GoPro Settings?

j3ayy

Well-known member
Oct 10, 2020
279
504
North Yorkshire
Just purchased the GoPro 9 to use with a Chestmount. What is your favourite setting to get the best quality on your Pro's?
 

Beekeeper

🍯Honey Monster🍯
Aug 6, 2019
1,751
2,197
Surrey hills
I use 1080p at 60 frames a second and superview with image stabilisation on.

there is not much point me using a higher resolution because my TV only displays at 1080p and also my connection lead from phone to TV is limited to 1080p
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,539
5,027
Weymouth
I use a chesty and my settings are 2.7k at 50 fps superview. I am using the Hero 7 Black so you may have other options but I would ensure that the setting you use still enables good stabilisation; and superview definitely provides the best coverage and uses a greater proportion of the sensor. I render at 2.7k/50 for storage on my PC but also convert to MKV and download to a usb stick to play on my TV via a blu ray player.
 

Beekeeper

🍯Honey Monster🍯
Aug 6, 2019
1,751
2,197
Surrey hills
Quite expensive at £49 but I have found this iPhone adaptor to be fantastic for connecting iPhone to TV via an HDMI lead (see below). No lag or judder at all. Super smooth.

I have the Hero Black 7. I use iMovie on the iPhone to edit everything. It’s great.

One thing I do have a problem with is sending an edited movie to someone else via an iMessage text. This always results in a pixelated low quality movie for the recipient. I’ve not managed to solve this unfortunately. Air dropping to another phone works perfectly but i wish there was a way of sending via text without the quality loss.

D6F95557-532C-40C5-8D2B-69126CCA57E4.jpeg
 
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Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,539
5,027
Weymouth
If I want to send short video clips to someone else I connect to the Gopro app. Then send using WhatsApp. The Gopro app is quite clever because it automatically does proxy editing . Even so I avoid gopro settings that use HEVC encoding because so many editing suites still do not handle it well.
 

#lazy

E*POWAH BOSS
Oct 1, 2019
1,405
1,529
Surrey
I would try this guys settings , he knows his stuff ! Apart from , 4K 30fps and probably WB at 6000 in winter .
Could always get the new wide lense when out so you can film in 2.7k super wide with horizon level which looks amaze !
 

j3ayy

Well-known member
Oct 10, 2020
279
504
North Yorkshire
Quite expensive at £49 but I have found this iPhone adaptor to be fantastic for connecting iPhone to TV via an HDMI lead (see below). No lag or judder at all. Super smooth.

I have the Hero Black 7. I use iMovie on the iPhone to edit everything. It’s great.

One thing I do have a problem with is sending an edited movie to someone else via an iMessage text. This always results in a pixelated low quality movie for the recipient. I’ve not managed to solve this unfortunately. Air dropping to another phone works perfectly but i wish there was a way of sending via text without the quality loss.

View attachment 42109
Yea i have one of these
 

j3ayy

Well-known member
Oct 10, 2020
279
504
North Yorkshire
I would try this guys settings , he knows his stuff ! Apart from , 4K 30fps and probably WB at 6000 in winter .
Could always get the new wide lense when out so you can film in 2.7k super wide with horizon level which looks amaze !
Cheers will have a look
 

Blakey

Active member
Sep 9, 2020
90
82
Mid Sussex, UK
I went out today with my GoPro 9 after setting up the settings as recommended in the above video. It caused me a few issues:

  1. My 64GB SD card ran out of space after just over an hour (I record solidly and rode for 1.5 hrs today)
  2. The files it generates have some sort of codec which means that my default Windows 10 set up can't view them.
  3. I realized that recording in 5k (or 4k for that matter) is a bit pointless when actually I use "Windows Photo" to generate any videos I make and it maxes out at 1080 resolution.

So whilst the settings for white balance etc might be good the lesson for me is: record dependent on your target use for the video.

I'm dropping back to 1080 recording which means I can get longer footage...

