No different digital camera firm has managed to show a product into a life-style model fairly the way in which GoPro has, which is without doubt one of the causes we’ve personally been utilizing their merchandise since 2010 (holy moly, greater than 12 years now).
And whereas we love nearly every thing in regards to the enterprise and the gear they make, we’ll even be the primary to confess that some fashions aren’t as revolutionary as others.
That hasn’t stopped us from personally reviewing every new sequence when it hits the cabinets although, and this 12 months is not any totally different.
We put our GoPros via hell. Snowboarding, scuba diving, mountain biking and simply typically pushing them to their limits via our jobs as journey content material creators.
The latest digital camera is now out within the wild and naturally we couldn’t wait to strive it out.
So in our skilled GoPro HERO11 Black evaluate we dive deep into what units this digital camera aside from its predecessor, the way it performs in the true world and whether or not or not GoPro have or missed the mark.
Our Sincere GoPro HERO 11 Black Overview
Final 12 months’s slogan for the GoPro HERO 10 was ‘A New Period’, and this 12 months GoPro have opted to go together with ‘Lastly to 11’. Fairly becoming for the eleventh sequence in what has grow to be a little bit of a legacy.
However honestly what actually matches what they’ve performed this 12 months is healthier ‘the GoPro Expertise’.
You see in 2022 the brand new digital camera has a variety of reasonable enhancements, which we’ll get to shortly, however the true spotlight is that every thing simply works, properly, nicer.
There’s the brand new bigger sensor, 10-bit color and buttery HyperSmooth 5.0 with 360 diploma horizon lock (how the hell they make it so clean is past us, however we’ll take it).
This stuff alone imply the GoPro HERO11 Black is superior over the ten, however that’s not what makes the GoPro Expertise a step above anything they’ve performed.
They’ve additionally launched a brand new lighter model dubbed the HERO 11 Black Mini, which is nearly pretty much as good as the principle digital camera however and not using a few options similar to LCD screens.
GoPro have actually tapped into the creator market now, with out forgetting their core origins for journey athletes and basic journey photographers/videographers, by endeavouring to make all the capturing, modifying and importing workflow as seamless as attainable.
Did they pull it off? Let’s discover out in our GoPro HERO11 evaluate!
SPECIAL DEAL: GoPro has an unimaginable launch particular on their new digital camera proper now, with large financial savings throughout the board. This particular is for a restricted time solely, so test it out whereas it’s obtainable.
The Newest Options
GoPro have managed to introduce an entire bunch of recent options that make the newest digital camera a pleasure to make use of in any state of affairs, whereas additionally ticking just a few packing containers for professionals on the market.
After which all one of the best options that we noticed on the ten, similar to:
New Bigger Sensor
The largest improve on the GoPro HERO11 Black is the brand new, bigger 1/1.9″ sensor.
With this monster sensor squeezed into the tiny digital camera we are able to now shoot utilizing a brand new 8:7 facet ratio, which captures an enormous perspective permitting for every kind of crop components in put up.
The truth is, it’s a 16% improve in vertical subject of view over the earlier digital camera.
GoPro know that just about every thing getting shared nowadays is shifting to vertical features, like what we discover on Instagram and TikTok, however native width content material like on TV and YouTube isn’t going wherever.
So reasonably than having to decide on whether or not you shoot in panorama or portrait mode, you should use the 8:7 facet ratio on the bigger sensor which supplies loads of room for cropping later with out dropping any picture high quality.
This additionally introduces the larger 27MP display grabs, and a brand new immersive digital lens referred to as HyperView, which is ideal for these POV (point-of-view) motion thots.
This, matched with the revolutionary GP2 processor launched on the HERO10, makes the brand new GoPro HERO11 Black a flexible, various and top quality powerhouse.
HyperView Digital Lens
Utilizing all the 8:7 ratio on the brand new sensor, we are able to now use HyperView, which GoPro claims provides an ‘ultra-immersive’ video that most accurately fits motion POV, large selfies and huge areas in tight areas. Assume structure.
There’s additionally an replace within the pipeline that may permit customers to leap into the GoPro Quik app and alter between all of the digital lens choices after the actual fact. So you possibly can depart it on one setting and never be kicking your self later.
