GoPro 3 Black Video Settings for Track Days??

[W8PMC]

After much trawling, i still can't find a definitive answer to the above for in car recording & those i did stumble upon appeared to be for the GoPro 2 or Silver Edition so not the same variety of settings available.

I'm mounting my GoPro next to the rearview mirror (forward facing) using the fixed mount (not suction cup). It will be used in the main for track days, so continuous recording for say 20-30mins. I naturally want a crisp, clear & high quality image but don't want a resolution that's too complicated for playback on most devices (laptop & iPad etc.) I've read about Spot Meter being a must if recording external views from inside a vehicle (dark to light) so i've switched that on. The GoPro has a 64gb MicroSD so has a reasonable amount of storage space & i'll always have a 2nd SD card with me at events.

Please advise on the best video settings for in car to record track day activity??

Thanks in advancesmile

[GreigM]

1080p60 - higher frame rate reduces effect of rolling shutter.

[DiscoColin]

With it mounted against the screen you don't need to worry about spot metering - it is when shooting through the cabin (such as if anchored to a roll cage behind the seats) when that becomes essential. Assuming that you have a sufficiently high spec memory card, 1080p60 is the way to go. Most things will play it okay and you can always use a computer to downscale it later if needed. Using an adhesive pad on the screen you are probably also going to want to set the orientation to be upside down too.

[McSam]

With GoPro footage I struggle to notice a difference between 1080p and 720p, so I use 720p at 60FPS in an effort to keep the already massive file sizes down and make good use of memory cards! I wouldn't want to use less than 60FPS for this sort of thing.

Agree that spot meter is only necessary when part of the shot is darker than the rest, ie. part cabin part windscreen. But do you have a smartphone? If so, download the free GoPro app and you can control and view the camera on your phone. I find this makes setting it up properly a doddle as I can see exactly how the shot will turn out when I'm mounting the camera

[SpeedyDave]

Cross posting my reply from identical thread on General Gassing, threads should really be merged?

---

I'd suggest thinking first about the composition before the settings, ie what is included in the shot and how wide the shot is. The reason I say that is some modes like "medium wide" are only available in certain resolutions (medium only in 1080p)

I personally think its much better to get some view from inside the car. Seeing at least part of the steering wheel movement creates a much much better sense of what the car and driver is doing - its way more involving that just a sterile shot of the track ahead. Example from mine;

http://youtu.be/KT6Pi-htcJg

Was shot in 1080p, Medium, camera located beside me, very slightly back.

Yes this means part of the shot is just static car interior, but a windscreen mount also tends to have plenty of 'dead' area like the bonnet.

1080p/60 produces roughly the same size files as 720p/100. 60fps is plenty, and watching some vids directly on my TV where it could really exploit the full 1080p is really stunning, TV's are only getting bigger and higher res...

If you want to really understand a particular setting and what it is best for there is a good article here by a GoPro employee

http://abekislevitz.com/understanding-your-new-gop...

and part 2

http://abekislevitz.com/understanding-your-gopro-p...

Cheat sheet here:
http://imgur.com/a/CjmC5

[W8PMC]

DiscoColin said:

With it mounted against the screen you don't need to worry about spot metering - it is when shooting through the cabin (such as if anchored to a roll cage behind the seats) when that becomes essential. Assuming that you have a sufficiently high spec memory card, 1080p60 is the way to go. Most things will play it okay and you can always use a computer to downscale it later if needed. Using an adhesive pad on the screen you are probably also going to want to set the orientation to be upside down too.

Thanks. Hadn't factored spot metering not being required if mounted on the windscreen rather than deeper in the car. Will try 1080p x 60fps. Already set to upside down as made that mistake the 1st time i used there GoPro

[W8PMC]

McSam said:

With GoPro footage I struggle to notice a difference between 1080p and 720p, so I use 720p at 60FPS in an effort to keep the already massive file sizes down and make good use of memory cards! I wouldn't want to use less than 60FPS for this sort of thing.

Agree that spot meter is only necessary when part of the shot is darker than the rest, ie. part cabin part windscreen. But do you have a smartphone? If so, download the free GoPro app and you can control and view the camera on your phone. I find this makes setting it up properly a doddle as I can see exactly how the shot will turn out when I'm mounting the camera

Thanks. I do have the GoPro app on my iPhone 5s & was using that yesterday to adjust the GoPro settings as even that is so much easier than trying to do it on the camera.

[W8PMC]

SpeedyDave said:

Cross posting my reply from identical thread on General Gassing, threads should really be merged?

---

I'd suggest thinking first about the composition before the settings, ie what is included in the shot and how wide the shot is. The reason I say that is some modes like "medium wide" are only available in certain resolutions (medium only in 1080p)

I personally think its much better to get some view from inside the car. Seeing at least part of the steering wheel movement creates a much much better sense of what the car and driver is doing - its way more involving that just a sterile shot of the track ahead. Example from mine;

http://youtu.be/KT6Pi-htcJg

Was shot in 1080p, Medium, camera located beside me, very slightly back.

Yes this means part of the shot is just static car interior, but a windscreen mount also tends to have plenty of 'dead' area like the bonnet.

1080p/60 produces roughly the same size files as 720p/100. 60fps is plenty, and watching some vids directly on my TV where it could really exploit the full 1080p is really stunning, TV's are only getting bigger and higher res...

If you want to really understand a particular setting and what it is best for there is a good article here by a GoPro employee

http://abekislevitz.com/understanding-your-new-gop...

and part 2

http://abekislevitz.com/understanding-your-gopro-p...

