08. Controlling Your Camera

In this chapter, you learn how to set up your camera prior to shooting. Topics include the following:

Determining how you’ll control the camera

Preparing your camera for shooting

Selecting the camera mode, shooting mode, and related settings

Getting to know more advanced shooting features

Before you start taking pictures or shooting video with any model of GoPro camera, you have a few important decisions to make that directly affect the quality of your content. The very first thing to do is quickly analyze your shooting situation and then make sure your camera is properly set up to handle that situation.

If you’re planning to shoot video, you have some additional considerations that involve movement of the camera, movement of your subject, how you’ll present the video content, and what sound you want to capture. Obviously, the GoPro cameras are designed to capture fast-action and will compensate for some of the natural camera movement that’s to be expected when you attach the camera to yourself or your equipment and then engage in some activity. However, to achieve the best shooting results, you need to eliminate excessive camera movement and vibrations by making sure you use the most appropriate mount and accessories for the situation.

Whether you’re taking photos, shooting video, or doing both of these tasks simultaneously, try to plan your shots and the approach you’ll use to get them. If you go into a shooting situation with a clear understanding of what you’re trying to accomplish, you’re more apt to have all the right mounts and accessories on hand. You’ll also have an easier time selecting the most appropriate camera mode and shooting mode (and related settings) based on what you’re trying to achieve in each unique shooting situation.

Holding the camera in your hands requires the least amount of extra equipment because you’re able to directly control the camera’s features and functions, frame your shots, and press the Shutter button as needed. However, there will often be times when it’s much more convenient to control the camera remotely using optional equipment. The following sections describe your options for remotely controlling the camera.

With the optional REMO accessory (which can be worn like a watch or clipped to your clothing), you can be up to 33 feet away from your camera when issuing verbal commands. The REMO accessory is covered in Chapter 5, “Must-Have GoPro Camera Accessories.”

The benefit to the Smart Remote is that its built-in status screen tells you exactly how the camera is set up and what it’s doing at any given moment. When you press the Shutter button to begin shooting video, for example, the Smart Remote’s status light begins to flash, and you can see the timer on the status screen (shown here), so you know the camera is operating correctly and recording video.

The mobile device’s screen serves as a live viewfinder, so you can see exactly what you’re shooting. The controls within the Capture app allow you to quickly set or modify the camera’s shooting mode and related settings with a few on-screen taps.

When you turn on the Wireless feature of your GoPro camera, the camera itself creates a private, password-protected, Wi-Fi hotspot that your mobile device needs connect to. You do not need to be within the signal radius of a public Wi-Fi hotspot or your home wireless network for this feature to work. However, the mobile device needs to stay within the signal radius of the wireless hotspot created by the GoPro camera.

The main drawback to this remote shooting method is that when your mobile device is wirelessly linked with your GoPro via Wi-Fi, that mobile device cannot simultaneously access the Internet via a Wi-Fi network. Thus, if you need an Internet connection for some other task, the smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch has to rely on a cellular data connection (if available).

It’s also important to understand that while the Smart Remote allows you to remotely control your GoPro camera from up to 600 feet away, the distance you can be from the camera while using the smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch is much less. Plus, chances are your mobile device isn’t waterproof or as durable as your GoPro camera, so you might need to be careful to protect your mobile device based on the shooting situation.

1. Clean your camera’s lens and make sure it’s spotless. Always carry a microfiber lens-cleaning cloth with you so you can keep the lens clean while shooting in harsh environments that involve dirt, dust, water, rain, or snow.

2. Make sure the camera’s battery is fully charged. If you’re shooting with a HERO5 Black, also have one or two extra, fully charged batteries on hand.

3. Insert a microSD memory card into the camera. If necessary, transfer previously shot content that you want to keep from the memory card to another device and format the memory card to free up plenty of space to store the content you’re about to shoot. It’s always a good idea to have one or two empty, formatted memory cards on hand, especially if you’ll be shooting video.

4. Based on your planned shooting situation(s), bring along all of the optional mounts you’ll need. Make sure you have the proper thumb screw for each mount. (See Chapter 4, “Overview of GoPro HERO Mounts,” for more information about mounts and thumb screws.)

5. Collect all of the accessories you plan to use while shooting, and make sure any electronics are fully charged. If you’ll be shooting in or around water, make sure you have a Floaty (see Chapter 5) and any special lens filters you’ll need.

6. When you get to your shooting location, turn on the camera and select the camera mode, shooting mode, and related settings you plan to use while shooting.

7. Set up the camera by placing it in the proper housing, connecting the housing to the most suitable mount, and then connecting the mount to yourself or your equipment as the situation requires. This might include connecting the camera to a camera grip or handle, an extension pole, a stabilizer, or a tripod.

