Camera users: frame rate vs resolution
 

My camera can do 1080p at 30 fps or 720p at 60 fps.

Which would you choose to use? And why?

I find that resolution is better than fps when it comes to having footage that shows good information like license plates. 720 on my GoPro was difficult to read license plates, 1080 gives me a lot more frames where the plate can be read.

If there's one complaint about my Fly6 its the resolution isn't good enough to see all license plates.

I've tried both and would agree with [MENTION=2418]RoadKill[/MENTION]. 720 at 60fps makes for smoother video, but fine details get lost at speed.

I let the surrounding CCTVs and plate recognition software sort out any car-bicycle interactions.

Obviously, one of the cameras will catch them:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automa...United_Kingdom

I think you should do an experiment - same day, same time, same ride, two different videos, and post here for comparison.

I opt for 1080p, but I mostly grab stills from my video, so smoothness isn't that important to me.

I also have still-shot mode - one photo every 3 seconds, but it's awful to search through and the photos aren't much better than the video grabs.

go for 1080p, unless if you want to create slo-mo's, then you should film at 720p 60fps because you'll have more frames (data) to slow the footage down.

I did, well, inadvertently anyway. I had somehow flipped the switch to HD from FHD while fiddling with the charger. So when I view the video it looked different, like smoother, much smoother, but I couldn't figure out what had changed. That difference is quite obvious, but the difference in resolution was not so obvious until you try to figure out the license plates of passing cars.

Looks like 1080p it is.

+1 Makes freeze frame easier to read plates as well.

My camera can do 1080p at 60 fps at 30 fps or 720p

Which one do you choose to use? And why?

Are you sure it's not 1080p at 30 fps or 720p at 60 fps? That was my original question.

If your camera is capable of recording 1080p at 60 fps, that would be the one to use.

The down side to that is file size. 1080p video at 60fps makes HUGE files. So you need a fairly sizable SD card.

That's not a deal killer. It's just another consideration.

As far as the original question, why do you want to record video?

If it's to make awesome videos to share with your friends about the scenic trails you ride, go with 720p at 60fps. You'll have some loss of detail in the background but the foreground stuff will look crisp and the frame rate will make the video more fluid. That's still higher resolution that a DVD

If it's as a legal backup in case you get hit, then 1080p with 30fps. The higher resolution is better for intricate details like exactly who was over which line and what the license plate is that can only be seen at an angle for a half a second or to see if the driver who clobbered you was holding a cell phone up and looked to be text messaging. The resolution will make a big difference. The fluid video won't.

Which one looks better at night? Ride around the same area, same speeds, same traffic level with each option and see what gets you the most useful details. Also consider how long it takes to transfer to your computer, how hard it is to process each file size, (sometimes you can squeeze out a bit more detail with different types of postprocessing, just make sure you preserve the original in case it's needed in court) and any other factors.

Short of having some pro quality gear, it's going to be hard to get plate numbers in anything but full daylight anyway. Especially in the case of rear-facing cameras where all they're going to see is headlight glare.

1080p so you can read license plates.
(Unless you are in Europe where they have plates that are actually designed to be legible, then you can use 720p.)

File size for 1080p x 30 fps is about the same as 720p x 60 fps, at least with my camera. At 1080p you can make out the license plates during the day in most cases, but difficult to do so when it's dark out.