Tag: GoPro Hero 11

A 3 hour battery for the GoPro Hero 12? TESTED!

Posted on by DemonView

Yes, you read that right. For those of you who want/need longer shooting times from your camera, this may be the battery that solves all your issues!

Presenting the Fitstill Extended GoPro Battery.

If you want to shoot for 3hrs in 5.3K 30FPS, here’s your solution!

So what is it and more importantly, does it work?

Here’s what it is!

The Fitstill extended battery pack for the GoPro camera is an extended battery that fits inside and around your GoPro camera. This is somewhat reminiscent of the types of extended batteries that you would see for professional DSRL or mirror-less cameras but scaled down for the GoPro Hero line of the cameras.

The design is pretty unique as it almost looks like part of the battery pack actually fits inside the camera (which it does) but it actually doesn’t use the battery contacts to power the camera. Instead, it actually connects to the USB-C port of the camera to provide power. The part that fits inside the battery chamber more or less acts as a guide to line up the USB-Port properly to avoid damage. So that’s actually a pretty smart design. This also means you still have full access to the touchscreen of the camera as the battery doesn’t block it in any way.

You can see the USB-C connection in this picture.

So does it work?

Well, this is where it gets interesting.

According to the Amazon Page, this product is designed for the Hero 10 camera, in fact, the wording specifically states “Only for Hero 10 black”.

Not my imagination, it clearly states “Only for GoPro Hero 10 Black”

However, when the product arrived, it clearly said on the Box “For the Hero 9 and Hero 10 camera”. Now I’m going to hazard a guess that this product (and packaging) was created before the Hero 11 and Hero 12 were released. So since fortune favors the bold (and the foolish alike) I decided to test this battery pack with the Hero 10, Hero 11 and Hero 12. The results were interesting. ( I recently gave away my Hero 9 to my brother in Florida).

Now please note, that all 3 cameras were running the GoPro Labs firmware and that the power checking requirements had been bypassed using the TUSB=1 command.

With the Hero 10…… the battery pack simply didn’t work. It did nothing. Nada. Zilch! I couldn’t get the camera to even show a sign of life. I thought that maybe I had damaged the USB-C port, but after attaching the camera to the media mod (and successfully detecting it) and connecting the camera directly to USB power (which worked) it seems there may be a compatibility issue. Maybe. It’s also possible that the USB-C port of the camera is damaged, but it’s odd that the media mod and external power still worked. So, Hero 10 owners beware!

With the Hero 11, when the battery pack was attached… there were no issues! The camera powered right up and stayed turned on. I even filmed a few clips without any issues whatsoever.

With the Hero 12, the camera also powered up and recorded. However at one stage the rear display didn’t work properly, but a simple reboot seemed to fix that issue. Odd, but a temporary issues.

I then decided to put the battery pack through its paces. So I set the Hero 12 up to record in 5.3K 30FPS and the results were…….. actually pretty impressive.

Please note the Hero 12 in all its glory filming away. I also included the Portland Oregon weather report!

I managed to shoot in this resolution and frame rate for nearly 3 hours! (about 2hrs 59 minutes if you want to be exact), so I was very impressed. Now since the camera was still and mounted on a tripod, I did have hypersmooth turned off (it wasn’t needed) and the bit rate set to standard (I simply didn’t need a high bitrate for this test). So, I would expect that 3 hours in 5.3K 30FPS was probably the most I would get out of the camera in these settings. I expect times will differ based upon resolution, frame rates and hypersmooth options.

Still, 3 hours……. color me impressed!

So all is good?

Well there are some issues to be fair.

A: This battery plugs into the USB-C port of the camera, if you use it, you’re not going to be able to connect a media mod or external mic to your camera (although with the Hero 12, you still have the option of using your bluetooth audio headset). So that’s unfortunate.

B: I wouldn’t classify the frame as particularly sturdy. It feels a bit cheap and flimsy. Remember, a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. This applies to the frame that this battery and camera sit in. Although it has a nice wide locking mechanism at the top, the clip is simply held in place by two tiny pieces of plastic. Should one of those snap or break, your camera could easily end up falling out of the frame. I really wouldn’t have minded paying $20 for a sturdy aluminum frame.

C: It’s not waterproof or weatherproof, nor does it claim to be. I’m not sure how hard it would have been to put a rubber gasket around the edges of this battery pack, but if Fitstill had put such a gasket in place, this would have been a fantastic extended battery pack.

D: For the price, I doubt that it is cold weather compatible. Usually cold weather batteries are a lot more expensive. Unfortunately I don’t feel like throwing this in a freezer to find out (I don’t have that type of budget) but pretty sure this is a summertime battery only.

E: It powers off after about a minute or so of nonuse. This is hardly surprising, in fact most USB power banks to the exact same to conserve battery life. This does however mean that the battery pack isn’t suitable for schedule capture where your camera spends long times powered off.

Taking into account all of the above, is it still worth a purchase?

I think it depends on your need. If you want to film for extended periods with your GoPro Hero 11 or 12, then yes, this is well worth looking into. Only if you don’t need to use the media mod or external audio however…….. and you don’t need it to be weather proof or work in cold weather. I don’t think I would trust it mounted on an airplane or a car though for fear of the hinges failing. Then again, I’ve dealt with this design problem before with 3rd party knock off protective cases using the simple cheap hack of wrapping a rubber band around the outside to stop the case from opening.

