GoPro has just announced the new Hero 12 Black, which has a slate of new features – some hardware, some software, and some even app driven. This includes everything from doubling the battery life in certain modes, to adding Bluetooth headphone/mic pairing, to bringing back the recording preview on the GoPro phone app. Plus, a slew of other more minor features.
The Hero 12 Black is not a revolutionary upgrade, rather, it’s more evolutionary in nature. It’s not the rumored 1” sensor that people hoped for, but it does bring a ton of new features that people have actually been asking for. In the above video I dive through all those new features and plenty more, to explain what is and isn’t in the new Hero 12 Black.
Note that GoPro has put in place two different press/media embargoes. The first is for the announcement itself (today), where media are allowed to include shots of the camera and their own footage, but not permitted to post comparison shots or opinions of said footage. And the second is later, where we can do whatever we want as usual (generally speaking, dual-embargoes exist elsewhere, but the only limitation is not including the word ‘Review’ in the title for first-look style stuff). Look, it’s confusing for everyone, but that’s them apples. Point being, if you do or don’t see certain things today, that’s why. I’ve been testing the camera for a while, against all their competitors, and have boatloads of comparison footage/thoughts, which will be coming shortly as part of my full in-depth review and other videos already lined up and shot.
With that – thanks for watching!
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Does the Max Mod 2 improve FOV for photos too or only video?
Both. When I toggle back and forth between video and photo, it’s virtually identical.
Awesome thanks for the reply 👍🏻
Have they fixed the horrendous audio quality? I take videos mainly on my motorbike and the ‘dongle’ for the audio vibrates in its housing, creating electronic chatter which makes the video unusable.
I generally haven’t had issues with audio quality, at least within reason. And I tend to push reasonable pretty far to be honest.
Are you referring to using the older USB-C adapter/dongle, the Media Mod (and if so, which version), or something else?
Either way, you’ve got BT connectivity here as noted, so that’s an option – albeit, quality will largely depend on your particular BT mic.
Do we know if GoPro 12 has a GP3 CPU? Givre new features (HDR…etc) I’d tend to say yes but nothing communicated on that yet…
It’s sad that todays bloggers just cave to the embargos. how long before they say you you can’t use certain words that are unflattering.
I know your answer is 1) everyone does it (doesn’t make it right and if they stood up to the companies they might change) and 2) it hurts your ability to get timely access well that that kind prove the point that for all the bluster of being an independent reviewer…many just aren’t.
And please don’t lecture about how embargos have worked or always work. I have a 20+ year career in journalism. And I certainly understand why they are needed at times.
I’m not sure how I caved? I was very explicit on the limits of the embargo and how it worked for this exact release. I didn’t mince words about it. I was even more explicit in the video where I outlined why I thought that was a bad idea, and why folks should wait till Friday.
But then again, you have a history here with your comments of being upset about anything I do, no matter how clear I try and make it. You seem to be trying to take out your anger about this embargo on me.
I must admit I’m with Thomas on this one. I tend to never criticize tester’s work, especially when it is well done like yours, but this time I find that the brand is going too far.
We all understand what they are doing: Getting lots of attention on day one, with what is only free advertising for them (new functions, what the camera is doing, nice footage…) and prevent any critic or comparison that could show that this camera has almost nothing new to bring to the table.
Then 2 days later, when the hype/attention span has moved to something else, people are allowed to make reviews, reviews that will be seen by far less people.
My answer to this kind of embargo would be a loud and clear no, both directly to the brand and on my website saying something like “I’m allow to tell you that there is a new gopro, but I will be able to talk about it freely in 2 days, stay tuned”.
As Thomas said, what will be next? It could easily be “on day one you are allow to say only XYZ (like what they did this time) AND your are not allowed to say that we are asking you this”.
Sorry DC, but I’m not following you on this one 🙁
I’d agree with you if this was titled ‘Review’, or anything like that. It’s not. In fact, literally half the text is me explaining it’s not.
It’s an overview of what new features are there (and which ones were removed), and that a further follow-up is coming. How is that any different than any other coverage of a new product that’s not labeled review? How is that any different than any news outlet covering a product announcement?
