(Compare all GoPros)

HEROs 9 to 12 can do the Duration Capture and you can set it from 15 seconds up to 3 hours. To set a specific time you want to start a Duration Capture, set a Scheduled Capture so you don’t have to get out of bed for that sunrise!

You can also schedule a time to start a capture on a GoPro.

Set Duration Capture on the GoPro

1. Press and hold Preset Pill
2. Scroll down and tap duration
3. Set time you want on scroller
4. Press Mode Button to return to idle/main screen
5. When you start a recording, the Top Pill will show the duration

To turn off, follow the steps and set to No Limit.

The duration only shows on the main screen if there is a scheduled capture set.

Set Duration Capture in the Quik App

1. Pair camera
2. Tap Preset Pill
3. Scroll down and tap Duration
4. Pick Duration
5. 15, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5, 15, 30, 1 hour, 2, 3 hours or no limit
6. Tap back arrow
7. Tap X top left

To turn off, follow the steps and set the time to No Limit.

Tips

• For recording for longer than 1 battery (about an hour) the camera will need to be plugged in.
• Set Scheduled Capture to start recording automatically for the time you set in Duration Capture.

The post How to set a Timer on a GoPro shot first appeared on Pack & Trail.

(Compare all the GoPros)

You can also set a timer on the duration of the GoPro shots.

Set Scheduled Capture on the GoPro

You can set Scheduled Capture right on the camera without a phone.

1. Hold the Preset button and scroll to bottom
2. Click Scheduled Capture
3. Time will be gray if Scheduled Capture is off
4. Turn Scheduled Capture on
5. Select the time you want
6. Click back arrow
7. The blue pill at the top the main screen will show the set time for capture. Duration will show there if it is set.
8. Turn the GoPro off. It will turn on at the scheduled time.

Set Scheduled Capture on your phone

1. Open Quik app
2. Pair with camera
3. Tap Preset pill
4. Tap Pencil on a Preset
5. Scroll down tap Scheduled Capture
6. Set time by moving dial or select keyboard (first movement is hour, second is minute)

Scheduling tips

• You can only set a time in the next 24 hours with Scheduled Capture
• Duration Capture can be set as well so the recording will stop
• If Duration Capture isn’t set, the GoPro will just run until the battery dies (the recording will still save)
• Set Auto Power Off in the GoPro settings to not kill your battery after the Duration Capture is done

Got any cool shots with a Scheduled Capture? Share them in the comments!

Buy the latest GoPro

The post How to Schedule a Shot on a GoPro first appeared on Pack & Trail.

(Check out our GoPro 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Comparison)

Plugging in your GoPro isn’t easy if you’re out in the woods or on the ski hill so it’s nice have something that can store and charge GoPro batteries in your pack with you. 

GoPro’s don’t ship with any external charger or battery case. You have to plug the whole camera in. Thankfully there’s a whole industry dedicated to GoPro accessories. 

Artman have a sleek battery charger case that holds your batteries and can charge them at the same time. We tested one with Artman Enduro batteries that claim to have the same runtime as the GoPro version. Here’s the results.

Charging and Storage Case

The 3 battery case is a small black box about 5.5 x 6 x 6.5 cm. A lid on top is held down by a small magnet. Inside has three battery slots and three micro SD card slots. 

The magnet holds the lid shut but only just. With a good shake the lid can come open. The batteries are fairly snug on the charging pins but I’d prefer the magnet be a little stronger.

A 15 cm USB-A cable is wrapped around the bottom and permanently attached so you don’t have go looking for it every time. USB-A is the rectangle on almost all battery packs right now so it’s easy to find something compatible. The flat cable sits in a groove in the side of the case case and snaps snugly into a slot on the back. 

Under the USB-A cable is a USB-C port if you’d rather use that. The case does come with a C to A cable if you don’t have one already.

A small screen on the front of the charger shows the charging status of all 3 batteries with a small picture and percent number. Popping batteries into the charger is a quick way to see the state of charge when rooting through batteries.

Three SD card slots sit around the battery slots inside. Two of the SD card slots are only plastic, with no metal hardware inside. The third has a pressure clip to hold the card and seems to have metal in it but plugging the case in doesn’t show up as a reader on the computer. It would make it more expensive but it would be nice to an actual card reader when you are charging batteries off a computer.

Batteries

The case came with 3 batteries that fit the Hero 12, 11, 10 and 9. They claim to have the same 1800 mAh size and cold resistance as the GoPro Enduro battery. That is one of the reasons for this test.

(Check out our GoPro Hero 12 Review)

So far after more than 10 tests charging the batteries and then running them until they die on a GoPro 12 at 5.3k (8:7 aspect) we’ve got some pretty consistent results.

GoPro Enduro Average Usage Time: 76 min

Artman Enduro Battery Average Usage Time: 66 min

So while the GoPro batteries do get a little longer runtimes, the Artman batteries are close. Good enough for my purposes.

Charging

This case charges all the batteries at the same time, sending a bit of juice to each. This means they’ll all be ready at the same time. I prefer cases that charge the highest one to 100% and then moves on to the next. It gets you back filming faster. If you’re looking for one to get to 100% the fastest, you’ll have to charge one at a time.

I found the charge times exactly as advertised.

• 2.5 hours to charge 1 Enduro battery
• 3 hours for 2 batteries
• 3.5 for all 3 batteries

Price

One Enduro battery goes for about $35 (CAD) from GoPro. You can probably find them on sale here and there. They don’t sell an enclosed charging case.

The Artman 3 battery charger with 3 batteries came to $40. So for a little more than 1 OEM battery, you can get 3 and a charging case.

The original Artman 3 battery charger with 3 batteries came to $40 when I first found it but it doesn’t seem to be available any more.

There is the same thing in white for $54 when I looked at it last.

Or there is a similar 3 battery charger without the screen at $40 with no built-in USB cord.

Recommendation

Some things you can get cheap away with cheap knock-off brands and some you can’t. Compared to GoPros, cheap action cameras don’t work well, break faster and aren’t as waterproof. 

Batteries on the other hand, might not work quite as well the OEM GoPro batteries but they’re close and for a fraction of the cost, it’s pretty good value. 

The charger works well and has both USB-A and C. I like the built in cable so I don’t have to go looking for one. The lid could use a stronger magnet but mostly stays closed. It hasn’t come open in my backpack as things are usually packed around it. 

If you you need another charger and batteries for your GoPro, Artman is a good deal.

The post Artman 3-Battery Charger for GoPro 12 first appeared on Pack & Trail.

The GoPro HERO12 action camera has been out since September 2023 and I’m sure the 13 is on its way (probably September 2024). If you are buying a GoPro for the first time which one should you buy? If you have an 8 or 9 should you be upgrading to a 10, 11, or 12?

Price is always going to be a factor. Prices are falling and sales happen all the time, you can usually pick up a GoPro for a good price somewhere online.

In this post:

• Feature comparison of 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12
• GoPro Subscription: Should you get it?
• Best GoPro prices online
• Explanation of every GoPro feature
• Other GoPro cameras

GoPro HERO 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 Features Compared

Check out the bottom of the post for explanations of each of these features.

