GoPro HD Hero 2 gets big firmware upgrade resulting in 24fps and higher bitrates

Summary:
Update adds 24p, 35Mbps data rate, log curve encoding, Neutral color profile and reduced sharpening and noise reduction.

The well known action camera producer GoPro announced an upcoming firmware upgrade called “GoPro Protune™ available summer 2012. It adds 24p, 35Mbps data rate; non-destructive 3D LUT and color presets to enable professional production workflow. These features are a bit of a surprise because normally you see them only in high budget camera. This makes the camera a really good deal!

Key features of the GoPro Protune mode include (Source: GoPro)

• 24fps frame rate, enabling GoPro HERO2 content to be easily intercut with other sources without a frame rate conversion;
• 35Mbps data rate for high quality compressed images with virtually zero artifacts;
• Neutral color profile, allowing for greater flexibility in a color correction workflow;
• Log curve encoding, offering more detail in shadows and highlights;
• Reduced sharpening and noise reduction for improved flexibility in professional post- production and color design workflows.

For us it seems that GoPro added these new core features because of two reasons: 1) Action videos with colorful pictures and rapid movements produce very likely many artefacts and 2) the GoPro is used more and more in professional film production environments. With the help of the Technicolor’s CineStyle Log-Curve you can adapt the footage more easily to other cameras in the postproduction.

You can get your own GoPro HD Hero 2 directly at GoPro.

GoPro Protune mode is available as a free firmware upgrade through the GoPro CineForm Studio software, which is also available as a free download here.

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