Next, when it comes to thinking saying ‘No’ to an embargo, that’s laughable. We’ve already seen the very strong slide in tech/companies shifting away from sending things to any critical reviewer at all. Heck, we saw that just last week with COROS blacklisting me, because they mistakenly thought a single data set showed a slight bit of inaccuracy in one of there products.
I didn’t have to publish a video today, I could have waited till Friday – but that’s literally feeding into exactly what you supposedly are against. It would have meant that nearly 100% of the coverage out there today was rah-rah-go-go, as opposed to being clear that people are limited in the embargo restrictions, as well as talking about things that were removed (GPS), and aspects that are still clearly limiting (heat).
Instead, I can make it clear to people what’s coming review-wise (I did), and the limitations of any content out there. While also helping educate people on exactly what the new camera features are, without just copy/paste of a press release.
I thought you did a good job at early release info it’s more than most did. I did think it was a little harsh to call it incremental, to me there are quite a few big changes here and aside from the GPS all seem positive. Particularly impressed the kept the case and battery largely the same, that’s a great move for those of us with lots of bits and quite unexpected I was sure they’d at least change the battery.
Hint of a Max 2 too in the announcement which is good as I’ve been almost caving on a x3
Have you considered not being an abrasive, belligerent turkey? Just a thought.
I have to defend DCR. I’ve seen a lot of reviews, that were totally fake – cameras, watch, other stuff. Last week, I’ve seen a review of Coros Pace 3. There was a part about touch display – laggy as hell, not usable in 2023. Reviewer didn’t say a word about it in his video. In comments, he defended Coros. That was definitely a “paid review”. Like 99% of other reviews today.
I went to DCR site – no review of Coros Pace 3. I knew why. Because DCR always mentions negative sides of the product he is testing. Like what should tester do. Again, I saw that in more product reviews, especially in camera reviews.
Modern reviewers are not testers. They are just part of brands marketing campaign.
There is not much people, doing tremendous job in testing products, like DCR. I hope there will be more people like Ray.
Regarding embargo – it’s GoPro’s choice. DCR could either not have announcement video, or stick to the contract. And I know, his Friday test will be an honest review, not a fake bs.
Thanks for Your work, Ray…
Agreed 💯
A website that raves about being independent and unbiased “reviewed” the Coros Pace 3 without physically having the watch, and even switched off commenting for that “review”.
Looks like we might need some sort of legislation on embargos and reviews to protect consumers.
I think that someone like you – if you receive this kind of embargo – can contact the other main tech reviewers (before the official date) and try to make an agreement to just post shame of the company for what they are doing (on day one) and agree to post real content (preview/review as they like) only at the second official date.
Just to send a clear message that the editorial line of a website can’t be bought. Ok for the NDA before an official date (which is already a huge compromise) but after the NDA you should be able to say/write whatever you want.
You (and other reviewers) have the power to say “ok, too bad for you, you won’t have any coverage, never mind, there are other companies with better ethics that are not trying to fool their customers, we will write about their products” and I think that you would be respected by your audience for this ability to really be independent!
A famous french camera (paper) magazine did that in the 90’s by publicly exposing and refusing the whole NDA concept and never signed any kind of agreement: aither you send me a product and I can review it and write about it as soon as possible, either you don’t and I will buy or rent the product in a store when it will be available. The magazine survived and thrived many years after that and is still available today.
A couple thoughts. Embargoes and NDA’s are nothing new. As described before, they allow reviewers time to actually review a product, rather than rush out a piece the exact moment a company announces something. On the whole, it’s a good thing for consumers.
As far as the example of banding together – unfortunately, it’s 40 years later and the internet exists. Anyone with a camera or computer is now a reviewer (which also has lots of upsides). One only needs to look at YouTube to see the number of so-called ‘Reviews’ of the Hero 12 from yesterday with people pretending to hold the camera for a thumbnail, but are really just photoshops. Or stealing footage, etc… In fact, one of the most popular YouTube videos about why not to get a GoPro (from last fall), is a video where the person stole my photo to use as their thumbnail. Could I issue a DMCA takedown? Sure, easily. After all, that photo was after spending thousands of dollars on travel expenses to take that photo – something nobody else had at the time (the two new cameras from last year). That’s the reality of the world I live in.