Feature	GoPro HERO12	GoPro HERO11	GoPro HERO10	GoPro HERO9	GoPro HERO8
Release Date	Sept 13, 2023	Sept 14, 2022	Sept 16, 2021	Sept 16, 2020	Oct 15, 2019
Processor	GP2	GP2	GP2	GP1	GP1
Sensor	1/1.9″ CMOS 8:7	1/1.9″ CMOS 8:7	1/2.3″ CMOS 4:3	1/2.3″ CMOS 4:3	1/2.3″ CMOS 4:3
Max Video Modes	5.3K60 4K120 2.7K240 1080p240	5.3K60 4K120 2.7K240 1080p240	5.3K60 4K120 2.7K240 1080p240	5K30 4K60 2.7K120 1080p240	4K60 2.7K120 1080p240
Slo-mo	2x at 5.3K 4x at 4K 8x at 2.7K 8x at 1080p	2x at 5.3K 3x at 4K 8x at 2.7K 8x at 1080p	2x at 5.3K 3x at 4K 8x at 2.7K 8x at 1080p	2x at 4K 4x at 2.7K 8x at 1080p	2x at 4K 4x at 2.7K 8x at 1080p
Back screen	2.27″ touchscreen	2.27″ touchscreen	2.27″ touchscreen	2.27″ touchscreen	1.95″ touchscreen
Front screen	1.4″ with live preview	1.4″ with live preview	1.4″ with live preview	1.4″ with live preview	black and white status
Waterproof	33ft	33ft	33ft	33ft	33ft
HyperSmooth	6.0 with AutoBoost	5.0 with AutoBoost	4.0	3.0	2.0
Horizon Lock	360° Rotation, up to 5.3K30, 4K60, and 2.7K120	360° Rotation, up to 5.3K30, 4K60, and 2.7K120	–	–	–
Horizon Levelling	Up to 27°, 5.3K60, 4K120, 2.7K240 and 1080/240	Up to 27°, 5.3K60, 4K120, 2.7K240 and 1080/240	27-45° All Resolution	27-45° All Resolution	In Quik app
Photo Size	27MP	27MP	23MP	20MP	12MP
Video Screen Grab Size	24.7MP	24.7MP	19.6MP	14.75MP
TimeWarp	3.0 Auto, 2x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 30x up to 5.3k	3.0 Auto, 2x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 30x up to 5.3k	3.0	3.0	2.0
Color Depth	10-bit	10-bit	8-bit	8-bit	8-bit
HindSight
Scheduled Capture
LiveBurst
Duration Capture
Webcam
Removeable Lens Cover
Livestream	1080p30 with HyperSmooth + 1080p60 recording	1080p30 with HyperSmooth 4.0 + 1080p60 recording	1080p with HyperSmooth	1080p	1080p
Wired Transfer					(android only)
Mods	Media Mod Max Lens Mod 2.0/1.0	Media Mod Max Lens Mod 1.0	Media Mod Max Lens Mod 1.0	Media Mod Max Lens Mod 1.0	Media Mod
Price (USD, Dec 2023, GoPro.com)	$349.99	$299.99	$249.99	$199.99	$149.99
Shop	GoPro Amazon	GoPro Amazon	GoPro Amazon	Amazon	Amazon
Review	Coming soon	Hero11 Review	Hero10 Review	Hero9 review	Hero8 Review

GoPro Subscription

The GoPro subscription changed a bit in 2023. Where there used to be one subscription that got you:

• Discount on your camera
• unlimited cloud backup and auto-uploads
• 50% off accessories from GoPro.com
• Up to 2 discounted camera replacements

Now there is a Premium and Premium+ tiers to the subscription:

Premium ($59.99 USD/year, half price for first year)

• Unlimited cloud storage
• 25gb storage for non-GoPro footage
• Synced mobile and desktop editing
• camera replacement
• 50% off accessories at GoPro.com
• $100 off 1 GoPro per year
• Auto upload
• Automatic Highlight videos
• Live Streaming

Premium+ ($129.99 USD/year)

• All Premium features
• 500gb cloud storage for non-GoPro footage
• HyperSmooth Pro stabilization

GoPro Features

GoPro’s have a lot of different features. Here’s what they all mean.

Processor

Cameras have a processor, or brain, just like in your computer and phone. They run process the images, control each function and run the touch screen.

The GP1 processor was getting a bit slow in the HERO 9 camera and was upgraded to the GP2 in the HERO 10. The performance difference is noticeable.

Video modes

Video modes are all the different resolutions and frame rates each camera has like 4K60 or 1080p240.

Resolution is the size of the picture and how many pixels you are recording. The standard aspect ratio (pixels across vs down) of 16:9 in a 5.3K video on a GoPro 10 is 5312 pixels across by 2988 pixels down. A lot of pixels!

Frame rate is how many frames are recorded each second. Movies on TV will be 24 frames per second or fps. If you film at a higher frame rate you can slow it down a bit so 60, 120, or 240 fps can be slowed down a bit for a slow motion effect.

Back screen

GoPro have a touch screen on the back where you control each of the functions and see what you are recording. They got a back screen back in the Hero 3 days with an optional, detachable touch screen. The 1.95″ screen on the GoPro 8 got upgraded in the 9 and 10 to 2.27″ as the camera body got bigger.

Front screen

Up until the Hero 8, GoPro’s had a small front screen that showed how many images or video you had taken. In the GoPro 9 it got upgrade to an actual video screen showing what a preview of the video.

WaterProof

GoPro got famous because they came with a waterproof housing. To mount it to anything the fully waterproof housing had to be on.

Starting with the GoPro 5, they whole camera was waterproof, no case needed. Hero 5 and 6 still needed a frame to mount it to anything and then the Hero 8 got built-in mounts.

No waterproof case is required for the 8, 9 and 10 to go down to 33 ft. Past 33 ft though they still require a thicker waterproof housing.

HyperSmooth

Most video is a jittery mess if you start moving. Even worse if you are mountain biking and constantly hitting bumps and rocks.

HyperSmooth is GoPro’s image stabilization technology. It automatically takes out the bumps and jitters resulting in smoother video.

Horizon Levelling

HyperSmooth takes out the bumps but sometimes the camera will rotate when you don’t want it to. Horizon Levelling automatically keeps the horizon in the shot level. This is only available in certain modes because it has to clip the corners of the video to do this.

This option can be disabled if you want the horizon to rotate with the camera.

Photo Size

GoPro’s can take still images too and they are getting better and better. Mirrorless or DSLR camera will still take better still images but GoPro are starting to be the only camera you need to take on adventures.

Hero 10 takes 23 megapixel photos.

SuperPhoto

SuperPhoto can be enabled for your photos and does a few things when it’s on auto:

1. High Dynamic Range (HDR)
2. Local Tone Mapping
3. Multi-Frame Noise Reduction
4. Or, no processing

These are each explained below. SuperPhoto can be disabled if you want.

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

Cameras still aren’t very good at capturing very bright and very dark in one image. What they can do is capture multiple images and put them together. Some are taken for the bright areas, some for the dark areas and they quickly merged for your final photo.

Local Tone Mapping

GoPros have adjusted your photos and videos in the camera globally, meaning they add contrast or increase saturation across the whole image. What they can now do is make these changes for one spot on the photo like just on your subject and not the sky behind. Different adjustments are made in photos than in video but both use local tone mapping with the Hero 10.

3D (Multi-Frame) Noise Reduction

GoPro’s, like all other cameras, increase the ISO (sensitivity) of the sensor when the light gets low. This introduces noise in the picture. It looks like a grain or static on the video.

Cameras and computers can run through each image of a video and smooth out pixels. They blend noisy pixels with the pixels around them and things look better. It can also make it look a lot less sharp.

With the faster GP2 processor, the GoPro 10 can look at multiple frames of an image and copy information from the others, reducing the noise without making the image look soft.

This applies to all the resolutions and frame-rates except for the highest so 4k30/24, 2.7K60, 1080p120 and below. The processing is just too much to do the highest resolutions and frame-rates.

Video Screen Grab Size

Through the GoPro Quik app there are 2 ways to get a photo. You can take a normal photo with the camera, or you can just save a frame (screen grab) from a video. With the videos becoming such high resolution, the photos from a video clip are getting better as well. Just remember that it will have whatever blur in the image from moving as the video clip did.

Time Lapse Photo

Time Lapse Photo makes a time-lapse series of photos. You can pick your interval you’d like the photos to be taken at. Each of the photos are saved separately on the camera letting you do something with them after.

Time Lapse Video

Time Lapse Video is the same as Time Lapse Photos, except the camera puts them into a video file for you. If that’s what you are going to do, then it’ll save you time.

Night Lapse Photo

Night Lapse Photos are just like a Time Lapse Photo except with a longer exposure time. This lets more light into the camera when it’s dark at night. On the photo mode it will save a bunch of photos to the card

Night Lapse Video

Just like a Night Lapse Photo but saves a video instead of a series of photos.

TimeWarp

TimeWarp is a time lapse video with the HyperSmooth stabilization turned on. It can be used for walking around a city, driving a pretty road, or running down a trail. There are different speeds that can be used. Higher speeds are better for recording bumpier activities.

HindSight

HindSight captures 15 or 30 seconds of video before you press the shutter button. This gets added to whatever you record after the shutter is pressed. It’s handy if getting the timing on a shot is hard. Because the camera is recording the whole time just like a car dashcam, it uses up the battery faster.

Scheduled Capture

The GoPro can start recording at a specified time in the next 24 hours. You can record time lapse or video and the camera will turn on by itself. Great for sunrise time lapse shots when you don’t want to get out of bed!

This feature can be used with Duration Capture.

