GoPro cameras are widely used in sports and are possibly the more popular action cameras on the market.
They are also possibly the cameras of choice to mount on a multirotor to shoot aerial video. A wide range of accessories, namely gimbals and video-out cables are available to mount and use a GoPro on a quadcopter or multirotor.
The typical, very wide field of view of the GoPro also makes these cameras useful to pilot in FPV, although many suggest to instead use a second, simpler board camera for the flying itself, because possibly more things can potentially go wrong with the GoPro with respect to a simple camera with less functions. However the GoPro often remains the camera of choice to take the footage for video production.
The GoPro wide angle lens gives GoPro images a distinct fish eye touch that is very easy to spot, as in the image below.
Letus has a planned release of an interesting accessory that will give GoPro users a choice: an anamorphic filter, specifically suited for the GoPro Hero3+, or a GoPro Hero3 in a 3+ case, called AnamorphX. The filter will actually replace the default screen of the Hero3+ housing.
Letus says the housing will remain waterproof after the mod.
The filer works, here as image from one of the two videos below:
Here are two nice videos from Bo Lorenzen (check out his Blog at FPVGuy.com and his special FPV videos on the youtube channel) that show the great potential of AnamorphX for multirotors and FPV enthusiasts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkd-DtMmnFE
AnamorphX is scheduled to start shipping on January 31st and is currently priced at 199$ – Link.
Here are some technical specifications from the Letus website:
Features
1.33x squeeze factor
Custom CNC aluminum housing
Use the GoPro Hero3+ waterproof housing for mounting. The adapter replaces the waterproof lens housing element. The unit will retain waterproof property.
In 1080p shooting mode, the Letus AnamorphX-GP will convert the GoPro’s standard 16:9 aspect ratio footage into a cinematic 2.39:1 aspect ratio without the need for cropping (post production de-squeeze is required).
In SuperView mode the GoPro records in 4:3 aspect ratio and digitally stretch the image into 16:9 aspect ratio (http://gopro.com/support/articles/what-is-superview). This is referred to as dynamic stretching by GoPro. The center of the image is kept the same but the outer edges of the image are progressively stretched outward. This can cause image distortion, especially on the edges. GoPro does not recommend framing people on the edges in SuperView mode as the added distortion will make people on the side look much fatter than they really are. When using the Letus AnamorphX-GP, the extra 33% (1.33x) field of view will create a true 16:9 image that compensates for the digital stretch. As a result, the GoPro in SuperView mode with the Letus AnamorphX-GP yields a true 16:9 image! People (objects) on the edges of the frame will have a more normal aspect with reduced distortion*. You can use the 16:9 images in superview mode with the Letus AnamorphX-GP adapter as is. Superview mode will not need to be de-squeezed in post. It produces a true 16:9 aspect ratio with an extreme wide angle FOV.
Stay tuned on the Personal Drones Blog for the latest quadcopter and multirotor news!