How can I make better quality GoPro videos?

[Dael_Pix]

Does anybody know how I can make my GoPro footage look better than what it is now?
I should say that after 27 videos on my channel that I was using the Low sharpness setting on the GoPro. This was a huge mistake on my part because all of the videos were not as sharp as I'd like.

It's currently set to Medium sharpness now but it's still not as crisp as I want it to be, but is better than it was.


Current Settings:

1080 60 or 4k 60

Lens: Linear + HL
Hypersmooth: Standard
Bit Rate: High
Shutter: Auto
EV Compensation: -1.0
White Balance: 5500K
ISO Min: 100
ISO Max: 800
Sharpness: Medium
Colour: Natural

Link to video with Low Sharpness setting
Link to video with Medium Sharpness setting

I have noticed that my recent videos have been a touch dark, I'm going to start increasing the brightness of them. I also add 'one notch' of sharpening, with some colour and contrast.


Export Settings:

Format: MP4
Codec: H.265
Quality: 200,000 Kb/s

 

[ScottT]

Which GoPro is it?
Your videos look good, a little dark but thats probably down to the -1.0 on the EV.
Are you shooting at 60fps to slow down the footage later? If I dont intend to slow any footage down i will just shoot at 24fps@ 1/48 in both 4K & 1080

 

[Dael_Pix]

GoPro Hero 10

No I don't slow down footage. I tried 24fps but didn't like it. I may drop to 30 and see what it looks like.

In my last video I brightened it up.

 

[Dael_Pix]

I've dropped the EV Comp to -0.5 instead of -1.0.
And changed to 30 instead of 60fps.

The reason I went with 60 is because the water is moving. I tried 24 but it was rubbish. I'll try 30.

 

[ScottT]

Normal for video is your shutter speed is double your frame rate. 24fps = 1/48, 30fps = 1/60 and 60fps = 1/120th as you'll know from photography lower shutter speed more light gets in.
Where we would normally change the aperture that isnt an option with a GoPro its set at f2.5 so only the iso and the shutter speed can be changed.
You are shooting with an auto shutter speed so at 60fps the GoPro will default to 1/120th or thereabouts (as its very good at altering the shutter speed to settings your normal camera just cant do, shoot a timelapse and look at the variation of shutter speeds!!!)
I dont know why you are trying to under expose all the time, the only time i've ever felt the need to do that is when i've filmed at 24fps 1/48th and used a ND filter then just tweaked the EV to get the exposure right. Video isnt like landscape photography, a lot of the skills from photography are different when it comes to video.

A lot also depends on what software you are using to edit your film, something like Resolve will bring out your shadows quite easily.
What fps are you rendering the final film in? If you are rendering at 30fps then your program will just drop every other frame making your 60fps a waste of time, but if you want to slow the speed down by half 60fps works great.

 

[Dael_Pix]

I use Davinci Resolve, free version.

Render settings is the same as what I record in.

 

[Dael_Pix]

@ScottT This is the reason why I stopped shooting in 30fps.

When I moved the camera (my body), you can see that the bridge 'jumps'. And the water is jumpy.
When using 60fps it's smooth.

(I think I'm using 30fps in this video because when right clicking on the video and selecting 'stats for nerds' it says 30.)

Picture quality may have been better if I didn't use a low sharpness level. It also didn't help when I was fishing in the evening and the light was deteriorating, which may have impacted the 'jumpiness off the video.

Anyway, I'll use 1080p 30 on Tuesday, and then 4K 30 on another video, and see if I like it, and I'll share the results.

 

[Dael_Pix]

@ScottT Sadly I don't like recording at 30fps because it's shockingly bad. Going back to 60fps

Link to video

After this video, I have now:

• Taken Exposure Compensation off
• Changed Medium Sharpness to High to see if I like it
• Change Max ISO to 1600 instead of 800, not that will make any difference
• Changed the Colour from Natural to Vibrant as I've added a touch more saturation to the last two videos