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.
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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.
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.
QuickCapture is designed as a one-step way to begin shooting. Push one button once and the camera powers on and starts recording immediately.
GoPro QuickCapture Compatibility
Not all GoPro cameras have this feature. These are the GoPro models that have the QuickCapture feature:
- HERO10 Black
- HERO9 Black
- HERO8 Black
- MAX
- HERO7 Black
- HERO7 Silver
- HERO7 White
- HERO (2018)
- HERO6 Black
- Fusion
- HERO5 Black
- HERO5 Session
- HERO Session
- HERO4 Black
- HERO4 Silver
- HERO4 Session
- HERO+ LCD
- HERO+
- HERO (2014)
How to Use GoPro QuickCapture
There are a few tricks to using QuikCapture. Firstly, the feature has to be enabled. On some models, it’s enabled by default; on others, it’s disabled by default. To check, or to toggle it, go to
Preferences > QuikCapture > ON / OFF (The menu settings are slightly different on older models of GoPros, but it’s the same idea.)
Secondly, you’re limited to shooting video or time-lapse photos. It doesn’t work with the other shooting modes like burst mode or time-lapse video.
And thirdly, there are some tricks to using it that aren’t necessarily intuitive.
- 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.
- To begin capturing time-lapse photos, rather than do a normal press of the shutter button, you hold it in for three seconds. The camera will then power and immediately start capturing time-lapse photos.
- 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.
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New Model: GoPro HERO12 Black
Released in September 2023, the HERO12 Black is GoPro's newest model.
- 5.3K60 / 4K120 / 2.7K240 Video
- 27MP Photos
- Waterproof to 33ft/10m
- HyperSmooth 6.0 Stabilization
- Shoot 5.3K60 & 4K120 video at up to 120Mbps bitrate
- HDR video up to 5.3K30
- Horizon Lock keeps level even during movement
- Take 27MP photos (5568 x 4872 pixels)
- 1/1.9" CMOS sensor
- Waterproof to 33ft / 10m, so you can take it swimming, paddling, surfing, or snorkeling without a separate housing
- Built-in mount point
- HyperSmooth 6.0 In-camera Video Stabilization creates smooth video without a gimbal
- Shoot up to 8x slow motion
