Best GoPro Settings for FPV: 2.7k@30 fps vs. 1080p@60 fps

[@artistjoh]

I very much appreciated this video and being able to look at individual frames. It is still relevant today because the Session 5 was never updated, and despite it’s older and therefore limited bit rates etc, I think the Session 5 gives better footage than current cube cameras like the Foxeer Box 2. As a result I still use the Session 5. I am not an FPV flier, and use cameras for more general video purposes and your video highlights how blanket statements some people use such as 24fps is always better, 60fps is always better are nonsense - it all depends of the use case. It also depends on shutter speed. I tend to use ND’s to slow that shutter down because I am trying to get more blur in each frame, and this footage here is aiming for less blur. Ultimately video is an art, and each of us has different creative visions and it is important to fully understand what is going on to produce a moving image. I love the way you think. Thank you for your words, and ability to communicate.

[@C0d3M0nk3yRC]

I like superview and 60 fps. This is what I've been doing to get the look of superview, 60 fps, and a higher bitrate: - Record at 1440p60, which is 1920x1440. This is roughly the same information captured by 1080p60 superview, but uses a higher bitrate (60 Mbps instead of 45). - Edit in a 2560x1440 timeline and stretch the video out in the X direction to fill the frame. This gives the footage a look similar to superview. - Export at 2560x1440 and upload to youtube and it will be encoded at a higher bitrate than 1080p.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

This is a really interesting approach. I think you can even get a Premiere plugin to linear-ize the frame a bit, so it's not as fisheye and stretched.

[@KerniFPV]

This is a nice tip Cod3MOnk3y for my last videos i sticked with 2,7k@30f for more details and less light problems but with the higer bitrate and stratching to get the superview look sounds good to me! I have to try this on my next video and Joshua THANKS for all your hard work

[@KiloLima]

That is the nerdiest and most easily informative video ... well done! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Really helpful and yes, the difference between 30 and 60 FPS was easily seen. Also ... what a beautiful property ... how lovely. Thanks for sharing ... Blue skies!

[@JimBoomer]

I think you have done a really good job on this series of videos and I think you understand it all quite well. But one thing you never quite explain: The big picture of "correct shutter speed settings" to match the output FPS and why people generally "like" 60fps better. The time of day you picked to do this video is the perfect scenario where 60fps CAN look "better" for a lot of people. When you're flying mid-day like you are, you're essentially looking at super clear still images with no motion blur (500th/1 to 2000th/1 shutter speed). These high shutter speeds in video is not very natural looking to the eye at all. The general video rule is to use a shutter speed that is double your frame rate. 30fps would be say 60th-120th/1 shutter speed and 60fps should be around 120th-240th/1 (Just a general rule that can be broken hehe). So, why most people like 60fps better? That is because 60fps simply masks the incorrect high shutter speed we have to use when flying mid day and when in the bright sun. 30fps with these high shutter speeds just doesn't look that smooth. NOW, How can we make 30fps look as good as 60fps??? There are really only a few options to get the "correct shutter speed" for 30fps on a gopro. The answer: Use say a 2 or 3 stop ND filter to slow the shutter speed down, or fly during the day when it is not so bright (like during sunrise or sunset). If you were to do a comparison when using the correct shutter speeds for your exported FPS, the difference in video would be much closer. We could go into it more, but that is all I got ATM haha :P Cheers!!!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

I think that is true if you are working in a cinematic environment, but less true if you are working with an FPV copter. We have so little control of the lighting, and we have zero control of the aperture, so the ability to set a fixed, ideal shutter speed is really limited. Also, the amount of motion blur depends on the amount of movement, so it will vary with the speed of the quadcopter. It just seems like it's really unlikely that an FPV pilot could consistently get good picture quality and correct exposure when setting a fixed shutter speed. So my approach is to optimize framerate and resolution and leave exposure to the camera.

[@JimBoomer]

Totally correct! Which is all another reason a lot of people lean towards 60fps. Now, if someone would just make a set of ND filters that work on the Session AND fits well with something like a Creative Dex mount. I have yet to find one :(

[@ekotechfpv]

did you edit the vid or just uploaded it without editing ? the 2.7k/30 s. is looks good than 1080.

