Best night video settings for GoPro Hero 11 Black – 4k 24 FPS

All those who own a GoPro will at some point face the situation of shooting a night video. GoPro is a very capable camera and it improves with each version. GoPro users rarely have any complaints but if there is one common, it is the problem of low light photography and videography.

Why does the GoPro give problems with low light?

GoPro has a digital stabilisation. But before that we should understand, all those who are familiar with low light videography know that even the most capable and expensive cameras do not fare well in auto mode in low light. First the GoPro has a small sensor as compared to most old DSLRs.

GoPro Hero 11 Black which is the latest version in 2023 has a sensor size of 1/1.9 inch which produces an image of 27 Megapixel. Compare that with the latest Canon R10 which also gives you 24 Megapixel picture but the sensor size is almost 1/2.5 inch. This is the lowest end of the mirrorless lineup of Canon. Imagine what the higher ranges would have.

So with such a tiny sensor, there will be problems in low light conditions. If HyperSmooth is set to AutoBoost you can actually see the camera struggling with dancing lights.

So let us see the fix.

Understanding dark light settings

Every camera when faced with dark or low light conditions has three options.

• Raise the ISO levels, but higher ISOs always bring in more noise. Some people do post editing to remove the noise but that might not actually always work.
• Higher aperture settings like f/16 means both the foreground and background come into focus but that also means smaller hole and lesser light coming in, while with lower aperture like f/2.8 means only one spot is in focus at a time but large amount of light can come in because the hole now becomes large.
• Shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter remains open to allow light to come in. So a shutter speed set at 1/2 means the shutter remains open for half a second. More time the shutter remains open, the more light is allowed to come in.

The golden rule of low light 24 FPS and 1/48 shutter speed

Shutter speed set to twice the frame rate is the golden rule for photographers during low light conditions. We shall apply these setting for a GoPro. Since the GoPro has a fixed aperture, there is nothing much we can do for point number 2 in the upper para. GoPro does a pretty much good job selecting ISO Automatically which is why we set the ISO Min and Max to Auto. This is at least what I will do for the GoPro Hero 11 Black.

That leaves us with only one option left, shutter speed. Luckily we have the 24 FPS settings which is the lowest for 4K and that suits us perfectly. Set the shutter speed manually at 1/48 and viola we have the perfect night video shooting settings. I have clicked several videos in these settings and I have realised this is the best possible option.

Other options

With the ISO set at Auto we are now left with the following settings

• White Balance – You have the entire range from warm (6000K) to cool (2300K). Finer details are lost in cooler temperature.
• Sharpness – With the warm light all around, sharpness setting is best kept high.
• Colour – You can experiment with Natural colour setting but Vibrant is again best for capturing those colourful lights on the street.
• Bit Rate and 10-bit – Bit rate is set at high and the 10 bit colour is set to ON position.

Final point to remember

GoPro is a wide angle action camera. You may choose linear lens with horizon lock but that works with only specific frame rates. For 24 FPS you can switch off the horizon lock and go for wide angle. If you are in love with the wide angle shots, simply go for it. That is the best option for the night. Happy shooting.

GoPro Still Photography

Here are some night video footage using the 24 FPS and 1/48 shutter settings.