GoPro Hero 7 Black Review: An Action Camera For The Social Age

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review: An Action Camera For The Social Age

Ever wondered why GoPro's flagship camera is named "the Black" but has always been silver or gray? Well, with the Hero 7, the corporate has righted that wrong. Cognitive dissonance aside, there are a couple of other things fixed with this year's update, but the large question is: Are they the problems that interest you? If your frustrations focus on shaky footage or wrangling your videos onto social media, then yes. If you were hoping for a laundry list of latest video modes then, maybe not such a lot (4K/60fps remains the max). There’s a touch something here for everybody, though, and -- importantly -- it keeps the $399 tag of the Hero 6 it replaces. The question this point seems to be: Can it replace your phone (camera)?

Pros

• Much improved stabilization
• Super Photo adds better stills
• Live streaming adds a replacement thanks to “share”
• Improved UI

Cons

• Minor hardware improvements for upgraders
• No improvement on battery life

Summary

The Hero 7 won't accompany a number of latest shooting modes or imaging improvements, but it does accompany a couple of key tweaks that make it exciting to new and old users alike. The upgrade in stability alone will save hours of potential memories from the ashcan. Super Photo makes the GoPro a more robust choice for stills, and therefore the addition of live streaming may be a plus for everybody . We’d always like to see significant bumps within the battery life, but given the Hero 7 launches at an equivalent price because the Hero 6, it basically means the simplest GoPro just got better without impacting your pocket. Upgraders might want to think about if there’s enough new here for you, except for everyone else, the Hero 7 improves on an already winning formula.

The first, and in my opinion the simplest, update to the Hero 7 Black is improved stabilization (which GoPro calls HyperSmooth). Sony introduced optical stabilization to its action cameras in fall 2016; GoPro followed suit with the Hero 5 soon after. The large difference was that GoPro used electronic stabilization (EIS) instead of optical. That difference is vital, as optical stabilization happens at the source (the lens), whereas EIS is completed in-camera. Purists tend to prefer anything that does not alter the image once captured. This was borne out, but the very fact that the Hero 5's stabilization was better than none, but still caused visible artifacts (Jell-o effect), usually round the edges of the scene.

Things improved with the Hero 6, but there have been still some issues, usually once you make sharp movements (a common occurrence with an action camera of course). Enter the Hero 7. The bad news (sorry, purists) is that GoPro is sticking with EIS. The great news is that it is a solid improvement from the Hero 6 and lightweight years better than the Hero 5. GoPro (predictably) claims that EIS features a advantages over OIS: lens movement has a physical hard rail it can't transcend. With EIS, the software has more leeway.

The Hero 7's stabilization works by using the predictive smarts of the GoPro's GP1 processor. The camera preempts your swerves and keeps the image free from dreaded jerks and jitters. Without a doubt, it's much improved and something which will save hours of footage from hitting the trash folder. I tested the Hero 6 side-by-side with the Hero 7 during a number of situations (walking, skateboarding etc.), and therefore the Hero 6 is susceptible to occasional jerks that desire overcorrecting and a few general jittering.

These same movements don't appear within the Hero 7, but there's still some natural movement, which you would not find with a gimbal (this may be a positive or a negative counting on the "look" you want). Ultimately, movement is predicted if you're being active; a gimbal can smooth things call at how that's not natural. With both cameras mounted on a skateboard, riding on slightly bumpy concrete, the Hero 6 had noticeable "rumble," the Hero 7 still had some (thanks, physics) but the resulting video is far easier to observe .

Why is that this my favorite new feature? Because this one thing -- shaky footage -- is basically the deal-breaker between an OK shot you would possibly share with friends, and something that appears smooth and prepared for the planet. There are some more specific benefits, too. I've long wanted to be ready to do something simple: walk with a GoPro and wear a lapel mic. It is a basic task, but something the camera wasn't really designed for. With the Hero 7, for the primary time, I feel they've cracked it. You would possibly not want to try to this exact thing, but the very fact that you simply can may be a good indicator that things have improved here.

