GoPro Protune Explained: What Every Setting Does, the Settings I Use, and Which Cameras Have What (HERO13 to HERO4)

Protune is GoPro’s name for its advanced, manual-ish controls. Basically an expert mode. Things like bit rate, shutter speed, exposure compensation, white balance, ISO limits, sharpness, color profile, and the raw audio and wind settings.

They’re not settings you have to mess with if you don’t want to — GoPros are set up well to work on auto-just-about-everything right out of the box. But if you want more control, Protune is probably where you find the settings.

It’s off by default — and the auto settings are genuinely good — so for most shooting you can leave it alone.

But you can turn it on when you want to adjust things like a higher-bitrate video, a Flat profile to color-grade, a fixed shutter or white balance for consistency, or to keep ISO down for cleaner low-light footage.

On the HERO12 and HERO13 you first switch the camera from Easy to Pro controls.

On the HERO8 – HERO11 the Protune options sit at the bottom of each preset’s settings; on older models there’s a Protune on/off switch.

Every setting, what I recommend, and which options each camera from the HERO13 back to the HERO4 actually has, are below.

Protune at a glance: On or off, and what it changes

Setting	What it does	My recommendation
Bit Rate (video)	High = less compression, better quality, bigger files	High if your card can take it (V30 minimum; see GoPro SD cards)
Shutter	Fixes shutter speed (video: 1/fps, 1/(2×fps)…; photo: 1/125–1/2000. Night and Night Lapse have their own Shutter Speed setting, up to 30 s, outside Protune)	Auto, unless you’re matching the 180° rule for video or doing long exposures
EV Comp	Exposure offset, −2 to +2, relative to auto	0; −0.5 to protect highlights in bright scenes
White Balance	Auto or fixed Kelvin (2300–6500K) / Native	Auto for most; fixed only in tricky, constant light or for consistent cuts
ISO Min / Max	Caps how far the camera will push sensitivity	Max 1600 (video) / 800–1600 (photo) for cleaner files; raise only when you must
Sharpness	High / Medium / Low in-camera sharpening	Medium for straight-out-of-camera; Low if you’ll edit (sharpening compared)
Color	Natural / Vibrant / Flat (HERO10 on); GoPro Color / Flat on older models	Natural (or GoPro Color) to share directly; Flat to grade (GoPro Color vs Flat compared)
10-Bit (HERO11+)	Over a billion colors vs 16 million; smoother gradients	On if you grade or shoot HLG/HDR; needs 10-bit-aware editing
RAW Audio	Saves a separate WAV alongside the video	Off unless you need audio to mix separately
Wind / Audio	Wind-noise reduction (Auto/On/Off); Audio Tuning on newer models	Auto

Two things people miss: from the HERO8 on, Bit Rate is its own Protune setting, and High is where the fast-card requirement really bites; and Protune is à la carte — you can change one setting and leave the rest on Auto. The rest of this page is the detail, then the per-camera tables.

What is GoPro Protune?

Protune is the name GoPro gives their advanced or expert options. There are generally two sets of Protune options, some for shooting video and some for shooting photos. They can be for things like controlling the shutter speed or setting a manual white balance. Not all GoPro cameras have the same Protune options, and some cameras don’t have any.

Protune explained in detail

Initially, Protune options were all related to shooting video, but some more recent GoPros also include Protune options for shooting photos. By default, GoPros work in automatic exposure mode.

That means that you can use them right out of the box and have confidence that you’ll get decent results. But if you want more control, such as being able to tweak the color grading in a video editor, specifying the white balance, or assigning a set shutter speed, you can turn Protune on to override some of the automatic settings.

From the HERO8 on there’s an explicit Bit Rate setting, and switching it to High records more data per second, which can mean better image quality.

Not every GoPro has Protune options. Some have Protune options for both video and photo shooting. Others have it only for video. It’s generally reserved for the higher-end models such as the flagship Black editions. You can see which Protune options are available on what GoPros in the tables below.

It’s worth noting that turning Protune on is entirely optional. The advanced settings are disabled by default, and the camera is set up with defaults that will give good results right out of the box. But the extended Protune options are there if you want more control. You also don’t have to set all of them to make changes — it’s not the same as a full manual mode in that respect.

GoPro Protune for video

One consideration that isn’t immediately apparent from the menu options is that, from the HERO8 on, there’s an explicit Bit Rate setting, and switching it to High records more data per second. Basically, that means that the video has less compression applied, which can mean better image quality.

It also means that more data has to be written quickly to the memory card, so if you’re using Protune, particularly at high resolutions or fast frame rates (or both), it’s especially important that you have a SD card that’s fast enough.

For fast outdoor filming — riding, skiing, anything with spray and dirt — the settings to focus on are Bit Rate, ISO, and shutter.

• Set Bit Rate to High so detailed, busy scenes like trees, water, and snow hold together, and make sure the card can keep up with it.
• Cap ISO Max at 400 in daylight; the sensor is small and gets noisy fast, and there’s usually plenty of light out there.
• Leave the shutter on Auto unless you specifically want to freeze the action or keep some motion blur, and nudge EV Comp slightly negative when you’re shooting toward a bright sky, because blown highlights aren’t recoverable, even with .gpr RAW files.

Color

Recommendation: Use the default Color setting for most uses. Only use Flat if you plan to color grade in video editing software.

The color setting on the HERO9 and older lets you choose from two options: GoPro Color and Flat. From the HERO10 Black onward there are three — Natural, Vibrant, and Flat. Natural is the less punchy, true-to-life option and is the default from the HERO11 on; the HERO10 itself ships on Vibrant. GoPro refers to this as a color profile, but it’s not the same thing as the profile that you use with color spaces and more advanced digital imaging and color management.

The default is GoPro Color on the HERO9 and older, Vibrant on the HERO10, and Natural from the HERO11 on. That’s what you get with Protune turned off. It’s the punchy look you’re most likely used to when viewing GoPro videos, with relatively high contrast and quite saturated, bright colors. If you’re looking to share the footage without messing with post-processing, the GoPro Color setting will usually give you the best-looking results right out of the camera.

The Flat setting looks much less impressive right out of the camera. It’s quite desaturated and has low contrast. But it becomes useful if you’re planning to do color grading in video editing apps like DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, or Adobe Premiere. It gives you maximum control over the contrast and color saturation. And because of its reduced contrast, it also retains better details in highlights and shadows.

The Flat setting can also be very useful if you’re mixing GoPro footage with footage captured with other cameras and want to try to get them all to a relatively consistent look.

White balance

Recommendation: The Auto option works well for a wide range of uses, although it can tend towards a little cool (blue tint). The manual options really only make sense in specific difficult lighting conditions. But for general shooting, start with Auto.

The White Balance Setting is for working in different kinds of lighting conditions. It’s a kind of color correction that compensates for the different color temperatures of light. Bright sunlight, for example, has a different color temperature than shade.

In most cases, the objective is to try to keep the overall color tone looking natural rather than tinted. In other words, white objects should look white and black objects should look black rather than blue or orange. Although that’s not always the case — sometimes color casts can be used to add a distinctive look or mood. The numbers in the Protune settings refer to Kelvin color temperatures, which is how color temperature is typically measured.

The default setting is Auto, and for everyday shooting that’s going to give you the best, most natural-looking results. But if you want to fine-tune it either because the Auto setting is having a hard time with some challenging lighting conditions, you want more creative control over the look and mood, or you’re trying to match some other footage, you can override it and set it to a specific temperature.

If you’re shooting a cozy fireplace scene, for example, you might want to deliberately use something like 6500K to create a warm, inviting look to your footage where using 2300K on the same scene would likely look unnatural and uninviting. But using the same 6500K out on the snow might make everything unnaturally blue.

In general, the lower the number, the weaker (or warmer) the light source. So, for example, a candlelit room is going to be down at the bottom end around 2300K. Bright sunlight is going to be upwards of 5000K.

If you get it wrong, you’ll end up with footage that has a strong color cast. If you choose a number too high, the footage will come out with an orange tint. If you select a number too low, it will come out bluish. The preview on the back screen reflects the setting you’ve chosen, so you get a real-time preview.

The Native setting applies the minimum amount of color correction; in that way, it’s similar to the Flat color profile. It’s best if you’re planning to do color grading in video editing software.

Manual exposure / shutter

Recommendation: This is most useful if you’re trying to work with subjects that require a specific shutter speed. For instance, a very fast shutter speed would make sense for very fast action, but the catch is that it will also require more light. In most cases, the default Auto setting will result in a good compromise.

The name of this setting isn’t as clear as it could be. This isn’t manual exposure in quite the same way you might be used to it on other cameras. By itself, it’s not an M mode where you set the aperture and shutter speed. GoPros have a fixed aperture, so manual exposure here refers only to the shutter speed.

With the video Protune options, the specific options you see available vary by the framerate you’ve chosen. That’s because the available shutter speeds are multiples of the framerate.

As an example, if you set it to 1080p60, you won’t see the option for a manual shutter speed of 1/96 but you will see 1/120 and 1/240, because they’re multiples of 60. Likewise, if you choose 4K24 you’ll see options like 1/48 and 1/192.

This setting is useful to be used in conjunction with the ISO setting, which effectively gives you control over two of the three sides of the exposure triangle (you can’t change the aperture — it’s fixed, and depending on the model it’s around f/2.5 to f/2.8).

ISO Min / ISO Max / ISO Limit

Recommendation: The default options work well in a wide range of situations, but there might be times, especially in low light, where you want to set a lower limit in order to maximize image quality.

A camera’s ISO setting refers to the sensitivity of the sensor to light hitting it. In dark lighting you want a higher ISO to make the sensor react more quickly to the light hitting it (ie. more sensitive).

The catch is that the higher the ISO, the further away from optimum image quality you get. Very high ISO settings can result in grainy footage and washed-out colors. In bright conditions, an ISO of 100 will usually give you much better image quality than an ISO of 3200.

GoPros adjust the ISO automatically. What these Protune settings allow you to do is control the range of that auto ISO by setting upper and lower limits. The terminology varies a little between models. Older models let you set only a maximum ceiling that the camera wouldn’t go above. That setting was called ISO Limit. New models allow you to set both a minimum and a maximum ISO with settings now called ISO Min and ISO Max.

The ISO Limit / ISO Min / ISO Max settings can be useful in a few different ways. A common one is if you’re trying to avoid the downsides of high ISOs, so you might set the upper limit to something like ISO 800. The catch is that once the camera hits that ceiling in dark conditions, it can’t brighten the image any further — the footage just goes darker, and EV Comp stops doing anything until you raise the ISO again.

Conversely, if you want to ensure a high shutter speed, you can increase the lower limit. That will then force the automatic exposure to favor faster shutter speeds.

And if you’re trying to match footage between different shoots, it can be useful to assign a specific ISO. So you can set the upper and lower limits to the same number.

You can see the effect of this setting in real-time on the GoPro’s screen.

Sharpness

Recommendation: The default setting results in generally crisp and sharp footage right out of the camera. But you might want to reduce the amount of sharpening if you plan to post-process the footage. That will give you more control over sharpening using the powerful tools in video editing software.

How crisp the footage is can be the result of several things: lens quality, air quality, lighting conditions, and the intersection of movement and shutter speed.

This sharpness setting is none of those. If you’re familiar with photo editing software, it’s the same thing that is sometimes called an unsharp filter. It’s a correction applied at the end of the chain, right before the video file is encoded. It applies software algorithms to find the edges of the image and then increases their local contrast. When done across the whole frame, it makes the footage look sharper and crisper.

On most GoPros that have the option, you have a choice of High, Medium, or Low (a few models have On or Off instead). On the HERO9 and older the default is High; from the HERO10 on it’s Medium. Either way, the default is going to give good-looking results right out of the camera in many instances.

If you’re aiming for a softer, dreamier look, you might want to dial that down to Low.

The Low setting is also useful if you’re planning to use post-processing software and want maximum control over the sharpness. It’s closest to the natural optical sharpness of the image. It’s not going to look as crisp out of the camera, but it does give you the flexibility for post-processing.

The preview on the back screen tries to mimic the effect of the sharpening setting to give you a real-time view of it. It’s not technically the same as the version on the finished product at full resolution, but it’s useful to see the effect.

Exposure compensation

Recommendation: I use this quite a lot, especially in difficult lighting situations. It’s applied relative to the automatic calculation, so if you want to darken the whole scene with a lower-key look, you can apply something like -1 exposure compensation (which can also make colors richer).

GoPros automatically adjust the exposure settings to try to give the best exposure. But what “best” is can be entirely subjective. Sometimes it can be a lowest denominator approach that doesn’t suit what you’re aiming for.

Exposure Compensation, which is sometimes known as EV Comp, can also be very useful in challenging, uneven lighting conditions. As an example, imagine you’re filming someone from a distance standing under a streetlight on a dark night. The camera will automatically try to create the “best” exposure and try to make the darkness brighter. But that might make the person under the streetlight far too bright and wash out any details. So you could dial down the exposure compensation to properly expose for the person under the streetlight. (On newer models, using exposure compensation isn’t the only way to tackle this particular kind of issue — there’s also an Exposure Control feature that’s not technically part of the Protune settings).

Things can get a little tricky when you throw in the ISO issue. EV Comp works within a specified ISO range, and it’s not going to have any effect if the exposure has already hit the floor or ceiling.

There’s a sliding scale from -2 to +2, moving in 0.5 increments. The default is 0 on the older models; on the recent ones, including the HERO11 and HERO13, it’s -0.5.

You can preview the effect of this setting in real-time on the camera’s back screen.

When shooting video, the Exposure Compensation setting is only available if the Manual Exposure shutter value is set to Auto.

Raw audio track

Recommendation: For higher-quality audio, the Raw audio track allows for more flexibility in post-processing. Especially good for music footage (although still not as good as a dedicated external recorder).

This is one of the new settings that was introduced with the HERO5 Black. It allows you to create a separate audio track at a higher quality than the one embedded into the mp4 video file. In other words, it’s a standalone detached audio file.

The default is Off. There’s no separate audio file created, so you use the one embedded in the mp4 video file.

Low creates a separate WAV file and applies minimal processing and will often sound the worst straight out of the camera. It’s the closest to a true raw audio feed, so it’s a good option if you’re planning to work on the audio track in audio software or video editing software.

The Medium creates a separate WAV file. This setting’s behavior varies based on whether you have the Manual Audio Control setting on or off. If you have it set to either wind or stereo, it will respect that. If you have Manual Audio Control switched off, the Medium setting here will switch automatically between wind and stereo depending on which it calculates to give better results.

The High setting creates a separate WAV file and applies the most in-camera processing — automatic gain plus wind-noise reduction. The point of it is processed audio in an uncompressed WAV, without the AAC encoding baked into the MP4’s own audio track. (On the HERO5 through HERO7, High did apply AAC encoding; that changed with the HERO8.)

Microphone setting

Recommendation: Auto for most general uses. Wind for situations where there’s a lot of wind noise.

Auto/Stereo/Wind is how the HERO7 Black labeled this. The HERO5 and HERO6 had the same idea under the name Manual Audio Control — off by default, with Wind Only and Stereo Only once you switched it on. From the HERO8 on it became Wind-Noise Reduction (Wind Suppression on the HERO13) with just Auto, On, and Off: there’s no Stereo setting anymore, and Off is what keeps the camera recording in stereo.

The Stereo setting forces the camera to record in stereo mode. That’s the best option for things like music or spoken word, but if you’re shooting in windy conditions, you’ll end up recording all of that wind noise too.

This is where the Wind setting comes in; it tries to filter out the wind noise.

Which Protune options are available on what cameras when shooting video

Here’s a master list of the various video Protune options available on specific models.