10-Bit Color
That is a type of upgrades that will get skilled creators additional excited. However that doesn’t imply it’s past the common person both.
GoPro have lastly jumped over to true 10-bit color processing. What does that imply precisely?
10-bit color has over 1 billion shades of color in its knowledge.
8-bit, which is what the previous GoPro (and most video cameras that don’t value the identical as a home deposit) has, processes about 16.7 million colors.
That big enchancment signifies that the colors you see in your movies are extra like what you see with your personal eyes, with extra vivid particulars, much less color banding and smoother gradients.
Consider it like excessive dynamic vary content material.
This color improve works on all video settings, together with TimeWarp and Time Lapse, and likewise spills out throughout pictures.
HyperSmooth 5.0
We’re going to allow you to in on a little bit secret.
HyperSmooth, which was first launched on the GoPro HERO7, is why we vlog on GoPros as an alternative of our very costly Sony cameras.
HyperSmooth primarily removes the necessity to use a gimbal, and when you’ve seen it in motion you’ll marvel why anyone offers with shaky footage anymore.
If GoPro did completely zero enhancements to this characteristic on the GoPro HERO 11 Black version, no one would thoughts as a result of it’s already so good.
However nope, they needed to go and improve to HyperSmooth 5.0, which is even higher. You may actually go path operating and the footage seems to be prefer it was shot in a automobile rolling down a freeway.
HyperSmooth 5.0 now works in all digital lenses, and features a characteristic referred to as Linear + Horizon Lock.
This makes use of the processor to find out what stage the horizon is on, after which retains your shot in that place, even if you happen to rotate your digital camera a full 360°.
One of many very first guidelines you be taught in composition is to at all times preserve your horizon straight, and now you by no means have to fret about it.
There’s additionally an all-new ‘AutoBoost’, which acts like a dynamic adjustment in real-time if the digital camera detects additional shaky actions.
The Enduro Battery
GoPro quietly launched the Enduro Battery earlier in 2022, however now it comes commonplace with the GoPro HERO11, and we’re all for it!
It’s a extra highly effective battery in the identical measurement that gives 38% extra battery life and higher efficiency in chilly circumstances.
Simple vs Professional Controls
When GoPro first launched video presets it was a Godsend. We actually use them a number of occasions each single shoot and so they save us a lot time and complications.
Nevertheless for the common person, it may be a bit overkill. Most individuals don’t have to frequently bounce between 4k 30fps extensive to 4k 120fps linear then to 4k 60fps Superview between pictures.
Most customers even have the identical 2-3 issues they use over and over. Maybe one video mode, one picture mode and one TimeWarp mode.
For individuals who don’t need to overburden themselves with buttons and settings on the fly, GoPro has heard you and now launched ‘Simple Controls’.
Choose what you need – picture, video or TimeWarp – and GoPro will choose one of the best settings for the scenario. Sort of like utilizing Auto on a contemporary digital digital camera.
Virtually each journey we go on all over the world we’ve folks come as much as us with a model new GoPro and ask if we will help them with their settings. We get it – if you happen to’re not a professional, digital camera settings are extraordinarily complicated,
Now you possibly can simply change over to ‘Simple Controls’ and by no means fear once more.
New Evening Results
We love love love night time pictures. We’ve written extensively about astrophotography, lengthy exposures and find out how to use mild to color onto a scene.
Nevertheless this can be a fairly superior type of pictures, and it will probably take lots of trial and error to dial in the correct settings.
Be careful world, as a result of right here’s one of many new options we’re most enthusiastic about on this GoPro HERO11 Black evaluate – Evening Results!
There are three all-new time lapse presets that are designed to make capturing night time scenes ridiculously simple.
These are all mechanically performed for you, that means you possibly can concentrate on creating artwork with out the fear of heavy put up manufacturing.
Mild Portray
Use lengthy publicity pictures to create brush stroke results with shifting mild, similar to waving a head lamp or fireworks.
Star Trails
The earth rotates across the solar (sorry flat-earthers), so whenever you take consecutive pictures of the celebrities you’ll discover they’re slowly shifting throughout the sky.
Star Path mode turns that rotation into unimaginable star trails in a single click on. To offer you context, for us to do that manually takes many hours of capturing, modifying, stacking and mixing in Photoshop (in addition to a loopy highly effective and costly laptop computer) to attain the identical impact.