8. Test the camera and make sure everything is operational. Take a few test photos, or shoot a 10- to 15-second video, and then preview the content. If the quality of the test shots or video footage isn’t as good as you’d like, consider altering the camera settings.

9. If you’ll be remotely controlling the camera, test it to make sure the remote control option you’ve selected is working.

10. Double-check (and even triple-check) that the camera housing is securely held in position and adjusted for the desired shooting angle.

You’re now ready to begin shooting, when the activity you plan to shoot begins and/or your subject is in place.

Tap the shooting mode icon to change camera modes. Shown here is the Photo icon, because the camera is currently in Photo mode.

Tap one of the three camera modes icons. In the figure, Photo mode is selected, so the Photo, Night, and Burst shooting modes are displayed. For this example, tap the Video camera mode icon to access the Video shooting modes.

Tap one of the shooting mode options. Here the Video camera mode has been selected, so the Video, Video+Photo, and Looping shooting mode options are displayed.

When the viewfinder screen reappears, if applicable, tap the RES (resolution) option to see the available shooting resolution options.

Tap your resolution selection from the submenu screen. Your available options, based on the other active settings, are displayed on the touchscreen. The selected option is displayed in the center of the screen (1080p). Tap a different option to change to it.

Return to the viewfinder screen and then tap on the FPS option to adjust the frames per second setting from this submenu. Available options are based on which camera model, which resolution, and which FOV you’ve already selected. The selected option is displayed in the center of the screen.

Return to the viewfinder screen and tap the FOV option to adjust the Field of View setting from the submenu screen (shown). Scroll up or down to see the available options. Depending on which resolution and FPS you’ve selected for Video modes or which resolution you’ve selected when shooting with Photo modes, your options will vary. The selected option is displayed in blue.

When you’re ready to start shooting, return to the viewfinder screen, and press the Shutter button (not shown).

After choosing the camera mode, shooting mode, resolution, FOV, and FPS (if applicable), return to the main viewfinder screen.

Place your finger near the right edge of the touchscreen and swipe left. The Advanced feature menu opens. The options available for your camera display one at a time.

Swipe your finger left or right across the touchscreen to view your available options. If an additional submenu option is available, you see it when you tap the feature. Shown here is the Video Stabilization feature turned on. Tap the On/Off icon to toggle this option on or off.

When you’re ready to start shooting, return to the viewfinder screen and press the Shutter button (not shown).

Use these steps to adjust the camera mode, shooting mode, and related settings:

Turn on the HERO5 Session camera, and press the Menu button to turn on the status screen.

Keep pressing the Menu button until you see the Camera Settings option. Press the Shutter button to select it.

Change the Camera mode by pressing the Shutter button repeatedly until you see the mode you want to use. Video, Photo, and Time Lapse are your options. In this example, Video is selected and highlighted. Press the Menu button to make your selection.

Press the Menu button to highlight the Resolution setting. Press the Shutter button to scroll through your available options, and then press the Mode button to select your choice. 1080p is highlighted and selected here.

Select and highlight the FPS option by pressing the Menu button. When it’s highlighted, press the Shutter button repeatedly to scroll through the FPS options. When you see the option you want, press the Menu button to select it.

Select and highlight the FOV option by pressing the Menu button. When it’s highlighted, press the Shutter button repeatedly to scroll through the FOV options. In this example, the Wide (W) FOV option is selected. Press the Menu button to select your choice.

When you’ve adjusted all of the necessary settings, press the Menu button to highlight the check mark icon, and press the Shutter button to confirm it. This saves your changes to the camera mode, shooting mode, resolution, FPS, and FOV options. In this example, the camera is set to Video mode, 1080p resolution, 30 FPS, Wide FOV. You’re now ready to start shooting.

Table 8.1 shows icons for the GoPro HERO5 Black’s camera modes, shooting modes, settings, and advanced features. These are the icons that are displayed on the camera’s touchscreen and status screen. (The appearance of the icons also applies to the HERO5 Session and HERO Session cameras, when applicable.)

After you choose one of these three camera modes, you need to select a shooting mode. The following is a summary of the shooting modes.

The Video mode is for capturing high-definition video. Once you choose this shooting mode, you need to choose Resolution, FPS, and FOV settings, plus decide whether or not to activate any advanced shooting features that might be useful for a particular shooting situation, such as Auto Low Light, Video Stabilization, or Protune (all of which are explained shortly).

The Video+Photo shooting mode allows you to shoot HD video using the settings you select while also capturing separate high-resolution digital photos. Photos are taken at a preset (but adjustable) time interval while video is being captured.

In other words, once you select this shooting mode, adjust its settings, and then press the Shutter button to begin shooting video, every 5, 10, 30, or 60 seconds, the camera automatically snaps one digital photo using the same resolution and FOV at which the video is recording. The video and photo digital files are stored separately on the microSD memory card.

The Looping mode allows the camera to record HD video for 5, 20, 60, or 120 minutes. There’s also a MAX option, which records as much video as possible until the camera’s memory card is filled.

