The BEST GoPro Settings for LOW LIGHT & Indoors | Hero 13, Hero 12 & older

Summary

This tutorial offers insights on optimizing GoPro footage in low light scenarios. It advises setting up a custom preset, avoiding HDR profiles, and choosing 4K resolution over 5.3K for better image quality. The importance of frame rate, shutter speed, and ISO adjustment for optimal exposure is emphasized. Tips include using natural light, embracing the darkness for a natural look, and considering additional light sources. The video also touches on stabilization challenges in low light and the use of tripods or gimbals for better results.

Takeaways

• 📸 GoPros are not naturally strong in low light conditions, but with the right settings, good footage can still be achieved.
• 🔧 Creating a custom preset for low light conditions allows for quick adjustments when needed.
• 📹 The GoPro Hero 12, used in the video, has settings applicable to most GoPro models for low light filming.
• 🎥 An HDR profile is not suitable for low light; the standard profile should be used instead.
• 📊 In low light, a resolution of 4K is recommended over the maximum 5.3k for better image quality.
• 🔁 A lower frame rate, like 24 or 25 fps, is better in low light as it allows more time for light exposure.
• 📉 Manually setting exposure is crucial; the key factors are shutter speed, ISO, and aperture (though the latter is fixed on GoPros).
• 🕰 For optimal motion blur and stabilization, the shutter speed should be double the frame rate, but this can introduce blur.
• 🔩 Using a tripod or gimbal is recommended for stabilization in low light conditions to counteract the limitations of electronic stabilization.
• 🌐 Adjusting ISO carefully is key to balancing brightness and image noise; values above 1600 can significantly degrade quality.
• 📈 For indoor shooting, make use of available natural light and consider additional light sources to enhance the scene.

Q & A

What is the main challenge when shooting with a GoPro in low light conditions?

The main challenge is that GoPros, including the GoPro Hero 12, are not optimized for low light conditions, which can result in poor image quality due to increased noise and artifacts.

How does creating a custom preset for low light conditions help when using a GoPro?

Creating a custom preset allows you to optimize and save specific settings for low light conditions, so you can quickly apply them when needed without having to adjust settings each time.

Why is the HDR profile not recommended for low light situations with a GoPro?

The HDR profile is designed for situations with mixed lighting, but it can negatively impact image quality in low light by not being able to effectively reduce noise, which is a common issue in such conditions.

What resolution is suggested for shooting with a GoPro in low light conditions?

A resolution of 4K is recommended over the maximum 5.3K because GoPros handle noise reduction better at 4K, resulting in significantly better image quality in low light.

How does frame rate affect low light shooting with a GoPro, and what frame rate is recommended?

High frame rates can lead to less light being captured per frame, which is detrimental in low light. A frame rate of 24 frames per second is recommended, or 25 for the PAL region, to allow more time for light exposure.

What is the ideal shutter speed setting for low light conditions on a GoPro?

The ideal shutter speed in low light should be as slow as possible to allow more light to hit the sensor. It is suggested to set the shutter speed to one forty-eighth of a second at 24 frames per second or one fiftieth of a second at 25 frames per second.

How does ISO value impact image quality in low light with a GoPro, and what ISO range is recommended?

A higher ISO value makes the image brighter but also increases noise. Up to ISO 400, the image quality is good, while above 800 noise becomes noticeable. It's recommended to keep the ISO value as low as possible, with 800 being quite usable and 1600 showing strong noise.

What role does the electronic stabilization play in low light conditions, and how can it be optimized?

Electronic stabilization can be less effective in low light due to the need for sharp images to work well. Using a tripod or a gimbal is recommended for optimal stabilization. If movement is required, increasing the shutter speed to at least 1/96 or 1/100 can help, though it may reduce image brightness.

What are some additional tips for enhancing low light footage with a GoPro?

Tips include using available light effectively, such as positioning subjects near windows for natural light, accepting that low light shots may appear darker, and bringing additional light sources if necessary.

Why is it important to set the BitRate to high and consider a 10-Bit depth when shooting with a GoPro in low light?

