only the subjects that are within a few feet or less of the camera. You will want the strongest video light possible, and two lights are better than one because the GoPro is very wide and it is difficult to light the entire scene with just one light.

The output of a video light is measured in Lumens, and we recommend using at least 500 lumens, and some professionals will use up to a 5,000 lumen light.

Here are some of our favorites:

Sola 500 photo light $199 (on sale from $299)

500 lumens, tiny light, easy to use, easy to recharge. Perfect size for a GoPro. It also makes the perfect focus light for still photography.

iTorch Fishlite 2400 $349 (on sale from $499)

This 2000 lumen light is very wide, very bright, and has user changeable batteries.

FIX Neo 1200 DX $599

FIX lights have technology and a build quality far above many other lights. The power of the light can be controlled in 1% increments. This 1200 lumen light is awesome.

There are a variety of other great video lights available, check out our video light page for all options, including some higher lumen options for more professional video lighting.

Recommended GoPro version

Hero4 Black: For underwater shooting there are two current versions that we highly recommend. Buy the GoPro Hero4 Black if you want to take advantage of the professional level 4K resolution with varied frame rates or the increased frame rates in 1080p such as the 120 fps for smoother slow motion.

Hero4 Silver: Get the GoPro Hero4 Silver for overall high quality shooting with various 1080p frame rates and professional level 4K 15fps only. In addition the Hero4 Silver includes a built in LCD monitor, perfect for composing your shots underwater without having to buy the optional LCD accessory.

GoPro Hero4 Cameras Review: