blackfriday The GoPro Hero 8 Black may now be the business’s flagship action camera, however the Hero 7 Black has remained on sale in a revamped line-up that sees it sit among that model and the Hero 7 Silver. Because of its price drop, the Hero 7 Black is currently the sweet spot for many people, offering the best mixture of features and performance you could find in a little, waterproof camera.
When it launched, the Hero 7 Black’s USP was its HyperSmooth stabilization, which remains an excellent reason to select it over older models or its cheaper rivals. A sort of electronic stabilization, HyperSmooth largely lives up to its hype as ‘gimbal-like’ and can help you produce judder-free videos without the editing, even in challenging scenarios like mountain biking or Go Karting.
Because the Hero 7 Black launched, it is also seen the arrival of a solid challenger in the sort of the DJI Osmo Action. This brings a few advantages for instance a front display for vloggers and a polished interface, however the Hero 7 Black now matches its price and may be the more polished option your money can buy.
There’s a fresh GoPro flagship: read our GoPro Hero 8 Black review
GoPro Hero 7 Black review: features
4K video to 60p
HyperSmooth stabilisation
Live-streaming
While some could be disappointed to know that lots of of the core specs are essentially carbon copied from the Hero6 Black, GoPro’s thinking because of this model was evidently less about boosting frame rates and packing more pixels, and more about bettering you see, the connection with using the device.
This implies the Hero 7 Black still incorporates the same 12MP sensor and the same wide-angle lens, for instance, and the very best video specs of 4K at 60fps and Full HD to a maximum 240fps for 8x slowed-down footage are also unchanged. The many additional sweeteners moreover, however, get this to a considerably better camera than before.
HyperSmooth
The most significant of the is HyperSmooth, a sort of video stabilization that GoPro ranks being the equivalent to by using a gimbal. A combo of hardware and software, instead of simply an upgraded optical stabilization system, this is developed in response to user feedback – indeed, this is apparently the main request – and it presents a clear advantage for anybody who may find by using a gimbal because of their chosen thrill inconvenient.
GoPro isn’t shy about its capabilities, going so far as claiming that it’s the very best in-camera video stabilization system not simply of any action camera, but of any camera. In addition, the method of its procedure are thought to haven’t any additional penalty on battery life.
HyperSmooth can be utilised even though capturing 60fps footage at full resolution
Unlike the Hero 6 Black, which only allows regular stabilization to be employed to 30fps when shooting in 4K, HyperSmooth works extremely well even though capturing 60fps footage at full resolution (though not at 4:3) on the Hero 7 Black. The only other time you can’t call after it really is when capturing Full HD footage at 240fps and 120fps footage, although standard standard stabilization is offered by the latter frame rate.
TimeWarp video is an additional new feature on the Hero 7 Black, the one which combines the thought of regular frame-by-frame time-lapse shooting (that you can still do separately) with HyperSmooth – essentially, a stabilized hyperlapse. Essentially, it permits you to capture time-lapse footage with the freedom to go the Hero 7 Black always. That’s right: time-lapse footage with out a tripod, and whatever movement you want.
Audio performance in addition has been revamped on the Hero7 Black
Voice Control is once more readily available, recognizing 12 separate commands such as for example “GoPro have a photo” and “GoPro start video recording”, which, between them, cover all the key tasks.
Audio performance was also revamped on the Hero 7 Black. GoPro expanded dynamic range, providing more natural bass tones and brighter mids, and in addition redesigned the microphone membrane to eradicate the vibrations that could possibly be picked up, even while ensuring it could capture more subtle sounds than before.
Better to take photos
Another new option on the Hero 7 Black was SuperPhoto, something comparable to a scene-intelligent auto option on a far more conventional camera, which automates a small number of helpful features that you might not exactly think to permit when capturing photos.
So, rather than contacting HDR when shooting scenes with a broad dynamic range, it’ll do it for you personally if you wish it to. Similarly, the Hero 7 Black deploys multi-frame noise reduction for low-light scenes, if it feels the necessity to do so.
For the benefit for those that do want intervene and get creative, ProTune will provide you with freedom to change things such as exposure compensation, white balance, ISO range, sharpness etc. You can capture raw images furthermore to JPEGs on the Hero 7 Black, and in addition shoot bursts of images at a maximum 30fps, telling the camera just how many images over how long a duration you want to buy to capture.
The GoPro Hero7 Black also becomes the first Hero model with the ability to live-stream built directly into it. This works together with Facebook at this time, but is defined to shortly use YouTube ad other channels too.
GoPro Hero 7 Black review: build and handling
Similar design to Hero 6 Black
Waterproof right down to 10m/33ft
Improved UI with portrait orientation
The GoPro Hero 7 Black supplies the same sort of rugged and largely rubbered body as the Hero 6 Black, although the sides of the devices are simply as smooth as leading, instead of ridged. This does mean the prior two-tone look is currently gone, but you’ll likely have the GoPro in a case of some sort, so this makes hardly any difference in use.
Construction of the Hero 7 Black feels just as solid as the Hero 6 Black. Both doors to the battery/card and USB/HDMI compartments could be a little fiddly to open, although design is necessary to make sure waterproofing. With out a housing the camera can travel 10m/33ft safely underwater (once again), although you can go even deeper with the optional Super Suit.
A little plastic frame that wraps around the GoPro Hero 7 Black and clips into place is provided as standard, which is mounted on an adhesive stand to keep carefully the camera in place, furthermore to numerous other mounts for helmets, handlebars and more.
One of the features of the newer GoPro Hero 8 Black is that it has built-in mounting prongs, therefore you no more need this frame. And even, first-time users of the Hero 7 Black will tend to be cautious and find a few of this fiddly, as everything is necessarily tight in order that it all stays set up when you’re using it in the varieties of expected conditions. Nevertheless, you do soon become used to how rough you should be with it.
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Turn the Hero 7 Black on and you could see the amount of GoPro changed things around from its predecessor. There’s a refreshed UI, with key information such as for example current frame rate and resolution condensed right into a smaller space, and green icons showing battery life and remaining cards space now much easier to see against brighter subjects compared to the previous white ones.
The Hero 7 Black can be more smartphone-like functioning, with simple directional swipes to gain access to different modes, captured footage/images and more. You can still alternate between shooting modes with a press of the Mode button privately, but you may also swipe to accomplish the same.
The UI on the Hero 7 Black also adapts to portrait orientation once you have the camera positioned in this manner, which makes it better to operate. You can disable it if you believe this could be more of a nuisance when compared to a help, nonetheless it doesn’t seem to be to be so sensitive enough to warrant the common user needing to do that.
The UI now adjusts to a portrait orientation when you rotate the camera
The touchscreen on the Hero 7 Black bears the same 2-inch dimensions as its predecessors, and overall it’s generally responsive, nonetheless it occasionally fails to react to touch, and on such a tiny display it usually is annoying to need to jab the same function several times.
Voice Commands are largely unchanged from before, although you can say ‘GoPro Capture’ and the camera begins recording or have a photo, according to what mode you’re in. It’ll even react to you saying ‘That was sick’ with a Hi-light, but if you’re not really a teenager, you can merely say GoPro Hi-light’ to execute the same action. Or, since it happens, ‘oh shit’.
The Hero 7 Black generally responds well to a variety of voice commands, although since you can probably imagine it’s nearly 100% reliable, and sometimes these must be repeated several times. It could also be good to include your own commands to the Hero 7 Black, which is one area we are able to see this evolving, although virtually all