Car Mild Trails
Set your GoPro up on a bridge over a freeway or within the median strip of a busy avenue, click on the button and watch the headlights of vehicles burn themselves into your shot.
Belief us, it seems to be superior.
GoPro Quik App
Whereas not a brand new characteristic and never immediately associated to the HERO11, we are able to’t actually do our GoPro 11 evaluate with out speaking in regards to the app that goes together with it.
The GoPro Quik app is a type of apps that simply appears to have a unending record of instruments and functionalities, and in some way it makes all of them good.
You may management your digital camera utilizing your smartphone as a distant.
You may import your footage wirelessly.
You may edit your pictures and movies with one click on of a button.
The truth is you possibly can even make full-on YouTube or Instagram/TikTok movies proper within the app.
And if you happen to join the GoPro Quik Subscription, the app will auto-upload your footage to the cloud so you possibly can clear the SD card and preserve capturing with out dropping your footage.
There’s additionally rumours or a brand new characteristic coming quickly the place GoPro will use AI expertise to make spotlight reels of your footage within the cloud. Who wants a video editor, huh?
The GoPro HERO 11 Black Mini
Do you bear in mind when GoPro introduced out the Session, a miniature model of the already ridiculously small GoPro?
It was marketed as a extra moveable, easy digital camera for entry-level creators with much less options and energy.
Nicely now the workforce at GoPro have reintroduced one thing comparable with the GoPro 11 Black Mini.
It’s mainly a barely watered-down model of the GoPro HERO 11 Black digital camera, with out the LCD screens and as an alternative having twin mounting fingers on the backside and again of the physique.
It’s aimed for new-to-GoPro customers, individuals who mount their cameras to their helmets and anybody who finds the present GoPro mannequin too massive.
In fact this implies it’s a little bit bit cheaper too, which is at all times a giant plus.
Ought to You Get the GoPro HERO 11 Black Mini?
This isn’t a GoPro HERO 11 Black Mini evaluate, however we’ll let you understand our ideas right here anyway.
Except you fall into considered one of these classes:
- You at all times depart your GoPro in your helmet
- You by no means use an LCD display
- Price range is tight
Don’t fear about shopping for the HERO11 Mini, and as an alternative spend a little bit bit more cash and get the total HERO 11 Black.
Why? Nicely not having an LCD display sucks. You may’t body your pictures correctly (until you’re utilizing your cellphone as a dwell view) and you’ll’t evaluate your footage on the fly.
You should use the little display on prime to test your digital camera settings, however these should be customised utilizing the GoPro Quik app reasonably than on the fly.
Possibly our opinion will change down the highway, however for now we consider it’s 100% value simply getting the full-size digital camera.
The ‘Mods’ – Media, Max Lens, Show and Mild Mod
When GoPro launched their Mods it was a type of ‘appears cool, however I’ll by no means use it’ form of merchandise. At the very least to us anyway.
Nicely that’s all modified now. We lately purchased the Media Mod for the HERO10, and now utilizing it on the HERO11, and are a lot happier with the audio enhancements.
GoPro has at all times been recognized for the plethora of equipment you should use with them, similar to mounts to place your digital camera on absolutely anything.
The Mods are a bit extra high-level than the usual mounts you get, however for any severe content material creator they actually do add an entire new ingredient to how we seize scenes.
The HERO11 is identical measurement because the earlier two cameras, and so the mods that match them additionally match the brand new digital camera which is implausible.
The Media Mod provides a bi-directional microphone, chilly shoe mounts, USB C output and a 3.5mm microphone jack, and is now our go-to setup for vlogging.
The Max Lens Mod makes the digital camera lens ultra-wide natively, which is healthier than the digital model of HyperView.
The Mild Mod illuminates your face when capturing in low mild, or can be utilized for mild portray.
And the Show Mod provides a display, however until you want one thing larger than the front-facing one, it’s a bit redundant now.
In case you’re going to purchase only one Mod to go together with the GoPro HERO11 Black, get the Media Mod.
Is the Digital camera Any Good Within the Actual World?
Alright, we get it. Tech specs are cool and all, however you need to know if the digital camera truly work in the true world?
Sure the characteristic upgrades are first rate, and also you’re already contemplating whether or not or not it’s value getting the 11.
