GoPro Hero HD Fisheye Distortion Compensation in Photoshop

Since I’ve started flying my remote control DJI Phantom quadcopter with the GoPro camera mounted on it, I’ve become very unhappy with the quality of the GoPro video and photos.  The lens is way too wide, creating an obnoxious fisheye effect.  Aerial photos or video can look pretty bad with this effect, as the horizon can look completely rounded.

Left: Corrected – Right: Original (click to enlarge)

Yesterday I shot some stills high above the neighborhood with the Phantom/GoPro setup.  I spent about 10 minutes mucking around in Photoshop with the liquify filter.  From the photo above you can see the difference.  On the right is obviously the original photo.  On the left is the version I mucked with.

Once I have the process down I’ll post the steps.   I may be able to create a photoshop action to automate this process.  Stay tuned.