GoPro Hero 3 - Video screenshots or Photo mode?

[Jebus]

I know that I had read a discussion about this a long time ago, but for the life of me I can't seem to find it anywhere on the forums here.

I thought I read that if you have the GoPro Hero 3 (Black - if it matters) in 2.7k @ 30fps and pull a screenshot from that video, it will be basically the same quality as a 12mb pic if the GoPro was just put in timelapse mode.

I've yet to test the timelapse mode on the GoPro because I'm flying FPV w/ goggles and I've read that the video feed will black out every time a pic is taken, but the screen captures that I've taken from the 2.7k video just don't seem to be very good.

I guess I could answer this question myself by testing out the two modes and comparing them next time I get a chance to fly, but I thought I would see if anyone had some suggestions on the best method for getting good, sharp pics.

Thanks

 

[Diesel31]

If you set up it up to take pictures only, the screen will go black every time it shoots. I like 2.7k as well, but if I need shots, I'll shoot 1080p/30 fps and set it up to shoot simultaneous video/stills (5 shots per second). In this mode, the screen never goes black.

 

[Jebus]

Thanks for the reply Diesel31. Do you find that the stills are better doing it that way than frame grabs from the 2.7k vid? I would like to think so, but I'm pretty sure that I read that someone stated that they should be the same quality - although I know my frame grabs from the 2.7k vid don't look that great.

 

[zjuggler]

The sensor on the Hero 3 is 4000 pixels wide by 3000 pixels tall (12 million total pixels, hence the 12 MP designation for the photos, as photos are recorded at this full sensor resolution). Video modes are recorded at a subset of the full sensor resolution, depending on mode. In the case of 2.7k - the recorded resolution is 2716 x 1524 (or roughly 4 million total pixels - about a third of the full sensor resolution).

There are other factors that may come into play depending on what you are trying to do with the images (field of view, aspect ratios, etc.), but from a pure resolution standpoint, the 12 MP stills will generally be far superior to screencaps from any of the video modes.

 

[rilot]

You will find that photo / video simultaneous stills are significantly more compressed than setting timelapse mode. For this reason I only ever shoot in timelapse if I need useable stills.

 

[Jebus]

Good info. Thanks fellas. I guess I'll deal with the fpv blackout 'issue' on the timelapse and set it to something like 5 seconds.

 

[Diesel31]

Thanks for the reply Diesel31. Do you find that the stills are better doing it that way than frame grabs from the 2.7k vid? I would like to think so, but I'm pretty sure that I read that someone stated that they should be the same quality - although I know my frame grabs from the 2.7k vid don't look that great.

My experience has been my screengrabs off of 2.7k do not look as good.

 

[Jebus]

Thanks for the reply Diesel31. Do you find that the stills are better doing it that way than frame grabs from the 2.7k vid? I would like to think so, but I'm pretty sure that I read that someone stated that they should be the same quality - although I know my frame grabs from the 2.7k vid don't look that great.

My experience has been my screengrabs off of 2.7k do not look as good.

Yeah... that's what I figured - as I've seen some great looking pics from the GoPro and none of my screen grabs have looked even remotely close to being that good.