Cheers!
Blakey
 

Beekeeper

🍯Honey Monster🍯
Aug 6, 2019
1,751
2,197
Surrey hills
I once spent a fortune on some pioneer headphones in my youth because they had a frequency range up to 50000 Hz.
I then felt a bit stupid when someone pointed out that the human ear can only detect sound up to about 22000 Hz
 

j3ayy

Well-known member
Oct 10, 2020
279
504
North Yorkshire
I went out today with my GoPro 9 after setting up the settings as recommended in the above video. It caused me a few issues:

  1. My 64GB SD card ran out of space after just over an hour (I record solidly and rode for 1.5 hrs today)
  2. The files it generates have some sort of codec which means that my default Windows 10 set up can't view them.
  3. I realized that recording in 5k (or 4k for that matter) is a bit pointless when actually I use "Windows Photo" to generate any videos I make and it maxes out at 1080 resolution.

So whilst the settings for white balance etc might be good the lesson for me is: record dependent on your target use for the video.

I'm dropping back to 1080 recording which means I can get longer footage...

Cheers!
Blakey
Thank you. I will have a look. I do have a 4k TV & a Brand new iMac with is 5k so hopefully get some good short videos.
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,539
5,027
Weymouth
I went out today with my GoPro 9 after setting up the settings as recommended in the above video. It caused me a few issues:

  1. My 64GB SD card ran out of space after just over an hour (I record solidly and rode for 1.5 hrs today)
  2. The files it generates have some sort of codec which means that my default Windows 10 set up can't view them.
  3. I realized that recording in 5k (or 4k for that matter) is a bit pointless when actually I use "Windows Photo" to generate any videos I make and it maxes out at 1080 resolution.

So whilst the settings for white balance etc might be good the lesson for me is: record dependent on your target use for the video.

I'm dropping back to 1080 recording which means I can get longer footage...

Cheers!
Blakey
You have discovered the hype that is 4k/5k!! It creates huge files and therefore you run out of card capacity quicker and unless you can edit /render and view in 4k/5k, it mostly provides no benefit, and can in fact drive the camera so hard you end up with worse quality especially in less than ideal light.
If you take a look at your manual under video settings, you will see what resolutions use H264 and which use HEVC. Similarly you can see which stabilisation system each uses and what lens settings are available. If you select a resolution that uses HEVC, you need an editing facility that fully supports that codec. HEVC is nowhere near as established or standardised as H264 so even if a video editing suite specifies it supports it there is no guarantee it supports the Gopro version well. That said, even if your maximum viewing resolution is 1080, using a higher resolution to video does improve the quality of the video since more of the sensor and a bigger bit rate is used..........there are limitations however. Viewed on my TV I can see no real difference between 2.7k and 4k videos, in fact the 4k video is often worse. The reason is that even with faster bit rates and more of the sensor open the camera has to work that much harder to record every detail to the extent that processing power becomes the limiting factor. This is especially the case where lighting is not good or changes rapidly from light to dark...........ie typical woodland conditions!
Each successive Gopro extends the range of options so what applies with my Hero 7 Black may not apply to the 8 and 9, but I video both Windsurfing and mountain biking almost exclusively using 2.7k at 50 fps ( 60fps if in the US etc) Superview. On that setting the Hero 7 is fast enough to deal with most daylight conditions from overcast to sunny, uses the H264 codec, and the best stabilisation it does. Superview opens up most of the sensor and for mountain biking gets plenty of the trail and what is on each side into the frame. I keep the camera on its auto settings, but grade in an editing suite. The only time I use protune is just a bout this time of year when the sun is much lower and the light is harsh. Some of the settings in the video in the post above are useful then to reduce contrast.
 

Blakey

Active member
Sep 9, 2020
90
82
Mid Sussex, UK
Interesting what levels of FR and Resolution suddenly kicks the HEVC into life. It appears I can record 2.7k at 60FPS and that's maximum before HEVC starts up. That gives me 1:41 hrs on the SD card which is enough for most of my riding.

Question is, will I notice any benefit in recording at 2.7k over 1080? My software will reduce down to 1080 anyway....
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,539
5,027
Weymouth
Interesting what levels of FR and Resolution suddenly kicks the HEVC into life. It appears I can record 2.7k at 60FPS and that's maximum before HEVC starts up. That gives me 1:41 hrs on the SD card which is enough for most of my riding.

