Mainely Outdoors: New camera a boon to all outdoorsmen

Aroostook County abounds with a wide variety of four-season outdoor activities, there’s truly an exciting and rewarding pastime for every sporting enthusiast. Fishing, hunting, archery, boating, snowmobiling, hiking, camping, shooting, skiing, snowshoeing and sightseeing provide year-round recreation for residents and travelers visiting the Crown of Maine. I participate and enjoy the bulk of these adventures as the stockpile of gear and equipment in my den, basement, garage and storage barn; as well as my long-suffering wife, will attest.
Obviously each particular sport requires certain general paraphernalia to better assure comfort and success, and each specific outing likely calls for a particular gun, ammo, rod, clothing, tackle box and so on and so forth. There is one piece of equipment, however, that I carry on every single outing, and have done so since high school. When I became an outdoor writer about four decades ago, this item became even more crucial. I carry a camera of one sort of another with me whether I’m fishing across town or hunting across the country.
Every sportsman should be prepared to photographically record memories for posterity. Perhaps it’s a grab and grin shot of a nice-sized fish caught by a fishing buddy, or a son or daughter posing with their first big game trophy. Maybe you just want a photo of the sun rising or setting beyond the tree line along the lake’s shoreline where you’re camping. Special scenery, wildlife in natural habitat, action shots from a canoe or kayak in fast water, or just a family picture around a campfire or relaxing on the cabin’s front porch. No camera — no photo, memories and special moments lost forever.
I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve heard an outdoor friend or acquaintance lament, “If I’d only had my camera with me!” When it’s snowing or raining, or a person’s going to be tracking and trailing all day, or you’re just going out for half an hour, it’s easy to leave a heavy, cumbersome camera in the truck or back at camp. That’s always when some unique, exciting or really memorable event occurs. Now there’s a new camera on the market that nullifies every excuse to leave it behind.
Size, weight, lack of pocket space, and fear of circumstances or weather ruining a fine camera have been valid concerns for many sportsmen to not carry one. Rain, capsizing canoes, unexpected falls, accidental drops, and several other mishaps during sporting adventures have ruined several of my cameras over the years. Nonetheless, I don’t venture afloat or afield without photo gear. I simply keep upgrading to smaller, tougher cameras featuring better results and simpler operation.
A company called GoPro has created what might arguably be the finest, ultra-featured digital video/still camera for outdoor activities. Any outfit that can go thousands of feet up with skydivers and hundreds of feet down with deep sea divers, certainly can withstand day-to-day outdoor activities and photography opportunities. GoPro’s HD Hero3 units are available in white ($199), silver ($299), and black ($399) editions, each with particular features to meet every sportsman’s needs from basic to high tech capabilities and results.
GoPro Hero 3 Black adventure edition action camera outfit features a rugged shockproof housing that’s also waterproof to 197 feet. HD video occurs a 1080P with 60 frames per second and 12MP photos in 30 frame per second bursts. Still photos can be selected and reproduced via your computer in perfect color and clarity form either video or photo burst modes. Along with the camera (smaller than a bar of soap) and clear, rugged housing, the black outfit includes a wireless remote control, battery, and recharging cable as well as several mounts and mounting hardware. As good as the hand-held options of the GoPro cameras are, it was the versatility of mounts that truly fascinated me. I live to hunt waterfowl, but can’t shoot and run a camera at the same time, until now. By utilizing a head strap with integrated quick snap Hero 3 attachment. I can film everything I look at, including action photos of incoming birds and sight-down-the-barrel shots. This head band mount works for gunning from a blind or tree stand for deer, moose, or bear, brush-busting partridge or woodcock or even fly fishing from a boat or canoe.
There are chest strap mounts for bikers, skiers, skateboarders, anglers, water skiers, and white water rafters, canoers and kayakers. Other mounts fit bike handlebars, snowmobiles, watercraft and most other vehicles. Clamp-on mounts with gooseneck adjustable arms work for tree limbs near blinds or tree stands, and small adhesive mounts may even be attached to fishing rods, rifles, shotguns, handguns and even bows and crossbows for true action shots.
I still have my full size Nikon digital SLR, but have pigeon holed its use to long-range zoom and telephoto opportunities. The GoPro camera, protective case, and mount weigh about the same as a regular 50 mm camera lens! It will actually fit in the breast pocket of a shirt so there’s no longer an excuse for outdoorsmen to ever be without a camera.
Generally my articles contain where to and how to info about Maine rod and gun outings, occasionally I mention new innovative equipment as part of these columns. Rarely do I devote an entire story to one product, but GoPro cameras lend themselves in every aspect to so many sporting pastimes they deserve a look.
Cabela’s and L.L. Bean stores and catalogs feature a variety of cameras and I’ll bet our local sporting goods stores can order them as well for customers. Check them out online at GoPro.com and see if you don’t share my view. With age I’ve slowly altered my goals from filling limits to building memories, sharing companionship and filming events for posterity. A great camera is as important as any other piece of outdoor gear.