GoPro Hero 12 Black Overview: Quik App Outshines Digital camera Replace

GoPro Hero 12 Black Overview

What’s New This 12 months: Max Lens Mod 2.0

Most notably, the GoPro Hero 12 updates embrace the Max Lens Mod 2.0, a high-dynamic vary mode for photograph and video, and longer-lasting battery efficiency.

The Max Lens Mod 2.0 is a $99 lens that screws on. It allows a 177-degree area of view and might shoot as much as 4K at 60 fps. This lens does give a much bigger area of view, however the ensuing footage has a fish-eye really feel.

Additionally, GoPro made the Max Lens Mod 2.0 extra scratch-resistant. I didn’t encounter scratches in my take a look at, however as a result of the lens extends thus far out from the digicam, I might see that being a pleasant enchancment.

The HDR, excessive dynamic vary, mode is a selectable choice within the menu and reduces the depth of highlights, whereas enhancing high quality in shadows. Earlier than a characteristic like this was accessible in cameras, to realize an HDR picture, you would need to shoot an underexposed and overexposed photograph and overlay the pictures in order that the ensuing picture has element all through all the colours within the photograph.

This characteristic on the Hero 12 works however is commonly refined.

The Hero 12 makes use of the identical battery because the Hero 11. However the model improved the thermal effectivity of the Hero 12, so it doesn’t overheat as shortly because the Hero 11 when taking pictures at excessive framerate and in high-quality modes like 4K 120 fps or 5.3K 60 fps. The enhancements to all however the highest high quality modes are marginal, nevertheless it does supply double the runtime for steady taking pictures.

Additionally new for the Hero 12 is wi-fi audio connectivity for Bluetooth headphones or microphones, a GP-Log setting that permits filmmakers extra artistic liberty when colour grading in post-production, the flexibility to wirelessly timecode sync a number of cameras, an replace to stabilization with HyperSmooth 6.0, and a vertical seize mode that delivers a 9:16 side ratio.

There are some enhancements to the Hero 12, however once I evaluate the footage to the Hero 11 or the DJI Osmo Motion 4 that I just lately reviewed, the movies look related.

Within the Discipline: MTB, Climbing Check

After I went mountain biking, I examined the Max Lens Mod 2.0. The sector of view is certainly wider, permitting you to get extra within the shot, however when viewing the footage in a regular 16:9 side ratio, there’s numerous warping on the perimeters of the footage. It form of seems to be such as you’re on the highest of a sphere.

I might see the Max Lens Mod 2.0 being most helpful for vertical-video-oriented creators, as a result of the warping principally occurs on the perimeters of large video. So, the Lens Mod permits much more in body for the slim 9:16 side ratio. In any other case, the GoPro already provides fairly large fields of view, with Hyperview enabling 151 levels of view.

Hyperview tends to be too massive of a area of view for my style, and I follow SuperView. When paired with Hypersmooth, it allows 138 levels of view.

As for HDR, I examined this characteristic when mountaineering and mountain biking. I climbed a shaded route with the background and horizon within the solar. It positively reduce down on the tough gentle within the background and precipitated the blue sky to pop a bit extra. It didn’t do a lot to boost shadows, however I used to be pretty happy with the spotlight efficiency.

After I examined this characteristic with a much less dramatic lighting instance than my climbing take a look at, it labored subtly. I needed to squint my eyes within the footage to see if HDR was actually on in a few of my frames when mountain biking in direct daylight.

Battery Life, Overheating

And, as for battery life, the GoPro already had spectacular battery life, permitting me to report most of all day on the identical battery. Take my latest video on the Lutsen 99er for example. I recorded nearly all of my 9-hour bike journey with a single GoPro Hero 11 battery. I didn’t report each second of the bike journey, however I used to be recording a number of scenes that day.

The advance to the battery is greatest on 5.3K 60 fps and 4K 120 fps modes. Each different recording mode solely sees 10- or 20-minute enhancements to the battery.

Personally, I by no means encountered overheating points when recording on my GoPro Hero 11. If I’m recording tremendous slow-motion footage at 120 fps, I attempt to restrict how lengthy I report as exhausting as attainable as a result of 120 fps ends in an enormous file measurement.

I usually solely want a sliver of a second for slow-motion replay. However, when you’re recording time lapses or hyperlapses on the absolute highest settings, the Hero 12 provides enchancment to battery life.

Taking pictures, Modifying

I additionally examined the vertical content material mode and 9:16 side ratio. The GoPro Hero 11 provided the identical area of view when taking pictures on the Hero 11’s 8:7 side ratio. With the Hero 11, nonetheless, you would need to edit the footage to 9:16 in submit. The Hero 12 saves you a while as a result of the footage captured is already 9:16.