A high BitRate ensures that as much data as possible is saved, improving image quality. A 10-Bit depth is advantageous for color grading, providing more flexibility and slightly improving dynamic range, although it's not specifically beneficial in low light conditions.

What is the significance of setting Anti-Flicker to 50 Hz for PAL region users when shooting in low light?

Setting Anti-Flicker to 50 Hz helps to avoid flickering issues with artificial light sources, which is particularly important when shooting at 25 frames per second, the standard frame rate for the PAL region.

Outlines

00:00

📹 Optimizing GoPro for Low Light Conditions

The paragraph discusses how to achieve better video footage with a GoPro in low light scenarios, such as indoors or at dusk. It emphasizes the importance of adjusting the camera's settings, including creating a custom preset for low light. The author explains that while the GoPro Hero 12 is used as an example, the advice is applicable to most GoPro models. The settings to be adjusted include using the standard profile instead of HDR, selecting an aspect ratio, and choosing appropriate resolution and frame rate. The resolution is recommended to be set at 4K instead of the maximum 5.3k for better low light performance, and a frame rate of 24 or 25 frames per second is suggested. The paragraph also covers the use of Wide lens setting, Hypersmooth stabilization, and the importance of manual exposure settings, including shutter speed and ISO value, to optimize image quality in low light.

05:00

🔍 Advanced Settings for Low Light Video Quality

This paragraph delves deeper into the technical aspects of shooting in low light with a GoPro, focusing on the manual settings for shutter speed and ISO. It explains the filmmaking rule of setting shutter speed to twice the frame rate to achieve optimal motion blur and how this affects stabilization. The author advises using a tripod or a gimbal for stabilization in low light conditions and discusses the trade-off between image quality and stabilization when adjusting shutter speed. The paragraph also covers additional settings such as EV Compensation, White Balance, ISO value adjustments, and the choice between different color profiles. The author recommends setting a lower ISO for better image quality and suggests using medium sharpness in low light. The importance of high BitRate and 10-Bit color depth for better image quality and color grading potential is highlighted. The paragraph concludes with practical tips for shooting in low light, including using available light, adjusting exposure for the environment, and considering dynamic range when shooting indoors.

Keywords

💡Low Light

Low light refers to conditions where there is insufficient illumination for optimal photography or videography. In the context of the video, it is a challenging environment for the GoPro Hero 12, as it is not inherently designed for such conditions. The video aims to provide solutions for capturing good footage in low light by adjusting camera settings, which is central to the tutorial's theme.

💡GoPro Hero 12

The GoPro Hero 12 is a model of action camera known for its durability and high-quality video capabilities. The video script uses this model as a reference for demonstrating how to adapt camera settings for low light conditions, showcasing its features and limitations in such scenarios.

💡Preset

A preset in the context of the video refers to a set of predefined camera settings that can be quickly activated to suit specific shooting conditions. The video instructs on creating a custom low light preset for the GoPro, which simplifies the process of adjusting settings for optimal performance in low light.

💡HDR Profile

High Dynamic Range (HDR) profile is a setting on cameras that enhances the dynamic range between the lightest and darkest parts of an image. The video explains that while HDR is beneficial in difficult lighting conditions with mixed bright and dark areas, it is not ideal for low light situations and can degrade image quality.

💡Resolution

Resolution in video terminology refers to the number of pixels used to form the image and is often expressed in terms like 4K or 5.3K. The script advises using a 4K resolution instead of the maximum 5.3K for the GoPro in low light to achieve better image quality due to the camera's noise reduction capabilities.

💡Frame Rate

Frame rate is the number of individual images (frames) that are displayed per second in a video, which affects the smoothness of motion. The video suggests using a lower frame rate like 24 or 25 frames per second in low light to allow more time for each frame to capture light, improving the footage's quality.

💡Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is the length of time the camera's sensor is exposed to light, impacting both the brightness of the image and the amount of motion blur. The video recommends setting a slower shutter speed in low light to allow more light to reach the sensor, but cautions that this can affect stabilization.

💡ISO

ISO measures the camera's sensitivity to light. A higher ISO value makes the camera more sensitive, resulting in a brighter image but also more noise. The video discusses balancing ISO values to maintain image quality while still capturing enough light in low light conditions.

