Gyroflow Lens Profiles: Make Your Action Cam Stop Looking Like a Fish-Eye Funhouse

Painless360 walks us through creating custom lens profiles in Gyroflow in this short, no-nonsense explainer. If you've ever wondered how to tame your action-camera's barrel distortion or why downloaded profiles sometimes look odd, this write-up breaks down the exact workflow shown in the video and adds a few practical tips that save time and frustration.

Why bother with a custom lens profile?

If you want stabilized footage that also looks correct optically—straight lines staying straight instead of bending like bad CGI—you need an accurate lens profile. Gyroflow uses a checkerboard calibration video to model how your specific camera + lens combo distorts the image. Painless360 points out there are a lot of pre-made profiles available, but producing your own gives the best results for your exact camera settings.

Overview: the process in one sentence

Shoot a minute or two of your checkerboard target from multiple distances and angles, import the clip into Gyroflow, let the software detect checkerboard frames and auto-generate a profile, inspect and iterate until happy, then save the template locally (or share it).

Step-by-step: follow Painless360's method

1. Prepare the calibration target

Painless360 opens Gyroflow’s built-in target. The target is a checkerboard pattern which Gyroflow recognises frame-by-frame to calculate distortion. Print or display a flat checkerboard and make sure it’s not curved or wrapped—curved monitors ruin the calibration.

2. Shoot the calibration footage

• Start recording and move the camera so the checkerboard fills different parts of the frame.
• Aim to show the checkerboard near the centre, near each corner, and at varying distances from the lens.
• Turn off strong room lighting if a screen is involved; Painless360 finds dimming lights helps the camera get a cleaner view of the board.
• Record around one to two minutes; if your camera doesn’t have a rear screen, add 30–40 seconds extra to be safe.

Why so much footage? Gyroflow needs plenty of valid frames where it can clearly detect the checkerboard at different positions and scales. Missing corners or distances reduces accuracy.

3. Import the clip into Gyroflow

Drag/drop or select the video file in Gyroflow. Painless360 uses a GoPro for the demo, but any action cam with gyro data or even just the optical data can be processed for lens distortion modelling. Once imported the clip appears in the workspace.

4. Fill the metadata and auto-generate

On the left-hand side, fill in identifying fields so you remember which camera/lens/resolution the profile is for. Painless360 recommends keeping profiles local until you’re fully happy—versioning helps (version1, version2, final).

Click “Auto generate.” Gyroflow will scan each frame, detect the checkerboard, and measure how the pattern is warped by the lens. This analysis maps distortion across the frame and is what becomes your lens profile. Processing time depends heavily on your CPU/GPU and the clip duration.

5. Watch the frames Gyroflow picks up

It’s worth monitoring how many frames Gyroflow detects. You need wide coverage: the checkerboard close to the lens, far, and in the corners. If the software flags too few usable frames, reshoot with more varied framing or longer duration. Painless360 says he sometimes repeats the process two or three times before being satisfied.

6. Save the profile

If the profile generates successfully, you’ll see it listed on the left. Save it to your local hard drive into Gyroflow’s templates folder and name it sensibly (camera-lens-resolution-version). Keep iterations until you get the look you want; then rename the best one to final.

Tips, gotchas and practical advice

• Curved displays are cheating: don’t use a curved monitor as your target—curvature skews the pattern and makes an awful profile.
• Lighting: a dimmer room or turning off aggressive lighting can improve checkerboard detection on devices with reflective screens.
• Camera settings matter: make profiles for the camera + lens + resolution + any crop/field-of-view setting you commonly use. A profile for 4K 16:9 may not match 2.7K or a different digital FOV.
• Processing time: expect it to take a while on long clips or slower machines—don’t interrupt the run.
• Use the library: Gyroflow’s community and official library have many existing profiles. If you’re unsure, try a close match before making your own.

Technical note: what Gyroflow is actually doing

Gyroflow detects the checkerboard grid in valid frames and analyses how square geometry is stretched and rotated across the image plane. From many observations at different positions and distances it estimates a distortion model (radial and tangential components) that describes how the lens maps world coordinates to pixel coordinates. That model lets Gyroflow undistort frames and produce corrected stabilized footage.

When to share a profile and when to keep it local

Painless360 keeps profiles local until satisfied—then sometimes uploads to the community. Sharing only makes sense if the camera, lens and resolution match; otherwise users can get poor results. If you rely on Gyroflow often, make a set for your favourite combinations and keep them backed up.

FAQ

Do I need gyro (IMU) data embedded in the video to create a lens profile?

No. A lens profile is created from the optical distortion of the checkerboard pattern in the frames; gyro data is used for stabilization but the checkerboard detection and distortion mapping can work without gyro. That said, if your clip contains embedded gyro data and you plan to stabilise with Gyroflow, the combined result will be more useful.

How long should the calibration clip be?

About one to two minutes is usually enough. If your camera doesn’t have a rear screen or you’re unsure of coverage, add an extra 30–40 seconds to ensure all corners and distances are captured.

Why does Gyroflow fail to detect enough checkerboard frames?

Common causes are reflections, motion blur, poor lighting, curved or warped targets, insufficient movement to show corners and scale, or obstructions. Re-shoot with steadier movement, clearer lighting, and ensure the checkerboard fills all parts of the frame during the take.

Can I use someone else’s uploaded profile?

Yes, Gyroflow’s library has many community and official profiles. They work well if your camera, lens and settings match precisely. If not, expect less accurate undistortion—making your own profile is the safest approach.

Where should I save the profile?

Save generated profiles to your local templates folder for Gyroflow and use sensible names with versions, for example "GoPro_Hero9_4K_v1" then iterate until you make "final". Only upload to the library when you’re confident it works for others.

TL;DR 

Painless360 demonstrates that creating a custom lens profile in Gyroflow is straightforward: shoot the checkerboard properly, import the video, auto-generate, inspect the frames, and iterate until you get a clean undistort. It’s not glamorous, but it does make your footage look far more professional. If you plan to stabilise and correct many clips from the same camera and settings, investing the time to create a precise profile is worth the effort.

This article was created from the video Gyroflow: How to create your own custom lens profiles (Patreon Request).