GoPro Hero 12 Black evaluation: edging nearer to perfection
Editor’s Notice
• Authentic evaluation date: October 2023
• Launch worth: $399 / £399 / AU$649
• Official worth now: $297.49 / £297.49 / AU$489.95
Replace: November 2024. Launched in October 2023, the GoPro Hero 12 Black is not the flagship motion digicam within the GoPro line-up. The newer Hero 13 Black is now the highest decide in our record of one of the best motion cameras, with its swappable Lens Mods and simpler magnetic mounting. That mentioned, in virtually all different methods, it shares the identical imaging efficiency because the Hero 12 Black, together with the identical sensor and video decision. So whereas the Hero 13 Black is essentially the most full GoPro we’ve examined, the Hero 12 Black stays a really succesful motion digicam in 2024. Thanks to cost reductions, it’s additionally higher worth than the flagship – though the equally geared up Hero 11 Black is even cheaper on-line.
Timothy Coleman
Two-minute evaluation
The GoPro Hero 12 Black is a variation on a tried and examined GoPro formulation. GoPro has an Apple-like potential to refresh its line with out overhauling it to nice impact, and this 12 months there is not a lot that is new in the best way of {hardware} for the 12 Black. That mentioned, acquainted {hardware} may not be a difficulty given the upgraded software program expertise, significantly for filmmakers and anybody craving exterior wi-fi audio help.
Let’s begin with what’s returning for 2023 from final 12 months’s GoPro Hero 11 Black. Firstly, there’s that 27MP 8:7 sensor that may seize 16:9, 9:16, and eight:7 footage with no need to reorient your digicam. It could shoot at as much as 5.3K 60fps and 4K 120fps, and if you wish to drop the decision to 2K, it even captures 240fps, one thing the DJI Osmo Motion 4 cannot do.
Subsequent, GoPro’s Hero design is again for spherical six – or is it seven? Severely, GoPro may be very wedded to the fashion launched on the Hero 5 Black, so it hasn’t deviated an excessive amount of from its general aesthetic.
GoPro additionally brings again the identical battery utilized in previous Hero cameras, although, as within the Hero 11 Black, it is the higher-specced GoPro Enduro (1720mAh) cell. And the 12 Black has the identical dimensions, processor, and weight because the 11 Black.
Given all these similarities, you is likely to be asking your self what’s new, and whether or not the Hero 12 Black stands an opportunity of being rated as one in every of our greatest motion cameras when its predecessor, the GoPro Hero 11 Black, prices much less whereas providing comparable options.
GoPro Hero 12 Black specs
Sensor: 27MP 1/1.9-inch
FOV/focal size: 156 levels
Max picture decision: 27MP 8:7 (5568 x 4872)
Video: As much as 5.3K 60fps / 4K 120fps (16:9)
Stabilization: HypserSmooth 6.0 with AutoBoost
Entrance display screen: 1.4-inch Colour LCD
Rear display screen: 2.27-inch Colour LCD
Mount: Motion digicam + 1/4-inch thread
Battery: GoPro Enduro (1720mAh)
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB-C and Wi-Fi
Most likely essentially the most immediately helpful addition to the Hero 12 Black is the 1/4-inch thread mount between its flip-out toes, good for mini tripods. GoPro has additionally added HDR video seize to enhance how the digicam handles highlights and shadows, and this works to nice impact.
Filmmakers who wish to dig a little bit deeper can activate GP-Log seize for even larger dynamic vary footage and 10-bit coloration, so video might be simply spliced right into a timeline with clips from different cameras and simply color-matched.
Audio choices have additionally been improved, with the 12 Black now supporting wi-fi audio from a Bluetooth microphone. This works with any Bluetooth earphones or headphones, so if you happen to’ve obtained a pair of one of the best wi-fi earbuds out there, you may simply pair them along with your GoPro and hit report – it truly is that straightforward.
Whether or not you are utilizing an exterior Bluetooth microphone or the Media Mod, GoPro’s modular housing that upgrades audio and connection choices, the brand new Hero 12 Black may also seize two audio channels, which you’ll be able to entry by way of the GoPro Quik app or in Premiere Professional. What’s so cool about doing this with the Media Mod is that it captures the gadget audio or the Mod’s personal mini growth mic so that you could combine down directional and ambient tracks for the right clip.
In a nutshell, whereas there are loads of acquainted options, GoPro ranges up the Hero 12 Black simply sufficient to meaningfully make it a extra versatile and highly effective motion digicam than the Hero 11 Black.