💡Hypersmooth Stabilization

Hypersmooth stabilization is a feature of GoPro cameras that reduces shakiness in videos, providing smoother footage. The video mentions that this feature may not work as effectively in low light with slow shutter speeds, suggesting the use of a tripod or gimbal for better stabilization.

💡Protune Settings

Protune is a mode on GoPro cameras that allows manual control over advanced settings like exposure, white balance, and sharpness. The video discusses using Protune to manually set shutter speed and ISO for optimal low light performance, highlighting the need for user control over these settings.

💡Bit Rate

Bit rate in video refers to the amount of data processed per unit of time and is crucial for image quality. The video recommends setting the bit rate to high to ensure the best possible image quality is achieved, which is particularly important when shooting in challenging conditions like low light.

Highlights

Shooting in low light is not a strength of GoPro cameras, but with the right settings, good footage can still be achieved.

Creating a custom preset for low light conditions allows for quick adjustments when needed.

HDR profile is not suitable for low-light conditions and can negatively impact image quality.

Using the standard profile and adjusting resolution and frame rate is crucial for low light settings.

A resolution of 4K is recommended over 5.3K for better low light performance on GoPro Hero12.

A frame rate of 24 or 25 frames per second is optimal for low light conditions to allow more light capture.

Lens setting 'Wide' is suggested for low light shots, and Hypersmooth stabilization is recommended.

Manual exposure settings are essential for low light, focusing on aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

Shutter speed should be as slow as possible in low light to maximize light capture.

The optimal shutter speed in low light is twice the frame rate to minimize motion blur.

Using a tripod or gimbal is recommended for stabilization when shooting in low light without much motion.

Higher ISO values can lead to brighter images but also increase image noise, so they should be set as low as possible.

ISO values between 400 and 800 are generally good for low light, while values above 1600 introduce significant noise.

Adjusting ISO Maximum is a quick way to change brightness in low light settings.

Sharpness set to medium can yield better results in low light due to noise and compression.

Natural color profile is preferred over flat or vibrant for low light shooting to maintain detail and color accuracy.

Setting BitRate to high ensures the best possible image quality by saving more data.

10-Bit color depth is advantageous for color grading and allows for the use of the Log profile.

Anti-Flicker set to 50 Hz is recommended for PAL regions to avoid flickering issues with artificial light.

Utilizing available light, such as natural light from windows, can enhance low light indoor shots.

Accepting a darker exposure can add to the low light aesthetic and avoid overexposing night shots.

Additional light sources like RGB lights can be used to improve low light conditions.

Maintaining a high dynamic range is important to avoid blown-out windows in shots with both indoor and outdoor light.

Transcripts

Yes, it's true. Shooting in low light is not one  of the great strengths of a GoPro. But today I'm  

going to show you how you can still get good  footage with a GoPro in low light conditions,  

such as indoors or in the evening. As you can  imagine, this requires us to take a very close  

look at the settings of the GoPro. So I open  the settings menu and create a new preset for  

shots in low light. This way, I only have to make  the changes to the settings once, and then I can  

just activate the low light preset when needed. If  the settings menu on your GoPro looks different,  

this is generally not a problem. I am using a  GoPro Hero 12 today, but most of what I will  

say today can be applied to most other GoPro  models. To create a new preset, tap on the plus  

in the presets menu and select Video. We are not  changing the settings for the moment. I'll just  

call my preset Custom. There would also be the  designation Indoor. Interestingly enough, Low  

Light does not exist. By tapping the settings icon  here on the right, we can now edit our new preset.

An HDR profile is well suited for situations  with difficult lighting conditions, that is,  

when there are very bright and very  dark areas in the same image. However,  

it is not suitable for low-light conditions and  will have a negative impact on the image quality  

in these situations. You should therefore  do without it and use the standard profile. 

Here you can select the aspect ratio you  need. And the next two settings are especially  

important. The settings for resolution and  frame rate. The GoPro Hero12 allows you to  

shoot at a maximum resolution of 5.3k. Normally, you'll get the best possible  

image quality with your GoPro at this resolution.  However, that's not true in low-light conditions.  

