GoPro Hero 13 Black Hands On: The Most Versatile Action Cam Yet, But It Comes at a Cost

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Magnets. Of course, it would beryllium magnets. GoPro has a caller enactment cam, the Hero 13 Black, and connected its face, it looks a hellhole of a batch similar past year’s Hero 12 Black. However, the caller magnetic mounting strategy is 1 of the astir important changes to the hardware successful years. There are even much magnets successful the caller “Contacto” charging doorway that volition let continuous power, adjacent underwater.

While not magnetic, the company’s full-slate first-party lenses connection unsocial camera effects that greatly grow versatility. Unfortunately, each add-on is separate, costing the already costly $400 enactment cam adjacent more. You don’t get immoderate of the caller magnetic latches successful the box. Instead, each costs $25, with a abstracted shot joining equine asking for $40. That Contacto kit goes for $80 separately. Want a caller lens? You’ll request to walk betwixt $70 and $130 individually.

GoPro Hero 13 Black Should Now Shoot For Longer with Even More Slo-Mo

If outgo isn’t a concern, the caller Hero 13 Black is inactive a measurement up from the erstwhile generation. The caller GoPro has a 10% larger artillery astatine 1900mAh than the Hero 12. The institution promises you tin get implicit 2.5 hours of shooting astatine 1080p oregon 90 minutes of 4K astatine 30FPS. It should besides beryllium amended for much utmost temperatures, but GoPro besides says you’ll spot the astir drastic improvements erstwhile shooting astatine the higher 10-bit mode than the modular 8-bit.

The caller GoPro has caller sensor capabilities but is not arsenic flashy arsenic the other accessories. It tin inactive seizure 5.3K astatine 60 FPS and 4K astatine 120 FPS. It maintains the vertical shooting from the Hero 12, but present it supports burst slo-mo up to 5.3K astatine 120 FPS and 900P astatine 360 FPS. The large caller summation to ocular prime is enactment for HLG HDR with its 10-bit signaling and wider colour gamut. For longtime GoPro users who decried the nonaccomplishment of GPS tracking, it’s backmost now. Users tin adhd GPS accusation arsenic bugs connected their videos done the Quik app.

The institution has made a fewer touches to the software, but this year’s mainline GoPro is easy the astir versatile it’s ever been. The magnetic mounts connect to the folded wings of the GoPro’s underbelly. To enactment it bluntly, they’re truthful damn handy; I ne'er privation to screw successful different equine again. GoPro invited maine retired for much than 2 hours connected the backmost of a speeding pitchy ski. The camera ne'er adjacent rattled from its equine connected my chest. One rep told Gizmodo helium took it retired for skydiving, and the camera ne'er threatened to detach. We’ll spot for ourselves however unchangeable it is, but it makes a bully archetypal impression.

The New GoPro Lenses Will Impact How, Where, and Why You Shoot

The $100 Ultra Wide Lens Mod is the aforesaid arsenic past year’s Max Lens Mod, though the bully quality is the older lens is inactive compatible with the 13. What you won’t get is the caller auto-detect diagnostic that automatically changes settings erstwhile you enactment connected a caller lens. It doesn’t dependable similar a large deal, but not having to flip done settings is highly useful erstwhile you’re retired and about.

I besides utilized the $130 Macro Lens Mod and immoderate of the New ND Filters, which see 4 of assorted neutral density types betwixt ND4 and ND32 for $70. Macro does marque a quality erstwhile you drawback shots up adjacent with its adaptable focus. It looked champion astatine astir a hand’s breadth from the camera, adjacent with the added distortion astatine the edges. The ND filters—used for adding a subtle consciousness of velocity to shots—combined with auto-detect is particularly interesting. The camera volition suggest to users if they should spell up oregon down a filter based connected their airy level.

The 1 missing portion of the puzzle is the Anamorphic lens. That huge, convex add-on with enactment for widescreen video, arsenic if to crook your enactment camera into a movie camera. That’s not disposable yet, and we won’t spot it until sometime successful 2025. I saw the lens successful person, and the images don’t bash justness to however monolithic it is. I didn’t get to trial retired its filming capabilities,

The GoPro Hero is simply a Smaller 13 Black, But Still Shoots 4K

GoPro is facing much contention than it has successful the past from companies similar Insta360. The Insta360 Go 3S offers the astir pint-sized portable camera that supports 4K with a removable camera pod you tin connect magnetically with further mounts. In response, GoPro spawned the caller $200 Hero camera. It’s smaller by astir 35% than the Hero 13 Black and weighs 86 grams, oregon a small little than .2 pounds. It has the accustomed GoPro mounting fingers, but it’s missing the caller magnetic attachment points of the Hero 13.

It’s champion to deliberation of the Hero arsenic the aforesaid happening arsenic its much costly older member but slimmed down. It tin sprout 4K and 12MP photos, though its slo-mo is constricted to 2.7 K astatine 60 FPS. It has a stated survivability underwater of up to 16 feet. Its artillery beingness is up to 100 minutes of signaling connected its highest video settings astatine country temperature.

I didn’t walk immoderate clip shooting with the Hero, and it made maine wonderment if the smaller camera is simply a elemental afterthought compared to the Hero 13 Black. Both cameras are up for preorder connected Wednesday. The Black 13 volition commencement shipping connected Sept. 10, portion the Hero volition beryllium astir by Sept. 22. The lenses, prevention for the anamorphic, volition beryllium disposable connected Sept. 10.

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