How I Capture Trail Riding Footage: My Gear and Settings Breakdown

Jul 31

I've been getting a bunch of questions about my setup and how I capture riding footage like this out on the trail. So, I figured I'd do a breakdown of my gear and settings so you guys can do it too. Let's get into it.

Gear Overview

GoPro Hero 12 Mounted to a Full Face Helmet

I used to ride with a chest mount, but no longer. This is by far the superior camera angle in my opinion, and the mount is simpler than you'd think. Here's what you need to do:

Use one of the sticky pads that come with your GoPro.
Secure it with a single zip tie.
I'm using the Liat Enduro 3.0 helmet for this, but you should be able to do this with any full face helmet.

Camera Settings

Lens and Resolution

Since I have the Max Lens Mod on, I've got to make sure the Max Lens Mod is enabled. Here are my specific settings:

Resolution: 4K
Frame Rate: 30 frames per second
Aspect Ratio: 9x16 (vertical for social media)
Lens: Max Superview
Horizon Lock: On
Max HyperSmooth: On

Additional Settings

Shutter: Auto
White Balance: 5,000 Kelvin
ISO Max: 6400
Sharpness: Medium
Color: Natural
Other Settings: Pretty much standard

GoPro also has a setting that you can shoot in 4x3, so theoretically, you could crop widescreen or vertical. However, I just shoot in 9x16 if I know it's going to be for social media.

Finding the Perfect Mounting Angle

Next up, you're going to want to do a few practice runs and find the perfect mounting location and angle to get just enough handlebars and trail in the shot. Here's a tip: once I found the perfect location, I used a white sharpie to mark the line, so every time I put on the camera, I know it's pretty much right on the money.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. You asked, I delivered. Those are the settings I use to capture trail riding footage right on the camera. If you have any questions, put them in the comments. We'll see you later!

Joe Foft