Rock climbing is a test of both physical and technical abilities, so climbing generally looks great on video.
So you want to film your next climb? There’s no question - GoPro is your best choice. In this guide to GoPro rock climbing, you’ll learn the settings, and composition to consider so you can capture your full adventure. Ready? Let’s get started!
A trusty GoPro is the perfect camera to take with you on your rock climbing adventures. It’s small, lightweight, and it’s capable of filming quality footage.
But before you start your ascent, you need to know that your GoPro is set upright and ready to film. The last thing you want is to be worrying about your GoPro’s settings when you’re halfway up a climbing wall, or even worse, halfway up a mountain.
Steer clear of protune settings
Normally, protune settings can offer more control over settings and can help you create more professional looking videos. When you leave protune off, your GoPro goes into auto mode, so things like white balance and color contrast are adjusted depending on your environment.
When you’re climbing, the chances are, you’re going to be filming a mixture of shadowy rock surfaces, and bright backgrounds, so you don’t want to have to change the settings every time you move your GoPro to a new position.
So steer clear of protune settings for this activity, and you’ll save yourself a lot of time and hassle.
Even if you’re filming on an indoor rock climbing wall, the default settings and auto ISO settings (400) are still going to produce quality climbing footage.
4 Best Accessories For Filming Rock Climbing
If you want to capture as many different angles as possible whilst rock climbing, you need to have the right accessories to do so. So here are some of the top accessories for filming rock climbing with your GoPro!
1. GoPro head strap
Whilst we’d suggest keeping head mount shots to a minimum, this is a useful mount to have, and it’s always good to include some classic point of view shots.
The head mount is also a lightweight and inexpensive mount, so it’s one that you can easily add to your kit.
2. GoPro chest mount
If you want some point of view footage that’s not quite so badly affected by your looking around, the chest mount is the next best option. With this mount you’ll get to see the movements and hand motions of the climber.
3. GoPro backpack mount (with extension arm)
If you’re going to be wearing a backpack while climbing, you should try filming from a backpack mount. This is going to give you some good close-up shots, but from a slightly higher angle, so you’ll have a clearer view of hand movements.
You could also angle it so that your GoPro takes in your surroundings as you climb.
4. GoPro jaws flexible clamp mount
This is the perfect mount for tripod-style shots. You can clip the mount onto rock surfaces and holds and get shots from a distance.
The flexible neck means you can clamp to anything and still get a well-composed (level) shot.
