GoPro Hero 8 Black

GADGET REVIEW

You know how the story goes – if something ain’t broke… The GoPro Hero 7 Black was one of the best action cameras on the market, giving the company a successful sales rebound in 2018. Following on that mantra, GoPro has avoided any drastic changes for its Hero 8 Black update, but the new flagship action camera has a long list of hardware and software tweaks that adds up to a significantly better user experience overall. More often than not the activities that you want an action camera to capture don't really leave you much room to think about shot composition, so wide-angle lenses and on-camera stabilisation is critical. This is why GoPro has focused on making its HyperSmooth video stabilisation functionality even better here. HyperSmooth 2.0 is now available across all resolutions and frame rates and improves on what GoPro last year claimed was the best ‘on-camera’ video stabilisation available. The Hero range has long had resolution, framerate, lens angle and zoom settings easily accessible on the main interface, but the Hero 8 Black introduces Capture Presets. In addition to the SuperView, Wide and Linear digital lenses that were available on the Hero 7 Black there is also a new ‘Narrow’ lens perspective for taking footage or photos of people (or close-ups) on the Hero 8 Black. The maximum bitrate for 2.7K and 4K has been increased from 75Mbps to 100Mbps to make those high resolution shots even more professional-looking footage. While the Hero 8 Black’s lithium-ion battery is technically a higher capacity than the one used in the Hero 7 Black, the new camera also draws slightly more power and so it ends up with an identical 1,220mAh lifespan. If you are looking to capture action sports footage, the ruggedness of the Hero 8 Black and the versatility of fast-paced shot options means it’s still the standout action camera option.

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