After 6 years, the next GoPro MAX model is finally out, the GoPro MAX 2. This unit is basically an entire overhaul of the GoPro MAX, with upgraded everything. From new sensors giving a full 8K of usable footage, to almost all the modes/features found on a GoPro Hero 13 Black, and plenty more.
Of course, there are also compromises too. Be it lower light limitations, as well as the desktop editing software, I dive into all these features and how they compare to the DJI OSMO 360 and Insta360 X5. Here’s all the chapters (obviously, cannonball is where it’s at):
0:00 Quick Overview & Pricing
0:57 Size & Weight Comparisons (Insta360 X5 & DJI OSMO 360)
1:33 Mounting Options
2:18 ‘True’ 8K, is it real?
3:44 Comparison Footage
4:21 Reframing Explainer
5:04 GoPro Quick AI Reframing
6:06 GoPro Desktop App Options
6:29 USB-C Fast Offload to Smartphones
6:51 POV Quick Mode
7:19 Selfie Quick Mode
7:37 Single Lens Mode
7:58 GoPro Max Lens Modes
8:31 Slow Motion
8:44 Cannonball Footage/Comparisons
9:41 Low Light Footage/Comparisons
10:31 User replaceable lens dome
11:26 Trying to break the lens dome
12:12 GPS & Speed Overlay Stickers
12:24 Battery Specs & Testing
12:51 Overheating Testing
13:18 Underwater Usage
13:59 Bluetooth Audio
14:23 Internal Mic Testing
14:54 Photo Modes
15:17 Timelapse Modes
15:23 Night Effect Modes
15:38 10-Bit & LOG Support
15:47 GoPro Labs
16:15 GoPro Quik CameraFX
16:36 GoPro Cloud Support
16:58 My Recommenations
I suspect I won’t be doing a full written review, but, ya never know (depends a bit on interest, as action cam coverage tends to do far better for me on YouTube than the site). In the meantime, check out my full in-depth review above. From swimming to cycling to running, to flying, you name – it’s all there.
With that – thanks for watching!
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You talked about slo-mo, what about the opposite, time lapse? Does it have my favorite Hero 11 mode, Time Warp? For both 360 and single lens?
Yup, it’s got TimeWarp, in both 5.6K and 8K (360).
And then in single-lens mode, it has it in: 16:9, 9:16, and 4:3. With resolutions offered at 1080p & 4K, and Digital lenses of: Linear, Wide, UltraWide, Max Hyper View. Plus Horizon Lock as an option.
The usual extra ProTune/etc options below all that too.
Will you be doing a Hero Lit review too? Please 😌
Yup!
£369.99 in Uk if you already have a gopro subscription.
I understand low light performance lags current competitor models, but how does the MAX2 compare to the original MAX in that respect? If it’s at least as good or slightly better, replaceable lenses and mag mount might be enough for me to upgrade.
What is the best way to attach one of these overhead, behind a bike?
Hmm, I can’t really think of a viable way to do that to be honest. At least in terms of a relatively sustainable (over longer periods of time) way (safety aside).
Probably the closest would be to use a saddle rail mount that extens slightly out beyond the back of the back of the saddle, then, attach a super lightweight telescoping pole upwards, with the camera atop it.
Ray, are you selling those awesome DCR hats that you’re wearing in the video?
You can buy them at the DCR Open House each year. :)
I haven’t really figured out shipping logistics or such. :(
Did I hear you say you were going to do a footage comparison video? When’s should we expect that? Im currently deciding whether to buy or not.
Goal is the weekend. Albeit, my goals are often…optimistic.
Oh man, I’m here for it. I’m super interested in the comparison between the Max 2 and X5. (Osmo costs $120 USD, incl shipping to replace one lens in my country, plus it would be gone a month so that’s a deal breaker for me)
I came here to understand how Max 2 stabilization compared to say the GP13. As a mountain biker, that is important. I don’t see that covered.
From a stabilization standpoint, you pretty much can’t “break” the 360 cameras. They can stabilize basically anything, to whatever extent you want (for better or worse).
That said, the Hero 13 is extremely good from a stabilization standpoint, though doesn’t have quite as much framing capability, or wide angle options (at least without going to the Max Lens Mod 2.0).
The main benefit of using the Max 2 on the chest mount for MTB would mostly be for the wider POV.
Do the battery doors for the Max with a USB-C hole work on the Max 2?
I think I ordered one, although I’m not sure. No email confirmation, a $1 charge to my credit card, and my $100 subscrIber discount is marked as used, although there’s no other indication that I made an order. (This is the only camera I ever ordered direct from GoPro.) I’ll wait until Tuesday to see what shows up. It’s intended to replace both my Hero 11 and my VIRB 360.
watch out for the “world” mode ( keeps camera “looking” in one direction.) on by default in gopro player export ( still no embedded original time code)
a quick look to the side will be taken out resulting in a few frames of blur on the transcoded flat image.
As a cyclist im interested in speed, hr and power visualizations as part of videos. What are the options here?
