The new GoPro Hero is the action camera I've been looking for and I'm putting my mouth where my mouth is and buying one!
With no front screen or fancy features, the GoPro is perfect choice for me for POV shots(Image credit: GoPro)
If you're anything like me you may have been captivated by POV street photography videos from the likes of Paulie-B or even the works from Sarah & Jeff Ascough- AKA Walk Like Alice and have wanted to purchase one of the best action cameras for yourself.
Well, I have been at this stage for a while now, thinking do I really need the 5.3K of the GoPro Hero 12 Black, the whopping 8K of the Insta360 Ace Pro, or the amazingly tiny 4K Insta360 Go 3S that I could fit on my camera hotshoe. Each is a great action cameras in their own right, but all seem just to have too many features for me.
Even our highly-praised DJI Osmo Action 4, which I was very tempted to spend my hard-earned cash on, still didn't appeal to me due to it having a front screen, which I don't need. I thought to myself that what I want is a simple 4K camera that's small enough to do POV street photography, while also not having a front screen, and having a good battery life.
When I took a look at all the options on the market before the new GoPro Hero was announced, I would think that they all looked great and offered a lot, but in reality, they all offered too much for me to justify the cost of a POV camera for YouTube.
They either had 5.3K video resolution which I still don't see the need for when many YouTube videos are watched in 720p, even in 2024, and most of them have one thing that I don't want on an action camera - a front LCD screen!
Now that might sound like total madness, but I don't want to use an action camera for vlogging. I just want something discreet for POV videos.
(Image credit: GoPro)
The Insta360 Go 3S did catch my eye due to it being SO tiny but I also ideally wanted a rear screen to be able to make sure the angle was correct before hitting record, yes I can use my phone to preview, but I just want a simple one device solution, and not have to use everything to get something recording.
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Enter the new GoPro Hero, the action cam giant's solution to mine, and I'm sure many other people's problems with 'too much tech'. This fantastic device has a rear screen only - tick, does not have a front screen at all - tick. And it comes with just three video modes; 4K30, 4K25, and 1080/60 and a simple selection of ratio to record in of just 16:9, 9:16 for social media, or a 4:3 aspect ratio
What a godsend this little device is, and it is a rather tiny thing too weighing in at just 86g! That makes this new GoPro Hero 35% smaller and 46% lighter than the new GoPro Hero13 Black - this is a winner winner, chicken dinner in my book!
Want some even better news? - the new GoPro Hero is charged via USB-C for its built-in battery, so I can even rig it to a power bank while out and about on long street sessions, what's more, I think it is probably the best-priced GoPro ever - at just $199/£199 it now makes sense for me to buy a brand new GoPro rather than the discounted GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini!
Yes, the Hero11 Mini, on paper, has much better specs than the new GoPro Hero... but I don't want or need all those specs; the new GoPro Hero is perfect, and I'm putting my money where my mouth is and picking one up on September 22!
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For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.
He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.
He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.