In any case, while I know there’s complaining about GoPro’s dual-embargo (including me), it’s worth pointing out that their competitors are far and beyond worse in this space. GoPro generally doesn’t pay for YouTube videos. They have some sponsored pro athletes, and they have unpaid ambassadors, but they don’t have paid reviews (with ‘review’ included in the title). Both Insta360 and DJI do, and are very vocal in that area and send out sheets on exactly what’s supposed to be in the review, what can’t be in the review, etc… And roughly 95% of those reviewers don’t disclose any of that (I know, because Insta360 once accidentally sent me an Excel sheet of all the paid reviewers).
Thus, I guess I continue to be surprised at the idea that I can’t be as forward as humanely possible to break down that opaque barrier, and people are getting upset at it.
I really don’t understand any of this. A few weeks ago a friend asked me what GoPro I had since he was considering getting one. I told him I had a Hero 11 but to wait because the Hero 12 is likely to come out soon. So yesterday on a whim I searched for “GoPro Hero 12 release date” and found the announcement. I checked Ray’s site after I saw the YouTube notification about the video.
And I see complaints about an embargo for a camera that mere mortals can’t even get yet. I checked GoPro’s site yesterday just to see how much it costs ($100 off with my subscription, I think I’ll pass this time), and the expected shipping date is the 13th, well after Friday. So what in the hell is all of the complaining about? You’ll see full reviews before you can get the camera anyway.
Ray,
“It’s good for consumers” Well, maybe and maybe not. But this is more than a standard embargo or NDA. This is this telling the reviewer what they can and cant’ say or do. I don’t see how that is good for the consumer ..even if you get early access. You seem to be focused on getting the review first. (as a side note the first release of a product.. even if you’ve had access always is updated via software changes nowadays, so many times the product you review bears little resemblance to the version 3 or 6 months down the road- so how good is it? Not to mention many times you’ve admitted that the version you “test” isn’t the consumer version)
I’ve literally handled thousands of NDAs. I can’t ever recall in my legal career seeing an NDA saying you can’t say a specific word. Many NDA’s are void due to their terms or have other outs.
I don’t think you can say for sure what Go-Pro does or doesn’t do. And sometimes ambassadors are worse than paid reviews (see Stryd)
I think you missed the point, it wasn’t that you weren’t transparent. It that you willingly went along with the stipulations. I think the more egregious issue is them telling you what you can and can’t title a video. Brands know they can ask for more now and reviewers…even so called ‘independent’ reviews will go along. Lines are blurred…trust is lost.
None of this is new unfortunately, the issue got so bad in 2008 that TechCruch put out a statement they were going to ignore all tech product embargos. (I’m sure they caved pretty soon after that)
I also understand that this is your livelihood and taking a stand could have financial implications. I think all appreciate the transparency and aren’t looking at you to fix it. But you just seemed to go into full defense mode instead of acknowledging the issue.
If you want to keep early access to products and the subs/money that comes with it, then you keep the company’s influencer marketing team happy. You always say what you think they want, when they want you to say it. No matter what. They won’t even tell you what they want to hear nor what will get you blacklisted. They say it’s so you can tell your viewers that you’re being “honest”, but it’s mostly just manipulative and very stressful to the content creator.
If you don’t then you miss out, fall behind, and they send their pre-release marketing material and affiliate links to your competition. You can always go buy the product (which you usually don’t want) and post an easily ignored review a few weeks after everybody has stopped caring… but what’s the point?
Welcome to the nightmare world of YouTube. The platform’s predatory monetization forces every review to be an infomercial, because fair criticism gets buried and loses money. As a viewer, you just have to get used to the idea that every single successful tech video is going to hyperbolically tell you to buy every single product. As a creator, you have to do your best to figure out what the platform and its advertisers are trying to force you to make. Nobody wins, except for Google who sits back and makes billions selling other peoples’ work.