[@KobayashiCityPromotionCoLtd]

The main reason for the "crispier" image is because you get less motion blur due to the 180 rule. For 60fps you will have to shoot at 1/120, for 30fps your shutter speed goes down to 1/60, meaning twice as much motion blur. Tuning down footage that was originally shot in 60fps to 30fps will still lack that distinctive motion blur and not have the cinematic feel to it that people are used to from Hollywood movies*. The main benefit of shooting at 60fps or higher would be to play it back in slow motion or to create a jittery, nervous feel. *"The Hobbit" amongst other movies was actually shot with a higher frame rate.)

[@paulson9616]

What do you recommend for motorcycle riding setup?

[@madladdan]

The fact that you said there you go as I found the gear icon and realized I was on 1080 60 scares me. How do you know

[@the_parker_g]

hell yes! JB, this rocked. thanks for everything you do for this amazing past time.

[@JohnnyMcMillan]

So 1080 @ 60fps would be the best for fast speed footage but for slowed down (for want of a better word) normal speed, 1080 @ 30fps is more cinematic?

[@KingFPV]

I am grateful for the extremely informative videos you produce, and it is clear you enjoy disseminating the information to the masses. I find it extremely beneficial to have these side-by-side and sequential comparisons.

[@TravelHere]

On my GoPro Hero 6 Black I shoot everything in 2.7k linear or 4k wide view. Both can be shot in 60 FPS these days, I love the smoothness of 60 FPS.

[@dudlybusch]

The eye naturally mimics the 24/25 FPS rate. So shooting with those frame rates will give a more natural look. If following the 180 rule then shutter speed should equal 1/50 which means each frame captured at 24/25 fps will have some motion blur as you are moving quite fast. The faster you go the more motion blur in the frame. With higher frame rates and again following the 180 rule the shutter speed will be faster so less motion blur is captured in each frame thus giving that odd unnatural look that people talk about. It's really a personal preference I suppose. For the cinematic experience it's probably best for 24/25 fps and shutter at 1/50. For less motion blur and a more crisp video then 50/60fps at 1/100 or 1/120 shutter speed. If you don't have ND filters then doubling the shutter speed should be ok until correct exposure is obtained. Doing that will mean even crisper/sharper frames. I'm just getting into FPV and currently trying to pick a go pro or alternative to use on my drone so I've yet to figure out my settings but nice to see the different settings in action here.

[@mikesrcgarage]

Thanks bro but what settings, protune on/off iso auto or? White balance auto or? Gopro color or? Thanks man!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Check the rest of the playlist. ISO locked at 100 Flat color if you intend to grade in post. Sharpness medium.

[@stevejhkhfda]

I prefer 60fps for the smoothness on the S5 despite quality loss....however I think I may stick with my Hero 4 because 1080 60fps looks great on that...

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Stephen Wright hard to believe 1080p60 looks better on the 4 than the 5.

[@nylapsetime8823]

I have both, and the Hero 5 seems a lot better on all settings.

[@Qaud-a]

So Joshua, its 2019, any updates for 2019 gopro7?

[@EssexRc]

Hi Joshua, Great video. I like the smoothness of 1080 60fps but like the detail in 2.7 30fps. I've noticed that the rotorriot crew for instance film in 2.7 becauae of this and the fact that youtube compression lowers the quality further as well. My question is, would you know what settings i would need to render 2.7 30fps to get the most out of my upload? I am using Vegas pro 13 but should imagine it would be too different to adobe pp. Many thanks (again) :)

[@Baksan_Dog1988]

Very great video and comparison... I might be too late on this discussion, may I kindly ask what’s the best setting for mountain biking?? Thanks in advance all the best!!!

[@Baksan_Dog1988]

By the way I’m using Hero5 session... cheers

[@elliothannon2999]

Tonyo Boy a whole year later if you’re still looking for an answer here it is: go to a mountain bike channel, here it’s not exactly the same although it’s probably very similar. Cheers

[@AshleyAcademy]

Joshua shows his true inner gangster @ 2:46

[@ByNEMeanZ08]

@6:16 in our culture we wear things called Lava Lava's. Is this what you are rockin?

[@KingFPV]

Thanks again, JB! Excellent explanation & visual comparison.

[@ryansco3]

What is that you are flying around ?

[@Texas_Cuh]

Yo thanks for the extra important knowledge and how to actually understand the fps to resolution! Thank you !!!

[@jeffvenable3845]

cant help but like the 1080@60....but 2.7k footage is just gorgeous.

[@FloridaBoyGrizz]

What’s 2.7k? I can’t find that on my session and I have a session and a session 4

[@xoxUnD3R0aThxox]

what drone is it?

