GoPro likes giving their features catchy names. Names like HyperSmooth, Timewarp, Protune, SuperPhoto, HyperSmooth, and SuperView. But it’s not always clear what each does. The one I’m focusing on here is SuperView, a feature that’s available in some video modes on some of the newer cameras.
So what is SuperView, anyway?
SuperView is GoPro’s name for its widest field of view, or FOV, available when shooting video. 1 GoPro calls it “the world’s most immersive field of view.” 2
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- âž™ HERO11 Black: $399 @ GoPro.com
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It’s also not the same thing as SuperPhoto, which is GoPro’s name for some photo enhancement features first launched in the HERO7 Black.
The default field of view for shooting video with GoPro cameras is known as Wide. It has that distinctive fisheye look that can give an immersive feel, and it’s the perspective we’re most used to when we see GoPro footage.
The SuperView FOV is an even wider and more distorted perspective. The most obvious change is that it milks just a little more from each side. To include that extra information, it squashes the rest of the frame a bit more.
To accomplish that, it stretches a 4:3 aspect ratio capture into a viewport that has an aspect ratio of 16:9. But it’s not just vertical squishing– it also uses more of the available sensor data on each side.
SuperView not available on every camera, and even on cameras that do have it, it’s not available in every resolution/framerate combination. On the HERO7 Black, for example, it’s not available on the highest framerates for each resolution (you can find details on the table at the bottom of this page).
SuperView Practical Examples
Here’s a practical example of what it looks like compared with the default Wide FOV. The left image is the standard Wide FOV. The right is the SuperView FOV. These are screen grabs from footage taken on the HERO7 Black with the HyperSmooth stabilization turned off (the stabilization crops the frame slightly).

Here’s another example, this time shot on a HERO6 Black:


And another, again with the HERO7 Black:
When to Use SuperView
There are no hard and fast rules on which field of view to use when– that’s very much a creative decision–but the extra leeway with SuperView is particularly well suited to two common situations. One is when it’s not practical to compose the shot precisely and want to make sure that your subject remains in the frame (i.e., a simpler version of the idea of overcapture used on the Fusion or MAX). Another is when you’re shooting in a tight space where you’re trying to capture as much of the surroundings as possible. GoPro suggests that it’s good for body- and gear-mounted shots, which falls within those scenarios.
What it’s not especially useful for is any time that the highly distorted and compressed look is going to appear strange. So you wouldn’t usually use it for standard people shots, for example, where it’s going to distort their face and body in a distracting way.
Related Posts
- Technically, the MAX and Fusion can do wider fields of view because they can shoot 360° and overcapture. I’m referring here to the non-360° cameras that shoot traditional non-360° video.[↩]
- 360° footage like that from the GoPro MAX and Fusion is presumably more immersive.[↩]
The Latest Model: GoPro HERO11 Black
Released in the fall of 2022, the HERO11 is GoPro's current model. Well, actually two models.
First, there's the flagship Black that has all the bells and whistles and sets the standard for action cameras.
- Shoot 5.3K60 & 4K120 video at up to 120Mbps bitrate
- Take 27MP photos
- Waterproof to 33ft / 10m without a separate housing
- Built-in mount point
- HyperSmooth 5.0 In-camera Video Stabilization creates smooth video without a gimbal
- Shoot up to 8x slow motion
A couple of months later, they released Black Mini. It's smaller and shares many of the flagship models capabilities, but it's also stripped-down in important ways. For instance, it doesn't have a touchscreen, its battery isn't removable, and it shoots video only (so no photo mode).
- Shoot 5.3K60 & 4K120 video at up to 120Mbps bitrate
- Compact form factor
- Waterproof to 33ft / 10m without a separate housing
- 2x built-in mount point
- HyperSmooth 5.0 in-camera video stabilization
- Shoot up to 8x slow motion @ 2.7K
- Built-in battery
Hi there,
Is it possible to use Superview mode on a GoPro 8 while on Webcam mode?
I only seem to be able to use Wide mode or narrower ones only.
Thank you.
Can you use super view on full zoom on gopro 7 black ?
No, you can’t use SuperView and the zoom at the same time.
The article states, What it’s not especially useful for is any time that the highly distorted and compressed look is going to appear strange. So you wouldn’t usually use it for standard people shots, for example, where it’s going to distort their face and body in a distracting way.
I use my Go-Pro only for recording my amateur football team’s matches. Will the superview make the match footage look too unnatural?
For something like that, where the action is far away from the camera, you’re not going to notice much, if any, extra distortion. You’ll notice it most if the subject is close to the camera, such as with selfies or group shots, and interiors, etc.