New year, new camera, new tricks, amirite? The new HERO11 Black and HERO11 Black Mini aren't just video monsters, they've also got some artistic prowess that they'd like to flex. The latest GoPros have three new Night Effects modes that appear to bend the very fabric of time as we know it.
Today, we're doing a deep dive on these three new modes. We'll explain what they are, why you should use them, and how you can get the best results. Let's goooo!
What are the night effects modes?
Put simply, there are three new night effects modes:
Star Trails
Light Painting
Vehicle Light Trails
Basically, the camera takes a series of long exposure photos and composites them together into one image or video file. This is the kind of wizardry that night photographers do all the time in post-production, but it typically takes them a fair amount of manual labor or at minimum some hefty computing power, especially in the case of star trails. Not anymore! The HERO11 Black line does all of that instantly, and right in the camera so you can review it right away.
Not only that, but instead of just spitting out a plain image, the camera gives you a video! Essentially it creates an animation of all the layers of images that get stacked onto each other, so you can see how it came together, and you can share the video itself, or using the GoPro Quik app, you can just snag the perfect screen grab and share it as a still.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by GoPro (@gopro)
--
PRO TIP: For all three Night Effects, you have the option to choose 4K or 5.3K. When in doubt, go big. If you're pulling screengrabs from the resulting 5.3K video, it will net you a crispy 15.8 megapixel (MP) still image vs. 8MP from a 4K video.
While each of the new modes work similarly to each other, there are some variations between them, as well as some recommended techniques for each of them. Let's talk about what they have in common first.
Aside from resolution, mentioned above, there are a few main parameters that you might want to adjust if you're trying to go pro (as they say): Shutter, ISO and Trail Length.
Let's start with Shutter.That's how long your camera's sensor will be exposed to light each time it takes an image. For most of the modes you can choose 0.5 seconds all the way up to 30 second Shutter speeds. Generally speaking, the darker the subject is (i.e. the scene you're shooting) the longer you want your exposure time to be, with an inky black sky being about as dark as it gets.
You may also want to adjust the ISO(that's the sensitivity of the image sensor), with the higher number netting you a brighter image. The thing to remember about ISO is that the higher you go the more digital noise you're going to get, so we recommend adjusting the Shutter first and then raising the ISO if you need to.
The other most important parameter you can tweak is Trail Length.Here the options are short, long or max, and the one you choose is really going to depend on the look you're after. We'll dive into this in more detail for each specific mode, but the short version is that this setting dictates the actual length of the respective trail.
Pro Tip: For all three of these modes, wobble, vibration, or really any movement of the camera itself is the enemy. You want to have your GoPro securely mounted to a tripod or at least a stable surface. These modes all have Scheduled Capture and Timer options, and you should use them! Timer is our recommendation, so you can set the GoPro to start capture three seconds after you press the shutter button. This eliminates extra movement (albeit unintentional) from the initial press and any accidental bumpage.
The following are the best practices for capturing with HERO11 Night Effects.
Star Trails
While all three of the new modes are cool, Star Trails might just be the cooooolest. Stacking photos of the night sky in post can be a real pain, and all the work doesn't necessarily guarantee a slick animated video. Star trails, in general, are created by the rotation of the Earth, so if you can find the North Star, you will notice that all of the other stars in the sky swirl around it. Its art meets SCIENCE! Seriously, HERO11 uses the Earth's rotation to help create Star Trails.
Star Trails are super simple. All you have to do is find a space with a relatively clear view of the night sky, select your Trail Length and press record.
For Trail Length, we recommend going with Long or Max. As the name suggests, this will give you nice, long streaks that create some sweet arcs across the sky. Alternatively, Short will create an interesting effect where it looks like each star is a comet with a tail, but it won't be as good for saving a still photo later.
PRO TIP: If you are looking to offset an exceptionally dark sky, play with Shutter and ISO settings. You'll likely get the best results if you set the shutter to a full 30 seconds. And depending on how that looks, you can also crank the ISO up to 800 or even 1,600.
A Star Trails capture may take 20 minutes or even multiple hours, depending on the trail length you chose. We recommend doing a quick test shot before committing. The last thing you want to do is shoot for a long time and then check your camera, only to find that the whole scene was blown out or too dark. Instead, shoot for just a minute and then stop and take a look at the image and tweak settings accordingly.
Light Painting
This one is a classic. If you've played with long exposure photography at night, then you've probably tried writing your name or drawing a smiley-face with a flashlight. The HERO11 Black (and Mini) take that to the next level. First, it eliminates having to scramble and write (backwards) super quickly, because you can set the duration to as long as you want
Most recent headlines
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration Andrew Choi and EJAE, who voiced the film's main characters and contributed to its soundtr...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...
15/12/2025
Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...
15/12/2025
L3Harris will leverage 15 years of experience supporting the E-4B Nightwatch and...
15/12/2025
CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the loss of federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and operational changes, the statewide pub...
15/12/2025
BOULDER, Colo. Public Media Venture Group (PMVG), Venture Technologies Group (VTG), and WQED have completed a multipart agreement that they say will significant...
15/12/2025
Cape Town, November 13, 2025 - SES and International artist and humanitarian, Fo...
15/12/2025
Luxembourg, December 15, 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Abra Group launched fast and reliable multi-orbit inflight connectivity service on t...
15/12/2025
How Rivian s Design Puts Drivers First-And Why That Matters Published on Dec 15, 2025 Categories: Business Solutions
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Sha...
15/12/2025
Space42 and Cobham Satcom completed the full range of advanced terminals for the...
15/12/2025
15 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cel...
15/12/2025
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor finds himself the topic of year's cracker jokes
Oasis, David Harbour, Celebrity Traitors and Angela Rayner all feature in this y...
15/12/2025
Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social New capabilities strengthen cross-platform campaign reporting suite; CCR rebran...
15/12/2025
NVIDIA today announced it has acquired SchedMD - the leading developer of Slurm, an open-source workload management system for high-performance computing (HPC) ...
15/12/2025
RT .ie has reached one billion page views this year and is on track to finish 2025 2% ahead of last year. Average time spent on the site is up 3% on 2024, with ...
15/12/2025
Modern workflows showcase the endless possibilities of generative and agentic AI on PCs.
Of many, some examples include tuning a chatbot to handle product-supp...
13/12/2025
Powering Client Growth: Horizon Deepens Nielsen Partnership, Enabling More Effic...
13/12/2025
In a move that will help it offer more flexible and less costly programming options, YouTube TV has announced that it will be launching YouTube TV Plans with mo...
13/12/2025
SINGAPORE Magna Systems has designed, built and completed what is believed to be the first full UHD and IP-based OB truck in Southeast Asia for a Singapore medi...
12/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Everything You Need to Know for Next Week's Big Sho...
12/12/2025
Hailey Gates at the Atropia premiere (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
12/12/2025
Last month, Spotify announced a new collaboration with the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men's professional tennis, aimed at bringing the next gene...
12/12/2025
CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the elimination of Federal federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and changes in the way they...
12/12/2025
Wisycom and DPA Microphones announce the appointment of Ren Moerch as Group Product Director, Wireless, a strategic leadership role that will guide the combine...
New year, new camera, new tricks, amirite? The new HERO11 Black and HERO11 Black Mini aren't just video monsters, they've also got some artistic prowess that they'd like to flex. The latest GoPros have three new Night Effects modes that appear to bend the very fabric of time as we know it.
