GoPro Hero 4 Black - Settings Question

J R · Dec 6, 2015

Could any of you videographers give me any setting suggestions for trying to capture Christmas laser lights at night? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Jerry

J R · Dec 6, 2015

I searched a bit more and found some info that @erikgraham had posted a while ago. Thank you, Erik! I'll start there. I'm still open to any suggestions anyone may have.

Jerry

erikgraham · Dec 6, 2015

J R said:
I searched a bit more and found some info that @erikgraham had posted a while ago. Thank you, Erik! I'll start there. I'm still open to any suggestions anyone may have.

Jerry

Let us know how it works out. As I mentioned in the post your referring to, I haven't really done much night shooting with a GoPro.

Also, try going all the way down to 400 ISO limit. I *think* you will get inky blacks and the lights will show up fine.

J R · Dec 6, 2015

erikgraham said:
Let us know how it works out. As I mentioned in the post your referring to, I haven't really done much night shooting with a GoPro.

Also, try going all the way down to 400 ISO limit. I *think* you will get inky blacks and the lights will show up fine.

Well the 2nd attempt wasn't any better than the first. I tried going up to 1600 iso. Still too dark. It's really dark out at my place at night. No other lighting other than the lights by the garage and the entry doors and those have to be turned off otherwise you don't get the effect from the lasers. I'll give it another whirl tomorrow night. Thanks for the archived info and for your reply.

Jerry

PdxSteve · Dec 6, 2015

You don't have a ND filter on by chance, do you?

J R · Dec 6, 2015

PdxSteve said:
You don't have a ND filter on by chance, do you?

Steve,

No, I sure don't! I know very little about photography but an ND filter in the pitch black? Com'on Steve, you've gotta give me a little more credit than that!

Jerry

PdxSteve · Dec 7, 2015

J R said:
Steve,

No, I sure don't! I know very little about photography but an ND filter in the pitch black? Com'on Steve, you've gotta give me a little more credit than that!

Jerry

Hey, um, I've done it lol...

Just forgot to take it off one night before flying since it's on there most of the time.

Deleted member 2124 · Dec 7, 2015

In standard photography terms, you need to bump up the ISO (as high as you can without adding to much grain), and have a wide aperture setting with a slower shutter. That equation won't do well with a drone.

J R · Dec 7, 2015

Stal said:
In standard photography terms, you need to bump up the ISO (as high as you can without adding to much grain), and have a wide aperture setting with a slower shutter. That equation won't do well with a drone.

Stal,

Yeah, you've got that right. ISO of 3200 @ 24 or 30fps might work but I think it's going to be too grainy, Imp hoping to give it a whirl tonight. ^400 will definitely be too grainy.

Jerry

Troiano27 · Dec 7, 2015

Yeah your issue isn't so much your settings as it is the environment. I've seen nice night scenes filmed in cities with lots of lights on the ground. just doesn't sound like there's a whole lot of light at night around your place. Maybe a full moon night with clear skies and bright starts.

erikgraham · Dec 7, 2015

Neat Video :: filtration examples

Deleted member 2124 · Dec 7, 2015

erikgraham said:
Neat Video :: filtration examples

I've never heard of this plugin. Have you used it? Looks like it could be very beneficial.

erikgraham · Dec 7, 2015

Stal said:
I've never heard of this plugin. Have you used it? Looks like it could be very beneficial.

Yes. I've used it extensively. It is very processor intensive. It's also not very easy to use at first, but its the best out there (unless you go really high end).

Deleted member 2124 · Dec 7, 2015

erikgraham said:
Yes. I've used it extensively. It is very processor intensive. It's also not very easy to use at first, but its the best out there (unless you go really high end).

Good to know, thanks for suggesting.

J R · Dec 7, 2015

erikgraham said:
Neat Video :: filtration examples

Pretty cool, Erik! You are a wealth of information. Probably a little to steep in price for a one-time clip of our little laser lights but thanks for the info!

Jerry