Another year, and another new GoPro has finally arrived to help you ‘go pro’. gopro hero 12 black Is just launched Globally, but I’ve had it for about a week. GoPro arranged a fun little event for some media in India where we were able to test the Hero 12 Black in its elements. As always, old man hero 11 black Will be available in India, but at a discounted price. The new Hero 12 Black is priced at Rs. The basic kit will cost you Rs 45,000, while the Creators Edition will cost you Rs 45,000. 65,000.
Although a full review would take a little longer, here is my first experience with GoPro’s new action camera.
There isn’t much new in the GoPro Hero 12 Black compared to the Hero 11 Black, especially in terms of hardware. It uses the same GP2 processor, 1/1.9-inch image sensor, supports a taller 8:7 aspect ratio, and offers many of the same features found on the Hero 11 Black. In terms of design, it mostly looks the same as its predecessor, but now has blue spots on its body. The dimensions are also the same as the Hero 11 Black, which means any accessories for the Hero 11 Black will fit the Hero 12 Black.
GoPro Hero 12 Black has blue spots on its body
The GoPro Hero 12 Black continues to provide waterproofing up to 10 meters with no need for an additional cover. It has a 2.27 inch touch display on the back and a small 1.4 inch color non-touch screen on the front. The lens cap is removable and now supports Max Lens Mod 2.0. You also get mounting fingers on the bottom, however, now it’s between two collapsible legs with a universal tripod thread mount.
GoPro Hero 12 Black gets a tripod thread
On the right side, the battery flap on the Hero 12 Black is not that easy to open, which is still a hassle to open and close. Come on GoPro, I think we all deserve a better engineered flap by now, don’t you? Below you will find a USB Type-C port and a microSD card slot.
At the top of the camera you find a record button and a microphone. There is a mode button on the left side and another microphone with mounting feet at the bottom. Like the Hero 11 Black, the new GoPro Hero 12 Black also comes with an Enduro battery, which offers more battery life. However, GoPro now claims that due to more efficient hardware and software optimizations, the new Hero 12 Black can deliver twice the battery life as the older model. I’ll have to test this claim, but during my initial time with it I managed to get about 7-8 hours of on and off recording with 30 minutes of continuous video recording in 4K 8:7 mode.
GoPro Hero 12 Black with Max Lens 2.0 Mod
Talking about video recording, the GoPro Hero 12 Black now offers an HDR video mode. HDR video is available at up to 5.3K resolution, but only when shot in 16:9 mode. At the 8:7 aspect ratio, HDR video is limited to 4K at 24fps or 30fps. Meanwhile, slow-motion videos are limited to 2.7K at 240fps. There are several other video recording options you can play with, including Timelapse, Night Video, and Star Trails, which now supports 8:7 recording.
I’ll be testing all of these in the full review. Photos are captured at 27-megapixel resolution, while you can also export 24.7-megapixel stills from video. It also has vertical capture mode, support for GP-log with LUTS, and TimeWarp 3.0.
GoPro Hero 12 Black HDR sample image (Wide 8:7)
Apart from the new HDR video mode, the GoPro Hero 12 Black comes with a much-awaited feature that lets you use any Bluetooth earphones/headphones to record audio. This is an excellent feature in my opinion. You can now connect your AirPods or any Bluetooth headphones and record audio wirelessly. The Hero 12 Black can record audio from both Bluetooth headphones and the internal microphone.
The GoPro Hero 12 Black now comes with HyperSmooth 6.0 stabilization with auto boost option which was introduced with the Hero 11 Black. GoPro is known for having the best stabilization in the industry and the new Hero 12 Black lives up to that. The new action camera includes most of the features present in the Hero 11 Black, but improves on it.
I’ll be spending more time with the GoPro Hero 12 Black and trying out new features like HDR video, Bluetooth audio recording, and others. Will this be a worthy upgrade over the Hero 11 Black? I guess we’ll find out in the full review.
Disclosure: GoPro sponsored this correspondent’s flights and hotel for his trip to Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu.