Missing Solo App Festures

[Maddog]

I actually shoot in 4k most of the time. Only on rare occasions to I do anything else, and that is generally because I need a high frame rate not available in 4K.

I render it down to what is needed. 4K video rendered to 1080 actually looks better. As is discussed here.

RedShark News - Why everyone should be shooting 4K - even for HD delivery

The only downsides to this is that 4K takes more space, and needs to be edited on a healthy machine. If you have those (and aren't doing slo mo etc.) I truly believe 4K W 30 is a good setting for most things if you aren't doing advanced editing, and gives you a ton of options if you do post processing.

Thanks for the link! Most of it was Greek to me but I get the idea.

My computer will barely run when just trying to view 4K from my GoPro.

If I want to post a good looking video on a website, what should I be outputting? 1080 HD ?, what bit rate, etc?

 

[Earldgrayjr]

Thanks for the link! Most of it was Greek to me but I get the idea.

My computer will barely run when just trying to view 4K from my GoPro.

If I want to post a good looking video on a website, what should I be outputting? 1080 HD ?, what bit rate, etc?

1080 @ 24 to 30 FPS is fine. (for now). FYI: YouTube etc. does up to 4K now. IMHO it is always better to "over sample". The GoPro 5 will be 8K, and
interestingly, All the TV's out front today at Costco were "UHD" aka 4K.

Only a matter of time

 

[Maddog]

1080 @ 24 to 30 FPS is fine. (for now). FYI: YouTube etc. does up to 4K now. IMHO it is always better to "over sample". The GoPro 5 will be 8K, and
interestingly, All the TV's out front today at Costco were "UHD" aka 4K.

Only a matter of time

Thanks Earl! Is there any benefit to posting a video on YouTube in 4K if my monitor isn't UHD? Will it look better than a 1080 video?

Sorry for the endless questions, but this is new to me and I'm trying to learn as much as I can.

 

[Earldgrayjr]

Thanks Earl! Is there any benefit to posting a video on YouTube in 4K if my monitor isn't UHD? Will it look better than a 1080 video?

Sorry for the endless questions, but this is new to me and I'm trying to learn as much as I can.

No Problem. We all learn, and have the obligation to send the elevator back down for the next guy...

No, it won't do any good unless the person playing has 4K (2160P) display capability. Youtube/Vimeo/etc. sense the resolution on your end and stream accordingly. You can even force it, from 1080P to 2160P in Youitube (if it was rendered in 4K) but it won't look any different on your end, unless your hardware can use it.

It's a different story though when you are rendering 1080P video from your 4K shots

 

[ChrisM101]

Methinks that GoPro will reserve these 'features' for their drone... and leave them undocumented...

By Christmas you should have all the GoPro features you want and then some you havent yet thought of.

 

[Maddog]

So how is it different rendering 1080 from 4K?

 

[erikgraham]

So how is it different rendering 1080 from 4K?

When you capture at 4K or 2.7K, and scale down to 1080P, the result is sharper/more detailed than if you capture at 1080P and deliver at 1080P. Furthermore, the image is cleaner because downsampling naturally removes (or at least reduces) noise common to CMOS sensors (which most digital cameras use, including the GoPro).

 

[erikgraham]

To get this thread back on topic, another setting that would be super handy to change while in the air is EV_Comp. If you miscalculate on your choice of filter (or if the light just changes on you), a quick tweak to EV_Comp could save a round trip to earth and back up into the air.

 

[Maddog]

When you capture at 4K or 2.7K, and scale down to 1080P, the result is sharper/more detailed than if you capture at 1080P and deliver at 1080P. Furthermore, the image is cleaner because downsampling naturally removes (or at least reduces) noise common to CMOS sensors (which most digital cameras use, including the GoPro).

Ok, thanks- that is what I needed to know!
(Apologies to the OP for hijacking the thread)

 

[YAPP]

There are plenty of use cases for switching resolution and frame rate while in the air.

If your final delivery is in 1080P, then your going to shoot 4K/30fps most of the time, but for certain subjects you might want to get a few takes at 2.7K/60fps.

In both instances you'll be down sampling to 1080P in post. Sure the 2.7K won't be quite as nice, but it will still be very nice. If you need some whip pans in the shot, or your shooting water falls, waves on the beach, or any fast motion subject, then the 60fps could be worth the step down in quality just so you can get smooth slow motion in post.

BUT you don't always know that before you shoot. Sometimes you can aggressively slow motion 4K at 30 using software that frame blends well. Sometimes you think it will work but it doesn't. So it's always nice to shoot a few takes at different frame rates.

Question: Usually if I have 2.7k or 4k video in a 1080p sequence, I just scale it down to fit. When you say, "downsample" - is there a different, better, more efficient way of scaling the video down to fit 1080p?

Thanks,
Jason

 

[erikgraham]

Question: Usually if I have 2.7k or 4k video in a 1080p sequence, I just scale it down to fit. When you say, "downsample" - is there a different, better, more efficient way of scaling the video down to fit 1080p?

Thanks,
Jason

No. I meant to say down scale... "Downsample" would mean to reduce bit depth, not resolution. It's more commonly used in reference to sound. My mistake. Typing to fast.

 

[Ralph E. Johnson]

I have never figured out how to switch from video to a still shot while Solo is in the air. Any suggestions? By the way I'm enjoying following this discussion. Not a professional just an enthusiast

 

[Ralph E. Johnson]

Oh by the way I'm down in Mexico right now and using Solo for mapping out towns that don't have road signs or house numbers. Doing a flyover from 300' and then putting it on the computer and putting together a nice map of these small towns. The mountains around here are amazing and the colors are like I have never seen before. I will post a video of the mountains when I can. Adios!!

 

[nacjr]

I have never figured out how to switch from video to a still shot while Solo is in the air. Any suggestions? By the way I'm enjoying following this discussion. Not a professional just an enthusiast

That option is not available yet. Coming soon, what ever that means.

 

[Jubalr]

I have never figured out how to switch from video to a still shot while Solo is in the air. Any suggestions? By the way I'm enjoying following this discussion. Not a professional just an enthusiast

Right now that feature is only available in Tower for Android devices. It allows you to stop/start a video, switch to photo and take a pic then back to video.