Either way, for me, I’m pretty sure this battery pack will prove to be plenty useful over the coming summer months.

Please note that the article above contains links to Amazon. I get a small payment for any purchase made through these links and it’s a great way for you to support DemonView.com website and YouTube channels.

The GoPro Hero 12 GoPro’s biggest gamble yet?

Posted on by DemonView

Are you looking forward to buying the GoPro Hero 11… I mean… GoPro Hero 12… when it’s released in the next 2 weeks? Well GoPro are betting big on this one… by making this their smallest update yet.

Let’s take a quick look at the specs of the Hero 10, Hero 11, and the alleged specs of the Hero 12.

GoPro Hero 10GoPro Hero 11GoPro Hero 12
5.3k 60FPS5.3k 60FPS5.3k 60FPS
8 Bit10 bit10 bit
1/2.3″ CMOS1/1.9″ CMOS1/1.9″ CMOS
Timelapse 4KTimelapse 5.3KTimelapse 5.3K
Rear Display 2.27″ Touch LCDRear Display 2.27″ Touch LCDRear Display 2.27″ Touch LCD
Front Display 1.4″ Color LCDFront Display 1.4″ Color LCDFront Display 1.4″ Color LCD


HDR Video
Aspect Ratio 16:9 4:3Aspect Ratio 16:9  4:3  8:7Aspect Ratio 16:9  4:3  8:7
Max Lens ModMax Lens ModMax Lens Mod 2.0
Hypersmooth 4.0Hypersmooth 5.0Hypersmooth 6.0

As you can see, on paper, all 3 models are pretty similar. The main difference between the Hero 10 and Hero 11 was that the Hero 11 had a taller sensor with allowed for an 8:7 shooting aspect ratio. There was an increase to 10bit color and some built in camera effects (night trails, light painting etc). While the taller 8:7 sensor could be considered a significant hardware upgrade, I’m not convinced that the other features (in camera effects, 10bit color) couldn’t have been implemented into the Hero 10 with a firmware upgrade.

Now we have the Hero 12. Which on paper, seems to be a Hero 11 in every single regard. This is a huge costs savings for GoPro as it means they haven’t had to spend time and money with developing, testing or implementing new hardware features. In fact, just about everything “new” with the camera would be on the software side of things. There will be one or two new accessories no doubt (the Max Lens Mod 2.0 has all but been confirmed) and the Hero 12 will have HDR video shooting capabilities (the spec sheet also claims LOG, however the packaging doesn’t mention this at all).

Top 5 reasons why all of the above actually GOOD for the end user!

1: Due to the time saved by NOT investing in new hardware and testing, GoPro have had the time to build upon a stable and proven platform. This means that the GoPro Hero 12 may be GoPro’s most reliable and stable camera yet.

2: Even though there’s no major hardware changes, there still could be other changes under the hood, for instance new thermal compounds and materials could help run the camera even cooler as could a redesigned PCB.

3: Professional users have been requesting LOG for a long time, now they may finally get it. Prosumer will finally be able to avail of HDR video.

4: GoPro will have new accessories for the new model. A Max Lens Mod 2.0 has been confirmed (and advertising seems to suggest it may even offer nightlapse capture). A new remote is also on the way according to the FCC filing.

5: Those who have invested in previous model cameras will find that for the most part, their accessories still work and are supported by the Hero 12 (batteries, cases, selfie sticks etc), so no need to invest in newer accessories if you don’t want to.

Top 5 reasons why all of the above is actually BAD for the end user!

1: No new obvious hardware innovation from GoPro. This may be the “slightest” update of their camera yet. This does kinda make you feel a bit “ripped off”. It’s hard to justify an investment in the latest Hero 11… I mean…. Hero 12.

2: GoPro used to set the bar and they set it high. With these incremental updates, the competition is just edging closer and closer. This makes it hard to justify staying with GoPro regardless of whether you’re a loyal fan or a casual user. We’ve seen the Osmo Action 4 release with a larger sensor which may offer better low light capabilities. GoPro seem content with giving users a recycled camera so to speak.

3: You really can’t help but feel that all of these “new” features of the Hero 12 could have just been implemented into the Hero 11 with a firmware update, after all, it’s the exact same camera. Some blue sparkles on the camera housing doesn’t mean a darn thing.

4: If GoPro have been saving time and money by turning a Hero 11 into a Hero 12, couldn’t they have put the time and money into improving the GoPro app? What’s it been? 2 years and we still can’t make a Multi Clip Edit in 5.3K without black clips appearing in our final edit?

5: If this new camera really is a Hero 11 with a locked out firmware upgrade…. Will future camera’s follow this trend When do we get a subscription model basis of “You can activate Hypersmooth 9.0 and 8K resolution for just $20 a month”.  You can scoff at that if you want, but in the back of your mind… you know BMW has done it with their “heated seats”, Tesla has done it with their FSD … what makes you think GoPro won’t try this? After all, they admit the saving grace of their company has been their GoPro Plus subscription…

So at the end of the day, the GoPro Hero 12 may be GoPro’s biggest gamble yet. In short, by not investing (seemingly) in any significant new hardware, they have potentially saved time and costs on research and testing with their latest model camera. So to me it seems they have taken the GoPro Hero 11, written a “12” on the side of it and have passed it off as a brand new camera. If this works, then GoPro stand to make a nice profit from the sale of an old camera, as a new model camera. Investors will be impressed for sure.

