GoPro "Native" White Balance: should I use it?

I've recently acquired a GoPro Hero7 Black and have been learning how to color correct in DaVinci Resolve. I've been estimating and setting the white balance color temperature manually and making further adjustments in Resolve as necessary. I see that the camera has an additional white balance setting called "Native" and I wonder if I should be using that instead. The GoPro web site describes this setting as follows:

Native: Industry standardized optimized color. The Native option yields a minimally processed data file directly from the image sensor that allows for more precise adjustments to be made in post-production. Recording with this option takes full advantage of the image sensor’s capabilities.

I've tried searching the web for more information about this setting and I've found very little discussion. It seems to be a setting that few people use on the GoPro.

If you want the best results from a GoPro and are willing to color correct in Resolve, what's the best approach to setting white balance? Is "Native" the best choice under all lighting conditions?

Thanks!

Yeah, that description doesn't really provide anything useful does it? Kind of like a politician's talking points, you're left thinking "That sounds nice, but what does it mean exactly?"

It's log format (ref https://community.gopro.com/t5/Cameras/ ... d-p/278410 ) which does make sense with regard to the description.

So to answer your question: Yes* (*: If you want the maximum flexibility and does not mind spending some time in Davinci getting the color exactly right).
No**(**: If you don't want to spend time getting color exactly right)

For me, this native whitebalance sucks. It is very hard to get the image to look natural again. It is much better to set a whitebalance yourself.
I filmed my son with a red shirt, with the Flash on it. Looks completely orange, can't get it to be red

Ofcourse, this could also be a reflection on how poor my colorgrading skills are.

the "Native" white balance is actually more to do with the Color Gamut. The other "White Balance" settings use a Rec.709 Color Space whereas Native uses what is "visible" to the sensor and hence covers a wider spectrum.


If you are using ACES, I've developed IDTs that can be used to normalize the GoPro footage:

https://github.com/xtremestuff/protune-transforms

There's no way for users to add an IDT to Resolve, Riksha, so...what am I missing here.

There's no way for users to add an IDT to Resolve, Riksha, so...what am I missing here.

You can create an IDT equivalent as a DCTL and since v17 it is possible to actually load them as IDTs too.

How? Couldn't find that.

To use the DCTL as an IDT:

Input Transform: Bypass/No Input Transform

in v16, Right click on clip(s), DaVinci CTL > Your required dctl

In v17, Right click in clip(s), LUTs > Your required dctl


In v17, you can also load a DCTL for use directly as an IDT (can be loaded via Input Transform), However, the code is very different and the specs appear to be more for Display referred transforms: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=125160

There is a nice Leeming LUT that converts Protune Flat and Native to REC709.

Here is my test video of that (edited in Resolve):