I’m sad to inform you that (despite great behavior from Blackmagic, Canon, OBSBOT, Panasonic Lumix and Sigma as demonstrated in my introductory article), GoPro has sadly continued with its Framerate Malpractice in 2026, with the new GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS (MSRP US$699.99 body-only, covered in several articles by Jeff Foster). Unlike other well-behaved manufacturers mentioned —which always display the true framerate in the menu to at least two decimals (at least in recent history), GoPro unfortunately continues to misbehave in some of its most recent offerings, causing confusion and havoc among producers, camera operators, editors and even their clients. The new GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS deceptively displays non-integer NTSC-derived rates in the menu as if they were integer rates. This is deceptive, since nowadays, both non-integer and integer rates are standard rates. For example: 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60 are all standard rates, although not standard for all venues. The ones listed in green are appropriate for traditional over-the air television broadcast (region dependent). Other integer rates listed in black (white) are valid for other venues. Ahead, I’ll cover the status quo of this new model.
GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS framerate deception status quo
- The camera offers to record at 59.94 but deceives the operators, editors and even their clients by calling it «60» in the menu (even though exact 60.00 is an existing standard format not offered by the camera unless you utilize GoPro Labs to hack the camera).
- The camera offers to record at 29.97 but deceives the operators, editors and even their clients by calling it «30» in the menu (even though exact 30.00 is an existing standard format not offered by the camera unless you utilize GoPro Labs to hack the camera).
- The camera offers to record at 23.976 but deceives the operators, editors and even their clients by calling it «24» in the menu (even though exact 24.00 is an existing standard format not offered by the camera unless you utilize GoPro Labs to hack the camera).
Framerate changes which can be post-hacked by downloading the optional GoPro Labs software
Above is a screenshot of the downloadable GoPro Labs software options which allow modifying the stock rates to actually run in integer mode:
- 23.976 fps currently mislabeled in the camera menu as «24» to be exactly 24.00
- 29.97 fps currently mislabeled in the camera menu as «30» to be exactly 30.00
- 59.94 fps currently mislabeled in the camera menu as «60» to be exactly 60.
Message to GoPro
First, thank you for remembering to include rates like 25 and 50 fps (and their multiples) and for labeling them properly in your menus, after changing the region. I am thanking you for that since some developers have forgotten about 25 and 50 fps until I remind them. (These 25 and 50 rates have never had non-integer variants.)
The purpose of this article is not to complain because you have decided to offer the stock GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS to record only certain rates, not all. You are free to include or exclude certain rates, as you wish (although I’d prefer to have all be included in the camera from the factory, without external manipulation). I am sure you know (as I explain in my original article Framerate Malpractice in cameras, video devices, software & services), none of these framerates are «good» nor «bad». They are all appropriate for certain projects and venues. The purposes of this article are:
- To clarify the current deception to users and potential users of your cameras regarding your current menus.
- To encourage you (GoPro) to label framerates in the menu as they really are, not as a confusing deception.
There is everything to gain by:
- Labeling 59.94 as 59.94 in the menu.
- Labeling 29.97 as 29.97 in the menu.
- Labeling exact 24 as 24 in the menu.
- Labeling 23.976 as 23.976 in the menu. If you absolutely must (for space reasons), it can be displayed as 23.98.
Please offer a free firmware update to improve this situation. Thank you.
Note about the green color
In case you missed it in the introductory paragraph, the green colored rates in this article indicate traditional television broadcast rates, where 23.976 (aka 23.98), 29.97 and 59.94 are for ex-NTSC traditional broadcast television and ex-PAL-M (Brazilian), while 25 and 50 are for all other ex-PAL and ex-SECAM regions. Exact 24 (in black/white) is for DCI digital theatre. Exact 30 and exact 60 (in black/white) represent pre-1953 (before color) NTSC broadcast and now is used with gaming. All of these numbers can work on the Internet, but it is important to have consistency within any particular project, in general and when mixing cameras from different manufacturers.
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