I use Telemetry Overlay for my GoPro video. It works, but it doesn’t understand my favorite mode, Time Warp, so I don’t use it much. For regular video modes, it works great, and looks better than VIRB Edit. It’s certainly not free.
GoPro itself has software, but I’ve never used it, and the results I’ve seen look like it’s pretty limited.
Yeah, I believe the official GoPro editing or viewing tools may not have supported displaying overlays for the MAX’s telemetry data. So functionally the max didn’t work the same as the hero with their software, Curious if that is different with the new Max2?
You have to frame into a flat-file first, before the GoPro stickers work.
That said, this is a key area (for readers here), where GoPro is far behind what DJI & Insta360 do with connections to Garmin/COROS/etc… for your data overlays, including power.
You mentioned the waterproofness!
As a wingfoiler, paddleboarder, sailor and mountain/road/gravel biker, most of my footage is water related and hence it needs to be waterproof. With wingfoiling it also needs to be fairly light as well, so it doesn’t affect how the wing flies.
Q. Is this less waterproof than the original?
Q. Does it weigh less than the original?
I currently have the GoPro Max and have not really been that impressed with the quality of the footage and the workflow is a real bugbear. I was hoping for a desktop version of the software ideally but they seem to be moving away from this. I’ve also found that with the current Max, it needs to upload to the cloud so you can then download the footage, otherwise you only end up with a bt of the footage (if you try to directly download it from the Max or the card). This takes hours and is a complete nightmare if you’re trying to get footage out same day!
Q. Is the Max2 any better, can you download ALL of the footage directly on to a desktop machine or ipad relatively quickly.
I keep looking at the other options but hear rumours about them not being that waterproof or poor customer service, so I keep sticking to the GoPro route as I know these have always been waterproof (I still use my GoPro Hero 4 and people are still amazed at the footage i get out of this).
Thanks for the great reviews as always.
Chunks
with my old max, i transfer the camera files ( 8min 4GB each) to my desktop
(What us the size of the new Max2 files?). storage ( using hedge software to simultaneously save a backup, and error check) out if the camera using an adaptor.
then the tedious bit select sections i want and use gopro player one at a time to generate (large) ProRes rectilinear files for use in Resolve ( or premiere pro) and use plugin to “pan and scan” to a flat image in my edit timeline.
Or i can drop all of the clips into Gopro player and transcode them all (. 32GB/ file) and wait a long time.
we need to be able to import the 360 files directly into a desktop editor and process from there.
Amazing ‘bommetjes’ by the girl, she’s awesome!
any suggestions for sd cards to use with 8k action cameras ? V90 ??
what is provided with the gopro max 2 ? (and other cameras)
with 120 mb max out of the box and a much quoted 300mb with gopro lab ?
300mb micro sd cards are very expensive !
I’ve been using the Max for 3-4 years, and I feel like I know how to shoot with it for my use case (kitesurfing). The things that dont work for me are
1) the editing options, i’ve got too much footage to do mobile only
2) water drops on curved lenses…. Many this is so annoying… the curved lenses seem like magnets for droplets of water compared to my GoPro 12 and gopro 11 mini. Would love to see this improve.
3) the resolution – i definitely want more, it looks bad compared to my gopro 12 when they are side by side. And sometimes I shoot stuff I want to get closer to.
3) Frame rates – I’m almost always shooting action, so it would be useful to be able to slow it down.
I dont care about low light shooting, and can’t quite figure out why people want to use action cameras in low light (use a phone).
one reason to use at night is for my dark commutes when max is fitted to my helmet cam,
i agree the max1 resolution isnt good when zoomed to flatten to put in an edit, where a slight zoom would help the composition, when mixed with other cameras.
max has been very good when attached to music stands to give lots of camera angles in 1080p.
Cause I do not know where else to ask: Are you going to test the new SRM PM with adjustable cranklength?
Looks like a nice idea to me, but since it’s SRM, it’s pricy.
Would be interested whether they can maintain a high accuracy (since it is SRM, I am not worried that much).
So after a week with the Max 2, I have some impressions. I’ve used it both single lens and 360 and it works well. The major problem compared to the Hero 11 is that I don’t yet have a battery door with a hole in it to run it from an external battery. Fortunately GoPro itself has one for sale, although it doesn’t seem to be available quite yet (ordered one from Amazon, I wasn’t willing to pay the $20 GoPro wanted for shipping). Video quality is great both single lens and 360, that is provided I can actually see the 360 video.
My major problems are with GoPro Player for macOS (obtained from the App Store). On my M1 MacBook Air with macOS 26.0.1 it works well enough, but only if the video is on internal storage. It freezes up if I try to open a file on external storage. VLC doesn’t understand the 360 projection used, so GoPro Player is the only choice. On my M2 Mac mini (also 26.0.1), GoPro Player also freezes up trying to open a file on external storage, and shows only a black window for a file on internal storage. Weirdly enough, although the window is black you can take stills that show up. So compared to the VIRB 360, the major problem is right now is software. But the video quality is noticeably better, and time lapse video (Time Warp) is actually stabilized, which I could never do on the VIRB.