[@Zeisslermusic]

very good job Mr Bardwell. I think i have watch alle your videos now, and i like the way you do.

[@JC-zg2id]

I have the session 4 not 5. It can shoot 1080p 48 superview or 1440p 30f and 1080 60f. Which would be better for quads?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Personally I prefer superview above all else.

[@tannerdns9048]

This is nothing new to me because I've been playing pc games at 60-100fps for a few years now and watching the 30fps videos of fast moving quads makes me nauseated. As much as I love the quality of 2.7k, i'm not so sure it's the right choice given the 30fps limit.

[@jamiebox5194]

Really good explanation Joshua, top video.

[@dougcorey8922]

Great piece one suggestion. When doing a comparison of video quality choose or create a piece that isn’t disorienting.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Doug Corey sorry but this is the type of footage my audience records. So it is the type of used for the comparison.

[@maxun1]

good day 60 up to 120 fps, low light and night as low as you can get 30fps the sensor will capture more light in lower fps, is that ease.

[@jetlag268]

Do you run the Session 5 with image stabilization on or off?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Off, always off for FPV flying.

[@spacemanfpv]

Why off? I thought for some reason that this setting would smooth out the footy and make it that much more buttery. Thanks!

[@rossimessi1]

What about rolling shutter function under stabilizer in iMovie. would this help with blur?

[@yv1248]

So what about 1440p x 60 fps? Good choice between 1080 and 2,7k, no? And Joshua, thanks you for all, you are one of my fav, and I will try to launch my yt channel (freestyle FPV in France) thanks to you. I did my maiden (diatone 2017 strech) today ^^, it's a beast!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Oni V that would be great if you had some way to do superview in post.

[@yv1248]

humm 1440p 60fps large vs 1080p 60 supeview? 1440p large not the best compromise if I understand your idea? (Sorry I have just test the hero 5 session this afternoon)

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Oni V 1440p is square aspect ratio full frame. How do you stretch it to 16:9.

[@Hussarwarrior]

Im cyclist WHAT view Is the BEST ?

[@buddha102]

I read that the human eye can't see more then 30 fps or more then 3.5 GB of Vram.

[@PIDtoolbox]

not exactly true. Peak sensitivity to motion and flicker is roughly 20-30Hz, but human vision is still sensitive up to around 50Hz, after which it falls sharply (Kelly, 1961, Journal of the Optical Society of America). Besides this, the frame rate could impact other aspects of processing from original recording through to KZbin processing.

[@axu3609]

do you mean gtx 970 ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@buddha102]

Whoosh !

[@PIDtoolbox]

Jim Boomer makes another good point about shutter speed as well, and unfortunately we can not fix this in current gopro session 5 software, so it presumably dependent upon how bright your environment is. I would presume brighter is better because the shutter speed will be faster leading to less motion blur, but I'm not sure if less or more motion blur is better. My thought is less will lead to sharper looking motion.

[@Seeraphyn]

"Human eye fps" or this kind of things doesn't really make sense at all but that's complicated. But the very simple experiment you can do is ask one of your gamer buddies if you have some to show you what a 120Hz or 144Hz monitor looks like on some games, aside a 60Hz one for comparison. You WILL see the difference. Hardcore gamers like their fast refresh rates for a reason, that's not just another peeing contest analog for hardware enthusiats. That being said most people including myself don't have one of those displays and if they are not gamers, will prefer a high resolution to a high refresh rate when purchasing a monitor. So for kwad videos I don't think anything more than 60fps is relevant because people just don't have monitors that can display that many fps, and 4K video is more likely to become relevant to these people in the near future than 120fps video. As for the shutter speed thing, I can totally confirm that more light is better. @BWFPV your guess is kind of right but you talk about motion blur and given how videos are encoded in this type of situation, I would bet that you get more compression artifacts and absolutely no nice looking motion blur. And, as I was in vacation last week in a very sunny place, I noticed that the GoPro footage looked sharper than ever, confirming that guess.

[@lodewijk-9550]

is this also for the session 4

[@madladdan]

If I'm doing freestyle I'll do 1080 @ 60 if its more cinematic I'll do 2.7k @ 30 or 4k @ 30 wide

[@faktalist]

Whats you use software to edit video from gopro session?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Premiere Pro.