I think broadly I agree with the concepts you’re saying, but practically there’s a lot of nuance there that I’m not sure I entirely agree with.
For example, the YouTube clickbait game isn’t just “Every tech product is great”, but also the opposite too “This product sucks!”, when in reality, said product doesn’t at all. We’ve all seen the “Dont buy XXX until you watch this!” type thumbnails, and you don’t get anything useful out of the video. It’s just a review by a different name. In effect, the issue isn’t putting out a bad review, it’s having even-handed reviews that can be challenging. Still, it seems to work for me.
There are tons of brands (especially in the camera space) that do very specific influencer-marketing type stuff, and do have very specific guidelines. I’ve seen those documents, it’s crazy-balls how specific they are (including specific thumbnail design ideas, title requirements, etc…). None of which is declared by the YouTuber in their videos, as being sponsored.
However, when it comes to more normalized/traditional media (e.g The Verge, Wired, etc) for which I fall under, that pressure largely doesn’t exist. Nobody is telling us what to say, or not say. I say whatever I want, all the time – and it mostly works out. I think for the trusted mainstream brands, they’re OK with valid critisicm from independent reviewers. Do some brands get more spicy aftewards? Sure. But shrug. I get I’m in a fortunate position to be able to say what I want with little brand reprocussions, but not all creators are.
Finally, on Google winning – sure, they win. But they also pay out a ton of money. And these days, many creators have shifted towards doing direct sponsorships instead (e.g. the NordVPN style stuff you see), which may umpteen times better. I think most YouTubers don’t really complain about the directly monetary aspect per se, as rather, the unpredictability of it. It’s not a case of X hours = Y money. Or even X quality level = Y money. It’s based on whatever random algorithm thing happens that decided the fate of your video.
Is the Max Mod 2.0 backwards compatible with the 11?
Sadly not. The Hero 12 is backwards compatible though with the Max Mod 1.0, fwiw.
OK I see the specs for MLM 2 below…so if MLM 2 is used in 11, do you get the increased 4K 60FPS with HL that it uses in the 12? or will it only benefit from an increased FOV? or any at all? ie using MLM 2 on the 11 will have same settings as MLM 1 on the 11….
With the removal of GPS, do you foresee GoPro bringing the import of gpx/tcx/fit files for overlays into their wheelhouse? Surely I won’t be using VIRB Edit forever?
It’s hard to say. They also announced a bunch of desktop stuff today, basically, revival of the desktop side to eventually rival large chunks of their mobile apps.
Concurrently, we’ve seen some interesting marketing partnerships with GoPro/Garmin the last month or two. Perhaps that’s a sign of things, perhaps not. Also, last fun tidbit – their current director of camera hardware (and has been there a long time), originally founded MotionBased, which Garmin acquired and became Garmin Connect. He then went onto develop bike computers and watches and Magellan, before landing at GoPro. In other words, the guy bleeds GPX/TCX/FIT files. One can dream…
Garmin is large enough to consider acquiring GoPro. Would be a great technology fit for both.
Admire you for clearly stating the embargo piece and defending it here in these comments, very few other releases from this week referred to the GPS loss, you were right to make that point.
Great summary! Now that GPS has been removed, will the camera still auto-update the date and time? As someone who travels often to different time zones, it would be very frustrating to be back to the world of remembering to manually update the time zone each time. Thanks!
I suppose it will update through mobile application. GoPro 11 Mini doesn’t have GPS, and date/time is correct in my clips.
Hey DC — great video.
Any word on heat? I use the camera in difficult conditions (fixed mount during summer baseball games in Texas).
Thoughts?
Thanks!
Mark
I touched on it briefly in the video, and will do substantially more in my review and dedicated overheating video. But GoPro did release a chart showing thermal limits, but in short, no, I wouldn’t expect meaningful change for your specific scenario.
Is that just a reduce settings issue though? Like maybe 4K is enough? Or is it a “you live in an oven” issue and no camera will cope?
Looking at this and MILCs I do wonder if heat is here to stay as nobody seems to be solving it without heat sinks and fans.
