Today, GoPro has announced the Hero7 Black, the highly-anticipated and much-leaked successor to last year’s the Hero6 Black.
The new camera maintains the same physical design and many key specs of its predecessor, including a 12MP sensor, supporting 4K recording at up to 60 fps and 1080p at up to 240fps. However, it adds a host of entirely new features, not least of which is a vastly-improved image stabilization system dubbed ‘HyperSmooth’.
HyperSmooth is a hardware-assisted digital stabilization system utilizing movement prediction to improve performance. With HyperSmooth, GoPro promises ‘gimbal-like’ stabilization, allowing the camera to be used hand-held in situations where the previous model would require an external stabilization device such as GoPro’s own Karma Grip.
GoPro claims HyperSmooth is ‘the best in-camera video stabilization ever featured in a camera’. While this bold claim is yet to be verified by independent testing, GoPro’s own sample videos reveal a significant leap in stabilization performance compared to the Hero6 Black.
Also new to the Hero7 Black is its ability to stream live video directly to social media platforms in both horizontal and portrait modes. The camera will now detect vertical use and switch the on-screen menus into portrait mode automatically. The menus have also been simplified and made more intuitive.
The Hero7 Black also introduces a new ‘TimeWarp’ mode which speeds up longer video captures, compressing them into much shorter videos while steadying them with HyperSmooth stabilization. Think of them as a much smoother version of the Hyperlapse videos you may have shot with your phone.
While the Hero7 Black doesn’t include the bigger sensor or higher frame rates which some may have hoped for, the newly introduced features, along with many other smaller improvements, add up to a significant upgrade over the Hero6 Black.
Million Dollar Challenge
As part of the launch campaign, GoPro is setting the ‘Million Dollar Challenge’. Hero7 Black owners will be able to submit their video footage for inclusion in GoPro’s official highlight reel, with successful entries taking an equal share of a one million dollar prize fund.
Priced at $399, the Hero7 Black heads up a range of three new cameras also including the Hero7 Silver ($299) and Hero7 White ($199), both of which will offer enhanced stabilization over previous versions. All models are available for pre-order at GoPro.com and will be available in the US from September 30th with international availability from September 27th. The new cameras will replace the existing Hero6 Black, Hero5 Black and Hero models, so look for some decent discounts on those while stocks last.
I’ll be providing a more detailed look at the new GoPros in forthcoming posts.
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