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I built a new GoPro accessory for hands-free POV shooting, thought y’all might dig it

Zac R

Chimp
Jun 9, 2016
1
2
Portland, OR
Hi fellow riders!

My name is Zac, and I’m a big fan of active, outdoorsy sports.

I’ve been using a GoPro for years for mountain biking, skydiving, rock climbing, and general shenanigans. But the big problem I noticed with the GoPro is that there’s no good way to control it when both your hands are busy, which is ironic for an action-sports camera.

When I wanted nice still photos, I did what most people do: turn on time-lapse mode, check that it’s working, have fun, then sort through hundreds of photos when the fun was over. And for video recording, all of my videos started with staring at the camera to check if it’s recording. Does the phrase “Is it on?” ring any bells?

Sound familiar?

It was a total pain and I figured there had to be a better way - but I searched... and there wasn’t.

So I decided to build one. And after a year of hard work and development, I’m finally launching it on Kickstarter next week!

It’s the first ever GoPro accessory that gives you complete control over your GoPro even if it’s strapped to your head or handlebar. I’m calling it the GoHawk. The GoHawk adds the following features to your GoPro Hero4 camera:

  • Remote shutter switch port - Universal 2.5mm port for complete hands-free shutter control of the GoPro

  • Remote LED indicator so you can always see your camera’s status

  • Auxiliary USB power port, works with any USB power source so you’ll never run out of power.
And it just snaps onto the back of the GoPro - there’s no software needed to make it work.

The idea is that action sports photographers can operate the camera shutter through a bite switch, tongue switch, or handlebar switch, and the remote LED indicator can be mounted in your helmet or wrapped around your handlebars.

A few examples of how you could use it:

  • Bicycling / Motorcycling- take pictures easily while riding (handlebar switch)

  • Climbing - take pictures while both hands are busy belaying or climbing (mouth switch)

  • Skydiving - take pictures while flying (mouth switch)

  • Skiing / Snowboarding - take pictures while skiing with your poles (mouth switch)

  • Anything fast and fun - the LED indicator let’s you know what your camera is doing.

  • Get creative - the remote shutter input works with any analog switch, so you can wire it up to anything you want to control the camera.
If this sounds like something you’re interested in, please check out our website, www.poalabs.com and sign up for our mailing list to stay updated on our upcoming Kickstarter launch (next week on Tuesday, June 14th).

Thanks for letting me tell you about my project!

Cheers,

Zac

(GoHawk Creator)

P.S. - I hope I’m not breaking any forum rules by telling you about this. I’m really trying to get support to make this product a reality for those of you who, like me, have been waiting for something like this. This entire project has been bootstrapped with rent money over the last year so I don’t exactly have the funds for mountains of paid advertising. Last week my friend said “It's the accessory that GoPros have needed since they came out." I completely agree and I’m betting some of you will appreciate knowing about it.