DJI has mostly, albeit not entirely, solved it in certain resolutions/FPS with the Action 3/4. You can still overheat it, as I showed in my review of the Action 4 – but it just takes a lot more effort.
The semi-secret trade-off is basically DJI appears to be being more clever about stabilization components running in the background when in static (shutting them down, reducing processing/heat). For the most part, it’s darn near impossible to overheat even a GoPro while moving through air – even really darn hot air. All the historical testing I’ve done has shown that even in 100*F+ temps with high humidity, a GoPro won’t “overheat” if there’s airflow, even the slightest bit of airflow.
But in static situations (no airflow like inside a car dashboard), it’s different. Undoubtedly, a big part of why the GPS was removed was to help start mitigating that. It’s also why DJI doesn’t have it in there. But DJI then went a step further on the Action 3/4 and really focused on the heat problem. Of course, coming off the Action 2 and it’s crazy overheating (4 mins in some modes), they got slaughtered there.
A small suggestion Mark: you can get tiny solar (or battery) power electric fans online. Set up your GoPro for the game with that pointing at it. As Ray’s mentioned: even SLIGHT air-flow over the camera seems to be enough to keep it from hitting thermal limits. If the sun is problematic, a small shade over the cam could help too. I don’t see your use case as impossible – there are some multihead tripod attachments that would let you stick cam+fan+shade on one rail.
In order to help out with overheating for games: shoot in 4k 30, remove stabilization.
Key: remove battery and battery door. power with external battery and long usb-c cable.
Is there any sort of tracking or reframing ability in the GoPro 12 or the new GoPro software? What I want to do is reframe a 4k video down to a 1080p video that tracks the subject. Essentially cropping the image down to stabilize a frame around the subject (and effectively zooming in on them) rather than stabilizing the center of the video.
This seems like it would be a great feature but GoPro seems to imagine were all good enough photographers to keep our subjects stable and in the center of the action while we’re running/skiing etc along with them.
No, though, I agree, that’d be super handy. I think (maybe?) off the top of my head Insta360 has that, but I can’t remember without walking across the room and grabbing my phone on the charger.
Stoked to read this full review. I’m still rocking a 2015 era Silver…and it’s coming into prime gravel and MTB time here in Aotearoa. It might be time to finally upgrade.
Hmm. Revised excitement level – no GPS is a huge bummer. Wondering if there’ll be the option to overlay with phone connection or a separate unit later.
Hi,
first i really don’t understand why someone pretends more details in an “overview”. Rule are simple: if u want an early access you have to respect embargo or u can wait until the product is in stores. the important thing here is that the embargo must be the same for everyone
I have heard about the max 2 and this for me is the real news…even if i suppose we can see something in 2024.
Hi,
Would it be possible for you to publish the raw sample of timewarp for download? I need to check if it is possible to synchronize the external GPX data with GoPro 12 timewarp.
thanks in advance
My favorite mode on my Hero 11 is 5.3k TimeWarp, so it would be great if you could actually do that. Telemetry Overlay can’t with Hero 11 video, and VIRB Edit is hopeless for this, since it doesn’t understand TimeWarp or 5.3k.
The attached screenshot shows the TimeWarp from GP 11.
Thanks Ray, looking forward to the “post-second-embargo” videos and comparisons.
If I could get a steep discount on a Hero 10 or 11, I’d probably jump at one of those since all I’m doing is occasional gravel bike videos.
Unfortunately, here in Canada, the used market is cuckoo-bananas and prices are almost that of new models – may as well spring for the 12 and get the extra battery life and new lens mod.
So much anger at DCR for posting a good summary in advance of the real review? I don’t get it, at all. Thanks, this video was useful, and looking forward to tomorrow!
I’m fine with the way Ray went out of his way to disclose the restrictions imposed by GoPro. I took this as a first look post, and was glad to see it from Ray as I trust his work. The full review will certainly get my attention as I have been on a Hero 8 Black for a couple years after buying one as a low-cost entry into action cameras.
I saw other posts from tech sites that didn’t mention the restrictions at all, so kudos to Ray for making those clear. For GoPro, I’m not quite sure what they get here, other than two days of advance publicity before the full review comes out?