Cheat sheet here:
http://imgur.com/a/CjmC5

Thanks. Sorry for cross posting as i'd forgotten this section existed under General Gassing & then realised my thread in General gassing would vanish into the lower pages quickly enough so didn't delete it.

[W8PMC]

Another question?

For track day usage, how long do you get from a battery & how long does it take to recharge from an in car power socket? Noticed while messing with the settings via the iPhone app, that the battery was running down fairly quickly

[boxsey]

W8PMC said:

Another question?

For track day usage, how long do you get from a battery & how long does it take to recharge from an in car power socket? Noticed while messing with the settings via the iPhone app, that the battery was running down fairly quickly

With my GP2 I can easily get 1.5 hours video with a full battery. My mate who has a GP3 is always saying I didn't get much video because the battery ran out.

[Toilet Duck]

W8PMC said:

Another question?

For track day usage, how long do you get from a battery & how long does it take to recharge from an in car power socket? Noticed while messing with the settings via the iPhone app, that the battery was running down fairly quickly

I drilled a hole in my gopro case so I can plug a USB cable in going to a cigarette socket charger, that way I don't have to worry about battery life. If you've got the WiFi going, it seriously eats into battery life.

[andy798]

I always shoot at 720P 60fps. Mainly due to playback issues on my laptop at a higher frame rate or resolution. Also keeps file sizes down as mentioned above, and makes youtube uploads quicker.

Here is a sample at 720p60fps.

http://youtu.be/fQrajVIiSXo

As for battery life the GoPro 3 is not the best! However, I use a few unbranded batteries which are very reasonably priced, and there is no difference in performance between these and the original GoPro batteries. Let me know if you need a link and I will find one for you.

Andy

[W8PMC]

Toilet Duck said:

I drilled a hole in my gopro case so I can plug a USB cable in going to a cigarette socket charger, that way I don't have to worry about battery life. If you've got the WiFi going, it seriously eats into battery life.

That makes sense. I wondered why it was draining so fast but as you say it must be the wifi

[W8PMC]

andy798 said:

I always shoot at 720P 60fps. Mainly due to playback issues on my laptop at a higher frame rate or resolution. Also keeps file sizes down as mentioned above, and makes youtube uploads quicker.

Here is a sample at 720p60fps.

http://youtu.be/fQrajVIiSXo

As for battery life the GoPro 3 is not the best! However, I use a few unbranded batteries which are very reasonably priced, and there is no difference in performance between these and the original GoPro batteries. Let me know if you need a link and I will find one for you.

Andy

Yes please Andy, a link would be good as may be an idea to get a couple of spares

[McSam]

GoPro do a mount called The Frame which just goes around the sides of the camera, not the back or front, and has cutouts for the charger port. This is nice as it lets you charge while recording, and also captures sound better. It's absurdly overpriced but I'm sure eBay is full of alternatives..

Or you could drill out the existing case as above since I take mine skiing too that's not such an option for me!

I didn't charge mine at all on my last track day and got 1hr30 footage without getting the battery very low. I'm sure I could manage 3hrs if I had it charging whenever I wasn't running

[Toilet Duck]

McSam said:

Or you could drill out the existing case as above since I take mine skiing too that's not such an option for me!

Still use mine in the rain/wet, there is nothing that duct tape/silicon can't temporarily plug

[andy798]

W8PMC said:

Yes please Andy, a link would be good as may be an idea to get a couple of spares

I have been using a few of these dog cam batteries for a few months with no problems, plenty of good reviews and a 50% saving on the genuine gopro ones.

http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/gopro-3-compatible-ba...

Iv also just ordered the batteries from the eBay link below this morning. 2 batteries and a twin charger for £13! I will report back in the next few weeks on how these perform!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141218638818

I know they seem cheap but with most things like this all of the cheap items tend to come from the same factory, so I'm hoping they will perform similar to the dog cam ones.

Andy

[W8PMC]

andy798 said:

I have been using a few of these dog cam batteries for a few months with no problems, plenty of good reviews and a 50% saving on the genuine gopro ones.

http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/gopro-3-compatible-ba...

Iv also just ordered the batteries from the eBay link below this morning. 2 batteries and a twin charger for £13! I will report back in the next few weeks on how these perform!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141218638818

I know they seem cheap but with most things like this all of the cheap items tend to come from the same factory, so I'm hoping they will perform similar to the dog cam ones.

Andy

Thanks Andy, will order a couple

[jcarruthers]

Another option for longer lasting batteries would be to buy an portable battery charger — usually used for smartphones etc They are simply a battery that has a USB outlet.

Useful if you don't want to or can't get a cable all the way to the GoPro. I plan on using a couple of cable ties to attach the one I use for my phone to the bar on my Cayman.

As I already have it, it's the neatest option. Mine is 6000mAh — the standard GoPro battery is 1500mAh — so a total of 7500mAh once its all connected up. Saves having to fiddle with the GoPro once its all set up and pointing in the right direction.

[framerateuk]

Filmed with a Hero 3 Black at 1080p/60fps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gC9paHdIrY

The quality is greater when not on youtube.

As far as battery goes, I recommend one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TeckNet%C2%AE-12000mAH-Sen...

It has enough juice to power the GoPro thanks to the higher amp output and will last hours. You can also charge a mobile phone from it around 4 times before it's empty. Much better value than lots of Go Pro batteries and you don't need to change them all the time. Obviously you need it plugged into the GoPro, but I use mine with an external mic anyway so an extra cable is no problem.