How to Colour Grade GoPro Videos in Simple and Easy Ways

How to Colour Grade or Colour Correct GoPro Footage

I started colour grading or colour correcting my GoPro videos and noticed immediate improvements. GoPro has a Flat Profile for those who want to colour grade, but I also colour graded Vibrant profile clips and the results were immediately visible.

I am not a professional colour grader and just started to learn colour grading. Yet I am impressed with my work and continue to keep colour grade my GoPro footage from now on, whenever I get time.

I use very simple and easy colour grading techniques and it doesn’t take a lot of time. My take on colour grading is that there are two aspects to it.

First Way: You only tweak some elements such as contrast, saturation, highlights, vibrance, brightness, colours, etc. You can go deeper by tweaking further elements, but that would take more time and knowledge.

Second Way: You can use LUTS (Lookup Table), which makes the process much faster and easier. LUTS are like applying filters or readymade colour information to your videos directly, thus saving a lot of time.  Even with LUTs, you need to adjust some of the elements I mentioned above in the first way. However, it’s a much better process in general.

There are many free LUTs available online. You can also buy them if you want. After searching for a couple of hours, I was able to download so many high-quality LUTs that I don’t see any need to spend money on more.

Most good editing software has the capability to install and apply LUTs. Consult your editing software help or FAQs or email support to find out how to use LUTs, if you are not sure.

How to Replace Your GoPro for free | GoPro Subscription Offers Replacement

My Experience with GoPro Subscriber Replacement Service

My main reason to pay for a GoPro subscription is its unlimited cloud backup service. For $59.99 CAD, I get unlimited video storage at original quality, which I find to be of a great value. Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, or anyone else won’t provide unlimited backup like this – I have a separate video on this here:

There are many other perks that come with a GoPro subscription like discounted GoPros, accessories, and no-questions-asked camera replacement in case your GoPro gets lost, disabled, or broken.

The GoPro replacement feature came in handy when my GoPro 8 started giving me problems. I own 3 GoPro such as Hero 7, 8, and 10. My Hero 8 started deleting files after recording 30-40 minutes and I was unable to fix it.

When I spoke with GoPro customer service, the friendly rep walked me through installing some new firmware and asked me to try it for a week. If the problem persisted, he asked me to call back and they would replace the camera.

I tried using GoPro 8 the following week, but the issues persisted, and it kept deleting files. So, I called back again and explained what happened to another associate. I was put on a brief hold, and she had to speak with her manager to get my replacement case approved.

GoPro charges a standard replacement fee, which was $109 CAD for Hero 8, but to my surprise the associated mentioned that she was able to waive that fee and my replacement would be upgraded to a new Hero 9.

I was kind of shocked hearing so much good news one after another. Throughout my whole experience, they never tried to talk me out of getting a new replacement.

I was totally pleased with the level of service GoPro provided. I took this subscription for cloud storage but got a lot more value out of my paid subscription. My feedback is positive and I won’t hesitate to recommend a GoPro subscription.  

Lume Cube Panel Mini | Best Budget On-Camera LED Light For YouTubers

Lume Cube Panel Mini Review | Content Creators Portable Travel Light

I was looking for a small LED light for video, but wasn't interested enough to buy one. The small LumeCube Panel Mini caught my attention because it looked perfect for my purposes.

The Lume Cube Panel Mini weighs only 3 oz and is about the size of a credit card (3.58''x2.18''x.45''). It's so small that you can slip it anywhere and would especially come in handy you when you travel.

The Lume Cube Panel Mini offers brightness control from 1% to 100% and Flicker-free Color Temperature from 3200K to 5600K. They also included a light panel diffuser & shoe mount along with the panel.

You can attach it with any tripod and vlogging pole because there are two 1/4" threads on 2 sides. The Lume Cube Panel Mini would definitely be of great help for content creators or YouTubers that need that extra light that is not bulky and easy to carry.

What I didn’t like about the Lume Cube Panel Mini is that it seems to be overpriced. Lume Cube spent a lot of money on getting big Youtubers to promote it and you will see these videos flooding your search results with glowing testimonies.

My general experience with the Lume Cube Panel Mini is positive, except the price point at $100 CAD. Lume Cube offers two versions, the Lume Cube Panel Go and the Lume Cube Panel Pro, which are even more expensive.

The Lume Cube Panel Mini emits enough light for video purposes for one person. I was glad that I didn’t buy one size bigger.

I have a video review of the Lume Cube as below:

Lume Cube Panel Mini Review: Best Budget On-Camera LED Light For YouTubers

Kindle Paperwhite: First Impressions and If It’s Worth the Cost

My First Kindle Paperwhite – Why I Bought An eReader

I donated 75% of my paper books a decade ago and have been sluggish about reading books since then. Most of my reading materials now are online. I attempted to read paper books every now and then, but it was unsuccessful because I felt weird reading something that is not a screen.

I saw people reading eReaders, but kept putting myself off buying one for the various excuses that my mind came up with. Finally, I forced myself to buy an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite to start a new tutorial series on my A Dawn YouTube Channel and my experience has been phenomenal so far.

I like the idea that I can take as many books as I want with me anywhere I go. This feature alone would be a huge plus for getting an eBook reader. Another big difference I noticed is that reading a book on an eReader (rather than a tablet or laptop) is that the screen mimics a paper page and is glare free. It doesn’t hurt the eyes and doesn’t feel like I am looking at a device screen.

The Amazon Kindle ecosystem offers overwhelming volumes of book options and a lot of them are actually free. My Kindle Paperwhite 11th Gen even synced all my eBooks that I bought many years ago and forgot about.

I liked my Kindle Paperwhite so much that I am planning to get another eReader, a Kobo Libra 2, which has a different ecosystem. One big advantage the Kobo has is that you can borrow a book from the Toronto Public Library and directly download it to your Kobo device without stepping foot in the library.

I will be sharing more posts about my Kindle and Kobo experiences on my YouTube Channel and on this site.

Proraso Shaving Cream for Men Review | Men's Best Shave Cream

Is Proraso Men’s Shaving Cream Any Good?

I had seen Proraso Shaving Cream on drug store shelves for a while, but didn't feel like buying it for full price. But when I saw it last week for just $6.00 at my local Shoppers Drug Mart, I grabbed it and gave it a try.

Proraso has different versions – the one I picked up was Proraso Green Shaving Cream with Eucalyptus and Menthol. Its blue and white packaging looks classic, distinctive and catches the eye right away.

The moment I opened Proraso Shaving Cream’s cap, the smell of Eucalyptus hit me. Also, it has the classic barbershop smell that reminded me of the old days going to the barber.

I used a shaving brush to lather my face. The Proraso shaving cream felt creamy, but I didn’t get the heavy, rich lather I was expecting. Also, I felt like the lather didn’t stay put too long and I had to rush to finish shaving.

My overall experience was satisfying, but nothing so great that I have to keep using it in the future. Especially considering that Proraso Shaving Cream costs double or triple the cost of other shaving cream, unless you are buying it on sale.

Proraso Shaving Cream is priced at $10-$12 (if not on sale) and I think it can’t beat Nivea Shaving Cream, which only costs $3 - $4. I am willing to try other versions of Proraso Shaving Cream, but only when I can get them on sale.

I have made a Proraso Shaving Cream Review video, available on YouTube, which can be accessed here:

Is Proraso Shaving Cream Any Good?