Question is, will I notice any benefit in recording at 2.7k over 1080? My software will reduce down to 1080 anyway....
Yes. Resolution is somewhat different when you refer to the video recording format as opposed to the viewing resolution. When recording the greater the number of pixels the greater amount of detail you actually record. As I said before there are limitations however because the camera has to work that much harder and with a higher bit rate. Processing power or even the download capability of your card can deliver restrictions and recording fast moving subjects in variable or poor light places even more demands on the camera. It is well known that Gopro has always had either no or minimal buffer capacity although that appears to have improved from Hero 7 onwards.
When it comes to viewing resolution can of course be displaying a lot of pixels and therefore potentially a lot of detail but a lot also depends on the size of screen.........and the size of the screen also determines how far away from the screen you need to be to view. So for good viewing resolution record and render in as high a resolution as is practical in the subject/lighting circumstances and avoid using huge TV screens!! At 1080 it will look best on a 24 inch PC 1080 screen! 2.7k is good on a TV up to 40 inches. As a bove I video windsurfing and mountain biking ( mostly in Forest) so the max resolution I use is 2.7k and I rarely go below that. on the Hero 7. With previous Gopro models like the Hero 5 Black I would use 1440 ( 4.3) mostly and drop back to 1080 in poor light.
 

Blakey

Active member
Sep 9, 2020
90
82
Mid Sussex, UK
Get with the times and change your software ?

Which begs the obvious question: what software do people use? (as long as this is not derailing the topic, which I don't think it is as the settings you record on go hand-in-hand with what you do with the recordings I think)
 

galaga187

E*POWAH Master
Apr 15, 2018
805
604
Wroughton
Which begs the obvious question: what software do people use? (as long as this is not derailing the topic, which I don't think it is as the settings you record on go hand-in-hand with what you do with the recordings I think)
I’ve moved from Premiere Pro to Davinici - which is free. I had a play with the Go Pro app but it doesn’t support high resolutions but worked well with 1080p.

Davinci Resolve Download
 
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Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,539
5,027
Weymouth
Magix Movie Studio (formerly Sony Movie Studio). You are right. If you want to produce good quality video it is worth spending time learning how to use a NLE (non linear editing suite). There is some decent freeware but few amateurs would need anything more than NLEs like Movie Studio which are around £50.
 

Ushtang

Active member
Sep 14, 2020
111
138
USA
I use 4k, 24fps, superview, hypersmooth(not boost), high bit rate, auto shutter, manual white balance depending on lighting conditions, EV comp -5 - +5 depending on lighting conditions, 100 ISO min, 100 ISO - 800 ISO max depending on lighting conditions, Gopro color if I don't intend to color correct later in post.

Although I shoot in 4K, I render out to 1080p, but the 4K footage comes in handy if ever I need to zoom or crop in on something.

Here's what the above looks like.
 

Blakey

Active member
Sep 9, 2020
90
82
Mid Sussex, UK
So that footage just looks really blurry and pixelated when watched in-line in the forum. I'm sure it's not. Is there a better way for me to watch it?

EDIT: I also looked at it on YouTube and it's blurry there too?

Also, what software are you using to go from raw footage to that? Or is that the raw footage?
 
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galaga187

E*POWAH Master
Apr 15, 2018
805
604
Wroughton
So that footage just looks really blurry and pixelated when watched in-line in the forum. I'm sure it's not. Is there a better way for me to watch it?

EDIT: I also looked at it on YouTube and it's blurry there too?

Also, what software are you using to go from raw footage to that? Or is that the raw footage?
Do you have the link for YouTube version please? I quite fancy trying the settings but will lower from 4K to 2.7.
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,539
5,027
Weymouth
24fps is favoured by film enthusiasts as better replicating motion blur to give a sense of movement or speed. Personally I prefer a much more detailed image for POV footage. POV is a different perspective than the usual 3rd party camera positions in film. As far as resolution goes I think 4k asks too much of the camera in less than ideal conditions....and mtb is already very challenging for video. There are lots of elements in Woodlands that provide very little opportunity for the camera to deliver sharp focus, very little within the frame is constant and light is variable.
 

Ushtang

Active member
Sep 14, 2020
111
138
USA
So that footage just looks really blurry and pixelated when watched in-line in the forum. I'm sure it's not. Is there a better way for me to watch it?

EDIT: I also looked at it on YouTube and it's blurry there too?

Also, what software are you using to go from raw footage to that? Or is that the raw footage?

I am using Adobe Premiere.

Try this link. Same video, same settings but not as compressed as YouTube applies. Be sure to download the file and not stream it.
 
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