However stats on paper don’t imply something if the digital camera truly performs like a moist towel.
By no means worry, mates. We have now your again and have been tremendous busy throwing the digital camera into every kind of conditions as a part of our evaluate of the GoPro HERO11 Black.
The preliminary setup of the digital camera was very fast and straightforward. Flip it on, decide your language, join it to the GoPro Quik app in your cellphone, do an replace and away you go.
Then it’s time to really use the rattling factor.
The LCD contact display could be very quick and responsive, and after we did a side-by-sude comparability with the HERO10 we didn’t discover a giant distinction in comparison with the previous digital camera.
In comparison with the 9 although, it was night time and day, and we’re so glad that they’ve lastly found out a strong contact display that simply works.
We then instantly switched to the brand new 8:7 facet ratio and began capturing some 5.3k video.
It’s laborious to inform on the little display, however we might see much more of the scene. It was solely after we imported the footage into Adobe Premiere Professional although that we might actually see simply how rather more vertical room we needed to play with.
Seeing as content material is all about vertical Instagram Reels and TikToks, that is very helpful characteristic.
HyperSmooth 5.0? Yea it’s loopy good. I took the digital camera for a run down the seaside and it was as clean and buttery as ever.
The brand new 360 diploma horizon stage lock labored fairly properly too in linear mode.
10-bit color was an enormous, huge enchancment over the HERO10, however fact be instructed we don’t color grade our footage that closely anyway.
So whereas we do now use 10-bit color for all of our pictures (which matches what we shoot on our Sony A7iv too), we’re most likely not utilizing it to its full potential.
At our core, we’re photographers, and we’re happy to say that in our GoPro HERO 11 evaluate we’re very glad with the standard of pictures the little digital camera produces, and the way far we are able to push the edits in put up manufacturing with out dropping high quality.
We tried HDR, SuperPhoto and Uncooked, however have determined to simply at all times stick with Uncooked.
We additionally went and located some rock wallabies close to the boat pier and tried out Auto, Uncooked Burst Mode to see the way it carried out.
The pictures – implausible.
The lag time although whereas the digital camera buffered the pictures was painfully sluggish. This might most likely be diminished although by utilizing a sooner pace SD card, so we’ll report again sooner or later after we improve this.
We’re but to make use of the brand new Evening Results correctly, however have a giant journey developing very quickly the place we’ll be capable to take a look at this out. Keep tuned for an replace.
General the GoPro HERO11 Black has been a pleasure to make use of, and it’ll now have a everlasting place in our digital camera bag on each journey and shoot we go on.
What We Don’t Like
We’re at all times trustworthy in our gear write-ups, and being an trustworthy GoPro HERO11 Black evaluate we truly tried our greatest to seek out one thing improper with the digital camera.
Why? Nicely nothing might be good, and we don’t need you as our trusting reader to assume we’re simply going to reward every thing that’s on the market.
So with that being stated, is it an ideal digital camera?
No. However GoPro are getting shut to creating one.
One characteristic we actually want that they had have included was an optical zoom.
We love the enduring GoPro perspective, nevertheless it’d be good if we might seize a 2x or 3x optical zoom as properly to get nearer to our topics and create some lens compression.
Maybe this may very well be rectified sooner or later with a switchable lens? There’s the Max Lens Mod, why not have a Zoom Lens Mod too?
The audio with out the Media Mod isn’t nice, however if you happen to’re not vlogging this isn’t a giant deal.
Apart from that there actually isn’t something main that we dislike in our GoPro HERO 11 Black evaluate.
But when we discover something as time goes on we’ll you’ll want to return to this text and replace it.
GoPro HERO11 vs GoPro HERO10 vs GoPro HERO9 – What’s the Distinction?
We’ve explored all of the updates and what’s new in our GoPro HERO 11 Black evaluate, and until you’re very conversant in the previous fashions you could be left questioning what the distinction is between the latest variations.
The HERO11 has various main updates in comparison with the HERO10, most particularly across the bigger sensor and 10-bit color, however the engine behind it being the GP2 processor is kind of the identical.
