Halim, Author at bYx Optics

GoPro Hero 11 Black

At one time (2023), I have had GoPro 7, 8, 9 and 10 at once. Then I decided to sell GoPro 8 and 9. Trying to sell GoPro 7 as well. Only been utilising GoPro 10. Then with the new sensor dimension and with the promise of a better HyperSmooth 5.0, I upgraded to GoPro 11 in May 2023 and sold my GoPro 10 in June.

I found that this model with the new Enduro battery lasts longer than the normal blue battery. The “QuikCapture” function is also snappy! This function allows you to turn on the GoPro and start recording immediately by pressing the record button. The subsequent press stops and turns the camera off. This function lets you capture a moment as soon as it happens.

It is an “action” camera and is meant to be. But, I am not really using this for the intended “action”. I found it useful as the lens has no moveable parts, therefore I can be quite rough with it. It is tiny, and can easily pack into my winter jacket. Also, it works great in waterproof housing and taking it under the water.

Despite my dislike for the distorted lens (fisheye), I have to live with it. I took videos in 8:7 resolution to avoid cropping and upscaling. Similar to photos! But still, from time to time, I’d switch to linear as editing videos/photos to remove the distortion just made the visual look even worse. When using 8:7 the only “lens” available is Wide, which is the native view. Other digital lenses like Linear are cropping at the centre and upscaling to match the set resolution.

GoPro processor has a better distortion “correction” when set to Linear, as neither Final Cut Pro nor Lightroom can correct the distortion similar to when using the Linear lens.

Dimensions (W×H×D)	71.8 × 50.8 × 33.6 mm
Weight	154 g
Image Sensor	1/1.9″ CMOS
Processor	GP2
Max Video Resolution	5.3K 8:7 (5,312 ? 4,648)
Colour	10-bit
Max Photo Resolution	27.13MP (5,568 ? 4,872) from previously 23MP
Battery Size	Enduro 1,720 mAh

GoPro Labs

With a faster processor and seems rather quick, I upgraded to GoPro Labs firmware. I have tested this before, but it slowed down my GoPro unit, hence restored to the original firmware.

I changed the bitrate to 190 Mbps, the maximum shutter speed to 1/200 per second, the file name to include the date and time and some other changes. So far, everything work is just perfect!

Leeming LUT

I have started exploring “Color Grading” using Final Cut Pro to grade my drone videos recorded in D-cinelike. Then I began to grade my videos which were recorded in “Flat” colour and “Native” white balance. The result was not amazing but I can see that I can improve myself and the look is just better than the “Natural” colour profile.

I explored YouTube looking at comments about Native white balance and stumbled upon a post and he recommended I check his post using Leeming LUT. Not long after, I was AUS$50 poorer. The file was sent to my email the next morning.

Left: Flat/AWB/Sharpness=Low/Noise Reduction=1/WIDE=1/LOGB=400.
Right: After Leeming LUT Pro III – GoPro 11 – Wide Gamut log400 has been applied.

Applying the Leeming LUT Pro Quickie – Neutral Film 102 gives more contrast and the colour looks almost natural.

It looks like I need to explore more and see if it is really worth spending for the LUT. Now, I missed the “vibrant” looking colour and the vibrant blue sky 🙂

Video & Full-frame Camera

I have relied on GoPro Hero 11, DJI Pocket 2 and Sony ZV-1 to record video clips (as of June 2023). GoPro was quick and handy. DJI Pocket 2 stabilises footage with the built-in gimbal. Sony ZV-1 with a larger sensor captures sharper clips. If I were to rank them, the ranking would be in reverse order.

GoPro took the most clips so far as I set the top button as a single button to start/end recording. DJI Pocket 2 is very useful in darker areas, for example inside an airport terminal where GoPro struggles with Hypersmooth stabilisation. These two work nicely for impromptu videos. Also great while walking. But they both suffer from the overexposed situation due to small sensors. The things that I dislike the most about GoPro are the lens distortion (fisheye effect). While for DJI Pocket 2 is the gimbal situation, it just couldn’t read your mind which direction to move!

When it is on a tripod, then Sony ZV-1 is the one I would go for. Or when I do not need to move around a lot (like being outdoors, constantly moving). Recording conversations, cooking, lunch and snow, this camera is just the one to go to.

I have been using Sony α7R III to capture videos but because it is quite heavy and with my shaky hand, the videos are normally a bit jerky. Things changed in April 2023, when I used this camera in addition to Sony FE 20mm F1.8, upping the ISO to 2000 `and managed to capture an outdoor Easter procession.