Duration Capture

Duration Capture will let the GoPro shoot a time lapse or video for a set amount of time. Set the amount of time to capture for and let the camera go.

This can be used with Scheduled Capture as well to capture at a set time and then run for the set duration.

LiveBurst

LiveBurst records a burst of photos and then saves them to a video file. It’s always recording so it records 1.5 seconds of photos before and after you press the shutter button. With the Quik app you can view and share the whole video or save one photo from it.

Color Profile

In older GoPro’s they were set by default to a GoPro colour setting which had very saturated colours. In the 9 they defaulted to that punchy GoPro colour setting but also had a Flat colour setting which left every desaturated but much easier for colour grading afterwards.

In the 10 they’ve extended the GoPros even further. Vibrant is still the punch, saturated GoPro colours from the old cameras. Flat is the desaturated colours great for grading after. Natural is in between the 2 others and makes for a great everyday filming profile.

Webcam

GoPros can now be used as webcams. Theres a small program to download from the GoPro website. The Webcam app can be used with GoPro 8, 9 and 10.

Removable Lens Cover

GoPro 9 and 10 both have removeable lens covers. To replace a scratched lens cover or add a Max Lens Mod, you can unscrew the lens cover and screw on the new one. Careful with the versions as the Max Lens Mod 2.0 is only compatible with HERO12.

Livestream

Through the smartphone app, GoPro 7 and up can livestream directly to Facebook, Youtube, Vimeo and others. GoPro 10 adds the ability to add HyperSmooth to the livestream as well. Livestream your next the big mountain bike descent?

Wired transfer

With a recent firmware update, GoPro 5 and up can connect to your phone with a cable and transfer your photos and videos much faster. GoPro 5, 6, 7 and 8 are Android only at the moment. 9 and 10 support iPhone but the cable has to be Apple’s lightning to USB-C cable for some reason.

How to set up the wired transfer.

Battery Life

Battery life is how long the GoPro batteries last on each camera. This can vary wildly depending on what you’re doing. Recording at 4K60 is going to drain your batteries much faster than taking a still image once in a while. On average GoPro batteries last about 30 to 60 minutes. We highly recommend taking extras!

The GoPro 9 and 10 batteries got larger going from 1220 mAh to 1720 mAh. Running the front screen takes more juice so the battery life doesn’t usually get longer. A new Enduro battery from GoPro last longer than the standard batteries and does better in the cold.

Other GoPro Cameras

GoPro also have some other cameras out aside from the Hero line.

Max

The GoPro Max is their 360 degree camera. It can take 360 video and you can choose what shots you want afterwards.

Not in this chart. That camera is here.

Hero10 Black Bones

The new Bones camera is a Hero10 stripped down to just a lens and processor for use on FPV drones. It’s smaller and lighter than a normal GoPro, not having a battery or any screens. It requires power from the drone to work.

GoPro Hero11

Cleary not a feature of one of the GoPros, the GoPro Hero11 is expected to be released September 2022. We’re excited to see what features GoPro will pack into the latest camera.

Which is your favourite GoPro?

Do you have a GoPro? Do you like it? Which one is your favourite?

I’ve had an original Hero Wide, 3+, 5 and more recently the 8, 9 and 10. The 10 is clearly the best you can get and has every feature we could imagine.

For the right price anything from the 5 up are amazing cameras that can do so many things.

The post GoPro Hero 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 Compared: Which is Best? first appeared on Pack & Trail.

And this year, again, they continue to push the boundaries of tiny, tough cameras with the Hero11.

We got our dirty mitts on the brand new camera so today we’ll have a look at the latest camera in the series, the GoPro Hero11 Black.

More test footage and photos will be coming soon. We just got a big dump of snow here so it take us a bit to dig out!

Enjoy.

Hero11 Features

The Hero11 is packed with features. Many are similar to the Hero10 from last year but there are still some meaningful changes. And there’s one big one that makes it all worth it.

See the Hero10 vs Hero11 section below to compare it with the last version.

The Hero11 features:

• 8:7 sensor
• Video Modes: 5.3K60, 4K120, 2.7K240, 1080p240
• Slow-mo: 2x at 5.3K, 3x at 4K, 8x at 2.7K, 8x at 1080p
• 2.27″ touch back screen, 1.14″ front screen
• HyperSmooth 5.0 with AutoBoost
• TimeWarp 4.0
• 27MP photos
• 24.7MP frame grabs
• Waterproof to 33 feet
• 10-bit color
• 153 grams
• $399.99 USD ($517 CAD)

Ok, that’s a nice big list. Let’s look at what they all mean and, most importantly, if they work well.

New 8:7 Sensor

The Hero11 has a new 8:7 sensor.

What’s a sensor?

Inside the GoPro is a computer chip called the sensor. It’s what ‘takes’ the photo and converts it into a file we can see. These are always different shapes and sizes for each camera.

GoPro sensors have long been a 4:3 aspect ratio that you see in the image below. This is about the shape of an old TV. This works great when you’re making a horizontal video for a TV or widescreen. It doesn’t work so good when you want the awful vertical video for phones these days. I know, we all have to make them for phones.

With the new 8:7 sensor, you can still crop images and video down to shorter (but still wide) 4:3 and 16:9 aspects. But with the taller 8:7, you can still get a full size 9:16 vertical image or video at the same time without sacrificing any quality.

Another benefit to the taller sensor is being able to see a wider view higher and lower when it’s mounted. This is great for chest mounts when mountain biking or views where you need to see up more.

The new sensor also enables an even wider digital lens called HyperView. HyperView can see an insane amount in one show, albeit with a lot of distortion around the edges because it’s so wide.

8:7 is the only option in these modes:

• Photo
• Burst
• Night Photo
• Time Lapse Photo
• Night Lapse Photo

8:7 is one option in video with these resolutions and frame rates:

• 5.3K/30/24
• 4K/60

HyperSmooth 5.0 with AutoBoost And Horizon Lock

Ok, what?

This is all the stuff for stabilization, or in other words, keeping the footage steady while you fly along the trail. Having a camera strapped to your helmet is fun but when the final footage is bouncing all over the place, it’s hard to use it for anything.

HyperSmooth 5 is the stabilizer on the Hero11. The stabilization from GoPro over the last 3 years has been insane. Running and jumping down a rough trail with the GoPro in my hand still looks nice and smooth on the computer after.

AutoBoost

AutoBoost is new in the Hero11. It automatically adds more or less stabilization as you go. If the camera detects a lot of bumps, it will zoom in a bit and increase the stabilization. When things get smoother, it zooms out to get more pixels in the frame.

Horizon Lock

Horizon levelling has been in the GoPro series for a few years. The camera automatically keeps the horizon level for you as you flail around with the camera.

The Hero8 couldn’t do it in camera but the Quik app could add it for you.

The 9 and 10 handle the levelling for you and keep things level up to 45 degrees. Some of the aspect ratios can only do up to 23 or 27 degrees. Once you go past the limit, it just rotates like a normal camera.

A separate Max Lens Mod is available for the 9 and 10 which enables full 360 horizon leveling but it’s another thing to buy.

Now the Hero11 has it all built in. No apps or extra lens mods to buy. The 11 can track the horizon through a full 360 rotation no matter how far you go as long as you’re on a linear video mode.

27 megapixel photos

GoPros have always been able to take photos and, while not amazing, they are getting better and better.

Like a point and shoot, the controls and zoom are basic.

You can enable SuperPhoto, HDR, standard, or RAW modes for photos with a Linear or Wide lens. Standard is straight out of camera. HDR takes a couple frames and uses the best exposed parts of each and SuperPhoto will choose between a few modes automatically trying to get the best highlights and shadows through the whole image.

RAW (.gpr) files are an option now so if you’re into editing your photos, you aren’t stuck with just jpeg.

Frame grabs

With the Quik app we can just take frame grabs from any video. Frame grabs are just saving a single frame from the video as a photo.

If you’re already taking a video of something, pause on the composition you want for a second and you can grab that frame later.

The frame grabs can be up to 24.69 megapixels from the 5.3k video. The 8:7 aspect generates the the largest photo. The other aspect ratios have fewer pixels.

• 24.69MP from (8:7) 5.3K Video
• 21.16MP from (4:3) 5.3K Video
• 15.87MP from (16:9) 5.3K Video

Zoom

The Hero11 can zoom up to 2x digitally but there is no physical zoom on it. This has always been the case with GoPros. Switching from the wide to linear lens will make it appear zoomed in a little bit more.