Protune Option	HERO13 Black	HERO12 Black	HERO11 Black	HERO10 Black	HERO9 Black	HERO8 Black	HERO7 Black	HERO6 Black	HERO5 Black	HERO4 Black	HERO4 Silver	HERO Session
10-Bit	On / Off (Preferences > Video > Bit Depth; applies to 4K and higher, not available for 9:16)	(Moved to video settings)	On Off (default)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Bitrate	Standard / High (video settings)	(Moved to video settings)	Standard (default) High	Low (default) High	Low (default) High	Low (default) High	–	–	–	–	–	–
Color	Vibrant Natural (default) Flat	Vibrant Natural (default) Flat	Vibrant Natural (default) Flat	Vibrant (default) Natural Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat
White Balance	Auto (default) 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto (default) 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto (default) 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 3000K 4000K 4800K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto (default) 3000K 5500K 6500K Native	Auto (default) 3000K 5500K 6500K Native	Auto 3000K 5500K 6500K Native
Manual Exposure / Shutter*	Auto (default) 1/fps 1/(2xfps) 1/(4xfps) 1/(8xfps) 1/(16xfps)	Auto (default) 1/fps 1/(2xfps) 1/(4xfps) 1/(8xfps) 1/(16xfps)	Auto (default) 1/fps 1/(2xfps) 1/(4xfps) 1/(8xfps) 1/(16xfps)	Auto 1/fps 1/(2xfps) 1/(4xfps) 1/(8xfps) 1/(16xfps)	Auto 1/fps 1/(2xfps) 1/(4xfps) 1/(8xfps) 1/(16xfps)	Auto 1/fps 1/(2xfps) 1/(4xfps) 1/(8xfps) 1/(16xfps)	Auto 1/fps 1/(2xfps) 1/(4xfps) 1/(8xfps) 1/(16xfps)	Auto 1/FPS 1/(2xFPS) 1/(4xFPS) 1/(8xFPS)	Auto 1/FPS 1/(2xFPS) 1/(4xFPS) 1/(8xFPS)	–	–	–
ISO Limit	Auto 6400 3200 1600 800 400 200 100	Auto 6400 3200 1600 800 400 200 100	Auto 6400 3200 1600 800 400 200 100	6400 3200 1600 800 400 200 100	6400 3200 1600 800 400 200 100	6400 3200 1600 800 400 200 100	6400 3200 1600 800 400 200 100	6400 3200 1600 800 400 200 100	6400 3200 1600 1200 800 400	6400 3200 1600 (default) 800 400	6400 3200 1600 (default) 800 400	1600 400
Sharpness	High Medium (default) Low	High Medium (default) Low	High Medium (default) Low	High Medium (default) Low	High (default) Medium Low	High (default) Medium Low	High (default) Medium Low	High (default) Medium Low	High (default) Medium Low	High Medium Low	High Medium Low	OFF ON
Exposure Compensation	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2
Raw Audio Track	Off (default) / Low / Mid / High	Off (default) Low Mid High	Off (default) Low Mid High	Off (default) Low Mid High	Off Low Mid High	Off Low Mid High	Off Low Mid High	Off Low Mid High	Off Low Mid High	–	–	–
Wind	Auto (default) / On / Off; plus Audio Tuning (Standard / Voice / Natural)	Auto (default) On Off	Auto (default) On Off	Auto (default) On Off	Auto On Off	Auto On Off	Microphone Settings: Auto (default) / Stereo / Wind	—	—	–	–	–

GoPro Protune for photo, timelapse photo, Nightlapse photo & burst shooting

Protune was first introduced as a set of extended options for shooting video. Later, a set of Protune options were added for shooting still photos. These photo Protune options in the various still photo mode are both similar and simpler than the ones in the video mode. Obviously, there’s no need for control over things like audio with photos, so that’s not one of the available options.

On newer models, all of the Protune options remain available through all the various photo modes, but not every setting is relevant for every mode. That’s mainly because there are differences in the ways that some of these settings are applied to JPG and RAW images (for those models that have support for the RAW image format).

One thing that catches people out on the recent models: Protune and SuperPhoto can’t both be on. SuperPhoto is the default Output setting on cameras like the HERO13, so it’s switching Output to Standard or RAW that makes the photo Protune options usable in the first place — and turning Protune on quietly switches SuperPhoto off. The HDR output setting has the same conflict, as do Burst and Night Photo. So if the Protune options look greyed out in a photo preset, Output is the first place to check.

Color

Recommendation: Leave it on the default color profile for most uses — GoPro Color on the HERO9 and older, Vibrant on the HERO10, Natural from the HERO11 on. Flat is really only suitable if you plan to post-process the images.

This is much like the Color option when shooting video.

On the HERO9 and older the choices are GoPro Color or Flat; from the HERO10 on they’re Natural, Vibrant, and Flat. The GoPro Color setting will give the punchier, high-contrast, and more saturated image that looks better out of the camera. Flat will look less impressive straight out of the camera but gives you maximum flexibility for post-processing.

If you’re shooting JPG, the resulting image is directly affected by this setting. If you’re shooting in the RAW mode (.gpr), you’ll see the preview change on the camera’s screen, but it has no effect on the underlying RAW file.

I’ve put together some examples of effect of the Protune color setting here.

White balance

Recommendation: Auto works well in a wide range of uses (although it can sometimes tend toward the cool side of things (i.e., slightly blue tint). In general, the manual settings have to be chosen on a case-by-case basis depending on the actual lighting conditions of the scene.