I didn’t discover essentially the most use out of the GP-Log colour grading, partly as a result of I feel the GoPro does a fairly spectacular job of coloring issues itself. Nevertheless, if you’d like extra artistic liberty over how your footage is coloured, this characteristic will supply extra possession in colour grading.

The timecode sync characteristic works nice when you don’t wish to take care of the trouble of going into your GoPro’s settings and adjusting the timecode each time you shoot. Beforehand, to make sure the footage from a number of digicam sources is lined up whereas modifying, you would need to guarantee every digicam is ready to the identical timecode.

Now, with the Hero 12, you solely should scan a QR code with every GoPro, and it robotically syncs the timecode. So, the timecode sync characteristic will prevent time upfront.

After testing the GoPro 12 out, I wasn’t that impressed with the footage and upgrades when in comparison with the Hero 11. The footage from the Hero 12 is on par with the 11 and the DJI Osmo Motion 4, launched in the summertime of 2023 (assessment linked above).

However together with the Hero 12 pattern I examined, I additionally used GoPro’s subscription service and modifying app. That is the place GoPro blew me away with how far the model has come to make content material creation straightforward.

GoPro Hero 12: Quik App and Subscription

The Quik app and subscription mannequin are usually not new for the Hero 12. The model will launch desktop variations of its modifying software program for Mac in 2023 and PC in 2024.

You should utilize the app when you have a GoPro Hero 10 or 11, or any model of GoPro. So, whereas it isn’t essentially new, the model has steadily improved its user-friendliness. After I used it over the previous 2 weeks, I couldn’t consider how way more I loved utilizing the GoPro.

The subscription prices $25 on your first yr and $50 annually after that. Together with full entry to the modifying app, you additionally get reductions on GoPro’s retailer and free digicam alternative when you harm or lose your GoPro.

With the Quik app, I can ship footage from my GoPro Hero 12 to my telephone inside seconds. The GoPro’s Wi-Fi connectivity accomplishes this, which implies you don’t want cell service to make use of it. I examined this a number of occasions in areas with out cell service, and it labored.

As soon as the footage hundreds within the app, I can shortly have a look at clips of what I simply shot. It solely took minutes to switch 5 gigs of footage from a day of swimming. I then might replay a few of our favourite moments, set the side ratio to vertical, and implement sluggish movement. I didn’t have to go dwelling, add the footage to my pc, and scrub by tons of footage to search out the precise second.

This was simply my favourite characteristic of the GoPro Quik App, and I used it repeatedly in my testing. After I was out climbing, I completely caught the top of the rope after I had completed a climb whereas recording with the GoPro. I uploaded the footage to my telephone, reduce out a 10-second clip, and despatched it to a different one in all my climbing mates so he might witness my rope-catching greatness.

I’m not an excellent person of the app, but I used to be capable of reduce brief, 10-second clips in mere minutes after the recording on my GoPro stopped. Transferring the information to my telephone, discovering the clip, and modifying takes little time. And I felt comfy utilizing the app after solely making an attempt it out just a few occasions.

In utilizing the app, I discovered it greatest setup for shorter-format modifying. I nonetheless desire devoted modifying software program on my laptop computer when modifying longer movies, just like the assessment video above.

Additional, the subscription allows limitless cloud storage. That is particularly useful as a result of 4K footage or 5.3K takes up a ton of area in your laptop computer.

Transferring video from the GoPro to my telephone, as I did in my examples above, doesn’t incorporate the cloud. To add to the cloud, I’ve to pick that choice within the app, which begins the switch. Importing to the cloud takes a very long time, so I began cloud uploads earlier than mattress and had them run in a single day.

Who Is the GoPro Hero 12 For?

When evaluating footage between the newest GoPros and motion cameras, I wrestle to search out main variations from one digicam to the opposite. However in analyzing footage from one yr to the subsequent, you miss out on the most important strides GoPro has taken with its person accessibility enhancements.

Certain, it’s one other subscription so as to add to the rising pile of subscription companies all of us pay for, however I feel utilizing the app allows customers to take out their GoPro way more steadily.

As a result of the GoPro app is suitable with earlier iterations of GoPros, if you’re happy with the footage of a GoPro Hero 10 or Hero 11, I’d counsel sticking with these fashions. However when you’re new to GoPro or have taken a GoPro hiatus, the 12 and adjoining software program is likely to be price testing as a result of the person expertise now could be that significantly better.