Afterwards, I’ve been recording talking heads, comparing the Sony ZV-1 and Sony α7R III. I started to really love my full-frame camera now. The object separation is much better and it handles low-light way better.

I may not have solved the jerkiness, but I started to live with it. Instead of recording in a rush, I take my time. Instead of recording all in one go, I only record what I need. Sony α7R III may not be the best but it works! I just need to develop myself and gain more skills.

Eriksvej, Roskilde
6 June 2023

GoPro Hero Black Comparison

Model	7	8	9	10
Photo (JPEG)	12MP	12MP	20MP	23MP
Photo (RAW)	–	–	23MP	–
Video 16:9	2.7K60	4K60	5K30 4K60	5.3K60 4K120
Video 4:3	2.7K60	4K30	4K30	5K30 4K60
TimeWarp 16:9	–	–	4K30	4K60
TimeWarp 4:3	–	–	4K30	4K30
Horizon Levelling	–	–	28º (5K)	27º (5.3K)

Photo resolution. 20MP: 5,184×3,888. 23MP: 5,568×4,176.
GP9 does cropping for JPEG and RAW outputs.
Video resolution considers only linear lens and the maximum available fps.
Horizon Levelling is in HyperSmooth Standard.
microSD card: up to GP9 is Class 10 or UHS-1 and GP10 is v30 or UHS-3.

I have been using GoPro 7 (2019), 8 (2020), 9 (2021) and now 10 (2022). I noticed that the improvement curve has peaked and the only thing it can push now is increasing the megapixel. For photos, 23MP on GP9/GP10 seems enough already. But higher video resolution does not equate to better video quality either. I upgraded to GP10 for its 4K 120fps and also for the 5.3K 60fps.

GP7 and GP8 use Sony IMX277, which is a 7.85 mm diagonal (type 1/2.3) CMOS image sensor that has an effective 12 megapixels. GP9 and GP10 use Sony IMX677, which is a 7.85 mm diagonal (type 1/2.3) CMOS image sensor that has an effective 23.91 megapixels.

The plusses
– GoPro has a small body, is light and fits into my palm and jacket’s side pocket.
– QuikCapture feature is fantastic.
– It is easy to be taken along for diving.
– The GoPro + clip is perfect to be hanging, holding or standing on anything.

Sony FE 85mm F1.8

Really sharp for portraits and an “almost” a close-up for small objects

It has a focus hold button on the barrel, and I customized it for Eye AF. It is a very sleek short-telephoto prime lens that is easy to be carried around. It is lightweight, fast and produces creamy photos when the aperture is wide open.

Even though it was meant for portraits, I have used this lens to take photos of small objects in nature. The results were surprisingly good! I tried this lens for landscape but really have to walk back quite far to put large/tall objects into the frame.

Verdict

I prefer to keep this lens for object close-up and for half-body portraits.

I used this lens for a wedding. It works fantastic for a one-person or two-person half-body portrait. It is also good for small object close-ups; for example, flowers, table-setting and food at the buffet area. During speeches, it works amazing as I can stand a bit far away and do not need to invade the space between the speaker and the audience. Somehow, other situations require 28mm (group photos) and 50mm (guests and other larger objects).

While this lens (can) works on all occasions, it has to be complemented by other lenses when it comes to tight space.

Sample Photos

*Half-body portrait using 85mm. It separates the subject from the creamy background.*
*ISO 100 f/1.8 1/250 sec.*

*Snowdrop. Taken from 1 meter away and cropped.*
*ISO 200 f/3.5 1/125 sec.*

*Copenhagen, winter sunset.*
*ISO 100 f/3.2 1/500 sec.*

*Two full-body portraits were taken using 85mm.*
*Left: ISO 100 f/3.2 1/250 sec.*
*Right: ISO 100 f/3.2 1/320 sec.*

Key Features

Aperture range: f/1.8 to f/22

The angle of view: 29?
Minimum focus distance: 80 cm
Maximum magnification ratio: 1:7.7 (0.13?)
Filter size: 67 mm
Dimensions (? ? L): 78 ? 82 mm
Weight: 371 g

Sept. 2022: I sold this lens off as it duplicates Sony FE 90mm Macro G OSS.

GoPro Hero 9 Black

Waterproof action camera with front LCD and touch rear screen, 5K Ultra HD video, 20MP photos, and great stabilisation. There are endless things you can do with this small camera, it has a true crossover appeal for videography.

Smartphones can capture photos and videos in just about any situation, but GoPro is just one game ahead. GoPro has plenty of upsides. I liked the feature that with a single click you can start recording and I also like the feature that you don’t have to tweak hundreds of settings. GoPro 9 has an improvement that I really like, the horizontal levelling.

