GoPro - Photos vs. Taking stills from videos in GoPro App

[Dr. Love]

Hello all,

Just wanted to get opinions on this. Which do you prefer? Taking photos or videos, then taking stills from your videos, as photos? From my experience with the GoPro 6, I would take still from videos. However, I have a 10 now, that I haven't used yet, and have heard the photo feature has improved dramatically. Thoughts?

 

[inquis]

What's the intended viewing medium? Computer screen background? Video is fine. Wall mounted 36" print? Video won't cut it.

 

[Dr. Love]

I'm mostly just talking about for Facebook/Instagram. Never really thought about getting a 36" haha, however with the 10's 5K capability maybe I oughtta give that a whirl. I'm guessing the general idea is that photos have more pixel power than videos and that's why video won't cut it for bigger prints? Probably a dumb question, I know. I'm a noob when it comes to photography/videography lol

 

[inquis]

Yep, you got it. A rough guide for prints is a minimum of 150 pixels per inch. The 5k video would just about make it... full-frame. Unfortunately, it's often necessary to crop. Facebook/instagram is far more tolerant. The GoPro photo mode brings a little better resolution, but mainly a RAW mode that facilitates better post processing results (which is again more work, LOL).

My opinion is that the frame grabs will be your best bet. The odds of capturing a nice shot go way up at video rates.

 

[DiveProKoko]

I'm mostly just talking about for Facebook/Instagram. Never really thought about getting a 36" haha, however with the 10's 5K capability maybe I oughtta give that a whirl. I'm guessing the general idea is that photos have more pixel power than videos and that's why video won't cut it for bigger prints? Probably a dumb question, I know. I'm a noob when it comes to photography/videography lol

That's exactly what I use that feature for is Instagram. Take a look at my Instagram feed @DiveProKoko. Every underwater still shot on there is from a video capture! It'll work just fine for what you want it for.

 

[Jafo19D]

Hello all,

Just wanted to get opinions on this. Which do you prefer? Taking photos or videos, then taking stills from your videos, as photos? From my experience with the GoPro 6, I would take still from videos. However, I have a 10 now, that I haven't used yet, and have heard the photo feature has improved dramatically. Thoughts?

I have the GP 10 and one thing that bugged me is that when I used the app to create a video using the AI, I got a message that burst photos wasn’t supported.

 

[Dr. Love]

what settings do you guys use for GoPro video? I've watched several videos on it, and am overwhelmed by the conflicting opinions on it haha

 

[Boarderguy]

what settings do you guys use for GoPro video? I've watched several videos on it, and am overwhelmed by the conflicting opinions on it haha

A lot depends on water quality and depth. Darker deeper water that filters out more red and you'll need to adjust settings for that. Clear shallow with lots of sunlight, there are settings for that. I need to check mine, but I'm more often than not shooting video in deep dark Puget Sound water with my 10 Hero.

 

[DiveProKoko]

what settings do you guys use for GoPro video? I've watched several videos on it, and am overwhelmed by the conflicting opinions on it haha

My go to for GoPro video is 1080p 120fps Wide

4k files are huge and most people can't tell the difference. 120fps allows you to slow down underwater shots of fish etc. to make your videos look smoother, etc. Wide is a great angle. Superwide gives a fisheye look which I don't like. Narrow is...well, too narrow for framing shots. LOL! I would add that lighting makes all the difference. Below is a picture of my setup. It's a Hero7 Black with GoPro Supersuit. Kraken arms and Sealife Sea Dragon 3000 lumen lights. I bought the tray off Amazon for $35 bucks. I also use a Flip Macro lens for macro shots. I never use the mid-depth Flip filter that is on it right now and am going to take it off. The setup is good for me as I only use it to post to my Instagram account and to watch later to remember the stuff we saw. I am a true amateur. If you want to see the results I'm getting from that setup and those settings, you can see my videos on my Instagram... @DiveProKoko

 

[broncobowsher]

I often just set video at something reasonable and set the auto picture for one every few seconds. Burns a ton of data. The video is in generally bad anyway. Lucky to get a few clips here and there. Anything worth a still I just pause with the camera aimed at it so there are a couple of shots to choose from.