Same. I wondered if perhaps they hoped to take the edge off the “no GPS but more battery life” factor ahead of the main bulk of reviews.
kicking out GPS is a bummer and the only thing why i will not upgrade.
its not only for overlays. i like to have a gps tag in photos as well.
Date and time setting when you travel,…
i guess it will be possible to get it with phone/garmin – but i want a “stand alone” solution.
the added runtime is a bit of nothing when you stick to 4k60
great info
I think we might see Garmin and GoPro collaborate to provide GPS and remote control options through Garmin wearables.
They recently ran Garmin GoPro Badge Challenge and with GoPro 12 now supporting Bluetooth it should be relatively easy to create an app for Garmin watches.
Hey, thanks for the awesome reviews. Love what you do.
My favorite accessory for the GoPro is the Max Lens Mod, and the MLM 2.0 looks pretty neat with 4k 60 fps. Will you have a comparison coming soon on how it looks compared to the old MLM?
Also, with MLM 2.0, is 4:3 or 8:7 aspect ratio an option in 4k 60? All the recent footage released looks like a highly distorted 16:9, and I liked the original max lens because the 4:3 wasn’t as distorted as superview or hyperview but still very wide.
Yeah, in my Max Lens Mod review I’ll do some side-by-sides with the previous version.
With the Max Lens Mod 2.0 attached, you’ve got the following video options:
16:9: 1080p or 4K/24-25-30-50-60 in Wide/Max-SuperView/MaxHyperView
9:6: 1080p stuffs, 4K/25-50-60 in either Wide or Max-SuperView
4:3: 4K only in 24/25/30/60 in either Wide or Max-SuperView
Horizon Lock on/off and Max HyperSmooth on/off ar options for all of those. No HDR in any Max Lens Mod modes. 10-bit is permitted, but not LOG.
Hi Ray! Thanks for the very dense and detailed videos, it’s great!
A question for you to ponder. I think you said that removing GPS was about saving power … but if that were true then the longer recording modes should have shown the largest runtime gains because GPS power needs are constant. But the opposite is true. So what’s going on?
I’d wager that removing GPS did save a little power, but the real reason was cost saving to keep the $400 price point given recent inflation. The extra record time for demanding modes is probably from a more efficient processor.
GPS was about saving power, but it was really about saving heat. GPS contributed quite a bit to heat (you can see that if you take an older GoPro Hero 11/12 and stick it in Tripod mode, where it turns off GPS). Thus why the gains in the higher modes were so big this year, because they took away the heat that was the primarily killer in those modes.
Ah, that makes sense. Thank you! Still a bummer though for those that don’t use the higher modes and/or want basic location metadata.
I saw Nick Woodman’s comments about “Max 2.0” being “worked on” and it will be “worth the wait.” Has there been a hint or do you have any suspensions if that vague comment implies a product still far out (ie. 2024) or are we still expecting another big GoPro camera release in Oct/Nov with the Max 2.0 after 4 years? I only ask because 1) I’m in the market for a 360 camera and I am a GoPro user and 2) it seems GoPro didn’t spend much money on the Hero 12 launch (not that many advance units, seemingly no paid “reviews” or influencers making cinematic videos etc. and I’m wondering if they are saving the PR budget and hype for the Max? Probably wishful thinking… Thanks Ray.
suspicions… wouldn’t want any suspensions for you…
I’ve been meaning to go back and re-watch the media presentation he gave us (on my to-do list), but I don’t think he specified a date range or hinted at it.
As for GoPro, in general, they don’t do paid reviews type stuff. Or at least, I can’t remember any recently, nor heard of any. They have ‘GoPro Family Members’, which are basically unpaid ambassodors that get some free GoPro cameras/accessories, but not usually money. Most of them know that the views works out. That’s in stark contrast to their competitors.
And again, maybe some random GoPro country subsidirary does something, but for all the US/EUR folks, I just haven’t seen that in all my years of being around GoPro things. I think the double-embargo this year really threw a lot of poeple for a loop, and there was some differences in text communications that came early on what could/couldn’t be said, that I think lead people to believe the first embargo was more restrictive than it actually was. GoPro was basically trying to avoid getting Apple’d (wherein launching on the same days as Apple’s media event, or media embargo dates usually a week later) – like last year. In that respect, that did achieve that, but I think the dual-embargo made it more complicated for many, which might have hurt them.