That has to do with the way a GoPro reduces  image noise in low light. So in low light,  

you should use a resolution of 4K. The  results are significantly better than in  

5.3K. The right frame rate is also of great  importance. A high frame rate usually leads  

to particularly smooth and natural-looking  shots. However, a lot of frames per second  

have to be captured. There is therefore little  time to expose the individual frame. The camera  

can only capture very little light for  the individual frame. For this reason,  

high frame rates in low light are a big  disadvantage. I would therefore recommend  

a frame rate of 24. For all those living in the  PAL region, that would be 25 frames per second. 

Under Lens you can choose the setting that best  suits your shot, I use Wide. I set the Hypersmooth  

stabilization to on. We'll discuss the topic  of stabilization in more detail in a moment.

But first we need to talk about exposure settings.

To get the best possible results in low light, we  should set the exposure completely manually. This  

can be done using the Protune settings. You should  know that the brightness of a shot, that is,  

the exposure, basically depends on 3 factors:  the aperture, the shutter speed and the ISO. 

The aperture is the size of the opening inside  your lens through which light passes. On a GoPro  

the aperture cannot be changed, so this value  is not important for us today. The shutter  

speed determines the duration of the exposure  time, that is how long the light can fall on the  

sensor. We can control this value on the GoPro.  In low light conditions the shutter speed should  

be as slow as possible to capture as much light  as possible. The last factor is the ISO value.  

This value determines how sensitively the camera  reacts to light. The higher the ISO value, the  

brighter the image because the camera reacts more  sensitively to the incident light. Unfortunately,  

if the ISO value is too high, image noise and  artifacts are generated - the image becomes  

brighter but the image quality decreases. By the way, these exposure basics are not  

only valid for a GoPro but basically for any  camera. You should also know that a GoPro has a  

very small sensor, which has its advantages,  but is a clear disadvantage in low light.

Now let's look at the Protune settings in detail.

As explained earlier, the shutter speed determines  the duration of the exposure and should therefore  

be as slow as possible. The shutter speed does  not only affect the brightness of the image but  

also the motion blur. A longer exposure results in  more motion blur. Fast movements will blur more.  

Basically, there is a rule in filmmaking for the  optimal amount of motion blur: The shutter speed  

should be exactly twice as high as the frame  rate. At a frame rate of 25 frames per second,  

the shutter speed should be one fiftieth of a  second; at 24 frames per second, it should be  

one forty-eighth of a second. So in low light,  I manually set my Shutter Speed to one by 48 or  

one by 50. To get even more light, you could  also set your Shutter Speed to the value of  

your frame rate, so one by twenty-four or one by  twenty-five - but you'll get way too much motion  

blur - your shot will look very strange,  especially if there's a lot of motion. So,  

such a low shutter speed is only useful if your  shot doesn't contain much motion. For example,  

in a talking head shot like this  one, it would hardly be noticeable.

Now you should know that there is an important  disadvantage when we manually set the shutter  

speed to one fiftieth or one forty-eighth.  Due to the resulting motion blur, which in  

theory would actually be optimal, the electronic  stabilization of your GoPro can no longer work as  

efficiently. The electronic image stabilization  needs very sharp images in order to work well.  

For this reason, unsightly stutters could occur  despite the hypersmooth stabilization. Therefore,  

it would be optimal if you use the camera on a  tripod. If you want to use your GoPro frequently  

in low light and also want to move around, I would  even recommend a gimbal. If you do not want to use  

a gimbal and still need a well-stabilised  shot with a lot of movement in low light,  

you will need to increase the shutter speed. For  a well-stabilized shot, this should be at least  

at 1/96 or 1/100 but, this will make your shot  darker and you will need a higher ISO value, which  

in turn will have a negative effect on the image  quality. You will therefore have to decide between  

better image quality or a better stabilization. As always, I've put some links in the video  

description for you, in case you're  interested in what tripods or gimbals I use.

