TimeWarp is a really cool effect from GoPro. It allows you to do Time-lapse with the inclusion of regular video.
TimeWarp has been available since GoPro 4, but in GoPro 9 they made some pretty cool changes.
Time-Lapse vs TimeWarp
Time-lapse is perfect for when you have a steady camera. Usually on a tripod. Perfect for the morning sunrise.
TimeWarp is used when you are in motion. This can be walking, skiing, or on a bike or car. Go Pro goes the extra mile to make sure the clip is sturdy. This is great when you want to show fast motion.
You use the TimeWarp option when your one the move.
TimeWarp Bonus
In TimeWarp mode you can break out of the warp into normal mode. This is useful when you want to describe something as your walking or if you want to pan a scene a bit slower than hyperspeed.
Make the Breakout Happen
There are two ways to take the video out of Time Lapse Mode in TimeWarp and into the "normal" mode:
Tap the rear screen
Click on the "Mode Button" otherwise known as the power button.
To put it back into TimeWarp, simply click on the screen or mode button again.
Read The Manual
You can learn more about the capabilities of TimeWarp in the GoPro Hero 9 manual. On page 34, there are some descriptions of the various settings.
This week GoPro announce some new experimental features. These are unsupported features that GoPro has decided that are stable enough for the public to play with. Some of these came from hackathons - probably ideas inspired by long time users.
These new features are called GoPro Labs and are available via the GoPro Support Hub.
Camera Motion Triggers: Leverage the camera's accelerometer and/or gyroscope to start/stop capture only when the camera is in motion, preserving storage and battery.
USB Power Triggers: Your GoPro can start/stop capture when USB power is detected, enabling USB-triggered functions such as serving as a dash cam.
Motion Detection Enhancements: Motion detection is now supported in all video modes, including 360- motion detection on MAX, with improvements to the sensitivity range.
Simplified Live Streaming QR Code: Program GoPro to start live streaming within seconds of being connected to a designated Wi-Fi network.
Single-Setting/One-Button Mode: Enable a one-button mode where the operator can only start/stop capture, making it impossible to accidentally change camera mode. This is designed to capture critical events.
New Exposure Modes: Set timed exposure lock and minimum shutter speed settings.
New QR Code Controls: QR code controls supported in 5K and HindSight capture for HERO9 Black.
Things I Learned
As I mentioned the instructions to install is tricky. The instructions aren't clear that you need to move the uncompressed folder to the root of the SD card.
When you start up the GoPro you get the notification. I think this slows down the usability of the camera.
The startup text can be replaced with a Personalize QR Code. You can have "Owner's Information" which might be a nice saver if you ever lose the GoPro.
The QR Codes is a very cool feature. You can set up QR codes to quickly program settings.
I like the USB Power Triggers. This is great now that I use the GoPro as a dashcam. It would have been much better if this was supported in older GoPros.
In a blog post in April 2019, I wrote about why the iPhone Xs Max was a better night time camera because of the camera specs. Today I have 4 active devices that I can use for nighttime photography. I have the GoPro 7 Silver, iPhone Xs Max, Panasonic DC-FZ80, and the GoPro Hero 9.
Here's an updated table of the specs of four cameras that I have:
Name
GoPro 7 Silver
GoPro 9
iPhone Xs Max
Panasonic DC-FZ80
ISO
1600
6400
2,304
80 to 6400
Aperture
f/2.8
f/2.8
f/1.8
f/2.8 to f/8.0
Exposure Time
1/15
1/9600 (1080p60)
1/22000
1/2000
Winter Temperatures
Winter in New England means some cold nights are here. It might be risky to leave the GoPro out a night to take overnight time-lapse videos. Here are the recommended temperature settings for the GoPro cameras
GoPro 7 Silver
40-105 degrees
HERO9 Black
14- F ~ 95- F (10- C ~ 35- C)
Time Warp
As for night time Time Lapse photography, I'll be using the GoPro Hero 9. It certainly does a better job. Check out this video using the nighttime time-lapse settings. It makes it looks like a time warp
This afternoon I purchased the newest GoPro device - the GoPro Hero 9. I purchased this at a local BestBuy store instead of online as I used some gift cards to help with the purchase.
This is my second GoPro series as I currently have the GoPro Silver 7. I have been using the Silver 7 GoPro a lot and still plan to use both of them.
Six Things I have Learned
Just getting started learning about this cool tech toy. Here are some of the things I have learned so far.
The GoPro now comes in a nice travel case as part of the environmentally friendly packaging.
The GoPro battery is replaceable. Which is great for when I go on trips. I just need to bring a second battery for those occasions where I may do a lot of filming.
The mini SD card slot Is pretty hard to get a card in and out. Certainly much harder than the Silver 7. I think instead of the 64GB card that I have, I may get a 128GB just so that I have enough space for videos.
Photos, Videos, and Time-lapse are now scenes base. You select the scene that works for you. This makes it easy to select the one that works for you. I almost feel that there should be an additional video category for 5k videos.
The GoPro Hero 9 does support 5k for videos but the option is not enabled in the factory-installed scene. You have to edit an existing scene to change it to a 5k option.
The screen menus are difficult to select than in the Silver 7. I did read another review that mentioned that and didn't think it was an issue. It does get a bit frustrating at times trying to select a menu option or scroll through the menus.
Now What?
