Best GoPro Settings for Surf Filming

The two most important settings for surf footage are resolution and frame rate. Here's what works best:

Recommended: 4K at 60fps

This is the sweet spot for most surf filming:

• 4K resolution gives you room to crop for vertical format without losing quality
• 60fps provides smooth playback and allows for clean slow-motion (50%)
• Good balance between quality and file size

Alternative: 2.7K at 120fps

If you want more slow-motion flexibility:

• Lower resolution but higher frame rate
• Allows for 25% speed slow-motion
• Great for capturing technical maneuvers in detail

What About 1080p?

While 1080p files are smaller, you lose cropping flexibility. When converting to vertical (9:16), you need that extra resolution. Stick with 4K when possible.

GoPros offer multiple FOV options. For surfing, Wide or SuperView work best:

Wide (Recommended)

• Captures more of the wave and surroundings
• Less distortion than SuperView
• Good balance for most situations

SuperView (For POV)

• Maximum field of view
• Great for mouth-mount or chest-mount POV
• More barrel effect from fisheye

Linear (Avoid for Surf)

Linear removes fisheye distortion but narrows the view significantly. Not ideal for dynamic surf action where you want to capture the whole wave.

ProTune gives you more control over image quality. Here are the optimal settings for surf:

Color: GoPro Color

Unless you're color grading professionally, stick with GoPro Color. It looks good straight out of camera and works great for social media.

White Balance: Auto

Ocean lighting changes constantly. Auto white balance handles the shifts between bright sun, clouds, and spray better than manual settings.

ISO: 100-1600

• ISO Min: 100 (cleanest image in good light)
• ISO Max: 1600 (prevents excessive noise in shadows)

Sharpness: Medium

High sharpness can look harsh on water textures. Medium gives a clean look without artificial edges.

Bitrate: High

Higher bitrate = better quality, especially for fast motion like surfing. Use High when storage isn't a concern.

Where you mount your GoPro dramatically affects your footage:

Mouth Mount

• Best POV perspective - shows what you see
• Keeps camera above water during paddling
• Most immersive barrel shots

Chest Mount

• More stable than head/helmet mounts
• Shows your arms and board
• Good for progression tracking

Board Mount

• Unique low angle
• Great for footwork shots
• Risk of getting knocked off

Third-Person (Beach/Water)

• Best for seeing your full technique
• Requires friend/tripod/gimbal
• Ideal for creating highlight reels

Here's a quick reference for the most common surf filming scenarios:

Scenario	Resolution	FPS	FOV
General surf (POV)	4K	60	Wide
Barrel shots	4K	60	SuperView
Slow-mo focus	2.7K	120	Wide
Low light (dawn/dusk)	4K	30	Wide
Third-person from beach	4K	60	Wide

Pro Tip: Create a custom preset in your GoPro Labs app so you can quickly switch to your surf settings without manually adjusting each time.

Nothing worse than running out of storage or battery mid-session:

Storage

• Use high-speed SD cards (V30 or faster) for 4K recording
• 4K/60fps uses about 6GB per 10 minutes
• Bring 128GB minimum for a full session
• Format your card before each session

Battery

• Standard GoPro battery lasts 45-60 minutes at 4K/60
• Cold water drains batteries faster
• Bring 2-3 batteries for a full session
• Consider a battery grip/extended case for longer sessions

Quick Capture

Enable Quick Capture to start recording with one button press. This saves battery when you're not actively filming and ensures you don't miss waves fumbling with menus.