If you want to get the best footage out of your GoPro Hero 5 Black, there are some settings you might want to change. Here is my recommendation on the top settings to change for video on your GoPro Hero 5 Black.
Resolution and FPS Settings
First power on your camera and see that you are in video mode. Touch the camera icon and set the resolution to 2.7k rather than 1080p or 4k. This will allow you to utilize Image Stabilization with enough “extra” resolution to operate smoothly. This resolution will also give you enough of an image to stabilize the footage within editing software as well. This process will shrink your overall video frame down, and will degrade your overall quality. 2.7k will maintain the most quality and is therefore the best resolution setting if you have stabilization in mind.
Set your FPS (Frames per second) to 60 FPS. Most footage will be viewed and edited at 30 FPS, so shooting at 60 FPS will allow you to smoothly slow down your video on your editing timeline. If you intend to do super slow motion, lower your resolution to 1080p and change FPS to 120 FPS.
Camera Settings
Swipe from right to left to access the Camera Settings Menu. These settings, such as shutter speed, will often reset or auto adjust when other settings are changed. Be sure to check your settings before you shoot again.
Having Protune turned on gives you control over advanced settings like shutter speed. Set your shutter speed to double whatever FPS you have selected. For example, set it to 1/120 if you are shooting in 60 FPS. However, in normal low light situations I prefer the 1/60 setting because it allows more light to come in and hit the image sensor. If you were to go down to 1/480, then the shutter goes faster and less light is let in.
Color Settings, Auto White Balance, and ISO
Set your color to FLAT. Having it set to GoPro will make your footage extra “Contrasty” which will technically have less color information and details to work with later in editing. Only utilize the GoPro color setting if you intend to upload without any editing.
Auto White Balance or AWB can change based on your environment. 3000k is cooler and good for indoors while 5500k can be good for being outside. Setting this manually as opposed to using AWB will give you a more consistency to the color of your footage. This also allows you to more easily match your GoPro’s footage to other cameras you might be shooting with, such as a DSLR.
Lock your ISO at a maximum of 800 using the tiny “Lock” icon on the screen. Going with a high ISO will result in grainy and often unusable footage. If the lighting is still bad for your situation at 800, find alternative solutions for light. Using a Lumi Cube, extra lamps, or even a flashlight will be better than having grainy footage due to too high of an ISO.
Video Stabilization and Auto Low Light
Utilize Video Stabilization for almost all situations, except for extreme vibration-heavy mounts, such as a direct mount to a Go Kart. It is actually better to turn off stabilization if you are in a scenario that is beyond what this feature can handle as it may result in jello-y unusable footage. It is great for most other situations like chest and bike mounts. Video Stabilization cannot be set if you are shooting in 4K, so set your resolution to 2.7K.
Utilize the Auto Low Light feature if you have no control over the low lighting situation. It is better than nothing at all, but turning this on will affect some of your other settings.
Audio Settings
Stereo Only is the proper setting for most scenarios where wind is not a variable. If you are in a windy environment, such as a motorcycle or it’s just a windy day, then switch the setting to wind only.
Quick Capture Feature Customization
This feature allows your camera to instantly start a task, such as recording video, the moment you power up your GoPro. Swipe down, go into Preferences, and scroll to Quick Capture. Have this feature set to ‘On’ and select its default mode. I have mine set to Video and have Auto Off set to 5 Minutes.
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