However it may also blow up in GoPro’s face. Even before the camera announcement, people (myself included) were excited by the prospect of a significant GoPro hardware upgrade. Not only has that rug been pulled out from under our feet, but when the official specs were finally leaked, it seems a lot of people (myself included) were seriously underwhelmed. A lot of people are under the impression that the GoPro Hero 12 is just a re-dressed GoPro Hero 11. No matter what extra software tricks are up the camera’s sleeve, the incentive to buy just isn’t there. So GoPro may just learn the hard way why it’s not a good idea to quit impressing their customers and lack of sales will hit GoPro where it really hurts.

Now all of the above is pure speculation, the GoPro Hero 12 may have some serious tricks up its sleeve and be able to knock our socks off. GoPro may have spent the last year winding back and ready to deliver a serious clout in about 2 week’s time when the camera is finally released. All the naysayers may end up eating their own words in spectacular fashion……… however… as of right now…. It just doesn’t feel like that’s likely.

Fast motion vs slow motion. What you need to know!

Posted on by DemonView

It was once said that everything looks better in slow motion. I don’t exactly disagree. Everything does seem to look awesome and better in slow motion. The ability to slow down time and highlight an exciting moment is a must in anyone’s filming toolbox. However what about fast motion video? Or High Frame rate video as it’s sometimes referred to? High frame rate video can also highlight an exciting moment in real time by making the video as crisp and clear as possible so you see every single action moment in perfect clarity. The thing is though, slow motion video and high frame rate video are the exact same thing….. Confused yet? Well don’t worry, because in this article, we’re going to look at the differences between slow motion and high frame rate video.

Now before we get into the nitty gritty, I’d also like to announce that since my YouTube channel is coming up to the milestone of nearly 2K subscribers, there’s going to be a giveaway to celebrate! This will be some exclusive DemonView swag and what could possibly be the greatest piece of technology in the world…. possibly, I don’t know, I’m still reviewing this hardware, but the lucky winner will be getting their hands on the review model. So be on look out for that when the channel hits 2K subscribers, this will be a fun cool giveaway and I’ll be announcing the details of the giveaway when we hit 2K! (if you don’t want to wait, go to my YouTube channel, hit like and subscribe now to get us to that mark sooner!).

I assure you, the prize is not an empty box!

Ok, on with the article. You’ve probably all heard of slow motion video. You know the types of shots, where things slow right down to ½, ¼, 1/8 normal speed and really highlights an epic moment or fun scene in a video. It can look stunning and honestly, it can be a lot of fun to film slow motion video. So how is it accomplished. Well this one is fairly simple and involves some very simple math.

When you’re watching what I’d refer to as a “normal speed” video. You’re watching a video that’s recorded at 30 Frames per second and then played back at 30 frames per second. This means that for every second of video recorded, there are 30 individual pictures that make up that frame.

When it comes to slow motion video though, you actually film at a much higher frame rate such as 60 frames per second. However you would then edit the video so that it plays back at 30 frames per second. This will result in you having ½ speed slow motion.

If you recorded at 90 frames per second and play back at 30fps, this gives you 1/3 speed slow motion.

Recording at 120FPS and playing back at 30 FPS, this gives you ¼ speed slow motion.

And finally, recording at 240FPS and playing back at 30FPS gives you 1/8 speed slow motion.

Now the reason we film in a higher frame rate for a slow motion shot is that if you filmed at the normal 30 frames per second and then tried to slow the footage down to ¼ speed, you would then end up with 7.5 frames per second. This would look unnatural, more like a slow paced slide show rather than smooth video. You really want that playback video to be a minimum of 24 or 30 frames per second upon playback so the video looks smooth and natural.

And THAT is the very simple math explained.

The math is much more simple than this!

So why not shoot at 240FPS all the time and then just slow down the parts you want? Well there are a couple of reasons for this.

1: You’re creating some really large files when you shoot in a higher frame rate. I mean if you record at 30 frames per second, you have a normal file size. If you record at 240frames per second, then you’re essentially creating a files size 8x larger. So you could end up running yourself out of SD card space due to the amount of information you’re capturing.

2: It’s a lot more strain on the camera to shoot at such a high frame rate, so this is going to require more battery power and drain your battery faster.

3: Since your camera is working harder, it’s going to heat up a lot faster too and no one wants their camera to overheat.

4: The higher the frame rate you use, the less time there is for light to hit the sensor of your camera, so higher frame rates require even more lighting. To low a light and too high a frame rate, and you’ll end up with a lot of ISO noise in your footage.

So when it comes to shooting slow motion video, it’s always best to do it in short bursts. This not only combats all the above listed points, but it also speeds up your editing process as now you don’t have gigs worth of data to sort though just to find the shot you want.

