GoPro Hero 12 Black First Impressions: Taking Things Up a Notch
Another year has passed, and a brand-new GoPro is finally available to help you “go pro.” I’ve had the GoPro Hero 12 Black for about a week, despite the fact that it recently went on sale everywhere. We had the opportunity to test the Hero 12 Black in its environment thanks to a fun event GoPro organized for some of the media in India. As usual, the older Hero 11 Black will remain accessible in India, although at a reduced cost. The new Hero 12 Black is available for Rs. 45,000 for the base kit and Rs. 65,000 for the Creators Edition.
Here are my initial thoughts on the new action camera from GoPro, albeit the complete review will take some time.
Comparing the GoPro Hero 12 Black to the Hero 11 Black, not much has changed, especially in terms of hardware. It has a 1/1.9-inch image sensor that supports the larger 8:7 aspect ratio, the same GP2 CPU as the Hero 11 Black, and many of the same capabilities. It still mostly resembles its predecessor in terms of appearance, but the body now has blue flecks. Since the dimensions are identical to those of the Hero 11 Black, any attachment designed for that model will likewise fit the Hero 12 Black.
The body of the GoPro Hero 12 Black has blue flecks.
With an extra shell, the GoPro Hero 12 Black can remain waterproof up to 10 meters. It has a larger 2.27-inch touch screen on the back and a smaller, non-touch, color screen in the front. The Max Lens Mod 2.0 is now supported by the lens cap, which is detachable. Additionally, there are mounting fingers at the bottom, but now there is also a universal tripod thread mount located in-between the two foldable feet.
A tripod thread is added to the GoPro Hero 12 Black.
The Hero 12 Black has a difficult-to-open battery flap on the right side that is still difficult to open and close. Come on GoPro, don’t you think we all deserve a flap with better engineering by this point? The microSD card slot and USB Type-C port are located underneath.
The record button and microphone are located on top of the camera. A mode button is located on the left side, and a second microphone is located below the mounting feet. The new GoPro Hero 12 Black comes with the Enduro battery, which promises longer battery life, much like the Hero 11 Black did. GoPro now asserts that the new Hero 12 Black can provide up to twice the battery life compared to the older model because of more effective hardware and software optimizations. I’ll have to put this claim to the test, however during my initial use, I was able to record for roughly 7-8 hours continuously while also shooting a 30-minute continuous video in 4K 8:7 mode.
Max Lens 2.0 Mod for the GoPro Hero 12 Black
A new HDR video mode is now available on the GoPro Hero 12 Black when it comes to filming videos. Up to 5.3K resolution HDR video is possible, but only when the aspect ratio is 16:9. The HDR video can only be 4K at 24 or 30 frames per second in an 8:7 aspect ratio. Slow motion movies can only be made in 2.7K at 240 frames per second. You may experiment with a ton of new video recording options, such as timelapse, night video, and Star Trails, which now enable 8:7 recording.
In the complete review, I’ll put each of these to the test. While you may export 24.7-megapixel stills from films, photos are taken at a resolution of 27 megapixels. A vertical capture mode, GP-Log with LUTS support, and TimeWarp 3.0 are also included.
Example of a GoPro Hero 12 Black HDR image
In addition to the new HDR video mode, the GoPro Hero 12 Black has a popular function that enables you to record audio with any Bluetooth earpiece or headphone. This is a great feature, in my opinion. You can now wirelessly record audio by connecting your AirPods or any other Bluetooth headphones. Both internal microphones and Bluetooth headphones can record audio on the Hero 12 Black.
Along with the Auto Boost feature that debuted with the Hero 11 Black, HyperSmooth 6.0 stabilization is now included with the GoPro Hero 12 Black. The new Hero 12 Black holds true to GoPro’s reputation for having some of the best stabilization in the business. The majority of the functions from the Hero 11 Black have been carried over into the new action camera, but they have been enhanced.
I’ll be using the GoPro Hero 12 Black more frequently and experimenting with its additional functions, including HDR video, Bluetooth audio recording, and others. Will it truly be an improvement over the Hero 11 Black? I suppose the entire evaluation will reveal the answer.
