In a world that is filled with powerful cameras built into every smartphone in the pockets of consumers, the need for a designated camera beyond what people already have is dwindling. GoPro, however, has found a niche where they have gained a massive following. The adventure and sporting camera style of the GoPro is naturally quite rugged, yet it still has an element of simplicity to it that is very pleasing to use.
While testing some of the new features of the GoPro HERO8 Black model, I found myself blown away at many of the new and improved features.
The 4K video is astounding, which is shocking as it is such a small camera. With that kind of quality, you could keep this pocket-sized camera as your primary device with confidence. Plus, the ease of content transfer with the physical Micro SD card, or the companion app for mobile or tablet devices, makes shooting content with the GoPro HERO8 easy and efficient.
Some of the other great features of this GoPro include image stabilization and time-lapse video. These features are a huge bonus and a near necessity when shooting action shots with heavy motion. That being said, even if you don’t plan on mounting this camera on the top of a skydiving helmet, the nose of a surfboard, or the handlebars of a mountain bike, image stabilization can still be appreciated. To test the abilities of this stabilization I took a walk with the camera in my hands in front of me. Even while bouncing up and down, shaking the camera side to side, and trying my best to throw the camera for at least a bump or two, I found that nothing I tried was successful in besting the image stabilization. Every step was smoothened, and every bounce was softened.
While testing this camera, I recorded my drive home from work in time-lapse mode to see what the appeal could be for this type of recording. After reviewing the video, I was shocked at how clean, stable, and clear the image was! In my experience, I have never pictured time-lapse videos as being smooth unless the subject is stationary and the changing surroundings are being captured. But even with my car being the mobile point of recording, the time-lapse was remarkably smooth. With the added features of image stabilization and 4K picture quality, I found myself wishing I had more scenes to record in the time-lapse mode.
As I touched on previously, GoPro now has a companion app that makes viewing all of this content much easier. Yes, you can still take the time to physically remove the Micro SD card, get out your SD Card Reader, open the files on your device of choice in order to view your videos and pictures. But, the new option that is far more efficient is to simply open up the companion app on your mobile device and view all of your content immediately, all in one place. This app makes for quick sharing of photos and videos to friends after an outing, to computers for further editing, or to your photo storage for memories of your adventure.
To add to the streamlined simplicity of this mobile camera, the GoPro now charges with USB-C. Though some devices are still charging with other cable types, USB-C has quickly become one of the more popular and powerful choices, making this device even more user-friendly.