Now that’s the basic explanation of slow motion. So what about High Frame rate video? Well high frame rate video is something that you may have seen in a lot of TV shows or movies, but didn’t know what it was called. For instance in scenes of fast action, where you really want clear details shown during an action scene to ramp up the feeling of speed, you’d film in a higher frame rate to eliminate motion blur.

So if I film a water hose spraying water at 30FPS, you’re going to see the water spraying and that’s fine. However, if I film the same scene in a high frame rate, not only do you see the water spraying, you also see the individual water droplets in the spray. This is because at a much higher frame rate, you’re eliminating motion blur, and now, every single detail looks crystal clear.

So when you watch an action movie and see two people fighting, or see some bullet strikes hitting the ground, this is usually filmed in a much higher frame rate than 30FPS.

Now I know what you’re thinking, this sounds the exact same as slow motion, you’re shooting at a high frame rate! Well, you’re right, it’s the exact same thing! The difference is that you’re recording in a high frame rate, but you’re also going to play back at the same frame rate the video was recorded in.

So if you record at 60 Frame per second, you’re going to play back the file at 60 frames per second.

If you recorded at 120 frames pers seconds, you’re going to play back the file at 120 frames per second.

This means that you don’t get a slow motion effect since you’re playing back the file at the exact same speed it was recorded at. So your speed stays at “normal” speed. You’re just getting a much sharper, clearer image.

And that’s it! That’s the simple difference between slow motion video and high frame rate video. How they are essentially the same thing while being filmed, but the difference is how it’s played back (or rendered if you’re doing an edit).

So when should you use slow motion vs high frame rate video?

Well that’s honestly an artistic choice for you, the creator. Slow motion is good for highlighting a very specific piece of action. Like the scoring of a goal, creating a fire effect, something that only happens for an instant, but you then want to make that instant last a lot longer on film.

With High Frame rate, think of a much longer action set piece, a fight scene, a motocross bike race. Something where there is a lot of consistent action going on and is very high motion and you don’t want blurring and most important, where you don’t want to break the pace by having something in slow motion.

A good example would be a boxing match for instance. You’re film in a high frame rate to highlight the speed at which each opponent throws a punch. Using high Frame rate is excellent for this. However if you were to shoot this in slow motion, you wouldn’t end up with an exciting fast fight. You’d end up with everything being slow……. and boring… and dragging on for ages. However, you could combine the two….

Slow motion, professional stunt actors and lighting also helps make a scene look cinematic…. but ya know, mainly slow motion…..

So film the fight in a high frame rate video, but when someone lands that knock out punch, then you can slow down that one single punch to slow motion. And remember, you can do this since filming in high frame rate and slow motion are the exact same thing! It’s just that one single punch scene that you’re going to slow down to play back at 30 frames per second…

However, remember that filming in high frame rates are going to put a lot of strain on your camera, drain your battery and fill up your SD card. So it’s good to plan things out in advance, know when to use high frame rates and when not to. Do that and you’ll soon be a master cinematographer when it comes to using higher frame rates.

And there you go! The difference between high frame rate and slow motion video, why they are both the same thing and yet completely different! Hopefully you found this article helpful and you’re now on the road to being a master cinematographer.

So thanks again for watching, come back soon and check for the announcement of DemonView’s upcoming giveaway! You never know, you could be the winner (and lets face it, the odds are WAAAAY better than winning the lotto!).

Until next time

Cheerio!

GoPro Hero 11 Circular Polarizing Filter Review and why you need one!

Posted on by DemonView
Up your camera game and don’t miss out!

If you’re looking to up your GoPro game, then you need a gamechanger of a lens. This is where using a CPL filter comes in quite handy. So learn the secrets of using a CPL filter and why you should be using one. This is an article you can’t afford to miss out on. Click Here To Read…..

News Update!

Posted on by DemonView

With it being so close to 2023, I decided to share a bit of news early with my readers and YouTube followers. So, for those of you who have just bought a brand-new GoPro or received one for Christmas. I have now created a playlist on my YouTube channel specifically for you guys. We go all the way from Unboxing and Setup (Hero 10 and Hero 11) to troubleshooting common issues, reviewing some accessories and reviewing the GoPro Plus Subscription service. Make sure you check out that Playlist as it contains information that you NEED to know!

The essential GoPro Playlist for New Owners!

Also since tomorrow is the 1st of January 2023, I have a brand-new video premiering tomorrow. In this video I list the top 5 accessories that I use with my GoPro as well as the one accessory that I NEVER use (and it just sits on my shelf). You can check out that video when it premiers tomorrow!

If you’re interested in GoPro Accessories, you’re GOING to want to watch this video!

And finally, for those of you out there who may want me to review things, send me a greetings card or even a St Patrick’s day card, there’s now a mailbox for that!

DemonView LLC

3055 NW YEON AVE

PMB #12

PORTLAND

OR

97210

I’ll pretty much review anything that viewers send me, but please, no perishable goods, no liquids, nothing that makes a “ticking” sound… I reserve the right to give away review items, donate them to charity or bin them if they are unsuitable for the forementioned purposes. If you want the item back, then include a prepaid return envelope or label.

So, with that, I hope you all had a great holiday and are looking forward to what 2023 will bring!

