The Hero 12 finally went on sale today, admittedly it’s a pre-sale with the actual camera not hitting shelves or shipping until the 13th. However GoPro were pretty forthcoming with all the details about their latest flagship camera. So the question now is whether or not people will be upgrading. Well, in this article we’ll be looking at the good, the great and the terrible decisions that GoPro seem to have made and my thoughts on these changes.
THE GOOD:
Increased battery life.
So turning off wireless connections, hypersmooth, screens and voice control.
5.3K 60FPS can now shoot for up to 70 mins compared to 35 mins on the Hero 11
4K 120FPS can now shoot for 58 minutes compared to 28 mins on the Hero 11
Slight increases by 13 – 14 minutes in 4K 30FPS and 1080p 60FPS
A lot of people have been pretty impressed by this and GoPro claim to have reworked power management from the ground up. So with some other power saving changes made (more on that in a moment), this is a pretty impressive jump in battery life in some pretty impressive frame rates and resolution.
Max Lens Mod 2.0
4K 60FPS Hyperview in 177 degrees with horizon lock.
Again, something a lot of people were wanting. Now this Max Lens Mod 2.0 is a GoPro 12 exclusive which is strange to me. After all, the Hero 12 is using the same processor and sensor as the Hero 11. However it’s possible that this performance is only possible in the reworked power management so this could explain why the Max Lens Mod 2.0 is not backwards compatible.
New mounting fingers.
1/4 inch tripod mounting adapter now built into the mounting fingers. While this doesn’t seem like a huge upgrade, it will expand compatibility for the camera when using a lot of 3rd party mounts. So it’s a simple upgrade, but a good one.
Expanded 8:7 modes.
So even star trails now supports 8:7 modes. This adds a lot more options when editing your video footage as now you have the ability to reframe even more of your shots.
Night effects photo modes.
So now when you use the night effects option to record night effects video, a still photo will also be automatically generated showcasing your shot. So an excellent option when it comes to posting to social sites as you no longer have to get a screen grab, you’ll now get a separate photo of your night shot.
Hypersmooth 6.0
The new hypersmooth has improved the Auto boost function by processing 4X as much information. This means your footage is even smoother than before. Hopefully this will also solve the horrible panning issues that hypersmooth is well known for.
THE AWESOME:
Live Preview:
Preview while recording is back! Yes, for all the complainers out there, you can now preview your footage while recording. Handy for setting up shots if you’re filming solo as now you can monitor your shots and ensure that your camera angles are properly set up while recording.
Bluetooth Audio support:
Now you can use your Bluetooth headphones as a microphone. This is a pretty huge update as you no longer need to use the media mod for external audio. You can also control the camera via voice commands using your Bluetooth headset. This will be huge for moto vloggers. You can also record your Bluetooth audio and external audio as a separate track and record sound using the camera mics too. So this will really benefit the more professional creators who work with multiple audio tracks.
HDR video and GP LOG Video Mode:
HDR is going to give you fear better shots in different lighting conditions. The Gp LOG formats gives you the flattest recording option in 10bit for much better color grading in post production. GoPro will be releasing some LUT’s to support this
Improved navigation menu’s:
Menu’s have been improved and cleaned up, so now it’s much easier to adjust settings on your camera. There is also a built-in display specifically to let you know what footage has been uploaded to the cloud and what is still waiting to be uploaded.
TimeCode Sync:
So for those using multiple cameras or timecode supported devices who need to sync their cameras up, this is a huge advantage for professional creators.
New Sequence photo mode:
Before with a sequence of photo’s, image information was shared across the photo sequence. So in timelapse photo modes, there was no sudden jumps in color or lighting during the timelapse sequence. However this meant that if you wanted to grab an individual photo from a sequence, you may not have been getting the optimal color and lighting for that one shot. So with the new sequence mode, each photo is taken individually and color and light corrections are applied individually.
THE BAD!
NO GPS SUPPORT ON BOARD!
Gyro data is still there, but no GPS. So likely you’ll need to use the app or a new remote to record GPS data. This is pretty much what we’ve seen from the competition who also didn’t have GPS support built in. Instead GPS data had to be logged via the camera app or a GPS remote. However the results have been less than optimal. I feel that this change was made to reduce overheating (no longer logging GPS data while the camera is recording) and increase camera runtimes. There is a new FCC application for a new remote, so we’ll see what that brings. Hopefully with the new Bluetooth 5.2 on board, range and connection won’t be an issue.
So my overall opinion on the camera is this. The Hero 12 has some very interesting new features, however the only hardware change is the Bluetooth upgrade and the removal of the GPS chip. For someone who is an avid aviator, the removal of GPS is a very big blow. On the other hand, I use a Bluetooth aviation headset, so the ability to record ATC and cockpit talk while the camera is mounted outside the airplane is compelling. In fact I predict a lot of people will want to ditch their media mods and use Bluetooth mics…. and then go back to using a media mod when they realize how terrible Bluetooth microphones sound.
I ordered a GoPro Hero 12 due to the fact I want to give viewers of my website and channel an in depth review. However if I wasn’t a creator… I’m honestly not sure I would have purchased one. A lot of my viewers seem to feel the same way. Maybe when the camera arrives I’ll change my mind, but as of right now, I’m just not feeling it…
English