GoPro QuikCapture: What It Is & How to Use It

Compared to most other modern digital cameras, GoPro cameras are quite slow to power on. So if your camera’s off when you want to start shooting, it can be a frustratingly slow process between powering on and starting shooting. It’s even more important when shooting with GoPros, because the chances are you’re wanting to use your GoPro in fast-moving action environments. They are action cameras, after all. And powering off the camera is the best way to save the camera’s precious battery life. I’ve missed the shot I want more than once thanks to lag between pressing the power button and the camera actually being ready to shoot.

But there are some ways to speed up the process.

One feature that helps speed things up a bit is to use the Default Mode setting to select which shooting mode the camera starts in when you power it up. If you find that you’re shooting video more often, you can set the camera to start in that mode when you power it on. Or photo or burst modes. And so on.

On the most recent models that use shooting presets, you can use it in combination with shooting presets to finetune this behavior even further. (On those models it’s called Default Preset, and GoPro’s manuals note that it doesn’t affect QuikCapture, which always starts with the video settings you used last.)

While that’s a way to reduce the time between powering on and shooting, there’s an even quicker option on many of the newer GoPro cameras. It’s the QuikCapture feature.

QuikCapture is designed as a one-step way to begin shooting. Push one button once and the camera powers on and starts recording immediately.

How to use GoPro QuikCapture

There are a few tricks to using QuikCapture. Firstly, the feature has to be enabled. On most models, it’s on by default. Where you check or toggle it depends on the model. On the HERO13 Black, it’s under:

Preferences > General > QuikCapture

On the HERO8 through HERO12 Black and the MAX2, there’s also a QuikCapture button on the Dashboard: swipe down on the rear screen and tap it. On the MISSION 1 series, the manual has you switch it on there first. (The menu settings are slightly different on older models of GoPros, but it’s the same idea.)

Secondly, it’s for video and, on some models, time lapse. It doesn’t work with photo modes like burst.

And thirdly, there are some tricks to using it that aren’t necessarily intuitive.

1. With the camera turned off, if you press the shutter button on top (with the red circle), it will turn on and immediately start recording video without you having to hit another button. It remembers the last video settings you used and will resume those settings.
2. To begin capturing a time lapse, rather than do a normal press of the shutter button, you hold it in for about three seconds. On the HERO5 through HERO7 Black, that starts time-lapse photos; on the HERO8, HERO9, and HERO10 Black and the MAX, it starts whichever Time Lapse mode you used last. The HERO7 Silver and White, and the HERO11 Black and later, don’t have this shortcut. On those, QuikCapture is for video only.
3. And the final trick to know is that when you hit the shutter button again to stop the filming, it doesn’t just stop the filming–it also turns the camera off. So if you want to do anything else, you’re going to have to power the camera up again. The HERO13 Black gives you a moment first: a 5-second countdown, during which you can press the shutter to record again, press the Mode button to go to the capture screen, or hold Mode to shut down right away.

GoPro QuikCapture compatibility

Not all GoPro cameras have this feature. These are the GoPro models that have the QuikCapture feature:

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• HERO13 Black
• HERO12 Black
• HERO11 Black
• HERO11 Black Mini
• HERO (2024)
• MAX2
• MISSION 1 and MISSION 1 PRO
• LIT HERO
• HERO10 Black
• HERO9 Black
• HERO8 Black
• MAX
• HERO7 Black
• HERO7 Silver
• HERO7 White
• HERO (2018)
• HERO6 Black
• Fusion
• HERO5 Black
• HERO5 Session
• HERO Session (a short press of the Shutter button works the same way, though its manual doesn’t call it QuikCapture)
• HERO4 Black
• HERO4 Silver
• HERO4 Session (same as the HERO Session)
• HERO+ LCD
• HERO+
• HERO (2014)