If there ever were an impossible shot, the GoPro HD Hero2 would be the camera to get it. So many factors make this camera such a valuable tool, I wonder why it took me so long to start shooting with one.

There are really three qualities that set the GoPro into a league of its own:

1) Size and Weight
This thing is small. I mean really, really small. Not only is it more compact than my Flip camera, but it’s lighter too. Because of it’s size and weight, this camera can go anywhere you imagine it. For only using it for 3 months now, it’s already been on a helmet, anchored to a rail, 50 feet above an impressively expensive glass sculpture, and taped to the top of a Hot Wheels car, plus all the usual places other cameras can go as well.

2) Image Quality and Options
Big things really do come in small packages. It’s 11MP sensor packs a punch for photos and video alike with excellent low-light performance for a camera of it’s size and unique abilities.

Video recording is available at 1080p 30 frames per second and 60 frames per second at 720p. Its new glass lens is sharper than its predecessor, and offers up to a 170° field of view – or as I like to call it “See the Everything” mode.

Timelapse photography is also possible with its self timer allowing intervals between ½ second and one minute. Coupled with it’s small size, this feature makes this camera a great option if you want to capture a timelapse without a camera constantly in the way.

3) Accessories and Mounting
Do you need a camera mounted to your surfboard? Sure, we can do that! And while we’re at it, lets put it on your car, motorcycle helmet, bicycle, chest, or just about anything else you can think of!

The GoPro comes packaged in one of three flavors: Surf edition, motorsports edition, and outdoors edition depending on your mounting needs. In addition to mounting options, you can get larger batteries (they are user-replaceable!), an LCD “Backpack” to frame your shots, and different housings to suite your needs. One of my favorite accessories is the Manfrotto Magic Arm and Super Clamp – this combination lets me put the GoPro anywhere I can clamp it.

There are many more reasons why the GoPro HD Hero2 camera rocks, and I find more everyday. The big question, though, is how will you use yours?

Once your video is uploaded to YouTube, there are a few things you can do to help boost views. The first, and easiest, is to leave the video alone and let people just stumble upon it, as you can imagine this doesn’t produce the best results. The second is to copy the URL and send it to your friends, family and colleagues, however it may not circulate well after they view it.

One other thing you can do is to embed the video onto a website or blog. Embedding a video Makes it available in more than one place, and somewhere an interested person is likely to already be looking. Check out the video below to learn about the different features YouTube provides for embedding video.

The first step to embedding your video is getting to its individual web page on YouTube. You can do this by going to your YouTube channel page and then clicking the title of your video. Once you are on the individual page, click the small button below the video labeled “embed,” and the screen will expand with all of your embedding options.

Functional Options

Include related videos will give viewers the option of watching a video that YouTube deems “related” after they finish watching your video. It is best to leave this box unchecked if you have only a few videos that may not be completely related.

Enable privacy-enhanced mode should be left unchecked. In a nutshell, leaving this box unchecked allows Youtube to gather statistics about your videos such as how many people load the video, how many people view the video, and where your audience is generally located.

Use HTTPS is an advanced feature that YouTube offers for those who wish to embed their video on HTTPS enabled sites. HTTPS are secure websites that validate all of the content within them. You see these often with banks and other websites that may handle personal information. Most users can leave this box unchecked.

I’m going to skip Play in HD for now, but don’t worry – like Arnold Schwarzenegger, it’ll be back.

Use old embed code Don’t check this box. Just don’t. Did you check it? Well then uncheck it. Seriously. The old YouTube embed code relies completely on a Flash video player. This means if you use the old embed code, people viewing your video on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch will be met with a big ol’ nothing where your video should be. The new embed code allows for HTML5 viewing as well (“i” product compatible).

Size Options

For starters, the video you are seeing on the YouTube page is 640 pixels wide by 390 pixels tall. YouTube offers you one smaller and two larger preset sizes. You are also able to tell YouTube exactly how wide or tall you want your video to be and it will automatically spit out the other number for you!

You also have one more, hidden option for size when embedding your video. The Play in HD check box will allow you to embed your video in High Definition, but only in a very, very large size. Its best to leave this box unchecked unless you have a lot of space you’d like to fill or are planning on designing a page around a large video feature.

Now that you’ve made all of your choices you can go and copy the embed code from the box directly above the embed options and paste it into your blog or webpage.

If you thought that was easy, check out Rocky’s post about how to remove ads from your YouTube videos.