- Turn off WiFi. This drains battery faster than just having the camera record everything.
- Take only "snippets". This makes editing easier later anyways, since it's usually more convenient to browse through smaller files than through one big long video over an hour. I try to keep every snippet < 1 minute. Most of the time, only 3-5 seconds of one snippet end up in my final video to give it a fast pace anyways.
- Keep a spare battery pack.
But I have to admit that this won't help you a lot, if you're in difficult situations where you can't easily change batteries (under water for long periods of time, climbing somewhere, flying, driving).
I've been thinking about buy one - do you mind giving some details about approximately how long I can expect the battery to last in each of your scenarios above? Thanks.
1:30 seems to be about right, could be less though. I have a GoPro 3 Black Edition and a second battery back. Recently I went snowboarding, took about 2-3 hours of video footage in total (as mentioned above in 150 small files) and cut everything down to a 2 minute video.
So, part of "extending" battery life is knowing when it makes sense to record a scene and when not.
I can still fully recommend the GoPro. It's a fun camera and what I like in particular is that you can point it directly into the sun and still see everything. It has an excellent white balance for amateur video makers like myself.
Pyle HD PSCHD60WT: 2:54 (Marketed: “More than 2 hours”)
My Hero3 Black lasts well under an hour with WiFi enabled. I believe the Hero3+ is better - they claim 30% better because of software optimisation and a bigger battery.
I don't find recoding resolution makes a big difference.
Oh yeah turn off wifi. I have a Drift Innovation Ghost, and have the on board screen. I get about 4 hour of full time recording out of mine. My older Drift HD used to last about 8 hours of recording, which was enough for a full day motorbiking. Now I carry a spare battery and swap out at lunch time.
- Turn off WiFi. This drains battery faster than just having the camera record everything.
- Take only "snippets". This makes editing easier later anyways, since it's usually more convenient to browse through smaller files than through one big long video over an hour. I try to keep every snippet < 1 minute. Most of the time, only 3-5 seconds of one snippet end up in my final video to give it a fast pace anyways.
- Keep a spare battery pack.
But I have to admit that this won't help you a lot, if you're in difficult situations where you can't easily change batteries (under water for long periods of time, climbing somewhere, flying, driving).