What all this does is make the GoPro far more versatile. If you'll grab a smooth establishing shot just with the GoPro during a grip, you not got to fumble around with gimbals (or carry them with you). As long as you'll turn the GoPro on and begin recording with one touch, you'll be tons more spontaneous, with the chances of ending up with something usable much improved.

If you wish to shoot in "Linear" mode (which corrects the "fisheye" effect), then the stabilization is even better. HyperSmooth is simpler when the image is cropped (as it's in linear mode). This happy coincidence means your shots are both more stable, and fewer warped -- hard to argue thereupon (though not most are a lover of cropping).

GoPro is looking HyperSmooth "gimbal-like." the thought is you'll ditch your hand-held stabilizer. For many situations, that's true -- the interior stabilization goes to be enough. But comparing it to a gimbal might even be selling it short. There's something robotic about the way gimbals glide and pitch that may not always ideal for action footage. Also, we will all agree that not having to mount a gimbal on your noggin is sweet for everybody. You would possibly think the stabilization in your iPhone or Pixel is pretty good, but your phone doesn't like water or rough-and-tumble -- therefore the Hero 7 might just be the camera you reach for more often during a number of scenarios.

With the mobile-user in mind, it is a blast to speak about subsequent main update to Hero 7: live streaming. You have been ready to wrangle a video feed from a GoPro live to the web for a short time, but it had been limited (or laborious). Now, it's as simple as firing up the GoPro app on your phone and clicking a button. Right now, you're limited to Facebook or RTMP (which are often piped into YouTube etc.), but more native options are coming.

This one is potentially an enormous deal. Live video may be a feature shooting up everywhere, and before the Hero 7, GoPro likely wasn't your first choice. Now that it is a native feature, and given the camera's rugged nature, you'll expect to ascertain a wave of individuals showing off their vacation, adventure and travels in real time. Sure, you'll already do this together with your phone, but again, you'll not put your phone nearly as many places as you can a GoPro. Sadly, you are doing still need your phone... so no live surfing shots just yet (though that's not impossible), but subsequent time you leave for a track day, or horse riding or a vert session, you'll beam it to the planet in real time from your helmet, car or, well, equine friend's perspective.

It's worth circling back quickly to the stabilization; the 2 make quite team. The GoPro Hero 7 can now go toe-to-toe together with your phone because the life-blogging camera of choice. Previously you would possibly have cursed with your phone for its connectivity (and convenience), but the Hero 7 Black offers enough extra versatility, that it can release your phone (which remains safely in your pocket). A fanatical camera for in-the-field reporting, live streams and action feeds is arguably better than counting on your precious phone alone.

If I've made a couple of comparisons to your phone here, that's because there's something of a topic. People have long asked "why use a GoPro once I have an honest camera in my phone," and therefore the company seems to be answering them with the Hero 7. Which neatly brings me onto another new feature called "TimeWarp."

You have been ready to shoot time-lapse video with a GoPro since, basically, forever. That was great for static shots (think: people dashing by on a sidewalk). If you wanted to shoot one while moving, it had been a touch of a big gamble on how it'd begin. TimeWarp solves this. If you're conversant in Instagram's HyperLapse you will be right reception here. In short, it adds stabilization to a time-lapse for smooth, time-crunching videos. It's great for showing off more mundane parts of your adventure (a long hike) briefly bursts. I tested it on the switchbacks of a trail in Yosemite, and it is a fun, simple and effective thanks to add variety to your footage.

As with regular time-lapses, you'll adjust the "speed" (photo interval), just with TimeWarp, you decide on what proportion you would like to rev things up (2/5/10/15 and 30 times normal speed). At first, it is a little weird. The camera seems like it's recording (a solid red dot on the display), but the timer crawls along -- because it's showing you the length of the resulting video, not the length of your time it took to record it (which makes more sense, of course). You would possibly never need TimeWarp, but there'll be many people that welcome the addition to the toolbox.

