The GoPro Hero 9 Black has arrived, and it’s a bigger step forward than I expected. It adds a front LCD screen and the first new sensor in several generations. A new Max Lens Mod accessory provides the camera with a nearly hemispherical field of view.
On my most recent GoPro review, for the Hero 8 Black, a viewer commented, “They are still making these things? “I thought they came to a halt around the Hero4” It’s a sentiment shared by more than just random YouTube viewers. Even my editor was surprised when I told him I was reviewing the Hero 9; he had just been discussing the Hero5 and had no idea he was referring to a camera four generations old.
I’m still undecided after spending some time with the $450 Hero 9 Black. It is without a doubt the most capable action camera yet, but some of the changes are contentious, if not frustrating.
GoPro Hero 9 Design
The Hero8 Black was a huge hit. It was the first physical redesign of GoPro’s popular action camera line in several generations, making it smaller and sleeker while integrating the mount directly into the camera.
It is heavier and larger in every dimension than the Hero 8, but it retains the built-in mount and is also slightly smaller than an older Hero7 in its required mounting frame. The removable lens cover, which was removed from the Hero8 to keep the camera slim, is back. This enables support for the previously mentioned Max Lens Mod, but it also makes the Hero 9 appear more like a Hero 7. When compared to the Hero8, the result is a camera that appears dated.
GoPro has at least made good use of the Hero 9’s extra space by including a larger battery, increasing the size of the rear LCD screen, and, of course, adding a front LCD screen. Overall, it introduces more hardware changes than I would have expected from a camera line that was completely redesigned only a year ago.
But the bulkier body of the Hero 9 has hampered some functionality, and it’s not just the tighter fit in your pocket. The GoPro Media Mod, one of the Hero8’s core upgrade accessories, will not fit the Hero 9. Instead, you’ll have to buy a new, Hero 9-specific version, which is unfortunate.
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GoPro Hero 9 Image Quality
The Hero 9 Black’s tagline is “more of everything,” and it certainly fits. The new sensor allows for 20-megapixel photos and 5K video at 30 frames per second, and the new battery increases operating time by 30% compared to the Hero8. However, more does not always equal better, and I am skeptical of the increased resolution. On paper, 5K appears to be a significant improvement, with approximately 15MP in each frame compared to 4K’s 8MP.
Previous GoPros’ resolution was already limited by video compression and lens softness. Furthermore, because of the simplicity of how an action camera is used — usually with a lot of motion in the shot — extra resolution does not always provide a benefit. And, with so much emphasis on editing and sharing content via GoPro’s (admittedly excellent) mobile app, the higher resolution simply slows the process down.
GoPro appears to be open about this, touting the 5K video feature as a way to extract higher-resolution still photos, which may be a more practical application of the feature than shooting 5K video for the sake of shooting 5K video. You can essentially shoot 15MP stills at 30 frames per second.
I’d like to think that GoPro considers the desires of professional filmmakers as well as those of the average customer when it does things like put 5K into a camera, but even with an extra thousand lines of resolution, I wouldn’t expect an appreciable jump in image quality with the Hero 9. Outside of bright light, noise is still an issue because the sensor isn’t physically larger. Video data rates are still limited to 100 megabits per second, whether in 4K or 5K, so compression is still a factor. And, perhaps most importantly, the lens isn’t sharp enough to fully exploit 4K, let alone 5K.
Furthermore, electronic stabilization sacrifices some sharpness in order to eliminate shakiness — a worthy trade-off, to be sure, but another knock against 5K. Or, for that matter, 4K.
In my testing, both 4K and 5K footage appeared soft — the 5K footage simply allowed me to zoom in on the softness, which was pointless. When normalized to 2K resolution, there was a barely discernible difference when pixel-peeping one frame at a time, which appeared to have a minor benefit in rendering text, but that was it. So, whether for video or stills, I have to conclude that 5K just doesn’t seem worth it.
In my testing, both 4K and 5K footage appeared soft — the 5K footage simply allowed me to zoom in on the softness, which was pointless. When normalized to 2K resolution, there was a barely discernible difference when pixel-peeping one frame at a time, which appeared to have a minor benefit in rendering text, but that was it. So, whether for video or stills, I have to conclude that 5K just doesn’t seem worth it.
In terms of still photo mode, I noticed a significant difference between the Hero 9’s 20MP output and the Hero8’s 12MP. However, it isn’t anything groundbreaking, and the advantage fades as soon as you find yourself in less-than-ideal lighting, as the Hero 9’s noise reduction appears to be even more aggressive than the Hero8’s. When comparing the cameras indoors, I preferred the Hero8 photos over the Hero 9 photos.
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TimeWarp
TimeWarp 3.0 is my favorite of the Hero 9 Black’s upgraded features. TimeWarp is a built-in hyper-lapse video feature on GoPro that records stabilized time-lapse footage. Version 2.0 of the Hero8 was already one of my favorites. It added two significant features: the ability to automatically set the time-lapse speed based on camera movement, and the ability to slow down the video to real-time at any point during the recording by pressing a button.
This is taken a step further in TimeWarp 3.0. You can not only slow down to real-time but also to half-speed for slow motion. The ability to combine time-lapse, real-time, and slow-motion video in a single clip without any editing is what distinguishes a GoPro.
Furthermore, you can now record audio during TimeWarp real-time segments. This makes the feature far more adaptable. Hiking is the closest I get to extreme sports, and TimeWarp is a great way to capture a hike, which would otherwise make for rather boring footage. The ability to record audio during real-time segments means I’ll never forget my awe at a double rainbow or the sounds of a rushing waterfall, which I previously had to rely entirely on a music track for.
The addition of TimeWarp 3.0 is far from the only new software feature. Version 3.0 of HyperSmooth stabilization also includes in-camera horizon leveling. Additional new features are available in the new PowerTools category, which includes functions that were previously only available in the experimental GoPro Labs preview program. These include scheduled capture and duration capture, both of which work in tandem to completely automate a Hero 9.
Scheduled capture allows you to program the camera to turn on and begin shooting at a specific time, which is ideal for capturing everything from early sunrise to a rocket launch. Duration capture allows you to set a recording time ranging from 15 seconds to 3 hours, after which the camera will turn off automatically.
Hindsight is the name of the other new PowerTool feature. This is a buffered video mode that saves up to 30 seconds of footage before pressing the record button. This mode is most useful when you want to capture a decisive moment, such as nailing a skateboard trick, but you don’t know when it will happen. Hindsight allows you to delay pressing the record until just after the moment occurs, drastically reducing the amount of junk footage.
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Maximum mods
It’s difficult not to sympathize with anyone who spent $160 on a Media Mod and Display Mod to add a front-facing screen to their Hero 8 Black. The Hero 9’s built-in front screen not only eliminates the need for the LCD mod, but also does not work with the Hero8’s media mod at all.
However, it is not all bad news. The $99 Max Lens Mod, which will be available in October, is something truly new and unique to the Hero 9. The Max Lens Mod, named after the GoPro Max 360 camera, adds spherical video to the Hero 9 Black. It can’t turn it into a full 360-degree camera, as the modular Insta360 One R can, but it does add a 155-degree field of view. It also enables Max HyperSmooth at resolutions up to 2.7K for even more stability, as well as horizon leveling that works even if the camera barrel rolls.
For this review, I was given a Max Lens Mod, which produces a noticeably wider and more stable image. However, given how wide and stable the Hero 9 is on its own, I’m not sure it’s a necessary investment, but it’s likely that some niche applications will benefit from it.
GoPro Hero 9 price
Customers can purchase the Hero 9 Black in two ways, according to GoPro. It costs $450 on its own, but if you add a year’s subscription to GoPro, the price drops to $350 — including the subscription fee. To be clear, purchasing a Hero 9 and a GoPro subscription is less expensive than purchasing a Hero 9 alone.
On the surface, this appears to be an extremely valuable proposition. The subscription, which costs $5 per month or $50 per year, provides unlimited cloud storage, a low-cost replacement for broken cameras, and steep discounts on accessories.
Plus, GoPro is attempting to transition to a product-as-a-service model, which has become increasingly popular with all types of tech hardware, from smartphones to game consoles. This increases the likelihood of a customer switching to another brand. If you sign up for a GoPro subscription and later decide to cancel, you’ll need to be prepared to transfer all of your cloud files somewhere else.
So don’t rush into it, but for the right customer, a GoPro subscription (formerly GoPro Plus) has always paid for itself over time. And for anyone thinking about getting a Hero 9 Black, it pays for itself almost immediately. This promotion now includes the Hero8 Black and Hero7 Black.
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