After the designated loop time that you set, the camera records over the previous loop (deleting that content), and begins recording a new loop. This process begins after you select the Looping mode and press the Shutter button to begin filming. The camera continues filming until you press the Shutter button again to stop filming. You can then view and edit the most recently shot video loop.

You also need to choose the resolution, FOV, FPS, and related settings you want to use. Depending on which GoPro camera you’re using, your resolution options vary, but they range from 480p (lowest resolution) to 4K (highest resolution). The available FOV, FPS, and related settings also vary based on the camera you’re using. The figure shows the resolution submenu with 1080p selected.

After you choose your shooting resolution and field of view, you see the available FPS options. For example, if you’re using the HERO5 Black and have chosen 1080p resolution and Wide FOV, your FPS options are 24, 30, 48, 60, 90, or 120.

You can also activate advanced shooting options that give you more flexibility to handle specialized shooting situations. The advanced shooting options are described later in this chapter in the “Understanding Advanced Shooting Features” section.

The HERO5 Black shoots photos at 12MP resolution, and the HERO5 Session shoots photos at 10MP resolution. The Photo resolution of the HERO Session is 8MP. The available FOV options depend on which camera model you’re using. The HERO5 Black, for example, allows you to choose between Narrow, Linear, Medium, and Wide.

Finally, before you start taking pictures using Photo mode, select which advanced shooting features, if any, you want to use. The Wide Dynamic Range, RAW Format, and Protune are among the advanced options available when using the HERO5 Black. Read more about the advanced settings later in this chapter.

The Night Photo shooting mode, as its name suggests, is designed to help you achieve better results when taking pictures in low-light situations. For example, when Night Photo is active, you can manually select the camera’s shutter speed.

With burst shooting mode, you press the Shutter button once to quickly capture a group of photos in quick succession. This is ideal for capturing a specific moment when your subject is moving fast.

Instead of relying on perfect timing to press the Shutter button at exactly the right moment, Burst mode captures up to 30 individual photos per second when you tap the Shutter button.

On the HERO5 Black, for example, you can choose between the following Burst settings:

• Thirty photos in a 1-, 2-, 3-, or 6-second burst

• Ten photos in a 1-, 2-, or 3-second burst

• Five photos in 1 second

• Three photos in 1 second

When you select either the Night Photo or Burst shooting mode, you’re prompted to select an FOV. Then you can activate any of the compatible advanced shooting features you deem necessary for a particular shooting situation.

Time Lapse Video captures the Time Lapse footage you shoot and stores it on the camera’s memory card as a video, whereas Time Lapse Photo takes a series of photos over time and stores each photo separately as a series of digital image files on the camera’s memory card. The Night Lapse Photo works the same way as Time Lapse Photo but offers an additional setting for shooting in low-light situations.

When you select the Time Lapse Video feature, and then press the Shutter button to begin filming, the camera records an HD video but records only at a preset Time Interval. On the HERO5 Black, the Time Lapse Video Interval options are 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 30, and 60 seconds. Interval refers to the rate at which photos are automatically taken once you press the Shutter button to begin filming.

After selecting any of the Time Lapse shooting modes, you can select a shooting resolution, FOV, and interval. Choosing the Auto Interval option when you’re using Night Lapse Photo results in the camera automatically matching the Interval setting with the camera’s shutter speed. Thus, if you set the Shutter Speed to two seconds, which is ideal for capturing a sunrise or sunset, the Interval setting is also set at two seconds, so one photo is automatically taken every two seconds until you press the Shutter button a second time to stop the Time Lapse process.

The advanced shooting features give your camera additional functionality. When used correctly and in the right situations, the features allow you to consistently capture higher quality photos and/or videos that showcase sharper clarity, smoother motion, and more vivid colors. With some of the advanced features, your camera also makes better use of existing light. How and when you use these features is covered more in the next four chapters. However, this section gives a brief description of many of the advanced shooting features.

This feature is most useful when an area of the frame would otherwise wind up being overexposed or underexposed. When you use the Exposure Control with Auto Exposure feature, you select an area on the HERO5 Black’s touchscreen so that the camera prioritizes it when adjusting the exposure for the shot. To activate the feature, press and hold your finger on the screen until the exposure control frame appears on the viewfinder. You see a square with a dot in the middle when this feature is on. Use your finger to drag this box to the area of the frame you want to focus on (that’s directly in front of your intended subject). When the box is displayed, you can also tap your finger elsewhere on the touchscreen to move it.

The ISO setting works hand-in-hand with the Shutter Speed setting. In Photo mode, the ISO Minimum and ISO Maximum options allow you to set a range for the camera’s sensitivity to light rather than using a fixed setting. If you want a fixed ISO setting, adjust the ISO Maximum and ISO Minimum option to the same setting.