Trying to Vlog with the GoPro Hero 7 Black
I really enjoy doing the vlog, but in addition to trying to improve the content I also want to make it look good.
Recently, I switched over from the Insta360 One X and shot a few videos on the GoPro Hero 7 Black hoping to improve upon the video quality. I found that the GoPro did improve the quality, as the crop on the Insta360 One X was causing pixilation and poor blacks.
I set up the GoPro on an old GoPro bar mount that I had (first pic below), and tried to get good audio with the little faux fur stickies that I had purchased for the Insta360 One X. I eventually super-glued the fur to the case when it kept falling off. It works perfectly now, and the bar mount turned handle actually gave me a good grip that allowed me to easily get the GoPro in and out of my right back pocket.
I look forward to using the Pro Standard Grill Mount (mouth held grip) that just came in the mail today. This allows for nice smooth perspectives from the rider’s POV (as seen in Dustin Klein and Francis Cade’s videos), and it will also allow me to turn the camera on myself.
The GoPro allows me to shoot in 4k, 2.7k, or 1080p. It also has three POV modes, Superwide, Wide, and Linear. The first two allow the user to capture a lot of action, but the Linear POV looks a lot more like what the actual human eye sees. I have also started shooting mostly in 24 frames per second as that gives the most human looking motion blur. I could adjust to a higher frame rate if I wanted to do some slow-motion, but for now, I have avoided that. Here are the rest of the settings I use.
Shooting in the maximum 4k available on the GoPro was an immediate improvement in quality, although the 4k resolution only allowed me to shoot in Wide, and not the Linear mode on the GoPro that looks a little less “fisheye” to me. You can see that here in the recent trip to Akron.
I then went in and changed over to the 2.7k and Linear to see what that looked like on my trip around the city on Sunday. It was no noticeable drop in resolution, especially when it was uploaded to YouTube. I think that this is the format I am going to try for the next few vlogs.
Lastly, since I am a color-blind fool, I am struggling to make my color grading better. Being unable to see red and green like most folks, I am trying to use some available LUTs (look up tables) to apply color over the raw footage shot in FLAT mode on the GoPro. What do you think? Which looks best to you? I realize that I can also tweak the exposure, so I think for the CADE LUTs, I might need to try that.
So, let me know how these settings and LUTs look to you? I am still not 100% sure that the GoPro is a better all-around camera than the Insta360 One X, but when you want resolution, it is hard to beat. Does It outweigh the Insta360’s ability to reframe though? That is the $64K question!