As I am excited to learn all about the Hero 9, I decided to make Thursday blog content around the new GoPro.
So instead of BBEdit, I'll focus on tips and tricks with the GoPro Hero 9.
Recently I signed up for the GoPro Plus service. This is a subscription service that gives you Unlimited Cloud storage, extra insurance for the GoPro and discounts on mounts and accessories for the GoPro.
It cost $4.17/mo for the yearly plan ($50.04) or $4.99 a month for the monthly plan.
Unlimited Cloud Storage
The main reason that I got the GoPro Plus is for the Unlimited Cloud Storage. This allows me to upload media content that was created on the GoPro instantly when the GoPro is connected to a registered WiFi point and is charging.
Here's What Was Happening:
I wanted this plan because I was having a hard time getting some of the videos off my GoPro. For some reason when I insert the microSD card into my iMac the computer wouldn't recognize the card.
My Short-Term Work around:
To fix this I was connecting the GoPro to the iPhone and then uploading the media into the GoPro app. I would then have to move the media to the Images folder. Then move it to the computer. It's a lot of steps.
Once I did get the media off the card, I tried reformatting the card and that didn't help.
Life is easier with the GoPro Plus
Using the GoPro Plus Service, the uploads happen automatically, in the full video resolution. I won't miss any video or pictures taken with the GoPro.
Now I simply go to the plus.gopro.com website on my phone or computer and download the media. It's nice the way GoPro has this setup, the most recent media is on top. You get a thumbnail view of all the media sorted by date. This makes it easy to find media short on the same day.
In addition, I can add media to my GoPro Could account on the iPhone or via the iMac. I simply visit my GoPro page and click on the "Add Media" on the top right of the page. I can upload multiple videos at one. The nice thing is that GoPro will check for duplications. So I can simply search my computer for all the GoPro videos and upload them.
Postive Results so Far!
In the first week of using this service, I have backed up 307GB of data. Saving a lot of valuable disk space. I know I don't really need to forever keep these files, and I certainly don't plan to. However, it's a lot of space that I can now reuse.
I now find that I am using the GoPro more. I am having a lot of fun with various attachments and taking creative videos.
When you take videos or photos with the GoPro you have an option to use the Zoom feature to zoom in on your picture. Seems natural to use that when you want to get more up close in some situations.
Don't Zoom in GoPro Silver
However, I'll recommend not using the zoom feature of the phone. The reason why is because this is a digital zoom, not an optical zoom. You don't actually benefit by zooming when you shoot then when you do it post-production in iMovie or Filmora Wondershare.
When you zoom using a DSLR you get a nice regular zoom because it's taking advantage of the lens (Optical Zoom). It's not the same with the GoPro, you're simply using the software to zoom in.
Some Instances to Zoom
There are three reasons, the I can see using GoPro zoom:
When you want to send the image and don't want to touch it up.
You generally don't want to deal with any post production editing.
Go Pro Tripod Mount is a cool thing to add to your collection. It basically makes any GoPro accessory available to any other technology device.
For example, if you have an iPhone XS Max, you can use a simple tripod adapter and the GoPro mount to connect the iPhone XS Max to a GoPro Suction cup accessory. Now you can exchange accessories and limit the amount you carry.
Cheap Enough to Get it
Obviously this won’t work in all accessories, but it’s cheap enough to have on - just in case you find that using a smartphone would be better than the GoPro. You can find a mount for about $4 on eBay or in various kits on Amazon for about $7.
If you're looking for the best quality night pictures and time lapse, your best bet is to get the GoPro 7 Black. The Silver version has very minimal functionality to low light photography.
GoPro 7 Silver Specs
A quick look on how the iPhone XS Max is a better camera for night photos. (Tip: You have a lot more control over the settings than you do with the GoPro 7 Silver series.)
Name
GoPro Silver
GoPro Black
iPhone Xs Max
ISO
1600
1600
2,304
Aperture
f/2.8
f/2.8
f/1.8
Exposure TIme
1/15
1/15
1/22000
Note: GoPro Silver users have no control over the Shutter Speed and Exposure time.
Sample YouTube Video
GoPro 7 Silver YouTube video showing the morning sunrise in time lapse.
Video files are recorded using the h.264 codec and the MP4 file type, the exception being some resolution/frame rate combinations on the HERO6 and HERO7 Black.
HEVC Format
The GoPro uses High Efficiency Video Coding (H.265) to capture videos - especially at hight frame rates for 4k at 60fps and 1080p at 240 fps. This is the latest video coding, and not supported by older computer systems - thankfully this has been around for a while
The HEVC standard allows the ability to store high quality video without using a lot of disk space. In fact videos compressed with H.265 standard uses up to 40 percent less space without sacrificing quality.
GoPro started using HEVC in the GoPro Hero 5 series.
Apple Users
If your computer is not running MacOS 10.13+ (MacOS High Sierra or macOS Mojave), your not able to view the videos on your computer. The H.265 standard requires at least the A10 chip. If your computer isn't eligible for the High Sierra, then your computer doesn't have the A10 chip.
iPhone 7+ users have support for the HEVC standard.
Windows Computers
If your computer is running Windows 10, then you have the proper hardware to view the GoPro videos.
Older Systems
If you don't have the hardware to support the videos, you can always upload them to Google Photos and have the videos be translated. Google Photos has supported HEVC video since September 2017.