Easy and Pro Controls

The Hero11 now comes with Easy and Pro controls. It’s set to Easy when it first comes out of the box.

With Easy mode, you just pick whether you want highest quality or best battery life and then GoPro will pick the other settings for you. With a couple sliders, you can still pick what slo mo and digital lens you want but that’s it.

Pro controls are just the regular GoPro buttons like the 9 and 10 have. To switch to these, swipe down, left and tap Controls.

Enduro Battery

GoPro came out with a new battery for the Hero10 and now its included with the 11 out of the box. GoPro says it lasts 38% long and it’s better in the cold.

It’s the same mAh (1720) and physical size as the standard 9, 10 and 11 battery so I’m not sure how GoPro work this magic.

From our testing outside and in, the Enduro battery seems to get about 10 to 20 minutes more battery life depending on the temperature and the mode you are in. The greatest differences are with the higher, more demanding video modes. The Enduro works better in the cold.

2 Screens

The 2 screens from the Hero10 are back.

I love the new front screen and more responsive back screen. The screens still aren’t iPhone-level responsive but it’s far better compared to the 9, which was a bit slow.

There are 4 modes for the front screen: Off, Status (the number of shots you’ve taken, like the old GoPros), Actual Screen and Full Screen.

Actual Screen crops in and shows you exactly what you’re filming the correct aspect ratio. Full screen zooms in and fills the centre of the screen. I usually have it on Full screen so I can see a bit more but that means it cuts off the side a bit.

GoPro Subscription

The GoPro subscription comes with a bunch of stuff but more importantly it’s a big discount on the new camera if you get it from GoPro.com.

• Discount on the camera
• Unlimited cloud backup and auto-uploads
• Discount on GoPro.com for accessories
• Broken camera replacements
• Premium Quik app features

With the subscription you save pay $50 USD for the subscription and then save $200 off the camera. So you’re coming out in the end saving $150 on a new camera. It renews automatically for $50 a year.

Quik App

GoPro has an app that let’s you manage your media and edit quick (Quik?) videos.

With Quik you can:

• Use your phone as remote
• Import footage wired or wirelessly
• Automatically highlight videos
• Edit videos (subscription required to change slo-mo speed)
• Upload your footage to GoPro cloud (subscription required)

You can also just subscribe to all the features of Quik with the unlimited cloud backup for $12.99/year.

Quik Free version gets you:

• Limited Mural events
• Limited Quikstories
• Editing tools (duration, framing, exposure, contrast, vibrance, highlights, and more)
• 22 photo and video filters
• 11 themes
• A limited number of royalty-free music tracks
• Adding your own music

Quik Subscription version gets you:

• Everything included in free
• Unlimited Mural events
• Unlimited editing
• 25 additional photo and video filters
• Four additional themes: Urban, Memory, Travel, Glitch
• Speed adjustment tool
• 200+ original tracks — background music tracks
• 90+ premium, royalty-free tracks, added on a regular basis
• Improved Live Streaming
• Auto Upload
• Automatic Highlight features
• Unlimited cloud backup

Night Modes

GoPro already had night photography modes but they’ve added a couple more to make it even easier. These are the equivalent of long exposures on a DSLR or mirrorless camera.

The 3 modes are: light painting, car trails and star trails. Each hold the shutter open for longer to let in more light. These modes need a bit more practice to see how long you have to let the light in but they’re super cool when it works.

Verdict

So is the GoPro Hero11 Black any good?

Absolutely. It is the best action camera or small video camera we’ve tested. It doesn’t do 360 but it does just about everything else.

If you are wanting to do mostly video with some wide photos, then the Hero11 is all you need. The video and stabilization is ridiculously good. You don’t need any sort of gimble or software to do it on the computer after. The 5.3k is nice and crisp and more than enough to crop down to 4k for YouTube or other places you’re filming for.

You might not need the 11 if you already have a 10 or a 9 and are happy with it but if you are just getting a new one or want to upgrade the 11 is absolutely recommended from us.

GoPro Hero11 vs the Hero10

Check out the bottom of the post for explanations of each of these features.

See a full comparison of every spec from the Hero8, 9, 10 and 11

Feature	GoPro Hero11	GoPro Hero10
Release Date	Sept 14, 2022	Sept 16, 2021
Processor	GP2	GP2
Video Modes	5.3K60 4K120 2.7K240 1080p240	5.3K60 4K120 2.7K240 1080p240
Slo-mo	2x at 5.3K 3x at 4K 8x at 2.7K 8x at 1080p	2x at 5.3K 3x at 4K 8x at 2.7K 8x at 1080p
Back screen	2.27″ touchscreen	2.27″ touchscreen
Front screen	1.4″ with live preview	1.4″ with live preview
Waterproof	33ft	33ft
HyperSmooth	5.0 with AutoBoost	4.0
Horizon Levelling	360° Horizon Lock	up to 45 degrees in camera
Photo Size	27MP	23MP
Video Screen Grab Size	24.7MP	19.6MP
TimeWarp	4.0	3.0
Color Depth	10-bit	8-bit
HindSight
Scheduled Capture
LiveBurst
Duration Capture
Webcam
Removeable Lens Cover
Livestream	1080p60 with HyperSmooth 4.0	1080p with HyperSmooth
Wired Transfer
Mods	Media Mod Max Lens Mod	Media Mod Max Lens Mod
Price with Subscription (USD, Nov 2022, GoPro.com)	$399.99	$349.99
Price without Subscription (USD, Nov 2022, GoPro.com)	$549.99	$499.99
Shop	Amazon	Amazon
Review	This post!	Hero10 Review

GoPro Hero11 Black FAQ

Does the Hero11 have 2 screens?

Yes, just like the 9 and the 10, the Hero11 has a large touch back screen a small full-color front display.

Does the battery from the 10 fit the 11?

Yes. The Enduro and standard batteries fit the 9, 10 and 11.

Do the mounts from the 10 fit the 11?

Yes. The 9, 10 and 11 are all the same size cameras.

Do the Media Mods from the 10 fit the 11?

Yes. The 9, 10 and 11 are all the same size with the same plugs.

What is the Hero11 Black Mini?

The Hero11 Black Mini is a Hero11 Black with no screens. It’s 20 grams lighter since it doesn’t. have any screen. It’s also $50 cheaper. With no screens it’s going to be tougher to throw around. There are only video modes with the mini.

What is a frame grab?

Instead of stopping to take a photo, you can just take a frame out of the video you’ve already shot.

Is the lens cover water repellent?

Yes with a chemical coating. Don’t lick it. It is removable as well.

What does 10-bit color mean?

The Hero11 has 10-bit color, or 1 billion colors, to make it more flexible with editing.

Is the Hero11 good for photos?

Yes, the SuperPhoto mode makes great photos. It can’t zoom much though so you have to be close to your subject.

The post GoPro Hero11 Black Camera Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Well, yes. They have so far. The GoPro Hero10 is proof.

The Hero9 came out in 2020 and is still one hell of an action camera. With up to 5k resolution and Hypersmooth 3.0 stabilization that was better than anything on the market, the Hero9 great a touch in size but packed a ridiculous amount of tech into a tiny package. Click here to see a comparison of the Hero10 with the 9 and the 8.

GoPro Hero10 takes that larger camera size and doubles all the frame rates. We got from 5k30 in the Hero9 and now 5.3k60 in the Hero10. Not bad for a camera the same size.

With a possible 11th version on the horizon, is the Hero10 a good camera? Is it worth it? What about this new GoPro subscription?

GoPro Hero10 Specs

First, the main specs:

• GP2 processor
• Up to 5.3K60, 4K120, 2.7K240 video (8x slow-mo)
• 2.27″ back screen and 1.4″ front screen
• 23 megapixel photo or 19.6 megapixel video frame grabs
• Hypersmooth 4.0
• Waterproof to 33ft
• TimeWarp 3.0
• Better lowlight
• Cloud upload (with subscription)
• Hindsight
• Scheduled Capture
• LiveBurst
• Duration Capture
• Compatible with GoPro Quik App
• Use as a webcam

GoPro Hero10 vs the Hero9

The biggest competitor to the Hero10 is the slightly older Hero9. It had some very worthwhile upgrades this year.

(Almost) Same screens

The back and front screens have returned on the 10. The back screen is the beautiful 2.27″ touch screen with better touch controls. The front screen hasn’t changed size either, still 1.4″, but it did get an upgrade. The refresh rate is higher so that means you get a smoother video on the front. These improvements are likely from the new processor.

