Stuff - UK (2020-11)

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TESTED GOPRO HERO9 BLACK

GOOD

MEH

EVIL

Bigger

screen is a

real bonus

More

resolution,

more detail

Our cam has

overheating

issues

Amazingly

smooth

stabilisation

It's bigger

than last

year’s Hero

[^ W

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ds

B

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il^ K

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nf

li^ ]

Two screens, better battery life, 5K video and even

smoother stabilisation – GoPro has gone all-out

to make its latest action cam turtly irresistible

The running theme for GoPro in

2020 is ‘more’; specifically, more

resolution, more battery, more

features, more screens and more

money. The Hero9 Black packs

an all-new 23.6MP sensor, up

from 12MP, and offers 5K video

capture. This also means you can

pause your high-octane footage

and grab 14.7MP screengrabs and

20MP stills – mighty.

Then there’s the bigger battery,

better HyperSmooth stabilisation

and new features like HindSight

and Scheduled Capture. It’s all

packaged in a new, bigger body

that’s waterproof to 10m, with a

front display that vloggers should

be rejoicing about.

And yet, out of the box, the

Hero9 Black might not be the

best GoPro for you. Its video

quality is better but loses a bit

of the Hero8’s ultra-wide field

of view so looks a smidge less...

GoPro. To get it back and then

some, you’ll need to stump up for

a Max Lens Mod. Given the hiked

price of the cam, is it worth it?

£430 (£330 with sub) / stuff.tv/H9B

Hero in a hard sell

9 on you crazy diamond

An hour and a half of continuous

recording at 1080p and the old

Hero8 Black’s battery reliably

conked out. This battery’s been

bumped up from 1220mAh to

1720mAh (2), so despite powering

an extra screen it keeps recording

for a full 2hrs 10mins, running

circles around its predecessor.

The trail of the lonesome 9

Yes, there’s a front screen, which

is excellent for framing your vlogs,

but the main touchscreen around

the back (3) has levelled up too.

Climbing up from 1.95in to 2.27in,

it’s the biggest of any Hero and

is bright enough for easy outdoor

viewing. That said, it could

definitely be more responsive.

Got it down to a 9 art

Thanks to its 23.6MP sensor,

the Hero9 Black shoots 5K. That

means pristine HyperSmooth 3.0

footage (1), and screengrabs look

like proper photos provided there

isn’t too much motion blur. The

only snag: after 30 minutes of 5K

recording, our Hero9 got too hot

and shut down.

Touchscreen

not the most

responsive