Fix for GoPro overexposing on sunny bright days

Hey guys

Last year I was using my GoPro on a sledding trip where it was all snow, sun, and blue sky. The brightness was too much for the GoPro and all I got was white-wash / overexposure. It ruined a bunch of good videos. I couldn't find a solution to this anywhere. It wasn't so bad where there were trees etc to provide contrast but places with all snow and sunny skies it was horrible.

A year later I was in the same area on sled, same sun and snow conditions, but my videos came out perfect this time. A few weeks ago I came across a kit to allow 55mm filters / lens etc to attach to the GoPro case. I ordered that and the polarizing filter from here:

http://www.snakeriverprototyping.com/products.html

It was an easy install. I had already bought a 55mm hood for a regular camera to glue onto the case but after seeing this adapter designed to attach to the case, it was a no brainer. The black ring on the case with the 6 screws comes off and the adapter goes in its place with the same screws. I used the included silicone so snow / water would not get in. An o-ring fits under the filter as well.

Here are some pics of the install.

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Here is a video starting with the filter on, then I removed the camera to show it without the filter, and put the camera back in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7imNlkGmuTI

All my videos were perfect and SRP were great to deal with.

Demo250 said:

Definitely an impressive improvement. I wonder if this is an issue with the Hero2 as well? I've used it in fairly bright areas (nothing like that yet though) and it seems to get better and better quality the more light there is.

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That is true but then it crosses the line where too much brightness causes problems. I did read and see that the Hero2 better compensates for such bright conditions but I have not seen an example similar to mine above. When I say better compensates, I don't mean as good as having a filter on it.

Chris6060 said:

The GoPro 2 is supposed to be significantly better for not only bright light conditions, but low light conditions too. The whole design for light adjustment on the camera is improved 10 times over the original Hero. That's one of the reasons I bought the Hero2 rather than going the budget route and getting the original, because I know when I'm sledding, it can get VERY bright, but I also ride my bicycle around at night time sometimes in the summer time.

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My original Hero is over 2 years old. To sell it and get the Hero2 would cost more than the kit I bought which can take many types of filters.

The resale value of the original really took a hit when they slashed its price to make room for the Hero2.