Faster GP2 processor

The Hero9 made it as far as it could go with with the GP1 processor, the brain of the camera. With the 2 large screens on the Hero9, it was clearly pushing the limits of what that processor could handle. The 4k30 mode was impressive, but the controls were a touch slow and the front screen was a bit choppy, not being able to refresh as fast as the back screen.

The new GP2 processor can handle all that with ease. Everything is just faster and better on the 10 because of the new processor. While the controls aren’t quite as quick as a phone touch screen, they are considerably better than on the 9.

Resolutions and Frame rates

That faster processor is powering higher frame rates too. 5k30 in the Hero9 went up to 5.3k60. 4k60 went up to 4k120. 2.7k120 went up to 2.7k240. The only one that didn’t get bumped up was 1080p240. Apparently there is some big technical limitation to going to 480 frames per second.

Slo-mo gets even better with all those frame rate bumps. 4x slow-mo at 4k is pretty sweet. 8x slo-mo at 2.7k isn’t too shabby either!

Better Hypersmooth and Timewarp

Hypersmooth 3.0 was already the best action camera stabilization out there and it gets bumped up to 4.0. Horizon levelling gets better with this all the way up to 45 degrees on most of the video modes. Timewarp (moving video timelapses) also bumps up from 3.0 to 4.0.

Better low-light performance

The small sensors in action cameras typically mean poor low-light performance. GoPro’s are not known for their low-light performance. With the new processor, they are squeezing everything they can out of the software to try and make that image look as good as possible.

Without getting too nerdy, the Hero10 automatically checks each frame before and after in a video to see what the pixels should look like, and replaces noisy pixels it finds. Older versions just mushed the noisy (static) pixels together with others, blurring the image slightly.

GoPro Subscription

Another new item from GoPro this year is the GoPro Subscription. It’s not specific to the Hero10. You can get it on the 8, 9 or 10 if you buy them from GoPro.

The subscription gives you a big discount on the camera when you buy from GoPro.com so it’s basically no-brainer. They give you a $250 discount on a Hero10. Then the subscription costs $50, so you’re still saving $200 on a new Hero10.

While you’re subscribed, you get free unlimited cloud storage for all your video footage, discounts from accessories from GoPro.com, extra Quik app features and very cheap camera replacements if you bust yours (you have to send the broken one back). You can cancel after a year if you don’t want to continue.

The discounts on the Hero9 and the 8 aren’t as big but it still saves you some money. It would be silly not to.

Other Features

Most of the features are still on the Hero10 from the 9. These are my favourites.

Scheduled Capture

With Scheduled Capture, you can set a time for the camera to start taking video or timelapse. It will turn on at that time and start recording. You can stop it manually, let the battery run out or use Duration Capture to set the amount of time you want to record.

Capturing early sunrises works well with Scheduled Capture.

Duration Capture

Duration Capture lets you set the total time you’d like to record for. You can start the camera manually and let it record or you can use Scheduled Capture to trigger at the time you want.

Hindsight

Hindsight is great to use when it’s hard to see exactly when you want to record. The camera stays on recording a rolling 30 seconds. When you press the shutter to actually start recording, it keeps the 30 seconds before and then records until you hit the shutter.

This will use your battery faster since you’re recording constantly, just not saving it.

LiveBurst

LiveBurst takes a burst of 1.5 seconds before you press the shutter and 1.5 seconds after. It sticks it into a 3 second video at 30 frames per second. You can share the short video or just grab a photo from the video in the Quik app.

Webcam

With the Mac and Windows apps you can make GoPro into a webcam. If you don’t have a webcam yet or just want to mount a webcam in cool places, GoPro can do it now when it’s plugged into the computer.

Hydrophobic coating on lens

In the past, we had to lick the lens cover if it was going to get wet or go in and out of water. Now the lens cover has a hydrophobic coating that water beads off.

Don’t lick the 10 now since that will take the coating off. You probably don’t want to eat whatever chemical they’ve used!

Conclusion

The GoPro Hero10 is easily the best action camera you can get right now. It does cost more than any of the knock-offs but it’s worth it. The stabilization is unreal and how clear the footage straight out of camera still surprises me.

If you want a new one, get it from GoPro.com and you get a big discount with the subscription. If you’re looking for something used, you won’t get the discount but you’ll probably find some good deals. The Hero7 and 8 are still solid cameras, though lack the front screen on the 9 and 10.

The bump in speed and higher frame-rates across the board thanks to the GP2 processor is a huge improvement. The speed on the controls could still be a bit quicker but much improved from the 9 and I can use them no problem now.

If you need an action camera, the Hero10 is clearly the one to get right now.

The only question is: What are they going to pack into the Hero11 when it arrives?

The post GoPro Hero10 Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.

GoPro Hero 9 with GoalZero Sherpa 100AC battery

The first GoPro came out in 2006 (well 2005 if you count the 35mm film version) and has defined the action camera market since. Aside from DJI releasing a front screen first in 2019, GoPro has lead the pack the entire way.

I’ve had a number of GoPro’s along the way, starting with one of the old Wide’s, 3+, Hero 8 and now Hero 9. I see a lot of technology in my work and travels but it still blows my mind to see the clunky Wide with it’s waterproof cover filming in 640×480 transform into the Hero 9 we get today.

Not only being one of the best action cameras, the GoPro is really turning into one of the best small cameras for backpacking too. While you can’t zoom in much with it, it can do almost anything else.

What are all the features? What’s it like to use? Should you upgrade from your 8 to the 9? Let’s dig into it.

Hero 9 Specs

• Video modes
  • 5k 30/24
  • 4k 60/30/24
  • 2.7k 120/60
  • 1080p 240/120/60/30/24
• Waterproof to 33 feet
• Hypersmooth 3.0 with horizon leveling
• 30% Larger battery
• Larger back screen
• Removable lens cap
• Front screen
• $529.99 CAD ($399.99 USD)

5k Video

5k video is, you guessed it, just a big high resolution than 4k. These numbers really just refer to the video resolution being around 5000 and 4000 pixels across. 1080p video is actually 1920 pixels across so you could basically call it 2k.

When filming for small videos just for phones 720 or 1080 is plenty to get a good image but if you want to go bigger or want to zoom in on your video clips then you’ll need more pixels to do that. Filming at 2.7k or 4k will let you zoom in and still have a good picture for a 1080p video. But what if you wanted to make a 4k video and be able to zoom in a bit sometimes?

If you filmed those clips at 4k then you’d be out of luck. But if you filmed them at 5k, like the Hero 9 has, then you’ll have some extra space to pan left and right or zoom on with your shots when you edit them.

5k video is big enough that if you like a still image from the video you took you can still pull 14 megapixel photos from your video.

The Hero 9’s sensor was upgraded from 12 megapixels to 24 megapixels which helps enable some of these new options.

Size

Compared to the Hero 8, the 9 has gotten a big bigger. It’s slightly thicker, slightly taller, and slightly heavier. To accommodate the 2 screens and larger battery, the whole thing had to get a little bigger. GoPro says the 40% larger battery leads to a 30% boost longer battery life

Because it’s got exactly the same mount on the bottom as the 8 and all the other GoPro mounts it’s still compatible with all the mounts you already own. If you have a frame that fit on older GoPros, it will be too small for the 9.

The battery has a larger capacity at 1,720mAh, slightly larger than the 1,220mAh in the 8. But what we know from our phones is that increased battery size doesn’t always lead to longer battery life. The Hero 9 has a bigger back screen, more powerful front screen and is doing more inside with some of the settings so does it actually lead to better battery life?

Depends on your settings.

On the most basic settings on both cameras, 1080p 24fps in linear mode with the front screen off on the 9 and both screens sleeping after 1 minute, my Hero 8 gets 2 hours record time. It’s just sitting on the desk recording 1 long clip with the screen off most of the time. The Hero 9 recorded 2:20 minutes in the same situation.

2 Screens

Probably the biggest update on the Hero 9 is the front screen.

GoPros have had front screens for the settings and menus for a long time but this is the first version to have a full color screen that shows what the camera is filming seeing. This is great for quickly seeing your settings and what you have framed in the shot. It’s easy to see when you’re cutting your head off or you’re heading out the side of the shot.

