GoPro Hero7 Black
A GREAT ACTION CAMERA IS NOW EVEN BETTER
THE GOPRO HERO7 Black offers the same kind of rugged and largely rubbered body as the Hero6 Black, although the sides of the devices are now just as smooth as the front, rather than ridged. This also means the previous two-tone look is now gone, but you’ll likely have the GoPro in a case of some kind, so this makes very little difference in use. Build quality feels just as solid as the Hero6 Black. The two doors to the battery/card and USB/HDMI compartments can be a little fiddly to open, though the design is necessary to ensure waterproofing. Without a housing the camera can travel 10m/33ft safely underwater (just as before), although you can go even deeper with the optional Super Suit.
While some may be disappointed to know that many of the core specs are essentially carbon copied from the Hero6 Black, GoPro’s thinking for this new model is clearly less about boosting frame rates and packing more pixels, and more about improving the actual experience of using the device. This means the camera still incorporates the same 12MP sensor and the same wide-angle lens, for example, and the top video specs of 4K at 60fps and Full HD to a maximum 240fps for 8x slowed-down footage are also unchanged. The myriad of additional sweeteners on top of this, however, make this a significantly more powerful camera than before. The most significant of these is HyperSmooth, a form of video stabilisation that GoPro ranks as being the equivalent to using a gimbal. A combination of hardware and software, rather than simply an upgraded optical stabilisation system, this was developed in response to user feedback – indeed, this was apparently the number one request – and it presents a clear advantage for anyone who may find using a gimbal for their chosen thrill inconvenient.
Voice Control is once again on hand, recognising 12 separate commands such as “GoPro take a photo” and “GoPro start video recording”, which, between them, cover all the main tasks.
On top of its various fancy video tricks, the camera is capable of outputting 12MP images, both in raw or JPEG flavours. And while the GoPro Hero7 Black may have a tiny 1/2.3in sensor, image quality itself is very good. In good light, details are nice and crisp, and sharpness extends very well to the peripheries and corners of the frame. Close scrutiny shows images to have the same kind of character as those from smartphones than compact cameras – there’s clearly a fair bit of processing going on to eek out the best from the camera – but results are perfectly respectable for such a camera.
Using the GoPro Hero7 reminds you just why the company has dominated this market. While expensive and not without fault, it’s great to see the company paying attention to key areas like video stabilisation. Great videos, great images and, most importantly, great fun.