What frame rate - Canon 7D and GoPro Hero 3 Black edition?

[dandan89]

Hey guys

So I'm having a bit of a dilemma, I usually shoot video above water and have never done any underwater video. I usually shoot at 1080P 24FPS (for filmic purposes) but underwater I think from what I've read most people shoot at 60FPS but I'm gonna mix footage from land and sea.

Here's the thing, I'm going for a dive holiday in Thailand and wanna use the 7D on land and the GoPro in water. I'm not sure what settings to use? The 7D doesn't shoot 60FPS at 1080P but I can up sample it in Compressor after. I'm lost in a sea of frame rates here ha ha! Thanks for the help guys!

 

[TheTrickster]

I would shot 24/25 or 30 with the GoPro.

Shooting at 60fps the gain will have to increase, so making the footage noisier.

Never had any problems shooting at 30p underwater.


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[dandan89]

So would you recommend using 30P across my camera range?

 

[Lefty17]

I like shooting at 60 because if I have a short clip is like to extend it remains smooth when I slow it down.

 

[MB NZ]

I also prefer 60 FPS for underwater stuff because it looks smoother. I understand that in theory a higher FPS will reduce resolution. In practice, I can't tell any difference, so choose 60 FPS. I also have a GPH3B.

 

[dandan89]

Hmmm, will be interesting seeing what settings other people use. Still unsure of what settings to use. I'm not sure if 24 will be smooth enough for something like filming underwater.

 

[TheTrickster]

30fps is gonna be the most smoothest of the 'normal' FPS if you don't have access to 60fps.

If you going to mix it, it will have to conform the faster 60fps footage to 30fps etc... or you could twixtor the 30fps footage to 60

For sure 60fps looks a lot more lifelike, alas I can't record that at 4k.

Cheesy music but I think a good test:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMhXiklZi1w

 

[dandan89]

Yeah I think I'll shoot at 30FPS, I think for now anyway unless someone changes my mind ha ha!

 

[LowVizWiz]

I really like 60 fps underwater. If your final product is going to be 30 fps anyway, the underwater video @60 fps will have a slightly smoother (slow-mo) quality to it that's really nice and adds a nice contrast to topside footage shot at 30 fps IMO.

Higher fps only have lower resolution when you change the resolution of your camera to achieve the higher frame rate and mix that footage with higher res footage. For example, on the original Hero HD you had to go down to 720 in order to achieve 60 fps. Now you drop 720 footage in a 1080 project the 720 footage needs to be re-sized. However, if you create a 720 project and re-size the 1080 footage you will be fine specially if your final output will be the web.

If you're using the Hero 4 you can shoot 1080 @60 fps and mix that footage with the topside canon 1080 @30 fps footage just fine. (I have never mixed 24 fps & 60 fps, if that's what you are planing I'd suggest 24 & 48 fps)

Also, while it's true that higher frame rates need more light so the footage is not grainy, it doesn't necessarily mean you need to boost the gain to achieve decent footage at higher frame rates specially in clear waters like Thailand.

 

[dandan89]

Thanks for making me even more unsure ha ha! Hmmmm, thing is when do I shoot at 60fps with the GoPro as I won't want it all in slow motion. Ahhhh!