Back Country Flying in a Maule M5 180C

Posted on by DemonView

In this latest video, to escape the wildfire smoke of Portland, MerryMunks and I flew to Central Oregon to land at a pretty remote location. Enjoy the sights and the soundtrack for this amazing flight! This video shows the power of using YouTube Creators licensed music in your videos as it really does level up your video game. The track featured “New Cydonia” by the awesome artist Starcadian.

GoPro Hero 11 shoots 4K 30FPS for over 8 Hours??? I apologize to GoPro!

Posted on by DemonView
Over 8 hours in 4K 30FPS without overheating!

In this video, I was challenged by a viewer to see how long I could keep my GoPro recording in 4K 30FPS without overheating. I managed to keep recording for over 8 hours before my SD card filled up! How did I manage this? Find out by watching the video! Stay tuned for a bonus clip at the end of the video too for the ultimate GoPro accessory to prevent overheating in strong hot sunshine!

GoPro Cinematic Footage, what accessories should I be using?

Posted on by DemonView

There’s been plenty of advice given on cinematic shooting with your GoPro camera. People telling you the best settings to use, shoot in flat mode so it’s easier to color grade in post, make sure that your shutter speed is double your frame rate and to shoot at 24FPS.

While this is a good starting point, there are some valuable points missing from this advice. For instance, manually settings your shutter speed to double your frame rate will indeed give you the proper amount of motion blur in a shot… but if you’re shooting on a sunny bright day, this can actually overexpose your footage and you end up with unusable shots. I mean, has this ever happened to you? So, in this post we’re going to look at a different aspect of cinematic shooting. We’re going to look at some of the accessories that you should be using when it comes to shooting with your GoPro camera.

There are many different videos and articles out there telling you what settings to adjust on your camera and promising “Cinematic” footage as a result. However, you’ll very quickly find out that if you use those settings, your footage is anything but cinematic looking. For instance, maybe you’ve been told to manually set your shutter speed to double your frame rate for a natural looking motion blur, however as soon as you do that, you suddenly find yourself with over exposed washed-out footage.

24FPS 1/48 Shutter speed resulted in an overblown image.

Sure, you could increase your frame rate and shoot at 60FPS or 120FPS and this will darken your image… but isn’t cinematic footage shot at 24FPS? So, what am I supposed to do?

Well, this is where ND filters come in. ND filters are basically sunglasses for your camera. It’s that simple. So if you’re shooting on a sunny day and you’ve manually set your shutter speed to 1/48 and your frame rate to 24FPS, your image stands a very good chance of being blown out. In which case, you put an ND filter on your camera to reduce the amount of light hitting that sensor. This balances your image and now you have the proper light balance for your shot.

A correctly exposed shot using 24FPS 1/48 shutter speed and ND Filters.

While there are various ND filters on the market out there, I recommend using the Polar Pro filters. They are specifically designed for the GoPro camera, they are manufactured using high quality glass and their quality is second to none. Cheaper options could be using cheaper materials and the last thing you want is some bargain basement filters ruining your shot. You want a premium glass filter, not a plastic filter that’s going to add distortion, easily scratch and just make your image look like a much lower quality picture.

The very best ND filters for your camera.

Then there’s night shooting. While the GoPro can produce some great night shots, it’s not really a night camera. It’s got a small sensor and it really is suited to bright action-oriented shots. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t use it at night, it just means that you have to set it up in specific ways. For one, I never use Hyper-smooth at night or in low light conditions. It just doesn’t work in low light conditions as the low light means your camera is using a lower shutter speed which ads blur. Now your GoPro is trying to stabilize a blurry image and the results look less than ideal. Instead, you’ll want to disable hyper-smooth and use a Gimbal instead. Most gimbals also allow you to control your camera directly from the gimbal itself so you don’t have to touch the camera at all.

The Inkee Falcon Plus gives you great options as a Gimbal.

The Inkee Falcon Plus is actually quite a good gimbal to use as you can actually fit this on the camera even when the camera is using it’s media mod. So if you’re going to shoot in low light conditions or at night, you really do need to invest in a good quality gimbal.

Another good option to have on for low light shooting is external lights. Look at any “Hollywood” production when they shoot at night. You’ll notice that they have lots of lighting units. Even in supposedly dark shots, there are not only lights out of frame, but lights hidden in the shot also. So, for low light shooting, you’re going to want to use additional light sources. Although these won’t have much effect in distance or landscape shots, when will make a lot of difference on close up shots or vlogging shots. There are many different options out there and some of the options are complete studio lighting kits which can be very helpful. This is the kit I personally use below and it’s a good all in one kit. Not only does this give me complete studio lighting, it also has a white, black or green screen backdrop as well as collapsible light reflectors for outdoor shots.

A complete yet cheap solution for creating your home production studio!

However, if you are out and about and want something more mobile and suited to handheld video, you want to avoid harsh lights and shadows when shooting. So therefore it’s best to get a large flat panel with a light diffuser on it. Even better, make it a panel with adjustable RGB colors. This can add an extra level of cinematic quality into your nighttime shooting.

The Lume Cube panel pro offers you complete app control over your portable lighting.

