K i t Z o n e
118 DIGITAL CAMERA^ MARCH 2021 http://www.digitalcameraworld.comf you’re a taker of
selfies, a vlogger or an
adventure filmmaker,
GoPro’s new flagship
camera is made for you.
There was a time when action cameras
were primarily for capturing sports,
but the new GoPro Hero9 Black
pushes in a new direction by including
a front-mounted LCD ‘selfie’ screen
to challenge the DJI Osmo Action
and the Akaso Brave 7 LE. However,
there’s still plenty on the Hero9 Black
for the all-round photographer.Key features
The Hero9 Black has a 23.6MP sensor,
which means it can capture video
at 5K in 30 frames per second at
100Mbps. That’s impressive, but it’s
also incredibly capacity-hungry.
The 4K 60fps mode gives you both
efficiency and smoothness. Despite
the appearance of 5K, the must-have
feature is HyperSmooth 3.0, which
means cleverly stabilised footage.Also new to the Hero9 Black is a
30-second looping video buffer for
video to avoid missing unexpected
moments, which is for filming anything
else where spontaneous events are
everything. Practically speaking, it
will avoid having to take endless short
videos only to delete them all later.
Not surprisingly given the number
of people working from home, the
Hero9 Black can be used as a 1080p
widescreen webcam. There’s also an
option to use it as a streaming camera
and to live-stream 1080p video
to YouTube, Twitch, Facebook
Profiles and Facebook Pages.
Action cameras are roundly ignored
as photographic devices by some
users, but that could change with
the arrival of the Hero9 Black. That’s
partly because, like the Akaso Brave 7
LE, the Hero9 Black can take 20MP
still photos. It offers wide (16-34mm)
and linear (19-39mm) lens modes –
each with 2x digital zoom options –
and a fixed narrow mode (27mm).Specifications
Sensor: 20MP lens system
Image processor: GP1
Stills: 20MP
Video: 5K at 30p, 4K at 60p, 1080p and 120-240p
Memory card: microSD/SDHC/SDXC
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB Type-C
Size: 71 x 55 x 34mm
Weight: 158gI
With more screens, more detail, more photos and
more battery, the new flagship GoPro is hard to beat
GoPro Hero9 Black
£429/$449
1
The Hero9 Black’s
buttons are slightly
larger and protrude
more, which makes
them easier to operate
while wearing gloves.2
Bright enough in
all but the sunniest
conditions, the rear
touchscreen is sadly
not as responsive
as it could be.Action camera GoPro Hero9 Black 2
1