[@rgdlcla]

Hi Joshua. I have the gopro hero sesión 5 and i am filming in the new immersion mojo with the standar pids.when i take that i film in to my computer the movie has a lot of waves and its worst when i use a 4 cell battery. What can I do ? my sesion settings are 1080 60 and turno on the stability mode. Pls help me. Best regards Roberto

[@gregewing2971]

Roberto de la Concha sounds like you're getting "jello" in your video

[@Carlovfx]

Roberto de la Concha you are getting jello, you should try to reduce it by setting better your quad in BF plus dampening the noisy frequencies on both the camera and gyro board. I made several tests and found out that my enormous amount of jello was not given by any setting in the Session 5 but by the quad itself.

[@quincydrones928]

Seems like you have to be a much better pilot, and have a better tune to fly 60fps. The vibrations are unforgiving.

[@TRITONFPV]

I can only watch 60hz TV's. Higher than that it gives me a headache. It looks like I'm there watching it there with live actors. Don't like it. Great Vid JB 👍

[@mikotomisaka-kbhd-3975]

Triton FPV it should be the other way around, since at 30 their is more inconsistent frames and stutters. I personally game at 144fps, anything under 120 gives me motion sickness and headaches.

[@jordanbass3210]

you just solved the mystery I've had for at least 10 years. my step dad always had the nicest Electronics in his TV when we would watch things would look so weird and like you said just to fast and smooth it looked like to me. but it would literally drive me crazy and I could never figure it out they said they didn't see it but I'm positive that's exactly what it was now he had some $5,000 Samsung TV I could tell something was off its just look too good and not right awesome awesome backstory

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+QUADBOT FPV they probably didn't see it. Once you get used to it, you don't notice.

[@jordanbass3210]

sometimes when people would walk through the room it looked like they we're floating in it was much clearer than I could see in real life that's why it looks so weird to me

[@WilliamHeimPhotography]

Most of these newer TVs have this smoothing function (often named different things) turned on by default but it can be turned off. I personally hate the look and it is the first thing I disable, even if it isn't my TV ;) What I would do is, next time at the folks place, grab the remote, turn off smoothing and see if they even notice it. It's funny to me because most people that I've shown this to think the TV looks great with it on but agree it is even better off.

[@alexdalton7290]

Hey Joshua what does only one tone for bl heli escs mean and I lost the ability the ability to arm the quad.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Alex Dalton one tone? Like, not even three rising tones when you apply power?

[@alexdalton7290]

Joshua Bardwell on three tones then nothing like I have no signal to the controller/ cannot connect to betaflight too I guess haha thanks

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Alex Dalton it's not getting signal then. If it used to work but now it doesn't check the signal wire. If all four are not responding it may be the FC. Did you flash the ESC's or change anything at all in the FC config?

[@alexdalton7290]

the signal wire for the fc to the receiver? or possibly bad fc iv have had this quad since january last year ish and no i did not change a thing thank again you awsome man i would really hate to not beable to fly after exams and work lol

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Alex Dalton of you didn't change anything and all four ESC's stopped working then I suspect the FC.

[@Politicallyhomeless957]

I could see a massive dif. Thanks for the help in getting the most out my hero and session:)

[@Dontbeweakvato]

great video! wonder if I should fear purchase a runcam 3, or just get a Polaroid cube +. Their expendable more than my GoPro. p.s. YOU HAVE NO PUPILS, your eyes have no pupil it's all Iris

[@JoshuaBardwell]

You may not be able to buy an RC3 any more.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWjVcmqYiqabbs0

[@Dontbeweakvato]

Yea I know. I watch all your videos. you have the most intelligent fpv videos out there. maybe some Chinese overseas place might have them or...... try a Polaroid cube+?

[@SeeFPv-qm6ie]

how do i get slow motion video on my session 5

[@JoshuaBardwell]

I'm not sure what you're asking. If you mean time-lapse, I don't know if Session can do it. If you mean slow-mo, you just use a video editor to change the playback speed. Best to record at higher framerate if you intend to do this.

[@28daballa]

Whats the Best Action Camera I can buy For around 150

[@JoshuaBardwell]

GoPro Hero Session refurbished or Foxeer Legend 3.

[@28daballa]

Thank you sir.

[@ralfnorenberg3130]

@@28daballa sony as 50

[@zephyr2278]

720p 120fps played back at 120fps on a monitor with that refresh rate looks best.