I hinted within the intro that there wasn't a number of latest shoot modes. TimeWarp might appease the video lovers, except for the photography crowd, there's SuperPhoto. The hyperbolic name is basically code for "better" HDR. This, alongside stabilization, may be a feature that's been here before in various forms (WDR within the Hero 5, and HDR within the Hero 6). This point around it claims an entire new method of layering/processing your images -- local tone mapping instead of global tone mapping, to be precise.

What this suggests for you is that your final image includes more detail in areas that the older method may need smoothed call at the processing. I tested this during a number of situations, and therefore the difference is obvious. I shot some trees in Yosemite with the sun behind them, and despite that, the small print of the bark are visibly clearer than within the same photo with the Hero 6. Similarly, an attempt I took from Berkeley looking across the bay to San Francisco presented much more definition on the sun-drenched water and therefore the rocks within the foreground than the older sibling could muster.

Other photographic improvements are available the shape of a timer right where you would like it (on the left of the screen), so you'll better compose yourself for selfies (or family portraits by the log fire). There's also a revamped zoom slider. Digital zoom is usually a small compromise in image quality, but it's nice to possess a simple tool to reframe your pictures from the camera itself.

In a similar vein, video mode comes with a choice to predetermine the length of a clip. Say you're close to get down a rock into the ocean; you'll manually start and stop your clip. With the timer, you'll tell the GoPro to record just for 15 or 30 seconds. It is a small touch, but one which may allow you to focus a touch more on the instant and spare your memory card (and save a touch time in editing).

These little additions are literally a part of a broader UI refresh. Before that they had displays, navigating a GoPro was a touch frustrating. The introduction of an LCD made all the difference, but the Hero 7 tidies up things even more. You'll still swipe up for your media and down for preferences, but left and right will now switch between Time Warp/Time-Lapse video and photo modes. The present mode and core settings are going to be at the center-bottom, and tapping which will pull up advanced settings (like Pro-Tune mode). I much prefer this new layout, as going to the choices that matter seems more intuitive, leaving me less likely to miss the shot.

One last detail within the new UI is that the ability to shoot natively in portrait. Now, let's be clear, you'll always hold a GoPro at 90-degrees and shoot video or take photos. Just this point round the Hero 7 will rotate the menu alongside it, recognizing you're shooting in portrait. I smell the influence of Instagram here, and having the ability to send a video directly from your GoPro to Stories without manually rotating it's an easy, yet fiendishly smart, move.

So far, so software, you would possibly be thinking? Initially glance, most of what is new here does desire it might be an (extremely good) firmware update. But there are some minor changes under the hood that make the difference. First is that the upgraded (SD) RAM (2GB, if you're interested) that permits much of the above to be possible. The second may be a tweak to the microphones that promises more dynamic range. Audio on an action camera is usually hard to measure and somewhat subjective, but it does seem to supply a more robust recording of my voice, with background details more balanced.

Of course, there also are the items that haven't changed. The optics are an equivalent, and there could be a replacement color but the housing remains nearly identical (bar some minor aesthetic details). This, of course, means the Hero 7 still works with all of your accessories that fit the Hero 5/6, so that's an honest thing. Another thing that is still an equivalent is that the battery life. It's never the maximum amount as we would like, but the positive take is that the new features haven't made it worse.

All of which brings me to, perhaps, a predictable conclusion. Without a doubt, the Hero 7 features a lot more to supply than the Hero 6. With the worth remaining at $399, it's a simple decision if you were already considering plunking down some cash on a flagship GoPro. It is the upgraders which may have a tougher time. The new features here do have general appeal, but it is also potentially almost enough for everybody. The Hero 6 remains an excellent camera and an honest leap up from the Hero 5 in terms of image quality, whereas the Hero 7 adds some functional features that improve an already good camera.

What the Hero 7 does undoubtedly do is open the door a touch to a replacement wave of users. If you reside on social or like to share in real time, the Hero 7's portrait mode, snackable videos, TimeWarps, live streaming and improved HDR images are all getting to sing to you, or at the very least, give your trusty phone a run its money.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Unboxing: An Action Camera For The Social Age