By now it’s no secret that the GoPro Max 2 is coming. This was confirmed by Nick Woodman himself in the last investors relations call. When asked if the GoPro Max 2 was coming, he said that it was and that it would be “Worth the wait”. There may be actually quite the wait though as according to GoPro’s own product roadmap, the next camera coming will be an “Entry Level” camera mid 2024 with 3 cameras possibly coming Sept 2024. That would indicate the Hero 13, Max 2 and one other camera, possibly another Bones or Mini model.
So with no clear indication of when the Max 2 will arrive, what can we at least expect for the Max 2 to provide us in terms of specs and hardware? Well luckily that one is a little clearer thanks to some insider leaks, good hard detective work and just come plain common sense. So with that in mind, let’s look at some of the possible features of the GoPro Hero Max 2.
1: New Sensor and Processing Chip.
This is hardly surprising given the age of the original GoPro Max. However early indications have revealed that the GoPro Max 2 designers have been using the 5.3K Sony Sensor that’s currently offered in the GoPro Hero 12, as well as the GP2 chip also being used in the Hero 12. If true, that has a number of implications which I’ll cover shortly, but it’s also a little concerning in a way. The GP2 chip will be 4 generations old by the time the Hero 13 rolls out (being introduced with the release of the Hero 10). That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of power left under the hood, but when you expect a 4 generation old processor to the heavy lifting of stitching 2 separate images together into one seamless video, you worry about having to overclock the processor resulting in overheating issues or to keep things running cool, eliminating some features from the camera (such as the removal of GPS from the Hero 12).
2: The Removal of GPS.
Although GPS stats were a fun thing to play with, GoPro never had much support for GPS and Telemetry information in their app. Their app only had the barest of stickers available. If you wanted access to all of the GPS and Telemetry information you had to look at 3rd party software such as the excellent GoPro Telemetry Extractor software. If that GP2 processor has to be overclocked or pushed to it’s limits to support a 360 camera, then just like the Hero 12, we can expect GPS support to be dropped. Then again, GoPro were never really able to solve the GPS issues associated with the Hero Max anyway, so dropping GPS support might be a huge headache and time saver for GoPro.
3: Even better stitching with less chromatic aberrations.
The GoPro Max featured the Sony IMX577 sensor which was a 12.3mp sensor. The Max 2 is rumored to be using the Sony IMX677L sensor which is actually much taller and is a 27.5mp sensor. In theory, this means that selfie stick removal and top stitching could be more effective with less curvature of the lenses given the fact that the IMX677L is a much taller sensor. This would mean less image stretching during the stitching process.
4: HDR Video
This one goes without saying. With the 360 competition already offering this on previous models (and the Hero 12 being the first GoPro to support this) the Max 2 will have to offer a HDR video option. However, this means that GP2 processor will be under some extreme pressure to perform perfectly. Given that HDR requires at least 2 exposures to be combined into one image, if you multiply that by 2 separate lenses, that’s 4 times the work the GoPro Hero 11… and that’s before stitching too. So it’s possible that GoPro may scale back some features when the camera is recording in HDR (such as no live preview for instance).
5: In camera effects (Star Trails, Light Painting, Vehicle Lights etc).
One of the greatest features introduced with the Hero 11 was the “in camera” night effects. The GoPro Hero 12 not only retained this cool little feature, it now allowed you to shoot some of these using the Max Lens Mod 2.0 for an even wider FOV when using these modes. One of the greatest features the GoPro Hero Max 2 could have is letting users film these scenes in glorious 360. The end result could be out of this world!
6: Bluetooth audio support.
In the past, external audio on GoPro’s 360 cameras simply wasn’t supported. This was likely due to the fact that plugging in external cables or microphone adapters would result in stitching errors within the 360 image. The simplest way to solve this issue is to give the GoPro Hero Max 2 the same Bluetooth Audio support that the Hero 12 currently has. This would allow users to record audio via the camera mics but have a separate audio track for Bluetooth headsets. An essential “must have” for Max 2 users as this would allow them to record from an external audio source without the need to run cables into the camera or have issues with image stitching.
7: No major increase in resolution or frame rates.
Now this may surprise some people, especially those who’ve read the usual rumor mill tripe where idiotic lazy writers just double the specs of the previous model GoPro. This never actually happens and there’s a very good reason for that. Most people are editing their GoPro on budget mobile phones. If GoPro were to present an 8K camera shooting at 120FPS encoded at a high bit rate in HEVC…. the complaints would be endless “I can’t edit footage on my phone…”. So GoPro will likely keep the resolution in the 5.7K to 6K range at most. Just enough to give the camera an edge on the competition but still allow people to edit footage on their $300 mobile phone.
So these are the most likely things we’ll see from the Hero Max 2 when it’s finally released. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t one thing I’d personally love to see on my Max 2 wish list. That’s accessory support. When the original Max was released, accessories were few and far between. You could have some plastic lens protectors and a larger selfie stick…. and that was about it. The Max 2 is a chance for GoPro to make some intelligent design choices and sell some additional accessories for the camera.
With less curved, less protruding lenses, there’s a possibility to actually have ND filters for the Max 2, this would be a huge bonus for users who want truly cinematic looking 360 footage complete with pleasing motion blur.
Should GoPro redesign the Max 2 so that the power port was nearer the base, then the ability to use external power banks or even the Volta itself without visible stitching issues would be a huge bonus.
The GoPro USB-C passthru door (GoPro’s best ever invention in my opinion) or similar for the Max 2 would also be welcome. This would allow users to externally power their Max 2 for those 360 night lapse shots.
A GoPro mount with an LED light built in. It’s unlikely that you could add a media mod or cold shoe to the GoPro Max 2 without having those stitching issues, but if you had an thin LED light that could attach to a selfie stick with the GoPro Max 2 mounted on top of that light, that would turn your 360 camera into the ultimate vlogging camera. In fact, maybe this is a design that could solve the Max Media Mod issue. Rather than a case that surrounds the camera, have something much lower profile that the camera actually sits on. One that offers a light, front and rear microphones also. The Media Base! I’m guessing that’s too radical an idea though and we may have to wait for the GoPro Max 5 for something like that to be introduced.
In the meantime, GoPro have a lot of work to do to make the Max 2 competitive in this market. I for one though, am looking forward to seeing what GoPro comes up with.
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