GoPro Hero 7 Silver
MID-RANGE MARVEL OR OUTGUNNED BY THE COMPETITION?
THE HERO 7 Silver is perfectly suitable as an upgrade from older GoPro models – and if you have some older accessories – although it would be a fine choice for any first-time action cameras users that may feel limited by what the White version offers.
While it’s easy to think of the Hero7 Silver as a cut-down version of the more senior Black model, it’s still loaded with fancy tricks beyond its headline 4K-video-shooting capabilities.
Its sensor captures 10MP stills individually or in a 15fps burst, and it maintains the familiar Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) feature to help fill in shadows and retain highlights, the result being a better balanced exposure. You can also call upon Touch Zoom, whereby sliding your finger up and down the screen zooms into the scene for alternative framing.
The camera also benefits from vertical shooting, a new feature for the Hero7 range. Here, the resulting image is rotated once it’s captured, and the UI also shifts to make it easier to capture either video or stills with the camera in a portrait orientation. This also makes such images and videos more suitable to integrate into Instagram Stories or on Snapchat, which you can do straight from the GoPro app that connects the camera to a smart device. Voice Control, which started out on the Hero5 model, has also made the cut, and you can use this to start and stop capturing footage, or shoot bursts, add HiLights and so on. Annoyingly, while you can turn the camera off with your voice, you can’t actually turn it on again in the same way. That’s reserved for the Black model, which seems somewhat stingy.
There are also three- and ten-second timers for selfies and group shots, together with the option to restrict video footage to 15 or 30 seconds to make it more shareable. Videos can also be slowed by a factor of two using the slow-mo option.
FAMILIAR, STREAMLINED DESIGN
The basic GoPro Hero design hasn’t changed much over the years, although the company has reserved the front-facing LCD screen for its more senior Black model. Here, the front plate bears nothing more than just the optic and a small status light that flashes when you’re recording, while a 2-inch touchscreen takes up the whole of the rear.
The camera feels robust enough to withstand the odd knock or scrape, although you can also slip it inside its bracket for additional protection or for when you want to mount it somewhere. Operation largely takes place through a combination of the two physical controls (mode and shutter buttons) and the touchscreen, although you can also use the Voice Control feature for most main tasks. The tiny touchscreen isn’t the friendliest for those with larger digits, and the screen can be a little unresponsive at times, but otherwise it works well enough.
The camera’s battery is integrated into its design, and it’s charged through a USB-C port that sits next to a microSD slot at the camera’s side. These two are well protected by a door that’s a little awkward to open easily, but this is no doubt a necessary to maintain waterproofing, which is rated at the same 10m depth as the Hero’s White and Black siblings.
VOICE CONTROL, WHICH STARTED OUT ON THE HERO5 MODEL, HAS ALSO MADE THE CUT, AND YOU CAN USE THIS TO START AND STOP CAPTURING FOOTAGE, OR SHOOT BURSTS...