Help w Video Settings

[Bitzan]

How are you all recording your shows? I have a decent Lumix video camera where I can set everything manually but I have no idea what those settings should be (just because it was on sale at a good price doesnt mean I know how to use it). Also have a GoPro I can set up. Any help is appreciated.

[jamisonlm3]

I can't really help you with your Lumix, but I hope I can at least point you in the right direction with your GoPro. I used an older GoPro Hero 4 Black to record shows a while back. After a bit of experimentation, I ended up being happy with the following settings:

Resolution - 4k Superview
FOV - Wide
FPS - 24
ISO - 800
Color Temperature - Auto

Since my camera could do 4k, I saw no reason not to record in it. Micro SD cards are cheap considering how much they can hold these days and the higher resolution does look nice. The FOV defaults to wide and it can't be changed on my camera, but maybe it can on yours? It gives my video that fish eye lense, but the fireworks aren affected too much imho.

I Found out very quickly that changing the FPS to anything higher than 30 would darken the video quite a bit. Many cheaper cameras that can't manually control the aperature have this same problem. Alot of people think a higher FPS is better for recording fireworks, but I'm very doubtful. For my camera, 24FPS was the highest option and I don't think it looks bad.

The ISO can brighten or darken your video depending on how high or low you set it. I found if I recorded with a 1600 ISO, my video would look more pixelated. The next lowest option ws 800, so I stuck with that. This is another quirk of using a cheaper camera with a fixed aperature.

For the color temperature, I tried different settings, but never cared for them. The blues never would come out that well on anything besides the auto setting so I just left it on auto. Again, your camera might be different.

Here's one of the shows I recorded with that camera and those settings. I set my tripod back roughly 100-120ft back. I actually connected the camera to a tablet before the sun went down to get it angled right. I angled it so the dock was just to the bottom and centered. GoPros capture quite a bit so if you're off a little, you'll probably still capture the show. This show was nothing expect cakes, candles, slices and small 2" shells. For larger shells, you'll want to be further back or angle the camera more. I hope this helps.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtF44yaZB3g

[Bitzan]

I can't really help you with your Lumix, but I hope I can at least point you in the right direction with your GoPro. I used an older GoPro Hero 4 Black to record shows a while back. After a bit of experimentation, I ended up being happy with the following settings:

Resolution - 4k Superview
FOV - Wide
FPS - 24
ISO - 800
Color Temperature - Auto

Since my camera could do 4k, I saw no reason not to record in it. Micro SD cards are cheap considering how much they can hold these days and the higher resolution does look nice. The FOV defaults to wide and it can't be changed on my camera, but maybe it can on yours? It gives my video that fish eye lense, but the fireworks aren affected too much imho.

I Found out very quickly that changing the FPS to anything higher than 30 would darken the video quite a bit. Many cheaper cameras that can't manually control the aperature have this same problem. Alot of people think a higher FPS is better for recording fireworks, but I'm very doubtful. For my camera, 24FPS was the highest option and I don't think it looks bad.

The ISO can brighten or darken your video depending on how high or low you set it. I found if I recorded with a 1600 ISO, my video would look more pixelated. The next lowest option ws 800, so I stuck with that. This is another quirk of using a cheaper camera with a fixed aperature.

For the color temperature, I tried different settings, but never cared for them. The blues never would come out that well on anything besides the auto setting so I just left it on auto. Again, your camera might be different.

Here's one of the shows I recorded with that camera and those settings. I set my tripod back roughly 100-120ft back. I actually connected the camera to a tablet before the sun went down to get it angled right. I angled it so the dock was just to the bottom and centered. GoPros capture quite a bit so if you're off a little, you'll probably still capture the show. This show was nothing expect cakes, candles, slices and small 2" shells. For larger shells, you'll want to be further back or angle the camera more. I hope this helps.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtF44yaZB3g

jamisonlm3 Thank you so much for providing such a detailed reply. The video you shot looks awesome - as did the show!