What video resolution and how many fps do I need when recording?
What does video resolution mean?
The number of horizontal and vertical pixels in your movie is expressed in image resolution. The higher the resolution, the more detail you see. The most well-known resolution is 1920x1080 pixels, or Full HD. Ultra HD, also known as 4K, is very common nowadays on screens. That's why camera manufacturers release cameras on the market that record in this resolution. Important: if your camera records in 4K but your monitor doesn't support this resolution, you can't display 4K videos.
Which video resolutions are there?
5K
The 5K resolution contains up to 7 times as many pixels as Full HD image quality. 5K consists of a total of 5120 by 2880 pixels. Since many televisions and monitors now have a 4K resolution, 5K sounds excessive. So what can you do with it? Most action cameras have very limited to no zoom capability. The biggest advantage of recording in 5K resolution is that you can crop (zoom) in post-editing with little loss of quality.
Ultra HD (4K or 4K Cinema)
Because Ultra HD is almost 4000 pixels wide, this resolution is also called 4K. Ultra HD consists of a total of 3840 by 2160 pixels. In cinemas, this is the standard image quality. That's why 4K is sometimes also called 4K Cinema. Because Ultra HD or 4K is now the most common resolution, more and more cameras are coming onto the market that record in this quality by default These include video cameras as well as compact, mirrorless, and SLR cameras.
Full HD (1080p)
Most televisions and monitors have Full HD image quality. In Full HD, the image is 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high. Full HD is also the most common image resolution for cameras. All action cameras record in Full HD. The same goes for mirrorless cameras. So you can be sure that your monitor supports the quality of your videos.
HD Ready (720p)
The maximum image resolution for HD Ready is lower than for Full HD. HD Ready consists of 1280x720 pixels. This resolution meets the minimum requirements for HD quality, hence the term HD Ready. In principle, the images are suitable for playback on an HD screen. But because the image contains considerably fewer pixels than Full HD, the quality is visibly lower. Especially the somewhat older cameras only record in HD Ready.
What does frame rate or frames per second (fps) mean?
A video consists of a long sequence of separate images (frames). The number of images a camera can record per second is called the frame rate. The frame rate determines how smoothly you can play the footage. You can use a high frame rate to record fast movements smoothly. Keep in mind that the images easily look underexposed because light only reaches the sensor briefly while you record.
Which frame rates are there?
15 frames per second: for recording very calm footage without too much movement, such as a landscape.
24 or 30 frames per second: for recording normal and gentle movements, such as walking or interviews. Your video will contain images with a wide dynamic range.
60 frames per second: for recording action footage and fast movements. Can also be used to slow down your footage slightly (slow motion).
120 frames per second: for slowing down your footage and creating slow motion videos. Use only in a well-lit environment to avoid underexposure.
240 frames per second: for extremely slow motion footage and creating slow motion videos. Only to be used in a very well-lit environment to avoid underexposure.
What does frame rate have to do with video resolution?
Not every camera is capable of recording images at the highest possible frame rate in the highest possible image quality. For example, with a new GoPro HERO action camera, you can record 30 fps in 5K quality and 240 fps in Full HD quality. With a basic camera, you can record at 60 fps in Full HD quality. Most action cameras record footage in 4K quality at up to 30 frames per second.
