Explore every setting of your GoPro Hero 12 explained in simple terms, unlock its full potential and find your unique shooting style.
I tested every video setting in countless MTB videos – you can take the shortcut with this guide.
Hypersmooth Stabilization
You may find that AutoBoost and Boost get too narrow FOV. I personally stick with the regular HS. It works incredibly well as is. And if the occasional bump gets through, it only adds to the immersion.
In other words: stabilization and FOV work very closely together.
Lens Modes / Field of view (FOV)
A wider FOV can help with a couple of effects: the sense of speed, showing steepness and capturing reference points the viewer can identify with like the handlebar, hands and bike frame as well as the trail ahead.
The wider the FOV, the more of that is in the picture. This time around Hyperview may actually be wider than Superview, not just include more above and below.
If that overly distorted look of Hyperview is something you like, is entirely personal taste. Or a question of mounting position. Helmet (chin) mounts seem to do better with it than chest mounts.
HorizonBalance
Horizon leveling mimics a gimbal that’s keeping the camera level. I don’t recommend it for biking POV, because the FOV gets way to narrow. It’s a cool effect tho, especially doing a follow-cam where the subject is in front.
Caution: HorizonBalance zooms into the frame dramatically so the software can keep the image leveled. This means the FOV is locked at “Linear”.
Resolution
I’m sure you know this one: total pixel count. But there’s more to it in an action cam!
The way stabilization works is entirely by software. The camera crops / zooms into the frame to be able to seemingly “remove” movement from the picture – resulting in lower FOV and lower resolution.
That’s why 1080p will look blurry and a minimum of 2.7K is recommended. 4K is optimal, and 5.3K may already be overkill (huge file size).
Framerate
This is what makes your video look unnatural and jarring or true-to-life. Bonus points for cinematic natural motion blur.
Framerates of 24, 25, and 30 are a big part of what makes video footage cinematic. I believe 30 FPS works best as 24p can look stuttery as well. But it’s all personal preference!
60fps is used only for slow-motion. At regular watch speeds, it looks unnatural and sometimes even jarring as it’s much crisper and sharper than what you would see through your own eyes. It’s also a big reason why POV MTB videos LOOK slow.
Unless you plan on slowing down your footage in editing, a high framerate is completely unnecessary for MTB. Your SD card also fills up much quicker.
White Balance (WB)
Wrong WB can make or break a video!
WB is basically the overall color temperature ranging from red to blue – think golden hour sunset to blue hue mist. It’s measured in Kelvin. And it’s a big influence in how colors look in a video.
Automatic white balance has become pretty good. So you may get away with it. Setting a fixed value is your extra guarantee that color hue won’t just suddenly change mid-video.
So, it’s up to you if you leave it on auto, or set it yourself. Either way, it’s a set-and-forget option. Why? Because this is an outdoor camera. And sunlight has a color temperature of about 5500 Kelvin.
Exposure Value (EV)
Exposure Value is a measurement of how a shot is “exposed” or how well it’s lit. The camera is usually trying to aim for an EV of 0, meaning it’s well-exposed subjectively – to the camera.
It’s doing that by adjusting the two options it has for exposure control: shutter speed and ISO. GoPro cams have a fixed aperture, so they can’t adjust that.
Especially outdoors, it struggles in some situations like patchy lighting in a forest or lots of bright, white snow in winter. Overexposure is usually the most common problem for MTB, so a negative EV (darker) can be quite helpful.
Shutter
Shutter speed determines how long the shutter is open and your camera’s sensor is exposed to light. A faster shutter speed lets in less light, and a slower shutter speed lets in more light.
The longer it’s open, the more blurry each frame gets when there’s movement. The faster it is, the better stabilization works. 1/400 an pretty much stabilize anything, but can look jittery.
ISO
ISO determines the light sensitivity of the camera’s sensor. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive the sensor is and the brighter the image gets. But more isn’t always better as high ISO also leads to grainy, blurry, desaturated footage – here is how you fix that.
So, a limit on the maximum ISO is a good idea!
That way you’ll limit the negative effects that occur in low light. Additionally, you’ll keep darker areas realistically dark and don’t make them unnaturally bright.
ISO 800 is usually enough for outdoor stuff. And even if it isn’t your video won’t be ruined since you set your minimum shutter. ISO 1600 will be enough for pretty much anything, but it also brightens up dark areas a lot. So it’s a personal preference.
Color Profiles
Completey change the look of your videos straight out of camera.
- Pop: High-contrast, high saturation. Easily looks unnatural.
- Natural: Medium-contrast, Medium-saturation. Looks natural as is.
- Flat: Low-contrast, low-saturation. Looks natural in bright, high-contrast sunshine, bland on cloudy days.
- GP-Log: Lowest-contrast & saturation. Captures most information for maximum color grading flexibility.
Sharpness
Sharpness is a processing effect that’s applied on top of footage. It will not increase resolution or bitrate. Instead, the sharpening effect will be applied in real time and is baked into your footage. That should be enough reason for concern.
If that look is something you like or not, is up to you. But keep in mind, that you can’t remove it and high sharpness may look unnatural or even jarring to watch. It can also introduce weird visual glitches on gravel, leaves and grass.
Bit Depth (10-Bit Colors)
10-bit color offers a significantly higher color depth than 8-bit color (1 billion vs 16.7 million colors), resulting in smoother gradients and more detailed color nuances. This is particularly noticeable on high-quality displays and when color grading GP-Log footage.
Wind Noise Reduction
Again, this is a post-processing effect coupled with front microphones being turned very low or off. The processing can sound unnatural and distorted. For extreme wind noises, it can be beneficial.
It’s not the best wind-muffling solution tho. That’s still using foam windmufflers.