However what about towards the HERO9?
|
27MP + SuperPhoto and all RAW modes |
23MP + SuperPhoto with HDR |
20MP + SuperPhoto with HDR |
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In-Digital camera with 360° Angle and Horizon Lock |
In-Digital camera with 45° Angle |
In-Digital camera with 27° Angle |
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1.4″ Coloration LCD with Smoother Dwell Preview |
1.4″ Coloration LCD with Smoother Dwell Preview |
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2.7″ Coloration LCD with Improved Contact Sensitivity |
2.7″ Coloration LCD with Improved Contact Sensitivity |
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Media Mod, Max Lens Mod, Show Mod, Mild Mod, Volta |
Media Mod, Max Lens Mod, Show Mod, Mild Mod, Volta |
Media Mod (HERO9 Black) |
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1080p with HyperSmooth 5.0 |
1080p with HyperSmooth 4.0 |
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Is it Value Upgrading?
You’ve nearly made it to the top of our GoPro HERO 11 evaluate, and also you’re nearly able to both make the leap and make investments, or stash your money for one more day.
So what do you have to do, particularly when you have an older model already? Is it value upgrading to the HERO11?
You Don’t Have a GoPro
In case you’re available in the market on your first ever GoPro and are questioning if that is the mannequin value shopping for, then right here’s the recommendation we give to our closest family and friends:
Sure, it’s 100% value shopping for the HERO11.
Irrespective of your model, whether or not its basic journey, motion sports activities, life-style, underwater (bear in mind it’s waterproof to 10m) or capturing YouTube movies, this mannequin is fairly near being one of many greatest journey cameras on the market.
For these on the market that take into account themselves to be a newbie photographer/videographer, you’re in luck too.
With Simple Controls and top quality built-in picture processing it’s by no means been simpler and extra satisfying to make use of a GoPro.
You Have a GoPro HERO9 or Earlier Mannequin
You probably have the HERO9 or an earlier mannequin such because the HERO 8 or HERO 7, and questioning whether or not now could be the time to improve, then our reply is sure, you must.
The HERO11 takes the legendary cameras to an entire new stage, and the bigger sensor matched with the GP2 processor means it’s like night time and day in comparison with the older variations.
It’s mainly a complete new digital camera in comparison with the 9, and if you happen to’re coming from the 7 or 8 you’ll be so grateful you lastly jumped ship to the 11.
You Have a GoPro HERO10 Black
Hmm….this isn’t as easy as we thought it could be, particularly as a result of we nonetheless personal two HERO10s.
We’re not the kind of folks to go upgrading tech gear yearly. Hell Alesha continues to be rocking an iPhone 8.
That being stated, when there’s a big improve or a brand new characteristic that may make our jobs and lives simpler, we fork out the money and are at all times grateful we did.
Is the HERO11 Black a big improve over the HERO10 although?
Not likely.
In fact the brand new bigger sensor is superb. 8:7 facet ratio is good. 10-bit color is one thing execs have been screaming for. And the Evening Results together with 27 megapixels to mess around with is worth it.
However these aren’t issues each photographer, videographer and creator wants.
For us and the way in which we use our gear, sure it’s well worth the improve, and the HERO11 is now our go-to motion sports activities digital camera.
We actually just like the 8:7 ratio, as we regularly repurpose footage for YouTube and Instagram in several codecs.
If that doesn’t sound such as you although and also you already personal the ten, don’t really feel like you could rush out and promote your previous digital camera simply but (until after all GoPro are doing a loopy sale on the 11).
| UPGRADE IF: | I exploit my GoPro greater than 2x every week and make lots of social media content material |
| DON’T WORRY IF: | I exploit my digital camera lower than 2x every week and don’t actually share my content material on social media |
Additionally if you happen to actually simply purchased a ten, don’t get upset and throw it away. It’s nonetheless an incredible digital camera, and so long as you might be having enjoyable getting on the market and capturing content material, it’s extra about creativity than gear anyway.
Remaining Verdict – 9/10
In case you do buy the GoPro HERO 11 Black, we additionally suggest getting a GoPro subscription to their cloud storage service too.
Thanks very a lot for studying our GoPro HERO10 Black evaluate. You probably have any questions please depart a remark under and we’ll reply them as quickly as attainable.
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GoPro HERO11 Black
After intensive in-the-field testing, we break down each spec, new characteristic and comparability with earlier fashions in our trustworthy GoPro HERO 11 evaluate.
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