The smoothest Action Cam

Good

• Incredibly smooth video shooting
• Improved touch controls on the viewfinder
• The TimeWarp feature takes great accelerated videos
• Sharp 4K Videos
• Great price for a complete action camera

The bad

• Livestreaming could use some settings
• Fast loading requires the purchase of a separate accessory
• Still images can be affected

Verdict

The latest GoPro action camera delivers impressive footage while presenting other welcome features such as data feed and enhanced fast mode at an attractive price.

After the efforts to get into the drone sector collapsed, GoPro returns to its goals. The new GoPro Hero7 Black is a return to form that takes the best action camera on the market and adds new capabilities welcome.

The Hero7 has a host of new features, from the ability to stream live everything the camera captures to new image capture capabilities – all in a camera that starts at under $ 400. . But what will make this camera a must for action junkies is the ultra-fluid video that Hero7 manages to capture, thanks to GoPro's efforts to integrate stabilization functions that work without a separate cardan.

Design

Stack the Hero7 next to its predecessor, the GoPro Hero6, and, apart from the logo, you'd be hard-pressed to spot a difference between the two action cameras. The Hero7 measures 2.5 x 1.8 x 1.3 inches – roughly the same dimensions as the Hero6 – and the cameras both weigh 4.1 ounces.

As before, GoPro has built a durable camera in the Hero7. It is still waterproof to a depth of 33 feet, without a protective case, and when I risked my life and my body around a race track with a Hero7 attached to my helmet, I did not fear bumping. (I was more worried for me, thanks.)

I've tested the $ 399 Hero7 Black, which includes a 12-megapixel camera and the ability to shoot a 4K video at 60 frames per second, as well as an 8x slo mo video. GoPro will also sell Silver and White versions of the GoPro. The $ 299 Silver uses a 10 MP shooter and records a 40K video at 30 frames per second while offering a 2 x slo-mo capture; the $ 199 white uses the same 10 MP lens, but captures the 1080p video. The two less expensive Hero7 models do not have the ability to stream live data, but also provide the HDR and hyperstabilization features of the Black Hero7.

Interface

GoPro cameras have not always been easy to navigate, but it is obvious that the company wants to change that with the Hero7. As before, you'll do a lot of gliding and tapping on the viewfinder to control the camera, but things seem a little more intuitive this time around. I am not a frequent user of GoPro, but after a few moments of exploring the camera, I was able to sneak like a pro. It helps large icons to appear on the 2-inch touch screen to tell you which mode you are in.

The icons on the screen adjust depending on the mode you are using. In Photo, for example, an icon at the bottom right of the screen gives you zoom controls on the slide; a middle button allows you to adjust the camera settings; and a button at the bottom right toggles between photo, burst and night modes. A button just above that sets an automatic timer. (Switch to video mode and this last button allows you to limit the duration of your video – a feature-oriented crowd Instagram Stories.)

By slipping through the controls of the Hero7, I could not stop thinking about the old single digit digital camera, megapixels, used 15 years ago, and my way. GoPro's software has done a much better job of creating something navigable on a screen that is not much bigger.

Of course, if you prefer an even larger control panel, the Hero7 also mates with a revamped GoPro application on your smartphone, allowing you to control your camera from a much larger screen. I found this feature convenient as long as the Hero7 was within range of my phone. While recording my daughter on her bike, I could track her progress on the screen of my iPhone SE – at least until she was in a corner and the connection was interrupted. (GoPro tells me that if the camera and app lose their connectivity after about 10 meters, the camera should continue recording, which does not mean that I can encounter a bug in my tests.)

MORE: Best Action Cameras – Reviews, Comparisons and Tests

Video quality

As impressive as I was by the easy-to-navigate controls, the real highlight of shooting with a GoPro Hero7 Black is the new feature hyperstabilization feature, by default at 1440p. . GoPro says that it intends to create a cardan-type control directly in the camera: it is designed to correct camera shake by predicting your movements, which reduces bounces that could interfere with these shots potentially breathtaking views.

From my first-person seat in a kart accelerated around a curved circuit, I can verify that the footage that I filmed with my Hero7 was much more fluid and stable than my actual course. Maybe my car was spinning around the track and my head might be moving every time I leaned into a particularly difficult bend, but that did not translate into a jerk. or a shake of the video. You will not feel nauseated by watching more than a few seconds of this video – which is more than I can say to actually be driving the car.

Gimbal smoothing is also good when paired with another new feature built into the Hero7. The new TimeWarp feature of the camera also incorporates exceptional stabilization when you take videos in fast motion, so that the finished product looks stable and smooth. I did a nearly half-hour walk through the University of California campus in a one-minute video on TimeWarp, holding the Hero7 in my hand all the time. The finished product has a bit of bounce – I hold the camera in my hand without the benefit of a gimbal or other stabilizer tool, after all – but the finished product still looks good. polished. (The video uploaded to YouTube is not as sharp as on MacBook, which I attribute to the whims of online video sharing.)

I was very impressed by the quality of the 4K video captured by the Hero7. My orange racing suits looked pretty dusty in the karting video and the clouds stood out against the pale blue sky. Individual strands of my daughter's hair went out as she pedaled around the block, and the blue of her eyes was clearly different from that of her dark blue hoodie.

The only time the Hero7 had a hard time was when the action changed, so that the sun backlit the shot. The video may temporarily disappear and you will notice that the camera has trouble adapting to new lighting conditions on the fly. But it's the danger of filming action videos, and it's a compromise that most people will be happy to make to get clear, stable images.

Quality of the camera

The GoPro Hero7 can also capture still images. If you're using the wide-angle lens, prepare for a noticeable fisheye effect, although you can switch to a linear angle if you prefer. (Linear shots are more beautiful in landscape than portrait shots.) As with previous Hero cameras, wide-angle shooting has a 149-degree field of view, while linear shots provide a field of view. 102 degree vision.

While the camera captures sharp images with vivid colors, the wide field of view allows the sun to sneak easily into your shot, causing the explosion of some details.

One of the most practical functions for taking pictures with a Hero7 is the voice commands from the camera, which trigger the shutter when you say "GoPro, take a picture". (The voice commands also work with other modes.) But the biggest novelty is what GoPro calls SuperPhoto, in which the camera attempts to automatically optimize images using HDR, local mapping and reduction. noise.

The results are impressive when you align your shot well. A photo that I took with the sun in my back produced a well composed photo of a football field filled with different walking bands, whose uniform colors contrast sharply on the artificial grass. But a shot with me and my daughter with the sun to our left has produced heavy shadows on our faces, and there is a noticeable change in the color of the sky when the camera tries to compensate for the light.

MORE: 21 of the best GoPro accessories

l & # 39; Audio

GoPro's ongoing efforts to boost audio continue with the Hero7. In addition to advanced noise suppression to minimize wind and vibration noise, the Hero7 promises to provide a much wider dynamic range with brighter midrange and high notes.

In general, I found the audio enjoyable. You can hear wind creaks in the images I've taken from the co-pilot seat of an old biplane – a mitigating circumstance for this wind: I was sitting in an open cockpit biplane – but the roar of kart engines was loud and clear on these images, and my daughter's laugh while riding her bike was also clearly taken into account by the Hero7. That said, my voice echoed when I saw a video of my office.

livestreaming

Observers may have found this last sentence and thought, "Wait, what?" Yes, live streaming is now integrated directly into the GoPro app, allowing you to transfer your footage directly to Facebook Live, Twitch, YouTube and Vimeo, while recording them to your camera's SD card.

For the most part, the live broadcast works pretty well, even though it was in beta when I tested the feature. It's a multi-step process, with very clear on-screen instructions in the GoPro app on your phone, but everything works well with a minimum of hassle. The biggest problem I've encountered – and that I would expect GoPro fixes via a software update – is the fact that livestream videos are cut off a few seconds earlier when they are archived on Facebook.

Drums

GoPro does not talk about any improvement in battery life with the Hero7, so I'm waiting at the same time or delivery of the Hero6. Filming my daughter's bike exploits and manipulating the settings and setup cost about a quarter of the battery in 20 minutes, so prepare battery backups. GoPro says that the Hero7 supports fast charging, but you will have to buy a separate accessory.

Bottom Line

If all the proposed GoPro Hero7s included the new features of SuperPhoto and TimeWarp, audio enhancements and the ability to stream live, it would still be an upgrade over previous GoPro cameras. The improvements made to image stabilization make this device well worth the price of entry. The bargain hunters will want to check the Yi Lite ($ 99), which can also shoot stabilized videos at resolutions up to 1440k, but if you want the best, the GoPro Hero7 is your best choice.

Credit: Tom's Guide