Finally cinematic sound. This one is a bit complex as there are many factors at play here. It all depends on if you want vocals in your footage or to have more ambient sounds in your footage instead. So the type of sounds you want to record will determine what type of microphones you should be investing in. For vocals, I’d recommend using something like the Rode Wireless Go 2. This is going to give you a whole lot of options regarding your sound recording, whether or not you want separate audio channels for 2 vocal tracks, a combined audio channel or even an independent backup of the audio recording. Rode also offer PC software for managing your microphone settings and recordings, they also have software to download if you want to use the same mics for doing your own podcast. So this is something you really should invest in.

A quality wireless audio setup for interview or field work.

For a more ambient audio scenario, I’d recommend using a shotgun or boom mic on a shock mount attached to the camera. This is going to give you a more cinematic quality by allowing you to record sounds coming from where you have the camera pointed. This is really about the ambient sound coming from a specific direction and can work out quite well. The only downside is that if you are trying to talk during your production and the mic is facing away from you, then it’s not going to record your voice very well. So again, for vocals, use a good wireless mic that you can attach to your shirt, but for ambiance or audio coming from in front of the camera, use a shotgun or boom mic.

Small but powerful professional audio…

However, what you should be doing in addition to these audio techniques is recording a baseline audio track to capture the ambiance independently. This way you can edit the audio later in post-production and boost or lower background noises depending on what’s happening in a scene. So having a separate external audio recorder is also a good idea. This may simply mean going to your shooting area ahead of time, recording 5 minute of audio and then looping that audio into your finished recording as a background audio source. The advantage to doing this is that if gives you the most control over your audio in post-production. So, if you’re vlogging and recording a vocal track by a waterfall or by an ocean, you can lower or raise the background that audio so that it doesn’t drown out vocals you’re recording. Whereas if you’re trying to record everything at once using in camera audio, you just don’t have that level of control over the audio levels and if your background starts drowning out your vocal track, there’s not going to be much you can do about that in post-production while trying to retain a listenable quality. So, this is where a good quality digital audio recorder is really going to help you out.

Get Professional Audio using this!

So those are my recommendations for recording cinematic video using specific accessories. These should help you level up your cinematic shooting game and help you get on the path to awesome footage.

So if you liked this post and want to find out more GoPro tips and tricks, then go visit my YouTube channel @DemonViewLLC. There’s lots of helpful video’s on my channel including tips, tricks, reviews and cinematic movies. Make sure you click those like and subscribe buttons as they really do help out with channel views and ensure the continuation of quality content for you.

Until next time, Cheerio!

GoPro Hero 11 & 11 Mini hints & leaks

Posted on by DemonView

GoPro is dropping some serious hints about the capabilities of the new GoPro model lineup. Did you spot the hints that they dropped? If not, then let’s take a look at some of these hints and leaks.

So, GoPro have finally made an announcement regarding their next line of cameras. That announcement being of course a teaser for the GoPro Hero 11 and the GoPro Hero 11 Mini. Yes, that’s right, not one, but TWO brand new cameras from GoPro.

9/14/22 is the big date and you should tune into the GoPro YouTube channel for the official announcement. However, since waiting isn’t something a lot of people are great at, it looks like GoPro have given two hints about their next model. Did you spot them?

For those who don’t know, GoPro have done something that no one expected, not even me. Their GoPro Hero 11 is NOT a redesigned camera. In fact, it pretty much looks to be the exact same size and shape as the Hero 10. Not only that, but there also isn’t any increase in frame rates or video resolution either. Specs indicate that it still has a max resolution of 5.3K at 60FPS. So why on earth would people want to pay money for this new camera if it’s not bringing new things to the table?

Well….. it actually may be bringing something really special to the table, after all, it’s what’s inside that counts. One thing that has changed however, is that there is an upgrade in photo resolution. The Hero 10 took 24mp photos and the Hero 11 is rumored to take 27MP photos. This means the camera very likely has an upgraded sensor.

So, what about those hints that GoPro have given? Well, let’s take a look at two things, first up, the leaked pictures of the Hero 11 from Winfuture.de

You can find those shots here

GoPro Hero11 Black: Action Cam Gets New 27 Megapixel Sensor – WinFuture.de

So one thing that’s pretty prominent is that gallery is the photo on the rear and front screen. It’s an underwater shot showing what looks to be stingray fish. Lots of them in fact. It’s a nice blue shot and possibly taken at depth.

The next thing we are looking at is from the GoPro Teaser found on their YouTube channel

GoPro’s announcement teaser image

As you can see, it’s a picture of a diver in full scuba gear diving into an underwater cave AND it’s pretty darn dark.

So those are your two hints, now what do they mean?

Well, I personally think that this can point to a few things with the Hero 11. It could mean that like some other cameras, it now has a specific “underwater” mode that automatically applies processing to underwater footage without the need to have to buy specific filters.

What it very likely means though is that the new GoPro sensor also is upgrade in terms of low light conditions. This has always been a sore spot for action cameras due to their sensors small size. When used in low light conditions the picture is less than optimal resulting in grain, noise and especially blurring when used with Hypersmooth. In fact, Hypersmooth pretty much does not work in low light conditions.

So, the introduction of a new low light capable sensor and the fact that the GoPro Hero 11 is touted to have Hypersmooth 5.0, this is a sure indicator that the GoPro Hero 11 is going to offer superior low light performance.