Now let's take a look at the remaining settings.  EV Compensation is not available because we set  

the Shutter Speed manually. I leave the White  Balance on the GoPro mostly on Auto - the  

automatic of the GoPro usually works very well  - However, a manual White Balance would have  

quite some advantages. On very long shots, the  automatic could change the White Balance for  

no clear reason, which could ruin your shot.  Also, the artificial light may be difficult  

for the camera to interpret, which can then  lead to strange skin tones. The correct value  

for White Balance in Low Light depends on  the color temperature of your light source.

The ISO value is especially important for  shooting in Low Light. As mentioned earlier,  

a higher ISO value leads to a brighter image,  but also to more image noise. Therefore, the goal  

should be to set the ISO as low as possible. Since  we have set the Shutter Speed manually, we can now  

use the ISO value to change the brightness of the  image. For this I set ISO Minimum to 100 and then  

change the brightness of the image by setting  ISO Maximum. Generally you should remember:  

Up to an ISO value of 400, the image quality is  good. Above 800 you can clearly see image noise,  

even if GoPro has managed to improve the image  quality slightly at higher ISO values. 800 is  

therefore quite usable. From 1600, a strong image  noise can already be seen. 3200 can actually no  

longer be used. So I adjust the exposure in LOW  Light through ISO Maximum. To do this faster,  

I create a shortcut for ISO Maximum - so I  always have quick access to the ISO value in this  

preset. Another shortcut for the shutter speed  would also be useful for our low light preset. 

I normally use a sharpness of LOW on the GoPro  and then add sharpness in post. But in low light,  

probably due to a combination of image  noise and compression you get better  

results with a sharpness of medium.  I would not recommend High, however.

As Color I use Natural. I'm not a big fan of the  flat color profile. The compression causes details  

to be lost in areas with little contrast. Vibrant  leads to the typical GoPro colors. Especially in  

low light, I don't think it's that interesting. And there are a few more settings in the settings  

menu that you should pay attention to. For  this, swipe down from the top edge and open  

the preferences menu. Under Video, you'll find  a few more settings that are important today.  

You should set the BitRate to high - this is the  only way to ensure that as much data as possible  

is saved and the best possible image quality is  achieved. I usually use a Bit-Depth of 10-Bit,  

which is particularly advantageous if you  want to color grade your footage. A 10-Bit  

color depth also allows you to activate the Log  profile. Log, with its very flat color profile,  

primarily provides more flexibility when color  grading, but also slightly improves the dynamic  

range. However, Log doesn't have any particular  advantages in low light conditions, and you have  

to color grade all your footage - I would rather  avoid it. If you live in the PAL region, that is,  

in most countries outside the US and Canada, you  should set Anti-Flicker to 50 Hz. This allows for  

a frame rate of 25 frames per second and helps  to avoid flickering issues with artificial light.

With this, we have optimally set up our  GoPro. Now I would like to give you a  

few simple tips for shooting in low light: When shooting indoors, use the available  

light as best as possible. That means, if it  is still bright outside, place your subject  

near the window and use the natural light  as a light source. This usually gives better  

results than the artificial light in the room. Also, keep in mind that a low light shot can  

also look like a low light shot. So you can  expose your shot a bit darker. It's normal  

for a night shot to look very dark overall. And  of course you can bring additional light sources  

yourself. This RGB light here, for example, is  not expensive and can easily be taken anywhere. 

Especially for indoor shots, you should also  pay attention to a high dynamic range. If it's  

relatively dark in the room, but there's  still daylight outside, your windows might  

burn out completely when they're in the frame  - such a shot won't look good. Avoid such a  

situation if possible or adjust your exposure  accordingly, always if that makes sense.

Let's summarize the most important things:

Use a low frame rate, for example  24 or 25 frames per second. 

Manually set the shutter speed to twice the frame  rate, that is, to one forty-eighth of a second  

when shooting at 24 frames per second. Adjust the exposure using ISO-Maximum,  

whereby the image quality will drop  sharply, especially above 1600. 

Don't forget that the stabilization  won't work as well in low light.

And that's it for today. If the video  was helpful for you, give me a Like as  

feedback. There will be more GoPro Tutorials  to come. So stay tuned and see you next time!