The front screen is 1.4 inches across and, while not massive, is plenty to see what you’ve got in the frame. It isn’t touch so it’s just used to see settings and the framing of your shot. It sucks to be vlogging or ripping through a nice section of single track only to realize that your head is cut off or the camera has shifted a bit and the framing is off.

The front screen can be turned off if you want to conserve battery life. Or it can show a basic settings screen, a centered view of what’s being filmed or a widescreen view with black bars at the top and bottom.

The 2.27-inch back screen is slightly bigger than the 1.95-inch display on the Hero 8. It’s still got the large bezels compared to the DJI Osmo Action but a bigger screen is always welcome. The menus on the 8 and 9 are easy to navigate and figure out where you are. It doesn’t take long to learn the menus and which swipe gets you where.

The responsiveness of the touch is good, just like the 8 but there’s still a slightly delay in it. With products like flagship phones and tablets these days, there’s no thinking about how hard to press or where to swipe, you just do it. I find there’s still a bit of playing with the GoPros to figure out how hard to push and where to start swiping.

Hypersmooth 3.0 with Horizon Leveling

One of the most amazing things about the Hero 8 was Hypersmooth 2.0. It was so close to gimbal level stabilization, leagues above anything else I’ve ever used. The stabilization on the 8 was similar to the DJI Osmo Action, though on the Action it required a bit more crop, or cutting off the edges of your shot.

The stabilization on the Hero 9 is better still, the best in anything I’ve tested. There are 2 things at play here. Hypersmooth 3.0 smoothes out the jitters, the bumps and keeps things nice and centred. In the Hero 8 it would smooth things out but if you were on an angle, the footage was on an angle.

Enter horizon leveling in the Hero 9.

Horizon levelling figures out what is level and automatically shifts your video so when you wobble holding the camera, the footage looks like its steady. You can wave the camera nearly 45 degrees to either side and it will look exactly like the the camera was being held steady. This for all those times skiing, surfing or running when you can’t keep the camera perfectly level filming (like every single time).

One of the craziest parts of horizon levelling and the Hypersmooth stabilization is that it’s done in the camera real time. There’s a slightly delay showing the finished product to the front screen but it’s ridiculously fast. Most other cameras in the past have had to export to powerful programs on desktop computers to stabilize the footage. Now just turn it on and go.

Scheduled Capture and Duration Capture

Scheduled Capture lets you set a time to start recording video or timelapse and it will start automatically. If you want to capture a sunrise but don’t want to haul yourself out of bed, set up the GoPro the night before for the time you want and hit the sack.

Even better to set it up with Duration Capture which lets you record for a specific amount of time. You don’t have to use them together but they are great when paired together. Maybe you only want 20 minutes of the sunrise from 6am. Set it to start at 6am for 20 minutes. Then you can wake up and have a nice cup of coffee before checking the camera that already did a timelapse of the sunrise for you.

20MP photos with Superphoto

The upgraded camera sensor can now pump out 20 megapixel photos with a few different photos modes. GoPros used to really only be an option for video but now they can actually be used for everything.

One of the photo modes, SuperPhoto will select the best options for your photo between HDR, local tone mapping, noise reduction or nothing. HDR is useful when there’s really bright parts to the photo and others that are really dark. The camera will the automatically take multiple images and combine them to light the darks and lower the highlights with the goal of a nicely exposed photo.

Local tone mapping tries to detect where parts of the photo would need more detail and increase that. Noise reduction is useful in low light. ISO will increase drastically in low light to make the shot bright enough but raising the ISO (camera does this automatically) will increase the noise too. Go too far with the ISO and the photo will become a noisy mess. The noise reduction will detect this and reduce it.

HindSight and LiveBurst

One of the problems with recording video with an action cam or with any camera really, is just recording too much. Anyone who own’s a GoPro can attest to the fact that the majority of the footage they capture is just lead up to the key moment. That wave, air or bail is what you want. The minutes or hours of footage leading up to that just gets deleted.

A new feature with the GoPro 9 is called HindSight and it can see into the past.

HindSight operates just like dashcam in a car and is always recording. But it’s always deleting most of the footage too. It never keeps any of it. Until you press the shutter button. After something happens you want to keep, you press the shutter to ‘start’ recording. It automatically keeps 15 or 30 seconds of the rolling recording before you pressed the shutter button.

If nothing happens then it doesn’t keep anything but if that banger moment fires then you hit the shutter and you’ve got 30 seconds before it too. In the settings you can set it to keep 15 or 30 seconds before. Depending on what you’re doing you’ll want more or less leadup to the moment you want to keep.

LiveBurst is the same kind of idea but for photos. It records, dash-cam style, until you press the shutter button, keeping 1.5 seconds before and after or 90 shots. You can scroll through the shots to see which one is the keeper or just use it all as a 3-second 4k video clip.

Time-lapse with TimeWarp 3.0

Time-lapse isn’t new with GoPro. They do them well. What has been updated is GoPro’s TimeWarp feature.

TimeWarp is essentially a stabilized moving time-lapse or hyperlapse. You can be hiking or walking along a street and taking a time-lapse. If you wanted to stop the time-lapse take a quick video and then get back to the time-lapse, that used to be a problem. Now it’s easy.

TimeWarp now has a realtime feature that lets you pause the time-lapse, do a quick video clip with audio, and then resume the hyperlapse. This is the kind of thing that shows GoPro is really listening to how people use their features and are willing to update with fixes that really address the problems.

Mods

Starting with the Hero 8, GoPro started producing attachments called Mods. With the 8 there was a frame that let you easily attach a microphone, light and flip up display. With the 9, they’ve kept those mods (though the flip up display isn’t much use with the front screen) and added a Max Lens Mod.

Unscrewing the lens cover and adding on the Max Lens gives you an ultra-side 155 degree field of view and crazy 360 degree horizon levelling. You can spin the camera 360 degrees and it will keep the horizon level.

The Media Mod with the microphone is the same style as the one for the Hero 8 but is slightly bigger to accommodate the 9’s larger size.

Packaging

Obviously packaging has little to do with the performance of this camera but it certainly has an impact on the planet. In years past GoPro’s have always come in a hard plastic case that was pretty to look at but was hard to open and harder to recycle.

Now the whole thing is packaged in a hard travel case with a zipper that makes is a perfect size for hiking or travelling with the GoPro. I wish it came with some sort of soft dividers inside the case like a camera bag so you could partition off areas for the camera and accessories but it’s just a big open case. Without being wrapped up the camera and mounts just bounce around inside. Regardless, it’s much better than the previous packaging.

Around the zippered case, is a small piece of cardboard with the label and product information. Easily opened. Easily recycled. Definitely a good change GoPro.

What size microSD card do you need?

How much video you get on your microSD depends on what what size video you’ll be recording. With a 32gb card you’ll get about 1:20 of footage at 1080p and 1 hour of 4k. With the batteries lasting over 2 hours, you’ll need 2 cards to use a whole battery. 32gb is usable but I’d recommend at least 64gb.

With a 64gb card you’ll get about 2 hours 40 minutes at 1080p and 2 hours at 4k. With the battery lasting just over 2 hours, you’re going to run out of battery juice before you run out of card space.

This is all dependent on your settings and what you do with the camera as you record. Things like stabilization, horizon levelling and lighting up the screens use up battery power. If you have multiple batteries and cards, then you can record for days. Just don’t format the full ones.

Competitors

GoPro is in a league of its own when it comes to performance. There are certainly many cheaper alternatives that offer less performance and fewer features but are they worth it?

DJI released their Osmo Action in 2019 and it’s a solid camera. When stacked up against the Hero 8 it was a great alternative. I had good stabilization and the front screen. Now that the Hero 9 is out, the Osmo Action needs a bit of an update. Hopefully DJI will release another version and keep the competition going.

Akaso also has been quietly releasing it’s own action cameras. The Brave 7 LE now has a front camera and is a solid little camera for less than half what a GoPro costs. It’s not got the same features as even a Hero 8 but for the price it’s a great little camera.

Conclusion

Should you get a GoPro 9?

If you don’t have a GoPro yet, then the 9 is certainly an amazing camera to start with. The Hero 8 is a great option at this point with nearly all the same features as the 9. It won’t have the same stabilization or horizon levelling and the lens cap doesn’t come off.

With the Hero 9 only $50 more on their website and some other vendors that would be the way to go for me. The larger battery, removable lens cap and improved stabilization it’s the best action camera you can buy today.

See the GoPro Hero 9 on GoPro.com

More photos

The post GoPro Hero 9 Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.