For maximum flexibility, shoot RAW and adjust white balance in post.

The white balance options are the same as with the video mode (see above).

One difference in the behavior depends on whether you’re shooting JPG or RAW. When shooting JPG, the white balance setting are reflected in the resulting image.

But RAW files handle white balance a bit differently and make the in-camera white balance setting much less relevant. It allows you much more control over it in post-production. So if you’re editing them in something like Lightroom, you’ll see the value reflected in the preview thumbnail as a starting point (or in the JPG file that’s saved simultaneously), but you can set the white balance anywhere you like.

Shutter

Recommendation: Increase the shutter speed if you’re getting motion blur or camera shake. You’ll need extra light (or a higher ISO) to compensate, though.

New Black models include an option to manually set the shutter speed to one of the available values:

• 1/125 sec
• 1/250 sec
• 1/500 sec
• 1/1000 sec
• 1/2000 sec

As with any standard stills camera, a higher shutter speed is better for freezing the action but requires either more light or bumping up the ISO.

ISO Limit / ISO Min / ISO Max

Recommendation: Because the low-light performance of GoPros isn’t great, there are situations where you might want to reduce the maximum ISO to minimize image noise and maximize image quality. Again, you’ll either need more light or a slower shutter to compensate.

These work the same way as the ISO settings in the video Protune options. Earlier cameras used a single ISO Limit setting to set a maximum ceiling that the camera wouldn’t go above. Newer models added the option to assign a minimum floor, and ISO Limit was replaced with ISO Min and ISO Max.

If you want to lock in a specific ISO setting, set the minimum and maximum settings to the same value.

Sharpness

Recommendation: The default gives crisp JPGs straight out of the camera — that’s High on the HERO9 and older, Medium from the HERO10 on. If you plan to process JPGs in image editing software, reduce it. Or, if you’re shooting RAW, you can ignore it, because it’s not relevant for those.

By default, GoPros apply fairly aggressive sharpening to help make the images crisp. On the older models the default is High; on the recent ones, including the HERO13, it’s Medium. If you want to tone it down, you can choose Medium or Low. In general, a low setting gives you more flexibility if you’re planning on putting the image through post-processing.

But it really only matters if you’re shooting JPGs. That’s because if you’re shooting JPG, the sharpness settings are applied directly to the JPG image.

If you’re shooting RAW, the sharpness setting only affects the embedded JPG preview and not the underlying RAW file.

I’ve put together some examples of GoPro sharpening separately.

Exposure compensation

Recommendation: This is very useful for working with difficult lighting conditions but is best used on a case-by-case basis depending on the scene.

As with the video mode, the Exposure Compensation setting overrides the automatic exposure calculation to either darken or brighten the image. There’s a slider down to -2 and up to +2 that moves in increments of 0.5. The default is 0 on the older models and -0.5 on the recent ones, including the HERO13.

Which GoPro models have which photo Protune options (photo, burst, time lapse & Night Lapse)

Here’s a master list of the various photo Protune options available on specific models.

Protune Option	HERO13 Black	HERO12 Black	HERO11 Black	HERO10 Black	HERO9 Black	HERO8 Black	HERO7 Black	HERO6 Black	HERO5 Black	HERO5 Session	HERO4 Black	HERO4 Silver
Color	Vibrant Natural (default) Flat	Vibrant Natural (default) Flat	Vibrant Natural (default) Flat	Vibrant (default) Natural Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat	GoPro Color Flat
White Balance	Auto (default) 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto (default) 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto (default) 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5000K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 2300K 2800K 3200K 4000K 4500K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 3000K 4000K 4800K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto (default) 3000K 4000K 4800K 5500K 6000K 6500K Native	Auto 3000K 5500K 6500K Native	Auto 3000K 5500K 6500K Native
Shutter Speed	Auto (default) 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000 1/2000	Auto (default) 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000 1/2000	Auto 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000 1/2000	Auto 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000 1/2000	Auto 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000 1/2000	Auto 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000 1/2000	Auto 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000 1/2000	Auto 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000 1/2000	–	–	–	–
ISO Limit	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	800 400 200 100	800 400 200 100
ISO Min	3200 1600 800 400 200 100 (default)	3200 1600 800 400 200 100 (default)	3200 1600 800 400 200 100 (default)	3200 1600 800 400 200 100 (default)	3200 1600 800 400 200 100	3200 1600 800 400 200 100	3200 1600 800 400 200 100	3200 1600 800 400 200 100	1600 800 400 200 100	–	–	–
ISO Max	3200 (default) 1600 800 400 200 100	3200 (default) 1600 800 400 200 100	3200 (default) 1600 800 400 200 100	3200 (default) 1600 800 400 200 100	3200 1600 800 400 200 100	3200 1600 800 400 200 100	3200 1600 800 400 200 100	3200 1600 800 400 200 100	100 200 400 800 1600	–	–	–
Sharpness	High Medium (default) Low	High Medium (default) Low	High Medium (default) Low	High Medium Low	High Medium Low	High Medium Low	High Medium Low	High Medium Low	High Medium Low	High Medium Low	High Medium Low	High Medium Low
Exposure Compensation	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2	-2 to +2

