My lad is wanting a Go-Pro which I know diddly squat about….. Which ones should I be looking for and which ones should I steer clear of. I know they all have they’re little problems… But surely there’s one of them thats worth getting. TIA.

9 is when they introduced good stabilisation so I wouldn’t go older than that. I think the 10 was better for heat management and minor improvements with the 11 so maybe aim for a 10.

My hero 7 black has the hyper smooth stabilisation. Can’t justify upgrading for how much I use it.

I’m sure the newer models will have better stabilisation though.

Yup ^^^^  Good stabilisation started  – Hypersmooth – started with the Hero7.

7 onwards except the 8 is how I understand it.

Have the 7 and stabilisation is good. The 8 has the integrated mount which I’ve heard is liable to breaking.

Mate has the 11 (didn’t realise there are that many newer models) and the stabilisation is better, but not noticeably compared to my 7.

Pedal-a-bike-away, the bike shop at Forest of Dean trail centre, has the 11, 11 mini, & 12 with £100 off and a bundle of extras.

I’m tempted by the 11 for £249 with an accessory bundle worth £50 and a shorty tripod.

Their website is very barebones but there’s lots of posts on Facebook

alpinFree Member
7 onwards except the 8 is how I understand it.

Have the 7 and stabilisation is good. The 8 has the integrated mount which I’ve heard is liable to breaking.

No, the Gopro 8 has Hypersmooth 2.0

https://community.gopro.com/s/article/HERO8-Black-Hypersmooth-2-0?language=en_US

I have 8s and they’re fine for most stuff. The quality is plenty good enough. So many people are switching to DJI now though I imagine you’ll find something newer cheap.

7 black

The oldest with screen and hyersmooth

I have the 7 black and stabilisation is good on it. Newer models will be a bit better now mind. (also the 7 has a removable lens which I think some of the newer ones dont. Handy for replacement)

Gp8 here with Witchcraft Hypersmooth stabilisation. Very happy and don’t feel the need to upgrade. To things people mention associated with the GP 8:
Non removable/replacable lens protector. Not true. Can be replaced with a hairdryer and a kit from Camerabutter. (I’ve done this job)
Integrated mount. Also, can be replaced from Wish/AliExpress though it seems pretty tough.

I’d look at 8 and upwards.

Had a 9 for a while but suffered with glitches/freezing when hot, touch screen was irritatingly unresponsive too. It’s not very well anymore after being roosted spectacularly. Bought a 12 (and a protective case 😀 ) recently and that seems very good so far, touch screen is way better too, no GPS on the latest models if that’s important to you.

Replaceable lens on the 9 and 12, don’t know about others.

Also consider the DJ action series – the 3 or later is the one to get. Genuinely comparable performance to the equivalent Go Pros but more reliable and less buggy. You see them used quite a bit on YouTube channels now. Also about £100 or so cheaper. They have replaceable lens covers which is pretty reassuring.

Thread hijack slightly…

What are the Hero Session cameras like?

Had the opportunity to buy for £100 the other day and just wondering if I should kick myself for not buying one!

Other than strapping it to the dog or possibly a a commute camera, I’m not sure I’d get a lot of use from it

JB

I have a Hero 10 and I don’t think I would be able to make use of anything better. The stabilisation is fantastic, and IQ is pretty mind blowing to be honest. The front screen is very handy. Make sure to get an extra battery if you can, they don’t last very long on high settings (or mine is a bad battery). Think I paid £180 for mine with a chesty and a few mounts, second hand.

@sturdylad – I had a Hero Session 4 before. It was decent but I struggled with not really being able to see what I am doing with it. Would be ideal for a dog or something though, or as you say a commuter cam. The quality si decent enough without being “Youtuber” quality.

I tried a secondhand 7 and had some issues with it. When it was working the film was ok. Gave up and bought a new 8 on offer (£199 at the time I think) and the video is a chunk smoother than the 7. Really happy with the video quality.

I have wondered about the integrated mount in the bottom – doesn’t feel like the strongest thing. But you can buy replacements to bolt on as I understand it.

edit – to add I’ve got an old hero session 4 and in comparison to the 8 the picture is awful. Looks like you’re videoing out of a tumble drier on spin – it’s so bumpy.

@sturdylad I have a session, but have some gripes;

-You can’t swap the battery which only lasts about 90 mins on max FPS/Image size (it will take memory cards that can take over 2 hours of video at this quality so this seems like an own goal)

-The lack of large screen makes some features difficult to use EG I use an old Faux Go-Pro to reformat the cards or to delete individual files as I can see what they are on the screen before I delete them.

-It looks like the original Go-Pro App has been discontinued on the Apple Store which makes setup/changes (including time/date) very difficult!

NB – I do not use it much any more so the last point may her been resolved

Thanks, probably not enough plusses for me to live in regret!

Thread hijack slightly…

What are the Hero Session cameras like?

Had the opportunity to buy for £100 the other day and just wondering if I should kick myself for not buying one!

Other than strapping it to the dog or possibly a a commute camera, I’m not sure I’d get a lot of use from it

JB

Who would do such a thing?! 😀

Ignore the random chatter, I talk to Barney a lot when I’m out.

https://gopro.com/v/EB9L2vqqNJPOm

I blagged a Hero 8 black from the GoPro eBay outlet.  Prior to that had a session which was an official GoPro refurbished.

The Hero 8 is quite a lot better and the image stabilisation is nuts!

I had a 9 and an 11 (when the 9 I lent to my jetski-ing mate ended up in Davy Jones’ locker 🙂 ). The 9 – as posted above – was a bit glitchy and would randomly lock up esp when warm. Meaning a battery out reset. I also suffered some odd file corruption and that was using recommended SD cards.

11 has been pretty good. Touchscreen is still horribly slow (12 is way better apparently) but stabilisation is brilliant even with the crappy bouncy chest mount. Only issue I have is low light performance is still average at best. If I replaced my 11, I’d go with another brand.

I’ve also fitted the media mod which massively cuts down on wind noise. Worth watching a few MTB GoPro set up videos as it’s easy to completely ruin the footage by getting the settings wrong. Also if you’re using a chest mount, get it low, looks faster 🙂

Anyone know the cyclist with the GoPro taking photos of drivers?
byu/Eponymousyndrome incambridge

Thinking of getting in on the action?

You want a Insta360 X3 or 4.

Just so much fun and it’s like having a film crew in your pocket.

🙂

@flicker, bizarrely mine is also called Barney!

GoPro hero 8 silicon skins.