Get The Right Tool for the Job. And It May Not Be a GoPro.

This issue seems to come around reasonably often; trying to use a tool for a job where it is totally the wrong item you need for the best result.

In this case, it is the venerable GoPro camera.

In the various GoPro forums I frequent, it is a regular occurrence that someone will ask “what are the best settings for such and such.” The latest I have seen was someone that wanted to shoot a rock concert. But you also get folk who wish to capture footage or take photos at weddings, hockey matches, baseball games and so on.

OK, so let’s look at what a GoPro is, and then precisely what it isn’t, and what a better option(s) might be.

The GoPro (and its competitor, the DJI OSMO Action) are so called “action” cameras. That is, they are designed to capture action from primarily, the first person perspective.

This includes things like snorkelling, diving, bike riding, motocross, surfing, climbing, hiking, kayaking etc. And in simple terms that is it.

 

What they are NOT like, is a “standard” camera such as a Fujifilm X-S10, or similar models from Sony, Panasonic and so on.

The major difference between these two genres of cameras is that the GoPro has a very fixed lens in terms of aperture and “zoom”. This means you have little flexibility beyond what the camera is actually designed for. No zoom means you cannot get close to the action from a distance.

Yes, I know there is a semblance of a zoom with the digital zoom function, but this is not an optical zoom as it merely blows up the pixels and crops the image giving less than stellar results. The lack of aperture control stops you getting any depth of field and thus the much prized “bokeh” effect. Or to put it another way, everything will always be in focus.

Secondly, the on-board mic is, well, not that good, so your audio is always going to be a compromise as those who nail a GoPro to their motor bikes find. The audio system is designed to pick up everything, so unless you use a MediaMod with something like the Sennheiser MKE 200 mic on it, you cannot isolate sounds such as a person speaking by “pointing” the mic in that direction.

So, trying to get a GoPro to mimic a Fujifilm, Sony or Panny mirrorless camera is going to be an exercise in frustration and futility.

If you primarily want a camera for the aforementioned action sports, then a GoPro or Action OSMO is definitely a better option, being smaller, lighter, waterproof, having myriads of different mount types you can utilise and with a passable battery life.

On the other hand, if you shoot concerts, weddings, sporting games and the like, then a mirrorless 4/3rds type camera is a FAR better option. At a pinch, a GoPro will fill in if you have no other option, but it should never be thought of as a sort of universal camera suitable for all photographic or video tasks, as it is not designed that way.

As I said at the start, get the right tool for the job.