Where Protune lives on each GoPro

The settings are the same family across generations; what changed is where they sit:

HERO13 Black and HERO12 Black

Swipe down to the dashboard, swipe left, and set Controls from Easy to Pro. Then open any preset’s settings and scroll down: Bit Rate, Shutter, EV Comp, White Balance, ISO Min/Max, Sharpness, Color, RAW Audio, Wind, and (HERO13) Audio Tuning. 10-Bit and HDR sit in the main video settings rather than under a Protune heading — the distinction has mostly dissolved on these two cameras. The HERO13 also adds Lens modes for the HB-Series lenses, outside Protune.

HERO11 Black, HERO10 Black, HERO9 Black, HERO8 Black

No Protune switch: edit a capture preset and scroll to the bottom of its settings for the Protune group. The HERO11 introduced 10-Bit (under Protune); the HERO10 introduced the Natural/Vibrant/Flat color profiles; the HERO9 and HERO8 have GoPro Color/Flat. Bit Rate appears from the HERO8 on — labeled Low/High on the HERO8 to HERO10, Standard/High from the HERO11.

HERO7 Black, HERO6 Black, HERO5 Black, HERO4 Black/Silver, HERO Session

Turn Protune On in the mode’s settings first; only then do the options appear. These models offer GoPro Color/Flat, white balance, shutter (video and photo on the HERO6 and HERO7; video-only on the HERO5 Black; the HERO4 and HERO Session have no Protune shutter at all), ISO limit, sharpness, and EV comp; RAW audio from the HERO5 on. The HERO Session has Protune for video only (no photo Protune, no shutter), and its Sharpness is a simple On/Off. The HERO7 Silver and White, the HERO (2018), and the entry-level HERO (2024) have no Protune.

How to reset the Protune options

If you’ve been messing around with the Protune settings and want to quickly restore the defaults, hit the Reset icon, the small circular arrow on the bottom left of the camera’s screen when you have the Protune options screen open.

If you’re using the GoPro mobile app, there’s also a Reset Protune option in the settings.

Common questions

Should I leave Protune on or off?

Off is fine for casual shooting; the auto settings are good. Turn it on when you want the high bit rate, a Flat profile for grading, a fixed white balance or shutter for consistency, or an ISO cap for cleaner low light. Nothing breaks if you leave it on, but you’ll want a fast card.

What’s the difference between Natural, Vibrant, and Flat?

Vibrant is the punchy, saturated look; Natural is a touch more restrained and is the default from the HERO11 on (the HERO10 ships on Vibrant); Flat is low-contrast, low-saturation footage meant for color grading. On the HERO9 and older the choices are GoPro Color (punchy) and Flat. Side-by-side examples are in GoPro Color vs Flat.

Does the HERO7 Silver or the HERO (2024) have Protune?

No. It’s a higher-end feature, and those three don’t have it — the Silver and White HERO7, the HERO (2018), and the HERO (2024). It isn’t strictly Black-only, though: the HERO4 Silver, the HERO Session and HERO5 Session, and the MAX all have Protune options.

Does Protune affect photos or just video?

Both. Video Protune controls bit rate, shutter, ISO, color, sharpness, EV, white balance, and audio; photo Protune covers shutter, ISO min/max, color, sharpness, EV, and white balance (RAW capture is a separate setting). The two tables above show exactly which options each camera has.