GoPro just announced their latest camera: GoPro Hero8 black. As expected their latest action camera was adapted to attract vlogger. With their announced “Extension Mods” you can add accessories to your camera for this use case. The Media Mod includes a forward facing microphone as well as a 3.5mm jack for external microphones. An additional LCD Mod adds a flip-up LCD display to your camera. The internal specs mostly stayed the same, but there are some new firmware based features. Let’s take a closer and compare the specs:

GoPro Hero8 black vs GoPro Hero7 black

GoPro Hero8 black

4K with max. 60fps

EIS up to 4K 60fps

1080p with max. 240fps

GoPro GP1 processor

FOV in 4K:

SuperView / Wide / Linear

Bitrate (4K): 100Mbps

Livestreaming: 1080p

12 MP photo – jpg & RAW

improved HDR Photo

Live Burst

Time-Lapse Interval

0.5 sec – 60 min

Night-Lapse Video

Hypersmooth Stabilization 2.0

TimeWarp 2.0

Custom Presets

no HDMI port

(only available with optional Media Mod)

External Microphone

(only available with optional Media Mod)

Frameless Folding Mount

fixed Lens

Extension Mods

10m waterproof without case

GPS recording

Voice Control

2″ Touchscreen

Price:



GoPro Hero7 black

4K with max. 60fps

EIS up to 4K 60fps

1080p with max. 240fps

GoPro GP1 processor

FOV in 4K:

SuperView / Wide

Bitrate (4K): 78Mbps

Livestreaming: 720p

12 MP photo – jpg & RAW

HDR Photo

–

Time-Lapse Interval

0.5 sec – 60 sec

–

Hypersmooth Stabilization

TimeWarp

–

HDMI port

built-in

External Microphone

(only available with 3.5mm adapter)

Frame Mount

Replaceable Lens

Extension Mods not available

10m waterproof without case

GPS recording

Voice Control

2″ Touchscreen

Price:





New Specs and Explanation

Resolution & Frame Rates

In this category there are minor changes. Both cameras offer max. 4K resolution with up to 60fps, 2.7K resolution up to 120fps and 1080p with up to 240fps. Interestingly the 720p and 960p option was removed for Hero8 black. Both cameras use the GoPro GP1 processor. One change was done to the resolution of live-streaming, with Hero8 black you can stream in 1080p, with Hero7 black it was limited to 720p.

Bitrate

Now that’s an upgrade I’m excited about. Hero7 black had a bitrate of 78 Mbps in 4K resolution with .h265 codec. 78 Mbps was considered low by many users since many competitors offer 100 Mbps – but they used .h264 codec to do so (e.g. DJI Osmo Action). For Hero8 black a bitrate of 100 Mbps is announced for 4K and 2.7K and, I do expect it to be in .h265 codec, that means better video quality and more details!

Body Design (Frame, Ports, Battery…)

With Hero8 black GoPro introduced Expansion Mods, accessories to mount on your camera. The frame mount was removed with Hero8 and the GoPro mount is now foldable and integrated into the bottom of the camera. Great news, you don’t need to carry the frame with you anymore to mount the camera. Therefore the battery compartment was moved from the bottom to the side of the camera; it’s still the same type of battery. The new Hero8 black does not have a HDMI port integrated, you need to get the Media Mod, that also includes a 3,5mm jack. The lens cover is not removable anymore and that comes with pros and cons: Pro – you don’t have to take it off to get the camera inside an underwater case. Con: it’s not easily replaceable when scratched. Both cameras are waterproof for up to 10m without case. Both cameras have 3 microphones integrated, with Hero8 one of them was moved to the front for better audio when talking into the camera.

Hero8 black is heavier than Hero7 without frame, but lighter than Hero7 when inside the frame.

Expansion Mods (Media Mod, DisplayMod, Light Mod)

First of all you need to get the Media Mod, that wraps-around your camera, which holds a directional built-in microphone (shotgun mic), a HDMI port, a USB-C port, a 3,5mm jack for external microphones and 2 cold shoe mounts for accessories. On those shoes you can either mount the Display Mod, a flip-able 2″ Display with built-in battery that connects to the HDMI port of Media Mod. You can mount Light Mod, a 200 lumen waterproof light with built-in battery. Or you can mount third party accessories.

Digital Lens

With Hero8 it is getting easier to select the field of view. Simply tap on the screen to select the digital focal length of the lens and see & compare the impact immediately on the screen. Good news for vlogger who don’t want that wide angle look: linear FOV is available in 4K resolution on Hero8 black! (Narrow FOV is available in 2.k resolution).

Time Warp 2.0

Time Warp is basically a motion timelapse feature. Due to the excellent built-in image stabilization the timelapse is very smooth and way better than a traditional one recorded while moving. What’s new with Time Warp 2.0? You can tap on the display, then the camera switches from timelapse to normal video, so basically slowing the video down until you tab the screen again.

Hypersmooth 2.0

When DJI released their DJI Osmo Action camera everyone was impressed by their image stabilization called “RockSteady”. They achieved a bit better stabilization than Hero7, but on the downside the image frame was cropped a bit more, so the field of view was narrower. (The camera needs additional image information around the shown framing). What’s new with Hypersmoth 2.0? With Hypersmooth 2.0 you can choose either wider FOV (field of view) or narrower FOV and better stabilization – GoPro calls it Boost. Hypersmooth is now available in all resolutions & frame rates. (On Hero7 black it was not available with 1080p 240fps and 2.7k 120fps).

Night Lapse Video

With Hero7 black you are able to record night timelapse photos and had to combine them for a video. With Hero8 black this new option allows you to create night timelapse videos within the camera. Unfortunately again an item that could have been implemented with Hero7, but is added exclusively for Hero8.

Custom Presets

Create custom presets or choose from: Standard, Activity, Cinematic and Slo-Mo. Basically you can create a custom pre-set for several scenarios: e.g. do an “action preset” with 4K 60fps, wide angle and a “vlog profile” with 4K 30fps, linear lens – when talking into the camera.

Photo

Also some minor changes in this section. Basically both models still offer 12 MP photo with .jpg and RAW option. It is stated that RAW is now available in all photo modes, still need to check where it was not available on Hero7. While Hero7 black offers HDR photo, Hero8 black is advertised with “improved HDR”. If you are doing time-lapses this change is interesting: Hero8 now offers longer intervals compared to Hero7: 2, 5, 30, 60 minutes. What a pity they didn’t update the firmware of Hero7.

Live Burst

In Live Burst GoPro Hero8 black is recording 1,5 sec before and after you press the button. It captures 90 “photos” and you can choose afterwards which one to pick. Basically the camera is recording a 3 sec 4K video clip, which you can either export as video, or choose a frame out of it. Therefore the photo has 4K resolution (= about 8.5MP) and not the 12MP resolution you achieve in photo mode; RAW is not available. The feature is similar to the “Live” photo feature on iPhones.

Conclusion

No doubt, GoPro Hero8 black is the best action cam GoPro ever built (or let’s say GoPro applied the best firmware to). If money is not an issue for you, go for GoPro Hero8 black.

Is it worth the update from Hero7 black?

I’m not sure, depends on your needs. Of course it is worth it if you need one of the new features. It’s worth it if you want the best image quality as the bitrate was increased. For vlogger Hero8 is interesting if you need an action camera as you can add the Extension Mods for your vlogs (Media Mod & Display). In general there is not that much news, mostly firmware updates that were exclusively done for Hero8 and could have be done for Hero7 as well.

Is it worth to upgrade from older GoPro models?

Hero5 and older: I’d say yes. Image stabilization (Hypersmooth) in 4K is awesome for steady videos in 4K resolution. Also 4K 60fps for Slow Motion in 4K and 1080p 240fps for ultra slow motion in 1080p – well worth the upgrade.

Hero6 black: Image Stabilization is a lot better, TimeWarp is great for motion time-lapses and Live Streaming can be interesting. If these features are not appealing to you, you can probably stick with your Hero6.

Alternatives or lower budget?

There is only one serious alternative in that price range and that is DJI Osmo Pocket. It has a similar price point compared to Hero7 black (349 USD) and some features GoPro does not offer: HDR video, an integrated live view front screen for vlogging and a bit larger battery.

If you don’t want to spend more than 100 USD for an action camera you won’t make a find with GoPro or DJI Brand. The lowest price for a new GoPro Hero5 black is . Btw. I think it is a better camera than GoPro Hero7 silver (continue reading below!).

At the price point of 100 USD I compared 3 action cameras with GoPro Hero5 black, you might want to check them out:

Price and Availability

Usually I find the best prices on Amazon. On the GoPro website Hero8 is 399 USD while Hero7 sells for 329 USD.









GoPro Hero 7

as for Hero7 black the prices on amazon are often lower than on the GoPro website (329 USD):









GoPro Hero7 silver

While GoPro Hero7 white was removed from the lineup, GoPro Hero7 silver is still listed on the GoPro website. But I have an interesting suggestion for you: Take a look at GoPro Hero5 black that is still sold!

Compared to Hero5 black, the Hero7 silver edition features a built-in battery! The lens can’t be removed, it doesn’t feature a HDMI port, mic-in via USB-C port is not available and you can’t select Protune settings. Hero7 silver only features 10 MP resolution photos and RAW photo is not available, while Hero5 black offers 12MP resolution and RAW photo!

GoPro Hero7 silver vs GoPro Hero5 black – main differences

GoPro Hero7 silver

4K with max. 30fps

1080p with max. 60fps

10 MP photo – jpg only

EIS up to 1080p 60fps

built-in battery

not Karma compatible

no external microphone

no HDMI port

no ProTune

no Front Display

2″ Touchscreen

GPS recording

Voice Control

GoPro Hero5 black

4K with max. 30fps

1080p with max. 120fps

12 MP photo – jpg & RAW

EIS up to 2.7K 60fps

removable battery

Karma compatible

external microphone possible

micro HDMI port

ProTune

Front Display

2″ Touchscreen

GPS recording

Voice Control



GoPro Hero7 silver









GoPro Hero5 black

Unfortunately it seems this great GoPro Hero5 black deal is only available on Amazon US:







