GoPro Hero 11 ProTune Settings Guide

There is no doubt some of the best action cameras are made by GoPro. Their stabilization technology, mixed with custom ProTune settings, makes for an action camera that is best for sports, hobbies, and general videography. Let’s take a look at the most common GoPro Hero 11 ProTune settings and what each tries to accomplish.

Summary

• Shutter: Controls the camera’s shutter speed. This can create effects with motion. In bright conditions, a faster speed like 1/500th can be useful, while in darker conditions a slower shutter speed may be necessary.
• EV Comp: This stands for Exposure Value Compensation. Adjusting this can make your image lighter or darker.
• White Balance: This adjusts the color balance in your image, making it warmer (more yellow) or cooler (more blue).
• ISO Min/Max: ISO controls the camera’s sensitivity to light. A higher ISO will be more sensitive to light (useful in darker conditions), but can result in a grainier image.
• Sharpness: Controls the amount of in-camera sharpening applied to your image. High will result in a sharper image, while low can create a softer image (you might want to apply sharpness in post-production).
• Color: You can choose between GoPro Color and Flat. GoPro color will result in a vibrant, high-contrast image, while Flat will give a more neutral image, useful for post-production color grading.

First things first, power on your GoPro. From the main screen, select the camera mode (e.g., Video, Photo, Time Lapse) for which you want to adjust ProTune settings. Tap on the camera settings which are usually at the bottom part of the screen. Scroll down and find the ProTune option. You might have to swipe left to access more settings. Tap on ProTune, this should bring up several new settings that you can adjust. Below are a list of GoPro Hero 11 ProTune settings and their descriptions: 

10-Bit Color

10-Bit Color significantly enhances the video quality by providing over 1 billion shades of color, compared to the 16.7 million shades available in 8-bit color depth. This vast increase in color shades allows for much finer gradients, reducing the chance of banding or blocking in areas with subtle color changes. This feature is particularly beneficial during post-processing, giving videographers more flexibility to adjust colors without losing quality or encountering visual artifacts.

Bit Rate

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Bit Rate refers to the amount of data that the camera records per second, measured in megabits per second (Mbps). A higher bit rate means that the video contains more data, resulting in higher quality footage with greater detail and less compression artifacts. However, videos with higher bit rates will consume more storage space on your SD card and use more battery power during recording. GoPro cameras offer options for High and Standard Bit Rates, with the High Bit Rate setting being preferable for those planning to post-process their footage, as it retains more information for editing.

Shutter

The Shutter setting in GoPro cameras allows users to control the shutter speed, which is the length of time the camera’s sensor is exposed to light. Shutter speed affects both the brightness of your footage and the appearance of motion. A faster shutter speed (e.g., 1/480) is useful in bright conditions and for capturing crisp images of fast-moving subjects without motion blur. In contrast, a slower shutter speed (e.g., 1/60) can be used in low-light situations to allow more light into the camera, though it may introduce motion blur and typically requires the camera to be stabilized with a tripod to avoid shake.

Exposure Compensation (EV Comp)

Exposure compensation (EV Comp) is a crucial setting in photography and videography that allows you to adjust the brightness of your images or videos. It’s particularly useful in environments where the lighting is complex or varied, such as scenes with significant contrasts between light and dark areas. By adjusting the exposure compensation, you can manually correct for these contrasting conditions to achieve a more balanced exposure in your final image or video.

The adjustment is made within the constraints of the camera’s current ISO limit. This means if your scene is already at the maximum brightness level allowed by the ISO limit in low-light conditions, increasing exposure compensation won’t have any further effect on brightening the image. Conversely, decreasing exposure compensation in very bright conditions won’t darken the image beyond the minimum brightness level set by the ISO limit.

Exposure compensation is typically adjustable in a range from -2 to +2 in 0.5-step increments. Here’s what each setting can do:

• +2.0 to +1.0: Significantly brightens the image, useful for very dark scenes or when you want to highlight details in shadows.
• +0.5: Slightly brightens the image, which can help in moderately low-light conditions or to bring out more detail in darker areas.
• 0.0: This is the standard setting, indicating no adjustment to the camera’s metered exposure.
• -0.5 to -2.0: Gradually darkens the image, useful in brightly lit conditions or when you wish to preserve details in bright areas that might otherwise be overexposed.

Adjusting exposure compensation is a way to override the camera’s automatic exposure settings, giving you more creative control over the brightness and overall look of your photos and videos. It’s especially handy in challenging lighting situations like snowy landscapes, brightly lit stages, or car interiors, where the contrast between light and dark can be extreme.

After adjusting your settings, you can tap on the check mark or back button to save these settings. 

Remember, using ProTune can give you more professional-looking results, but it also requires more power and may reduce battery life. Plus, you may need to spend more time in post-production making adjustments if you choose a setting like Flat color.

White Balance

White balance adjusts the overall color tone of videos to compensate for different lighting conditions. It helps ensure that white objects appear truly white in the final video. The white balance settings tell the camera the “color temperature” of the light in the current environment. Color temperature is measured in Kelvin (K). Lower values like 3000K indicate warmer, more orange/red light, while higher values like 6500K and above indicate cooler, more blue light. The goal is to set the white balance to match the current lighting for accurate, natural colors.