Since the GoPro Hero 11 and GoPro Hero 11 mini are also rumored to be using the exact same sensor and processor, expect both models to offer the same performance.

In the meantime, we have to wait until the 14th to see what GoPro are going to reveal to the public, but until then, we just hope GoPro drop us a few new hints to get us all excited for this next camera release.

GoPro Hero 11 Predictions, New Release Date, Specs & more including …a GoPro Webcam?

Posted on by DemonView

It’s that time of year (August) where you’re probably seeing countless articles or YouTube video’s where people are claiming to have inside knowledge or leaks about the next GoPro model (spoiler alert, they don’t, they are just parroting the usual nonsense). To save you time, I’ll summarize what all of these videos contain!

A: The new models are traditionally released in September.

B: A wish list of what people want in the next release (as unrealistic as it may be)

C: Doubling the specs of the previous models (something lazy people do every year… in which case the Hero 10 would have the ability to record in 256K resolution…..).

So this is where I make my own predictions about the next upcoming model… only my predictions are slightly different. Why? Well mine are not only based upon years of experience in a large multinational electronics company regarding design, development, implantation and deployment of next gen models, they are also based on “research”, statements made by GoPro themselves (white paper sources only) and their previous release strategies.

So why should you pay attention to this one? Well if you’ve watched my video from last year when I was making my Hero 10 predictions, you’ll see what I actually got right regarding the specs, design and capabilities. I even predicted the GoPro Volta!

So I’m breaking this down into 3 categories.

What’s likely to be coming,

what’s borderline… it may or may not happen…

&

what’s NOT going to happen…

So rather than keep you wondering, here’s what my predictions are for the next model GoPro (and an explanation as to my reason for thinking this…).

What’s coming!

1: A redesigned camera!

It may not be a radical redesign, in fact it’s likely it’s going to keep the basic look of the GoPro. Users probably won’t be happy if the camera was any heavier, however reducing the footprint of the camera may not do much for heat dissipation either. So I expect the size to be roughly the same as well as button placement etc. However, I expect the battery and USB ports and covers to have a complete overhaul!

WHY: The mic drain cover. People have been breaking this since it was introduced in the Hero 9. Some pop it open thinking it’s a removable cover, some people have even used it as a place to secure their lanyard to the camera. Since this is a non-removable or even a replaceable part, GoPro probably have had a lot of returns from people after breaking this small cover. So that’s something that GoPro will want to prevent to save costs and time. So why the redesigned battery and USB ports? Well, that one is obvious…

2: The Media Mod 2.0

GoPro will probably want to include a few better features, however the media mod has had two significant problems since it was introduced. Poor quality microphones and a design that was too much work to install and remove. If you wanted to change battery or access the SD card directly, you pretty much had to disassemble the whole camera. With a redesign of the media mod to make it more of a “quick release” system, that would be a big win for GoPro and users. So this would likely require a redesign of the USB port and battery cover to make it compatible with a quick release system

WHY: If you have been paying attention to GoPro’s website and emails, they have been pushing the discounted sales of GoPro Hero 9 and 10 accessories. Everything from the Max Lens Mod, batteries, Media mod to the 3 way. With steep discounts on many of these items, there is only one real reason to want to reduce inventory like this. That’s simply because the next camera will not be compatible with these items and sales of these items will drop once the new system is introduced. So time for inventory reduction as the new design is coming along.

3: New resolutions and frame rates…

This is a bit of a no brainer, it happens with every model, however this may be implemented in a brand new way. As pre usual, it’s not going to be a huge jump in resolution, but it may depend on the sales of certain mods to enable these resolutions.

WHY: The Max Lens mod was a good seller for GoPro and offered 360 stabilized horizontal lock. However, the downside was that it only worked in 2.7K. I can honestly see the Max Lens Mod 2.0 being released to allow the same capability but in a 4K resolution. This may also pave the way for a 6K widescreen mod. This is something that the Insta360 One RS has offered and it just looks fantastic. GoPro will want to compete in this area rather than lose customers to the competition. Finally slow motion, yes, we will get faster frame rates in certain resolutions, but as we all know, higher frame rates usually means the camera runs at a higher temperature. GoPro don’t want any more “overheating” videos on the internet. So this “mega slow mo” or “super slow mo” might actually be a “burst” setting, only allowing you to shoot for 30 seconds maximum.

What’s borderline

1: Nameable presets.

People have been asking for this for years, ever since the preset mode was introduced. It’s a big want but it’s unlikely that it’s going to happen anytime soon.

WHY: This one is complicated, but it’s basically to do with the architecture of the GoPro firmware code. GoPro haven’t had a successful history of firmware releases. In fact the “boot loop” caused by an older firmware release (see video here) was a bit of a disaster. So trying to design a firmware that allows users to start entering countless settings under all sorts of different names may be just too hard for GoPro to introduce just yet. It’s also something they’ll keep in their back pocket in order to push sales of the next model if the market starts dropping.

