What are the best H3 black setting for night shooting?
- Thread starter chad556
- Start date
I don't know if it matters with the limited settings available for the GP.
One thing I do know is that the red leds on the front of the Phantom really mess with the video quality at night... that's why I have taped over mine with black electrical tape for attempts at capturing fireworks tonight.
One thing I do know is that the red leds on the front of the Phantom really mess with the video quality at night... that's why I have taped over mine with black electrical tape for attempts at capturing fireworks tonight.
Main thing you want is lower frame rate as this slows shutter speeds allowing more light and so better low light performance also a wide fov mode will be better then narrower modes as it uses more sensor area to capture its image. Each mode is a little different in the way it downscales or bins extras pixels so not all wide fov modes will be the same. Going purely on IQ 2.7k is close to a native res so will be one of the better modes but you can also try 1080p wide in 30p or lower. Going to 4k is too slow at 12 or 15p in frame rate as you want something between 24 to 30p for smooth motion.
Using regular mode with protune off and wb auto will do ok and for most people likely the way to go for low light shooting. If you dont mind a bit of grading and have neat video or similar type noise reduction options, using pt on with cam raw can work ok but needs a bit of post work. Using the grading option you will likely get a slightly better end result but with much more work needed where the auto modes do pretty well at night most of the time and it has some built in noise reduction that is turned off when protune is enabled.
Main thing is avoid any higher frame rates then 30p as this will make shutter speeds too high and make the little gopro sensor struggle even more then it should. Also avoid narrow mode as using a sensor crop this small its also reducing amount of light captured and if you have used this mode you will have noticed it has much less noise in good light, suffers more then the others as soon as light levels drop.
I did do a test flight at nite using 2.7k30 with basic grading in cineform studio reducing exposure and adding a bit of contrast along with a wb adjustment. Then used neat video in premiere pro and made this video, its not perfect as the gopro is not a great low light camera but turned out ok.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aM_rGst3Tc[/youtube]
I will try another similar flight in auto mode as soon as the wind dies down a little, to get a comparison against my graded attempt and what the gopro can do on its own.
Using regular mode with protune off and wb auto will do ok and for most people likely the way to go for low light shooting. If you dont mind a bit of grading and have neat video or similar type noise reduction options, using pt on with cam raw can work ok but needs a bit of post work. Using the grading option you will likely get a slightly better end result but with much more work needed where the auto modes do pretty well at night most of the time and it has some built in noise reduction that is turned off when protune is enabled.
Main thing is avoid any higher frame rates then 30p as this will make shutter speeds too high and make the little gopro sensor struggle even more then it should. Also avoid narrow mode as using a sensor crop this small its also reducing amount of light captured and if you have used this mode you will have noticed it has much less noise in good light, suffers more then the others as soon as light levels drop.
I did do a test flight at nite using 2.7k30 with basic grading in cineform studio reducing exposure and adding a bit of contrast along with a wb adjustment. Then used neat video in premiere pro and made this video, its not perfect as the gopro is not a great low light camera but turned out ok.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aM_rGst3Tc[/youtube]
I will try another similar flight in auto mode as soon as the wind dies down a little, to get a comparison against my graded attempt and what the gopro can do on its own.
martcerv said:
Thanks! That answered my question completely! I too, use APP CS6, so your instructions will be valuable!
Be aware the neat video plugin isnt standard in cs6 its an extra plugin, very handy if shooting low light gopro footage as it does suffer from noise. Protune on disables all incamera noise reduction, with the hero3 black noise reduction is only needed when it gets quite dark and in decent light noise is not much of an issue.
I really dont shoot much night video and just did that to test fpv flying at night and see if I could get a decent result with protune on and cam raw recording. I do know the head editor at gopro suggests to just use regular modes in full auto when its dark, the camera generally does ok in such conditions so best to try that first. I would recommend most users try regular auto first but in a wide mode at slower frame rates and if the results arent as good as you hoped try the other method as I have in that example.
I really dont shoot much night video and just did that to test fpv flying at night and see if I could get a decent result with protune on and cam raw recording. I do know the head editor at gopro suggests to just use regular modes in full auto when its dark, the camera generally does ok in such conditions so best to try that first. I would recommend most users try regular auto first but in a wide mode at slower frame rates and if the results arent as good as you hoped try the other method as I have in that example.
chad556 said:
Sure is, it will slow down your render quite a bit but if shooting video in a camera that struggles in very low light like the GoPro it can give some very good results.