As for the way it stacks up towards the competitors, the Hero 12 Black’s stabilization is improbable, dialing up or down primarily based on what you are doing, because of HyperSmooth 6.0 and AutoBoost. It outperforms the DJI Osmo Motion 4 on this regard, and I additionally favor the tone of GoPro’s video versus DJI’s. Footage appears to be like extra crisp and fewer subdued – exactly what I would like from my motion digicam. Having mentioned that, the Motion 4 does a greater job of capturing a wider soundscape from its mics, whereas the Hero 12 Black focuses extra on voices.
Low gentle is the place GoPro has constantly dropped the ball, and whereas the Mild Portray night time modes are enjoyable additions, they do not make up for the grainy video when recording in dimly-lit scenes. DJI takes the crown right here.
Usually talking, the motion digicam race has by no means been tighter, with DJI and GoPro virtually neck and neck with their newest choices. Whichever you go for, you are getting a improbable motion digicam, however the Hero 12 Black edges forward for anybody who largely shoots within the day and desires one of the best stabilization out there. It is also preferrred for vloggers who wish to lower up 16:9 and 9:16 content material from the identical clip, or GoPro customers who have already got suitable equipment just like the Media Mod, and wish to improve their digicam however not their extras.
GoPro Hero 12 Black: launch date and worth
- In the stores now for $400 / £400 / AU$650
- Equipment bundle prices $450 / £450 / AU$730
- Max Lens Mod bundle prices $500 / £500 / AU$820
The GoPro Hero 12 Black is on the market now, with the lowest-priced Normal Combo package deal costing $400 / £400 / AU$650 – that is barely pricier than the DJI Motion 4. Curiously, the Hero 11 Black continues to be on sale alongside the 12 Black on GoPro’s web site, and has seen its worth drop to $350 / £350 / AU$579.
If you wish to decide up an additional Enduro battery, GoPro’s Handler grip, a head strap, and a carrying case, then the $450 / £450 / AU$730 equipment bundle is for you, and that worth is slashed by round 20% you probably have a GoPro subscription.
For those who do not want all these further peripherals however fancy the brand new Max Lens Mod 2.0, which GoPro introduced alongside the digicam, for a class-leading huge discipline of view, the Max Lens Mod bundle prices $500 / £500 / AU$820. As soon as once more, you probably have a GoPro subscription, you may take pleasure in a reduction of round 20% on this combo.
Whereas GoPro offered its Hero cameras at a reduction with a subscription and a sky-high subscription-free worth in earlier years, it has simplified issues this 12 months. In flip, it is nice to see that the standalone 12 Black has one fastened worth that is decrease than the record worth of the 11 Black at launch.
So, whereas the Hero 12 Black is not low-cost by any stretch, it is nice that its worth for cash is not held again by what has, up to now, felt like inflated non-member pricing. This subscription-free mannequin makes GoPro’s newest digicam way more aggressive out of the gate.
GoPro Hero 12 Black: design
- Equivalent weight and dimensions to Hero 11 Black
- New 1/4-20 tripod thread mount
- Waterproof as much as 33ft / 10m
At first look, the GoPro Hero 11 and 12 Black look virtually an identical, aside from some speckled blue styling that differentiates the most recent version. Each cameras weigh 154g, sport the identical dimensions (71.8 x 50.8 x 33.6mm), and have detachable doorways behind that are a USB-C port, battery cavity, and microSD slot.
The detachable lens protects acquainted f/2.5 aperture glass that delivers a 151-degree discipline of view, which is barely much less huge than the DJI Osmo Motion 4’s 155 levels. The Hero 12 Black, nevertheless, might be bumped as much as a class-leading 177 levels with the Max Lens Mod 2.0.
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On to mounting, and the digicam’s base options GoPro’s acquainted flip-out toes that make conventional motion digicam mounting attainable, and this 12 months the Hero line will get a 1/4-inch mount too, so it really works with conventional tripods and action-camera mounts alike. That is good for anybody like me, who makes use of a Manfrotto Pixi or an alternate vlogging tripod with their essential digicam, saving the necessity to pack a separate grip when touring gentle.
Having examined out the DJI Motion 4 and Insta360 Go 3, each with magnetic mounting help, I do miss the characteristic when utilizing the Hero12 Black. If GoPro manages to suit magnets into subsequent 12 months’s 13 Black, then its motion digicam may have the holy trinity of mounting choices; because it stands, although, two out of three is not unhealthy.
Identical to the Hero 10 and 11 Black, the 12 Black has two coloration shows, one on the entrance and the opposite on the rear. In contrast to DJI’s newest motion digicam, solely the rear display screen is touch-sensitive. This is not the tip of the world, but it surely was helpful to have the ability to vlog on the Motion 4 with out having to flip it round to make primary capturing changes.
The principle display screen on the rear measures 2.27 inches. It will get vivid sufficient for snug viewing indoors and out, and in contrast to older GoPros, particularly the Hero 9 Black, it is super-responsive.
The 12 Black’s bodily controls embody a report button on the high and an influence button on the facet. Urgent the report button when the digicam is off prompts quick-fire recording, and urgent the facility button when the digicam is on adjustments modes.
One of many massive advantages of selecting up a GoPro over a competitor is equipment – each first-party and third-party choices. Whereas DJI does a fantastic job with its Motion 4, providing an ND filter system and a number of magnetic mount instruments, GoPro’s ecosystem is richer.
From GoPro’s personal camp, the Media Mod is essentially the most highly effective addition to the Hero 12 Black if you happen to’re involved about sound high quality. This upgrades the audio with a directional mic whereas including a 3.5mm microphone port for wi-fi options like the superb Rode Wi-fi Go 2, in addition to a micro HDMI port and an easy-access USB-C port, and there is nothing fairly prefer it within the DJI camp.
GoPro Hero 12 Black: options and efficiency
- Wonderful HyperSmooth 6.0 stabilization
- Tremendous-fast wired file switch through USB-C
- New Bluetooth microphone help
The important thing benefit the GoPro Hero 12 Black has over the DJI Osmo Motion 4 is decision. Sure, its sensor is bodily smaller, however its 27MP stills and 5.3K 8:7 video wipe the ground with DJI’s 10MP stills and 4K 16:9 video – on a sunny day when gentle is plentiful, it is unsurprising that the Hero 12 Black’s image is noticeably crisper.
GoPro’s 8:7 aspect-ratio sensor is poised to seize footage that is primed for enhancing. Max out the decision to five.3K, seize with an virtually sq. facet ratio, and your clips might be cropped simply within the GoPro Quik app to 1:1, 16:9, or 9:16 whereas nonetheless retaining a sky-high decision.
GoPro’s body charges are additionally best-in-class, with 5.3K footage captured at as much as 60fps, 4K footage at as much as 120fps, and a pair of.7K footage at as much as 240fps. GoPro even provides this super-fast body charge with Horizon Leveling energetic, so you may compensate for tilts with out them making it by way of to your ultimate footage.
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One GoPro Hero 12 Black characteristic I like is that you could switch information to your cellphone utilizing a USB-C cable, so no extra painfully sluggish wi-fi transfers. This characteristic is again from the 11 Black, and it is supported by Android telephones with a USB-C port, and by the brand new USB-C-equipped iPhone 15 vary.
GoPro features a 1720mAh Enduro battery with the 12 Black, although the digicam is suitable with the usual, non-Enduro selection, albeit with shorter run occasions. The battery efficiency most accurately fits anybody who shoots clips shorter than 20 minutes. Whereas there have been studies of older GoPros overheating, I had comparatively good experiences with the Hero 11 Black, and the 12 Black fares even higher.
For those who’re capturing stationary on a scorching day, you could expertise overheating, however out and about within the UK and Berlin, in round 70F / 20C ambient temperatures, I shot for over half-hour at 5.3K with none points.
The Hero 12 Black additionally plugs into the GoPro Volta grip and different energy sources whenever you want extra seize time than the battery provides, and you may as well pack spares, with an Enduro battery capturing over an hour of steady 4K 60fps video.
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GoPro has streamlined the interface barely for 2023, leveling up the Simple Mode, whereas including 8:7 seize to all modes.
If you have not come throughout GoPro’s Simple Mode, it is an alternate interface to Professional Mode, and makes all the choices for you. All that you must determine is whether or not you are taking a photograph, video, or timelapse, and select a top quality degree, and Simple Mode will modify the settings accordingly.
Professional Mode has a steeper studying curve, however if you wish to entry GP-Log, HDR seize, or management the stabilization and body charges, Professional is the mode for you.
I discovered that outcomes from Simple Mode had been glorious in my first few days with the digicam, and it is a good way to ease into the GoPro means of capturing. As soon as I discovered my toes, although, the mode felt restrictive, and I jumped to Professional Mode.
GoPro’s stabilization for 2023 is HyperSmooth 6.0 matched with AutoBoost. This unbelievable system would not simply make super-smooth seize attainable; it additionally helps horizon locking, so you may actually loop-de-loop in a airplane or on a rollercoaster, and your footage will masks the spins.
AutoBoost dials the sector of view up and down primarily based on how a lot stabilization you want, so that you all the time get essentially the most data in body. We did not even discover the characteristic in motion, which bodes nicely for GoPro’s newest iteration of HyperSmooth, and pictures all the time appeared nicely held collectively.
GoPro additionally provides Bluetooth microphone help to the Hero 12 Black, with help for a complete of 4 Bluetooth units, be they a mic, a cellphone, a wi-fi shutter, or one other GoPro for synchronized seize.