You’ll probably just toss it in your backpack and be carrying around dead weight. You might be annoyed that you can’t Instagram your adventure to make your friends jealous. You might be freaking out because your GPS or phone just died and that was the only way you know how to get home (please also carry a compass). None of these are the situations we want to be in.

With all the devices we have these days, we’ll need to charge one of them where there’s no power. Batteries are great but you have to charge them at home and carry them around.

So what’s the best way to do it?

SunJack 14W Solar Panel charging a GPS and GoPro

Another option is to carry a small solar panel. You can charge your phone or GPS right from the panel when you’re hiking or stopped to have lunch. You can also charge up a battery pack and then use the power whenever you need it. iPad sized solar panels are becoming a very popular way to charge up your stuff without having to carry to much.

The panels are also great for emergency kits so you’ll have power if you’re stuck somewhere or other emergencies.

I got a chance to review the SunJack 14W Solar Panel and 8000mAh battery. This solar panel and USB battery come in a kit together but you also get them separately.

Who’s SunJack?

SunJack is a cool little company making quality solar products for any use. They started when their Kickstarter campaign took off in 2014 and they’ve been making cool solar stuff since. They’ve got lights, solar panels and batteries so far but with gadgets with batteries and alternative energies taking off I’m sure they’ll be making more cool stuff soon.

Read more about SunJack on their about page.

The SunJack 14W Solar Panel

Solar panels can range from smaller than your phone to as big as you want. The bigger the panel, the faster it will send power to your devices. Obviously you don’t want to carry around a massive panel on a trip so you’ll have to match how much you want to carry with how long you care to wait for a charge.

The SunJack 14w panel has 4 separate panels sewn together. They velcro together into a small kit about the size of an iPad and an inch thick. Unfold the panels and hang it or prop it in the sun to charge. The more directly you can face it to the sun, the faster it will charge.

SunJack 14W solar charger folded is about the size of an iPad

The first panel has a zippered pouch on the back where the battery is tucked into an elastic strap. The pouch has 2 zippers on it which is nice. You can move the zippers to wherever you want if you have chords hanging out of it. The pouch is big enough to hold small things you are charging while the panel is hung up in the sun. I try not to leave my phone out in the sun to charge so it doesn’t get too hot but being hidden in the pocket on the back keeps it in the shade.

There are 5 loops around the outside and 2 carabiners so you can hang the panel anywhere and get it to face the sun. You can also stand or prop it up to get better light.

The 8000 mAh Battery

You can plug your device straight into the panel or you can charge a battery and then use that to charge later. The SunJack panel will charge 2 devices at once. This splits the charge going to both. You can keep the battery pack plugged in and charge your phone at the same time. I tend to charge 1 thing at a time so it charges faster. The 14W panel charges a phone in around 90 minutes. It will charge the battery in about 5 hours depending on the conditions. Less light means a slower charge. The battery will charge a phone about 4 times or a tablet once.

SunJack solar panel charging a battery pack

You can plug in any battery pack you want so if you have 3 or 4 on a trip, or you want to charge a friends you can. The battery also has can be charge from a wall outlet if you want to stock up at home or in town and then recharge with the panel.

Tapping the button on the battery lights up 5 lights, each of which show 20% of the battery. All lights showing? Battery’s full. 1 light showing, battery’s at 20%.

The battery also has a little LED light built right it. It’s not bright enough to be hiking with but if you just need to find your headlamp or do something quick in the tent, it’s all you need. Holding down the battery button turns on the light.

Qualcomm Quick Charge

An interesting feature with the 8000 mAh battery built by Qualcomm is their Quick Charge feature. Use the link to find out if your phone is compatible. iPhones are not compatible, just Androids with a Snapdragon processor inside. If you plug in a compatible phone it will charge 4x faster than a regular charger. You need to use the Quick Charge port on the battery and the Quick Charge compatible cable.

Performance

The bigger than panel the battery when it comes to solar. Their efficiency makes a difference too. The SunJacks have a good power to weight ratio compared to some of the other adventure solar panels on the market these days like GoalZero.

The SunJack panel charges the 8000mAh battery in about 5 hours, depending on the conditions. Bright direct sunlight is your best charger. Shade or overcast isn’t so good. At some point it stops all together. I’m not sure how to measure this point but it was less light than I thought would do anything. The battery charges in less light than a phone will. Then you just charge your phone from the battery.

SunJack solar panel charging a GoPro

Plugged straight in a phone will charge in about 90 minutes. That all depends on how big your phone battery is and what it’s doing at the time. A phone in airplane mode is going to charge faster than one with music and map apps running. I like to charge the battery and then the phone if I can so I don’t waste any light when the phone is done charging.

The solar panel seems to pick up light in pretty low conditions. Bright shade and overcast will still charge the battery. It will charge through windows like on the dash of your car but it can’t be too far from the window.

This guy was charging his through a window in a blizzard.

The battery has two ports, one is 2 amp and the other is 1 amp. This is the measurement of how fast the electricity flows from the port. If you’re phone is recent then you can take advantage of the 2A fast charge port and charge faster. Newer phones will charge faster on these ports. 

Size and weight

The whole kit with panel, battery, 2 small carabiners, and 1 USB cord all comes to less than 800 grams (1.75 pounds). Unfold the panels and it’s about 79cm long and 23cm wide (31” long and 9” wide). You won’t be taking this on an ultralight trip but if you are willing to carry a bit and need the power then it’s a compact option.

Compared to GoalZero Nomad 13 and Venture 30

The SunJacks’ are a great deal compared to other panels out there. Just as an example here are the prices for the Nomad 13 and Venture 30, a comparable option from GoalZero.

I’m using US dollars here because they made it easy to compare everything. I couldn’t find everything in Canadian prices. I did see some SunJack stuff on Amazon.ca but the prices are crazy. I’m not sure why they’re so high. Us Canadians might have to wait until the prices come down a bit for them to be a good deal.

SunJack 14w panel and 8000mAh battery $120 USD

Nomad 13 and Venture 30 (7800 mAh) $160 USD

GoalZero prices have come down recently but a similar setup is still $40 more with a less powerful panel and smaller battery.

What else can you get?

SunJack also has a few other products and I’m sure more are in the works. These prices are from SunJack’s website.

• 20w panel with 2 8000mAh battery packs ($200 USD)
• individual 8000 mAh battery packs ($30 USD)
• USB AA and AAA battery charger ($20 USD)
• LightStick Powerbank – a waterproof light and battery at the same time ($40 USD)
• coloured CampLight with remote ($15 USD)
• weather proof sleeve for the panels ($5 USD)

Summary

The SunJack 14w solar panel and 8000 mAh battery pack are a great solar setup for small gadgets and charging things when you need power on a trip or in an emergency. The compact panel and fast charging make it a great option. My only gripe is they need better product names so I can stop typing 8000 mAh battery so much!

I’ll be reviewing more solar and portable power solutions in the near future but it’s going to hard to beat the size and speed of this setup.

More Photos

The SunJack’s panels fold out

The small SunJack panel can go anywhere

The SunJack battery can hold power for later

SunJack solar panel charging

SunJack solar panel can charge 2 USB device at once.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the 14W Solar Panel + 8000mAh Battery for free from SunJack in consideration for a gear review.

The post SunJack 14W Solar Panel and 8000mAh Battery first appeared on Pack & Trail.

]]> https://packandtrail.com/blog/sunjack-14w-solar-panel-8000mah-battery/feed/ 0 https://packandtrail.com/blog/xshot-pro-review/ https://packandtrail.com/blog/xshot-pro-review/#respond Tue, 12 Jan 2016 15:00:31 +0000 https://pureoutside.rosscollicutt.com/?p=785 Since getting a GoPro 2 years ago, I’ve wanted a good camera pole (also called selfie sticks, but camera pole sounds way better) to go with it. They let you capture unique angles with your camera, film yourself on your adventure and stick your camera in places you don’t really want your own limbs and digits… Read More »XShot Pro Review

The post XShot Pro Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.

]]> Since getting a GoPro 2 years ago, I’ve wanted a good camera pole (also called selfie sticks, but camera pole sounds way better) to go with it.

They let you capture unique angles with your camera, film yourself on your adventure and stick your camera in places you don’t really want your own limbs and digits to be.

