GoPro - HERO Action Camera

The GoPro Hero is a small but powerful camera that's perfect for capturing your outdoor adventures. It's tough, waterproof, and takes high resolution 4K videos. It’s a popular choice among outdoor enthusiasts and thrill seekers, but I think it’s also a great choice for Average Joes like me. Whether you're exploring, hiking, swimming, or just want to record your daily activities, the GoPro Hero is a great way to capture unforgettable moments. *Build and Design* The dimensions are approximately 2 x 1.5 x 1”. This camera is tiny, in a good way, which makes it very easy to carry. The touch screen is about 1.75” and responsive. You can swipe left and right, up and down. There’s a button on the top and left side that are made of rubber. These buttons aren’t too easy to press which I assume is to avoid unwanted stop/starting of videos. There are cleverly designed fingers below that take a variety of GoPro mounts. The mount that comes with the camera easily fits in and then you lock it in by twisting a bolt through it. There’s a fairly large .75” lens on the front as well that records the action. Overall, it’s a tough looking camera that has a quality feel. There’s a MicroSD slot and a USB-C charging port that handily pops open with the flick of a button. This camera easily fits in your pocket or it can be mounted just about anywhere. *Features* It’s waterproof down to 5 meters which is more than I need so it’s great for swimming, snorkeling, surfing, or body boarding. There are a ton of mounts that can attach to the fingers below. I looked on the GoPro site and they even have mounts for dogs so there is one for just about every occasion. There are your standard, snake, helmet, bike mounts, you name it and it’s probably available and pricing is fair. There’s a touch screen with simple navigation. It’s a little small but I didn’t have any problems with responsiveness and I have medium size hands. The button on the side is a power on and off button and the top button is a great idea. Once you hit the top button, it will power on and start recording. There’s about a 5 second delay before it actually begins recording. Hitting the top button again stops the recording and immediately powers off the camera. This is a great battery saver. This allows you to only drain the battery when necessary. You can also use voice control to operate the camera when your hands are busy. *Performance* Video 4K video recorded on the GoPro Hero looks stunning. It’s bright and fairly stable. There’s a nice wide view to capture a large field of view. I also like how someone can be right in front of you and the GoPro Hero perspective is far enough back to include them in the field of view. Lowlight video didn’t look very good to me. I went into a darker room with an aquarium and I lost a significant amount of detail. 1080p video is good but not great when compared to 4K. On a 128GB MicroSD card you can get about 4 hours of video at 4K and 16 hours on 1080p. The camera has a battery saver button that you can enable to record 1080p if you prefer to take a minor hit in quality to save some battery. I did notice 4K recording does drain the battery quicker. The touch screen works well and the menu is purposely simplistic. There are 3 modes: Slow Motion, Video, and Photo. I spent most of my time on video mode. Slow motion mode is most suitable for action sports in my opinion. Photo mode is convenient, but it probably won’t be taking the place of your phone or camera. There is also a settings menu consisting of an Orientation Lock, Voice Control, Battery Saver (1080p Video), Menu Beep on/off, Screen Saver, and Screen Lock. The menu is intuitive and simple, as it should be. *Sound* The microphone picks up all environmental sounds very well. I didn’t hear any wind noise so I was pleased overall with the mic and sound on the videos I recorded. *Software* There’s a GoPro Quik app available on your phone and computer. I downloaded the app to both an Android phone and my Mac laptop. Once you download your videos, the Quik app will allow you to edit and it also stabilizes the videos. You can download the videos in either HEVC, H.264 or ProRes. Each of these formats has its advantages but you will likely choose the format based on the environment you are recording and the amount of detail. You can also adjust bit rate on output. I took an offer to subscribe to Premium that lets you upload unlimited videos from your GoPro to the cloud. It also gives you an additional 25GB of other uploads if you need them. These videos will be available in your Quik app for stabilization and edits. One great feature in Quik is it will build a compilation of the videos you choose with background music and a theme for videos to upload to social media. Additionally, it will optimize the video based on what platform you publish. Overall Quik is a polished app for both MacOS and your phone. It’s simple, intuitive and easy to use, just like the GoPro Hero. *Battery* You can record about 60 minutes of 4K video before you need to recharge. While this is acceptable, I wish you could get a little more recording time. However, this is a really small device so it’s not too bad relatively speaking. I would recommend recording 1080p for longer sessions or using a Power Bank for a quick recharge. *Conclusion* The GoPro Hero is a ton of fun, just as the events you will be recording. It’s small enough to fit in your pocket. It can take a beating out in the elements. It’s durable, and easy to use. With its wide range of mounts, you can attach it to almost anything, making it perfect for outdoor activities. Unlike phones or traditional cameras, the GoPro Hero is designed to be taken on the go. I highly recommend it. Pros: * Compact and Durable: The small size and rugged build make it easy to carry and withstand outdoor elements. * Versatile Mounting Options: The various mounts available allow for attachment to almost any surface or object. * Waterproof: Suitable for water activities like swimming, snorkeling, and surfing. * Responsive Touchscreen: The touchscreen is intuitive and easy to navigate. * Quick Start and Stop: The top button provides a convenient way to quickly start and stop recording. * Voice Control: Hands-free operation is possible through voice commands. * Excellent Video Quality: The 4K video resolution delivers high-quality footage. * Wide Field of View: Captures a broad scene for immersive perspectives. * Good Low-Light Performance (4K): While not perfect, the low-light performance in 4K is reasonable. * Long Battery Life (1080p): Recording in 1080p with battery saver mode extends battery life significantly. * User-Friendly Software: The GoPro Quik app offers easy editing and stabilization features. * Cloud Storage (Premium): The premium subscription provides unlimited cloud storage for videos. Needs Improvement: * Limited Low-Light Performance * Battery Life for 4K: Recording in 4K can drain the battery relatively quickly. * Smaller Touchscreen: The touchscreen might be a bit small for some users. * No Built-in Stabilization: While the Quik app provides stabilization, it would be beneficial to have built-in stabilization. * Lack of Photo Quality (Compared to Dedicated Cameras): The camera's photo capabilities are not as advanced as dedicated cameras. * Premium Subscription Required for Full Features: To access all features like cloud storage and advanced editing tools, a premium subscription is necessary. * Limited Battery Capacity: The battery capacity could be larger for longer recording times.

The new GoPro HERO Action Camera is the smallest camera in the GoPro family. It measures 2.23" wide, 1.32" deep & weighs 0.35 pounds (86g). HERO features the same premium build quality as the other GoPro cameras; it simply has fewer features & offers tremendous value at a lower price point than other GoPro models. It captures clear 12MP photographs & records video in 4K30 (2160p). It will shoot slo-mo shots at 2.7K60 by pressing the shutter button. It has 2X digital zoom; image stabilization is provided through a free GoPro Quik app. The generous touch screen measures 1.76 inches. HERO is Bluetooth & WiFi enabled. Data is stored by inserting a microSD Card. Hero can record up to 60 minutes on a charge to the built-in Lithium-ion battery. It is water resistant to 16 feet (5m). Cloud storage is available through an optional GoPro Subscription. This subscription enables HERO to upload content to your cloud account, where you can edit your shots. CONCLUSION: The smooth image stabilization through the Quik app is amazing! I love connecting HERO to the charger & watching it upload my video to the cloud. I recommend HERO; it is a great action camera!

Well I’m not new to GoPro and how to get the best out of this lil action camera, but if you have more experience than the average Jane, then I will have to say to skip this one and shell out more for the fancy upgraded option, the Hero13. This is simply a very beginner friendly and safe option and leaves a bit to be desired if you have experience with GoPro. But I don’t want to be totally negative because it is a very good action camera. However, before I jump into the positives let me express my grievances. First, the battery life SUCKS. Now it may be great for an amateur, but by the time I get all of my shots set up and ready to go the battery is dead. So disappointing. My other grievance is that I’m able to record in slow-mo however, I can’t view it in slow motion on the device or on the app. I have to go into post production and fiddle to see the magic I may or may not have created. As someone who has to make sure that I have all the shots, this just doesn’t cut it. Ok the good. It’s very compact. I can throw it in my “loose” pockets or in a bag and it barely takes up space. It’s easy to operate, so shouldn’t be a hard learning curve for a beginner. Although the back screen is a little bit smaller it’s a good size to be able to see the playback and edit camera settings without fuss. It has an app and you can store your footage there, on the cloud or download to phone. But of course to use certain features, you guessed it, you have to fall in line with a subscription. I highly recommend this camera as an entry level for beginners only option. I don’t want to get technical with the jargon and stats because it wouldn’t benefit a GoPro newcomer. If you have some experience with action cameras, possibly using it for your business, and you are looking at this one, it’s a budget thing and I get it, but I would suggest skipping the Hero, save up a little more and get the Hero13 instead. It’ll be better for your overall workflow. I’ll give it 4.5 stars for beginners. So if you’re new to action cameras this is a great option to wet your feet.