Your microphone will solely dictate high quality from Bluetooth audio sources. We examined the Hero 12 Black with the OnePlus Buds Professional 2, as demonstrated within the pattern video, and the audio wasn’t spectacular. The Huawei FreeBuds 4 did a greater job, and a devoted microphone did a greater job nonetheless.
Whereas helpful for anybody sporting a helmet or far out of your digicam, Bluetooth Audio will unlikely be capable of match the standard of devoted wi-fi mics just like the stellar DJI Mic, which can be utilized out of the gate with the Motion 4 you probably have each devices.
What is wise with GoPro’s new exterior audio recording is that it captures two audio channels and bakes them into the video file, so you may entry each in Adobe Premiere Professional or one other video editor, or by way of the GoPro Quik app.
It is value noting, for 2023, that GoPro has ditched GPS, a characteristic that is been on GoPros for generations. I have never missed it in my time with the digicam, although solely you may say how a lot the shortage of geotagging will affect your action-cam expertise.
- Options and efficiency rating: 4.5/5
GoPro Hero 12 Black: picture and video high quality
- Excessive-resolution 27MP stills
- 10-bit 4K video high quality
- New HDR and GP-Log coloration profiles
Whereas the brand new 1/1.3-inch sensor is the headline characteristic of the DJI Motion 4, the headline characteristic of the GoPro Hero 12 Black’s sensor is its 8:7 facet ratio matched with its 27MP decision.
Whereas DJI has low gentle coated, GoPro’s newest motion digicam crams in additional resolved element when the sunshine is true. That is evident when enjoying again 4K video, or grabbing a nonetheless from a clip, or taking {a photograph}.
GoPro’s default capturing modes do a superb job of constructing daytime footage look zingy, crisp, and {smooth}. HDR seize is a welcome addition that makes a tangible distinction in vivid environments, whereas the GP-Log seize extends the dynamic vary additional to nice impact.
The Hero 12 Black’s 10-bit 4K video additionally appears to be like spectacular, with full of life colours and intensive scope for enhancing. The important thing limiting issue relating to any GoPro’s digicam high quality is ambient gentle, and when the lights drop, the Hero’s video high quality does too.
GoPro contains enjoyable night time modes for gentle painting-style video seize, and images shot in dimly-lit scenes and timelapses can look respectable. That mentioned, the 12 Black needs to be put in a bag and your cellphone needs to be taken out if you happen to’re capturing candlelit dinner scenes or nighttime strolls on the seashore – your cellular will in all probability cope higher.
GoPros are glorious vlogging instruments, and deal with faces and pores and skin tones higher than DJI’s Motion 3 from expertise. The Hero 12 Black’s Horizon Lock characteristic can also be extra highly effective than DJI’s, wanting nice at as much as 5.3K decision, whereas DJI’s caps out at 4K.
As with most motion cameras, the GoPro Hero 12 Black has a fixed-focus lens, which implies it is not suited to close-up photographs or movies, although there are macro lenses out there that may deliver this nearest focus distance shut if you wish to spend money on the Hero ecosystem.
With 5.3K 60p 10-bit video, and spectacular 120fps 2.7K slow-motion, GoPro brings again timelapse and hyperlapse modes, and a few inventive pictures modes geared to serving to the GoPro not grow to be redundant in low gentle.
The 12 Black’s microphones do a fantastic job of capturing voices, making it our selection for vlogging, particularly in comparison with different cameras together with the DJI Osmo Motion 4, which did a greater job of pulling in additional ambient sounds.
- Picture and video high quality: 4/5
Ought to I purchase the GoPro Hero 12 Black?
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Additionally contemplate
Testing scorecard
| Attributes | Notes | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Worth | A decrease RRP than past-gen GoPros | 4/5 |
| Design | A well-recognized however efficient package deal | 4.5/5 |
| Efficiency | Nippy and highly effective with upgraded options | 4.5/5 |
| Picture and video high quality | A high-res daytime champ however struggles at night time | 4/5 |
How I examined the GoPro Hero 12 Black
Whereas it is all the time preferrred to get break day to check an motion digicam, I wasn’t so lucky in my fortnight with the GoPro Hero 12 Black, so exercised my metropolis adventurer standing, taking it on work journeys to Berlin and Barcelona, whereas conducting lab assessments on dwelling turf.
I used the Hero 11 Black extra like a vlogging and journey digicam whereas out and about, and carried out stabilization assessments at dwelling, strapping it onto a remote-control automobile and taking it on runs. I additionally examined run occasions in varied temperature circumstances.
Having been a Hero 11 Black person, I wished to give attention to the brand new options for the 12 Black, so captured an abundance of GP-Log and HDR video, and examined it with totally different Bluetooth microphones, from AirPods Execs to over-ear options just like the Sony WH-1000XM5.
First reviewed October 2023
