GoPro’s new software update for its smallest and lightest camera the Hero, allows users to capture vertical 4:3 video in 4K. 4:3 footage has become the dominant aspect ratio on the internet and social media in particular, simply because phones have more vertical space than horizontal. The update is available via GoPro’s Quik app on Android and iOS.
Semi-pro GoPro
Some may remember, around ten years ago, when short-form video began growing into its own form of online entertainment. A certain subset would rage on anyone who filmed a video vertically. As TikTok’s dominance has proved, those complaints were a candle in the wind. Most folks prefer recording in the same position they hold their phone. The same goes for the “4K’ing tiny” Hero camera, it seems.
The Chinese social media app’s predecessors Vine and Instagram, would record a cropped square 1:1 ratio to standardise between photos and videos with different aspect ratios. TikTok broke the mold by standardising 4:3 footage, incentivising creators to use a phone’s entire screen without forcing the user to flip to landscape mode.
Vertical 4:3 is also a touch wider than a vertical 16:9 ratio, which has to be cropped. For these reasons, GoPro is helping its Hero creators get more out of this format by allowing them to shoot 4:3 footage in 4K. GoPro adds that 4:3 footage can be cropped to a more traditional 16:9 wide aspect ratio if needed.
For the conversion process, the action camera maker is also introducing Super View Digital Lens, a software effect that adds a widening effect to videos during conversion, supposedly making them feel faster, more dynamic, and more immersive. This special ‘lens ‘ feature was always available for GoPro’s more premium offerings but is now available to all GoPro cameras.