[@xcrazy_fpvx1093]

i think 1080p 60fps

[@babyfpv2845]

Thanks for video and i notice you look much youngerin this video then now. Probably you are working too much👍

[@nickelindgren]

I dont' use a Gopro but a Xiaomi Yi with a 2.7k 1440p 30fps 20mb/s script and it outblows the 1080p 60fps

[@blackkissofdeathmamba8151]

When I record my resolution is bad on my go pro session

[@StacemanFPV]

60 definitely looks more real and "smooth"... but 30 feels more cinematic..

[@elliotdrives]

my session 5 runs at 1080p at 50fps bit I can't do 1080p at 60fps. Anyone know why this is?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Elliot Hancock no clue on that one.

[@fpv-droneracing3077]

Elliot Hancock . That is the difference between ntsc and pal. On pal it is 50 fps and on ntsc it is 60fps

[@xkitejunkie]

Elliot Hancock Change it to NTSC in the app to get 60fps

[@elliotdrives]

pwrkiter ok thanks

[@adamk.3946]

been waiting for this! I find that 1080p at 60fps upscaled to 4k looks AMAZING on youtube! I've played with upscaling 2.7k 30fps to 4k and man, superview 1080p 60fps upscaled to 4k 60fps I found has absolutely no motion blur from the conversion to youtube. wouldn't have been able to do this without you joshua, thank you so much! check it out if you have a moment :-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqOrZXx_gsaWeas

[@ReubenHorner]

Adam-g1 This maintains the high bitrate that the GoPro outputs. 60fps is the goods also

[@bruxxfpv1778]

Gopro set at 1080p/60fps, superview, Flat color. Render at 59.94fps 3840x2160 into 80k kbps via Filmora I never saw better youtube result for FPV footage yet We talking about fast motion pictures!, 30 fps should be ban!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

I just disagree so strongly about this, with all due respect. In my experience, no amount of post-processing tweaks could make 1080 look anywhere near as good as 2.7k.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Are you using a Session 5?

[@bruxxfpv1778]

yes it is a session 5, It is okay to disagree, im just making tests and got some result I liked. Im trying to priorize 60 fps over a good looking static image u know, so, im good to try anything else that you suggest, you did already so big for me without u knowing and it is why I do listen all your videos sir ! :) To learn something new, thanks for your answer.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+BruxxFPV the main characteristic I care about is encoding artifacts when viewed in KZbin. I think static images are a reasonable approximation of that though because you can see how much blocking there is.

[@bruxxfpv1778]

My way to render might be wrong and if u say so then lol but I would personally never leave 60 fps and superview so, I thought 2.7k could'nt make it , all this stuff change so fast, sorry if I sound amateurish, well... I am :D

[@SiNFPVGUAM]

omg... 2017 Joshua, wow man... wow... LoL

[@MRFLIP]

Is 1080 -30fps good for under water footage

[@JoshuaBardwell]

I wouldn't think that underwater footage would need a very high framerate, since stuff is moving slowly. So I would say yeah it's fine.

[@KellenRazzano]

60fps FTW

[@billbalke7572]

biggest difference I saw was detail

[@PotRacer]

I have some 1080p60 Runcam3 footage converted to 2.7k 30fps and 2.7k 60fps. what does look better in 1080p on youtube? kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2W0i4ynppmkhMk 60fps kzbin.info/www/bejne/pobCnHSlnLSirZI 30fps Your videos are the bomb. many thanks for that!

[@tlock2606]

Pot Racer The first video didn't give the option for 2.7k viewing on my iPhone, only 1080p 60., but it looks smoother than the second video whether I choose 1440p or 1080p. The second one seems slightly more choppy, whereas the first video has smoother motion.

[@PotRacer]

Thank you TLock for your reply. In my opinion the first video with 60fps looks smoother on 1080p but there are more artefacts and blocks made up by youtube... I wonder if the artefacs may be gone if I try to upload the 60fps footage in 2.7k with slighthy higher bitrate. I will upload a 2.7k60p clip with 20to50mbit, maybe it is better than the other 2.7k60p 14to28mbit clip... stay tuned :)

[@peper0ny.r1p]

That eyebrow movement made me dissy. Less P recommended :)

[@slamfpv6970]

60 all the way. Much less motion blur

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Motion blur will be a function of shutter speed, not frame rate. It may be that the GoPro adjusts the framerate to be appropriate for the shutter speed, in which case, higher shutter speed would have less motion blur but potentially be noisier if it required a higher ISO to expose properly. You would also see no difference in shutter speed in bright environments where the 30 fps footage used the same faster shutter speed as the 60 fps footage.

[@zenjahero4218]

Too much talking, man just write best settings wtf... xD