2: Larger sensor

The problem with the GoPro’s currently is that in low light, they just aren’t great. Combine that with Hypersmooth and your footage is downright unusable in low light. To use a GoPro in low light you pretty much have to turn off hypersmooth and use a gimbal. Something not great for a camera that prides itself for having gimble like performance. So a larger sensor may not happen

WHY: A larger sensor would help solve that low light problem, but with a larger sensor, the focus (close up) suffers. The one inch sensor mod for the Insta360 One works well in low light, but means it can’t be used for vlogging due to the focal length changing. One possible solution to this is that GoPro could use a larger sensor in their camera, but a specific “Vlogging” lens mod would have be used in order to focus and crop the user. Since a lot of GoPro’s are used for vlogging or close up action, it means that this “mod” would have to be the default for the new GoPro model and that would be a hard sell especially with the price bracket that GoPro likes to sell in $400 to $550 range.

3: New mounting system.

GoPro have had their specific mounting fingers for quite some time now. This is something that can be a bit of a pain and sometimes needing to tighten your GoPro mounts have led to broken thumbscrews or stripped thumbscrews themselves. So although it’s a bit out of date and the new media mod will require a quick release system I suspect the mounting fingers will remain in place.

WHY: There are numerous knock off selfie sticks, mounts, and tripods that all have the traditional ¾ thread on them. All GoPro accessories use the GoPro mounting fingers and GoPro have quite a large inventory. The mounting fingers pretty much guarantee the sales of these items are they are just bettter quality that the knock offs and are specifically designed for GoPro’s. It’s also the design GoPro are famous for, so I honestly can’t see GoPro getting rid of this.

What’s NOT going to happen…

1: Bluetooth audio recording

Not a chance in my opinion. This likely has to do with patents and who owns them, and if GoPro could have done it, they would have done it already. Even insta only works with Apple airpods. So can’t see this one coming.

WHY: Although Bluetooth audio has been getting better, frankly it’s just not good enough for high quality audio recording. GoPro want quality video and audio associated with their camera’s, not badly compressed Bluetooth audio. This one is just too long to get into in depth or in detail, but no, just not happening.

2: 8K video

This one comes up every single year and honestly, it’s just not going to happen. There’s really just no point as this would cripple users.

WHY: The majority of people out there are still using 1080P televisions, sure 4K sets are cheaper now, but they are not the dominant format yet. 8K has barely made a dent in the market. So no point. Then there’s the computing power hurdles for older phones, older PC’s and even with the GoPro itself. 8K is just not feasible (and its pretty bad math too, 5.3K is nearly double the resolution of 4K, not 8K). so put 8K out of your head for now. Maybe when H.266 encoding comes up we’ll talk…

3: Edge to edge display, removable display, wireless charging…..

Nope, nope and nope!

WHY: The reason GoPro’s don’t have an edge-to-edge display is due to the fact they have a nice rubber bumper around them to absorb impacts when they fall or get dropped. If they were to remove this, GoPro damage would be significantly increased. Even if you put thicker toughened glass in there, it’s not going to happen. With safety glass, the best place to attempt to break it is the corner as it doesn’t flex as much there. The same would be true of the GoPro.

No removable display as although this rumor has done around for a couple of years now, a removable/remote display would be easily lost, it would need contacts on the back of the GoPro and it wouldn’t be waterproof to to the depths that GoPro is well known for.

Wireless charging is unlikely to happen as you would have to either increase the weight and size of the GoPro or reduce the size and capacity of the batteries. Just not something users would be happen with at all.

So there you have it, the 3 things that are likely to happen, the 3 maybe’s and the 3 (oh ok, 5) things that aren’t going to happen. So finally, when can we expect to see the GoPro Hero 11? Well… maybe not as soon as you think. Traditionally GoPro’s have been released in September every year but according to a statement made by Nick Woodman, their next flagship camera may not release until the 4th quarter of the year. That would put it in October at the earliest. Since this is a redesigned model camera, I can see that being likely as there are many kinks to be worked out. So October at the latest providing there are no production issues, after all, GoPro will want release date sales, then the slump, then the Christmas rush (rather than release in November and people will just think “I’ll wait until Christmas to buy”).

Finally, can we expect a MAX 2 this year? It………. may…… happen…… it may not. The GoPro Max is due an update due to it’s age. People have even released predictions of a GoPro Max 2 being released due to a recent patent filing………… however the patent wasn’t really about the design of the GoPro Max or even anything specific to the model, it was more about how the GoPro app would be able to recognie certain scenes in a 360 video and be used to automatically create a video. So the patent (which was the finalization of an old patent BTW) was more about scene recognition in a 360 sphere. We do know that GoPro will be releasing at least 1 more camera this year, people want it to be a new Session… so what’s the one thing that competitors are doing that GoPro haven’t done yet? What could this model camera actually be?

A dedicated GoPro Webcam! Think about it. The GoPro Webcam app (which basically makes a GoPro emulate a webcam) hasn’t been the most reliable of apps. It has compatibility problems with a lot of webcam apps and is very limited in what it can do. However, when it does work the image quality can be quite good (especially in low light).. but not adjustable. Something that people still want and seem to be buying (and this is why we’re seeing so many high-end models being released) is a decent webcam. GoPro’s can be used, but there are user complaints about overheating, onboard mics not working, battery not charging while it’s in use…. GoPro might take a bold step in getting rid of these issues by simply releasing a GoPro Webcam! One that uses an actual webcam driver as opposed to emulating a webcam over a network connection.