Hi DC,
What are you thoughts on wind noise when cycling? I have an Hero 11 and suffer from wind noise a lot but putting dead cats or the full mufflers on doesn’t really appeal to me (mostly mtb)
Are there any settings you’d recommend from your extensive testing?
Thanks in Advance!
Honestly, I don’t do anything. I just use the stock settings and it works out. I find that when the microphones start sounding wonky, it’s usually becaues I’ve managed to get dirt/sports gel/salt water/whatever in there. A bowl of warm soapy water for 30 mins or so, and then rinse a bunch in a bowl of clean water, usually fixes it.
Great, do use the wind noise suppression setting?
I just use the stock/default setting (which leverages the three mics automatically)
Every time I play around the different RAW audio settings I regret my life choices later.
Ray, are the folding fingers backwards compatible? Screw holes look similar placement
Yup, totally. In fact, in my review video I show a 3rd party one that also has a DJI mount built into it, a tripod mount, and magnets too. It’s cool.
I picked up a Hero 11 just a couple of weeks ago, and I actually like having GPS, so I’m not too bummed, but why can’t the ability to shoot vertical video be pushed out to the 11 as a firmware upgrade? I would definitely use that as most of my content is for social, and I shoot action footage in 5k/8:7, not because I need the quality or less battery life, but simply so I can crop to vertical later. I would much prefer shooting in 4K or even 2.7 and having more battery life with my new to me 11. I could get not offering a vertical update if it was based on a new processor or sensor, but since those are the same between the 11 and 12, is there any reason that function couldn’t be pushed out to the 11 in an update (other than making the 12 less novel)?
The Hero 11 already has vertical video. Simply rotate the camera 90*, and it now shoots vertical video.
You can also lock that by swiping down, and then tapping the lock icon, which means it’ll always shoot vertical video, even when oriented the other way.
The new UI simply makes this more clear for folks, to avoid this exact question. 😉 But functionally speaking, there’s no differences in terms of what’s recorded.
Ahhh, thanks. You can tell I’m a new user! Did you ever make the YouTube Hero 11 beginner’s guide you referenced in your original (I think it was 17 things) video about the 11? I would love that! I’m playing with the cameral now, so hopefully I can figure it out – trying to get it to lock into filming in vertical 9:16 for Insta, even when installed level under a stock handlebar (i.e. camera NOT physically rotated 90 degrees). Keep up the great reviews!
Ray, since having the 1 for few days, I have noticed something about Horizon Lock:
From GP: HL is only available:
5.3K: 30/24fps
4K: 60/30/24fps
1080p: 120/60/30/24fps
However, I have learned that even if you select for eg 5.3K/16:9/60FPS, the option for HL ie L+, is still available and if you select it, the menu does not automatically jump back down to 30FPS as it does in other menus and selections…so the first time I did this, I was happy rotating the camera only to find L+ was not working….only then did i check GP site for above limits…also L+ does not work with HDR even if it is available in the menu and selected any of the above FPS configurations…
A glitch in the settings menus? In other menus, depending on what you select it will grey out options that are not available….
Is there any table of the various combos available?
That should read 12!…..I have had the 12 for a few days..I never got the 1!
Hi Ray, I know this is an old post, but the question seems relevant today: How come you don’t have a review of the Insta360 X3? (apologies if I missed it) I have seen pretty amazing footage from it and was curious to know what you think about it. It seems a strong competitor to any GoPro.
Thanks, best
To be honest, I just don’t see a lot of demand for reviews of their 360 products (whereas, I do see more interest in the Go 2/3 and now the ACE Pro, which I’m working on).
Insta360 has historically flooded the market with so many sponsored day-0 reviews, that bothering to do an unsponsored Insta360 review (weeks/months later), didn’t gain any traction for how much work action cam reviews are (and especially 360 action cam reviews).