XShot Pro

I got my grubby little hands on an XShot GoPro Pole to test it out with my GoPro 3. I wanted a better way to use the GoPro hiking, ski touring, kayaking and sailing. The head and chest mounts are great but a small handle ended up being the most versatile. I do also have the GoPole Grenade handle, but it doesn’t extend. You are stuck with your arm. I don’t have any go go gadget attachments so that doesn’t get me very far.

XShot Pro extended to 32 inches

The XShot Pro camera pole, is one of many poles and accessories for GoPros and small cameras from XShot. There’s a handle on one end and you attach a small camera to the other end. Some of them can hold larger cameras but usually it’s just the smaller ones. Heavy cameras on the end of long sticks are hard to keep steady.

What is the XShot Pro like?

Features

18cm to 81cm (7” to 32”)

The XShot Pro is pretty small to begin with at 18 cm (7 inches). I often use it folded down just as a handle. It’s nice and compact. When you want to use it, pull the pole out to 81 cm (32 inches) and you’re ready to roll.

Anodized Aluminium 360 degree ball head mount

A strong metal ball head mount let’s you take pictures at any angle. You have to mount the camera where you want it but it stays there. Unscrew, adjust, tighten and it’s in the new position ready to go. The mount, ball and screws are all anodized aluminum so they’ll last a while. With any of the plastic GoPro mounts, you can see the plastic flex when you’re tighten the screws. Doesn’t inspire too much confidence.

Metal mount on the XShot Pro

GoPro mount on the XShot Pro

GoPro attached to the XShot Pro

XShot Pro ball head tilts at any angle.

Aluminum all around on the XShot Pro

Any angle is possible on the XShot Pro

Heavy duty grip

The first thing I noticed when picked up the XShot Pro was how heavy duty it felt. All those metal pieces add up. The pole is just under 200 grams or 7 ounces. It certainly doesn’t feel like flimsy plastic though. It feels like it’s going to be tossed around in the wilderness and come back for more.

Rubber grip

1/4” tripod mount in the bottom

Female threads for a 1/4” screw are on the bottom. Screw a tripod into the bottom if you have one. XShot sells a little one that folds up. Or just keep the lanyard screwed into the bottom. I’ve added a split-ring and carabiner to mine so it’s easy to attach to a backpack strap.

1/4” tripod-compatible mount on the bottom

Tripod and other camera accessories can be attached

Portable Monopod in low light

You might not have a tripod with you but a monopod will still help. You can use the Pro as a monopod when you don’t have anything else.

Multiple Mounts

Pull off the GoPro mount and attach a generic camera mount.

Easy to pop off the GoPro

Removing the GoPro mount

Attaching the tripod mount

Pros

Here’s the quick list of things I like about the XShot Pro.

• Beefy constructions
• Easy to use
• Small
• Lightweight for strong construction
• Strong attachments
• Multiple mounts

Beefy construction

The XShot Pro feels strong. The poles obviously have to have some strength to hold up a camera but I thought they would be a bunch of plastic parts. It’s only 200 grams (7 ounces) but it feels sturdy when you pick it up. The mounts and boom are metal and the handle is thick rubber. Only the attachment to the lanyard on the bottom is plastic (which might be an important part if it slips out of your hand during a fall or jump).

Easy to Use

There’s not much to using the XShot Pro. Attach the camera, extend the boom, turn on the camera and go. There are two adjustments on the GoPro mount that let you adjust where you want the camera pointed. One holds the GoPro in place. Loosen this and you can rotate the GoPro front to back. Another is for the ball mount. Loosen this and you can rotate 360 degrees, and tilt any direction you want. There are also 2 slots in the side of the mount so you can tilt the camera even more. I use these to point the pole down to the ground with the camera tilted up and get some neat shots inches from the dirt.

Easy to change the angle

High angle on the XShot Pro

Small

Most of the poles out these day are big and strong or small and floppy. The XShot Pro handles both nicely, being only 7 inches long and strong enough to hold a 1.25 pound camera. I’ve been on enough trips to know that if I don’t have my camera easily accessible, I don’t use it. I may as well not bring it if it’s stuck at the bottom of my bag. The small size means I can clip it to the front of my pack and grab it whenever I want.

Lightweight for how strong it is

You can hold a 1.25 pound camera on the end of the pole and it will be fine and it only weighs 7 ounces.

Strong attachments

The thick aluminum mounts are strong. I worry with plastic camera mounts that they’ll snap, especially in the cold. It’s hard to trust something when it’s flexing and moving as you screw the camera on.

Multiple Mounts

The Pro comes with multiple mounts, one for GoPro and one for other cameras. The generic tripod mount will screw into the bottom of any camera with the 1/4” threads. If you are going to be switching back and forth between a GoPro and a regular camera it might be easier just to use the regular camera mount and get a tripod mount for your GoPro. Then they all attach straight to the tripod screw and you aren’t having to change the mount on the XShot, which requires a small allen key.

Point and shoot attached to the 1/4” 20 mount

Canon S120 mounted to the XShot Pro

Cons

The XShot Pro isn’t perfect. There are a few things I’d fix to make it the perfect pole.

• Loose ball head second time out
• Better wrist fastener
• Allen key to change mounts
• Can’t go in salt water

Loose ball head screw

The screw into the GoPro mount was coming a bit loose by the end of my second time out. I’m not sure if I was bashing it around more than the first time or it just wasn’t as tight as it could be right from the factory. It would have been nice to last a few trips before having to tighten. I’m not sure how long each tighten will last. It will take some more trips to find that out. It would be annoying if you had to tighten it every trip.

Needs better wrist tightener

The XShot Pro comes with a wrist strap that’s attached to a screw cap on the bottom of the handle. I almost lost mine a few times in the snow skiing but had it attached to my arm. The wrist strap is a bit of a pain to tighten and loosen each time. it takes 2 hands to slide the buckle up and down. I would prefer a buckle on the strap like the GoPole Grenade Handle (which I added in the picture below), that just has a little button to slide it up and down. Quick and and down for easy adjusting. If you are putting it on and off many times on a trip, easy adjustment is better.

Carabiner attachment

Allen key to change mounts

It’s easy to change mounts on the XShot Pro as long as you have the small allen key. You can use any allen key that size but not many people have an allen key tucked away in their adventure bag. If you need to change mounts or tighten the screw, then you need the allen key. It’s a tiny screw so I understand why they did it like that but it would be nicer if it was a more standard screwdriver that I would have on my Leatherman multitool or tip of a knife that I already have with me.

Can’t go in salt water

I haven’t seen anything from XShot to say that you should NOT take the Pro into salt water but most of the stories I’ve read online about it end up badly. One user just cleans it off with fresh water and oils up the boom (not the ball mount!) with WD40 and it’s good to go again. I wouldn’t put it in salt water but you might want to experiment. It would be awesome if they could go in salt water with no problem.

Tips

Here’s a few tips to make using the XShot Pro a little better.

Carabiner

Add a split ring with a carabiner to the lanyard loop at the bottom of the pole and you can easily clip it to your backpack shoulder strap or chest strap.

Store on the front of your pack

Find a spot on your shoulder or chest strap on your backpack that’s easy to access. Having it easily accessible means you’ll use it more. If it’s buried at the bottom of your back, it’s not coming out much. Make it easy to take photos and videos and you’ll take more.

Practice

Practice makes perfect. Well, practice makes it better anyways. I thought I’d just pull out that pole and I’d be skiing all over the place in sweet videos. Nope. It’s a lot harder to keep that thing straight than I thought. It’s not fault of the XShot Pro’s. I just don’t have much experience with skiing with selfie sticks. I’ll get there. Before you get to your epic location, practice around the house, film your animals, take lots of selfie’s in the local park. Figure it out before you get to your dream destination.

Tighten the allen key screw

Tighten the screw that needs the allen key before you leave home. You don’t want to get half way through your adventure and have a loose ball mount that doesn’t stay still. Tighten it before each trip. If you’re going for more than one day and plan to use the pole a lot, take the allen key.

Conclusion

I was surprised with how well put together the XShot Pro is put together. I’ve only used it on a few trips so far but because of it’s size and weight, it will be coming on many more trips. So far it’s become the default mount I use with my GoPro. It’s a good short handle for it. And then easily extends to 81cm. Just be careful with it in the salt water and you won’t have to use anything else with your GoPro.

More info

See the Pro on the XShot website

Buy on Amazon

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the Pro for free from XShot as coordinated by Deep Creek PR, an Outdoor Industry Public Relations Company, in consideration for review publication.

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