The video and photo qualities are good but not excellent. It produces everything within the frame to be in focus for a clean visual. Panning the camera around is smoother. It has a downside in terms of quality when it comes to low light situations.

It has a rugged ability to withstand harsh conditions. Put it on a pole and hold it outside a moving car. Take it down into the water to record under the water. Leave it overnight outside to make a time-lapse of the stars.

The folding-in/folding-out finger mount is really useful. It was introduced with GoPro 8. With the foldable mount, an external case for mounting is no longer required. Hence making the camera minimal in size.

I don’t do sports-action videography but I use GoPro a lot when travelling. Mount it on a clip and let it hang on your bag while you are passing the airport. Record a take-off. Then for running or hiking. There are no moving parts, so there’s nothing to be worried about. I even used GoPro to record my presentation at university!

Note: Upgraded to GoPro Hero 10 Black (August 2022), solely because it can record 5.3K at 60 fps and 4K at 120 fps.

Videography

GoPro is well known for its recording ability. One can choose to record at a bitrate of 100Mb, which means more details for editing.

HYPERSMOOTH
A new HyperSmooth 3.0 digital image stabilization with in-camera horizon levelling lets you produce even smoother, more stable videos without a gimbal.

HORIZON LEVELLING
What really sells for this GoPro is the Horizon Levelling. This was the main reason that I upgraded from GP8 to GP9. Walk around and hold it without a gimbal, the outcome is still levelled. However, the maximum tilting is up to 27?.

VIDEO RESOLUTIONS
It captures up to 5K up to 30 fps and maintains high detail even when zooming in. This is one of the two main reasons why I upgraded. (It still captures 4K at 60 fps, similar to GoPro 8).

TIME WARP FEATURE 3.0
Record time-lapse scenes as you walk or drive. Quite a cool feature. I used this recording when in moving vehicles as the effect looks much cooler. TimeWarp 3.0 condenses time. With features like Speed Ramp, you can select Real Speed or Half-Speed while recording is ongoing along with the audio.

Limitation

The stabilisation does not work well at night (or in low-light situations). The snapshots are coming out jerky.

Photography

~~Use SuperPhoto option to automatically pre-process photos right from the camera to get the best shot. However, I am not a big fan of GoPro’s photos as the output can be too punchy.~~ I use the RAW output function that only has the Wide lens option. I chose the GoPro colour so the JPEG version will be pre-edited by GoPro and if I choose to edit, then I will do so on the RAW files.

My Setup

The reason that I upgraded from GoPro 7 was that I dislike the fish-eye effect when recording in 4K, I very rarely shot in wide. I prefer the linear mode and it is only in 2.7K resolution.

Video
ISO Min: 100
ISO Max: 200
Sharpness: Medium

Ulanzi VIJIM VL 30 5600K CRI95+ (340 lux at 0.5m) 750 mAh.
Swivel clamp/clip holder mount kit.
Surf bite mouth braces mount kit.
Suction cup mount kit.
Tempered glass protector for front and back screens.
Mini storage protection case (it can be used to protect the GoPro without the need to unmount from the tripod)

*I replaced (use interchangeably) the battery door with Ulanzi G9 that has a hole to allow access to the USB port without opening the battery door. It also has a cold-shoe mount adapter for fill light.*

*I removed the original finger mount (left: original, right: replacement) with one that has a ?-inch screw mount adapter (dual mount). So I can use one mini tripod for Sony ZV-1 and GoPro 9.*

Technical Information

Focal length: 3mm (At crop factor of 5.62 = 16.86 mm)
Aperture: f/2.8 (At crop factor of 5.62 = f/15.8)
The angle of view: 5K 16:9, Linear + Horizon Levelling 27º ¹
Minimum focus distance: 30 cm
Dimensions (W × H × D): 71 × 55 × 33.6 mm
Weight: 158 g

Sensor type: 1/2.3″ (6.17 × 4.55 mm)
Sensor resolution: Sony IMX677, effective at 23.6MP but only utilises 20 MP for JPEG stills. It produces 23MP for RAW.
Native ISO: 100 – 6,400
Battery: 1,729 mAh
Released date: September 18, 2020

Field-of-view (FOV) ²
SuperView: 16mm
Wide: 16mm – 34mm
Linear: 19mm – 39mm
Narrow: 27mm

Other Interesting Features

It has plenty of interesting features, but I haven’t used them.

Scheduled recording.
Front-facing screen (which can be disabled).

Author: Halim