GoPro cameras offer several white balance options:

• Auto: The default setting. The camera automatically estimates the color temperature of the current lighting and continuously adjusts white balance on-the-fly. Works well in most scenarios, but may struggle in mixed or unusual lighting.
• 3000K: Intended for relatively warm lighting. Ideal for scenes illuminated by incandescent light bulbs, candles, sunrises, or sunsets. Preserves the warm, orange glow of these light sources.
• 5500K: A good general-purpose option for mildly cool lighting. Works well in moderate daylight or under cool white fluorescent lights. Produces balanced, neutral colors.
• 6500K: Used for cooler lighting with a stronger blue cast, such as overcast skies or shaded outdoor areas. Compensates for the blue tint and warms up the image.
• CAM RAW: Records the video in the sensor’s native color space without any white balance correction. Produces a very neutral, desaturated image. Intended for maximum flexibility in post-production color grading using RAW video editing tools.
• Native: A fixed white balance preset optimized for the GoPro’s image sensor. Unlike Auto, it does not adjust dynamically based on the scene. Can produce more consistent results from shot to shot, but may require color correction in post if the lighting changes significantly.

To configure white balance on a GoPro camera:

1. Enter the Protune settings menu, either through the camera’s touchscreen interface or the GoPro Quik app, depending on model
2. Locate the White Balance option and select it
3. Choose the desired preset (Auto, 3000K, 5500K, 6500K, Cam RAW, or Native)
4. Exit the Protune menu

The camera will retain the selected white balance setting until changed again through the menu. For the most natural results, it’s generally best to match the white balance preset to the dominant light source in the scene. When in doubt, Auto is a reliable choice. The CAM RAW and Native options are primarily for advanced users who intend to color grade the footage in post-production.

Some example scenarios and suggested white balance settings:

• Indoor scene lit by warm incandescent bulbs: 3000K
• Outdoor daylight in clear, sunny conditions: 5500K
• Outdoor shade or overcast skies: 6500K
• Sunrise or sunset landscape: 3000K or Auto
• Mixed indoor/outdoor lighting: Auto
• Maximizing flexibility for post color correction: CAM RAW

ISO Range

ISO is a setting that determines the camera’s sensitivity to light. In low light situations, a higher ISO allows the camera to record brighter footage without slowing down the shutter speed, but this comes at the cost of increased noise or grain in the image. Conversely, lower ISO values produce darker images with less visible noise. GoPro cameras offer an ISO Range setting in Protune that lets you specify the minimum and maximum ISO values the camera can use when automatically adjusting exposure.

The ISO Range options available vary somewhat by camera model, but commonly include:

• 6400: This sets the maximum ISO to 6400, which is the highest value supported on most GoPro models. It enables the camera to record the brightest possible video in low light, but the footage will have very noticeable noise/grain, especially in shadowed areas. Useful in extremely dark environments where getting any usable footage is the priority.
• 1600: A moderately high maximum ISO that provides a good balance of brightness and noise levels in low light shots. The camera can still boost the ISO high enough to properly expose in quite dim conditions, but with a significant reduction in noise compared to 6400. This is a good general-purpose setting for typical low-light scenarios.
• 400: The lowest maximum ISO offered on most models. This severely restricts the camera’s ability to brighten the image in low light, resulting in darker footage overall. However, the visible noise will be minimized. This is a good choice when shooting in moderately low light where the deepest shadows can be recovered in post, or when prioritizing a clean, noise-free image over shadow detail.
• 100-3200, 100-6400, etc.: Some newer GoPro models like the HERO10 Black allow you to set both the minimum and maximum ISO values as a range. This provides even more granular control over the camera’s auto-exposure behavior. For example, setting a range of 100-3200 would constrain the auto-ISO to that range, ensuring shadows are a bit darker but also a bit cleaner than if the max ISO was set to 6400.

To adjust the ISO Range on a GoPro camera:

1. Navigate to the Protune settings menu on the camera or in the GoPro Quik app
2. Find the ISO Min/Max or ISO Range option and select it
3. Choose the desired preset range, or set custom minimum and maximum ISO values if your camera supports it
4. Close the Protune menu

The camera will then use your specified ISO Range whenever recording video with Protune enabled. The specific range you should choose depends on your shooting conditions and priorities. Some example scenarios:

• Very dark indoor or night settings where getting any usable footage is crucial: Max ISO 6400
• Moderately low light, such as a typical indoor scene: Max ISO 1600
• Dim but not extremely dark settings where a cleaner image is preferred: Max ISO 400
• Brighter environments where the lowest possible noise is desired: 100-400 range
• Typical mixed lighting conditions with moderate noise acceptable: 100-3200 range

Keep in mind that a higher maximum ISO isn’t always better – in brighter scenes, needlessly high ISO settings will just add visible noise to the footage without any improvement in exposure. It’s generally best to use the lowest maximum ISO you can get away with for a given scenario while still capturing the desired level of shadow detail. When in doubt, the 100-3200 range is a good versatile choice on cameras that support it.