{Disarmed} GoPro Hero 10 Black, review: even better stabilization for the most powerful GoPro camera to date
The new GoPro Hero 10 Black is already a reality and reaches the market improving most of the sections that we had seen last year with the GoPro Hero 9 Black . All this is due to its new GP2 processor that changes everything ... literally. It doubles the performance of the camera and offers improvements in recording quality, stabilization and user experience at the interface level.
In xiaomist.com we have already had the opportunity to test this new GoPro Hero 10 Black in recent days and in this, its analysis , we are going to see how the most powerful sports camera that GoPro has created to date behaves.
GoPro Hero 10 Black Datasheet
GOPRO HERO 10 BLACK | |
|---|---|
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT | 55 x 71 x 33.6 mm |
PHOTO RESOLUTION | 23 MP |
VIDEO RESOLUTION | 5.3K @ 60FPS |
MICROPHONES | 3 with wind reduction |
SHOOTING MODES | Burst, Night Photo, SuperPhoto, RAW Photo, Loop Recording, Time Lapse, Time Lapse Photo, Slow Motion, TimeWarp Video |
Gps | Yes |
DISPLAYS | Rear: 2.27 inch LCD touch screen |
BATTERY | 1,720 mAh removable |
STORAGE | MicroSD (Class 10 or UHS-I minimum) |
VIDEO STABILIZATION | HyperSmooth 4.0 |
CONNECTIVITY | Wifi |
ADDITIONAL FEATURES | GP2 processor |
PRICE | 499.99 euros |
Design: like GoPro Hero 9 Black
The GoPro Hero 10 Black is the latest evolution of one of the most popular sports camera models on the market, but in the design section evolution, what is said evolution, there is hardly any . The new GoPro Hero 10 Black is practically a clone of the GoPro Hero 9 Black.
As we can see, the format and arrangement of all the elements has remained unchanged from one generation to another. The lens, the buttons, the rear screen, the front screen, the battery compartment, the micro D and the charging port… come on, even the tabs to attach the accessories. Everything is in the same place.
The only change on a physical level has been the new lens cover, which in this generation has the peculiarity of being hydrophobic. The glass used for this cover repels water to prevent drops from sticking to the lens and can spoil our recordings when we are taking underwater shots. The truth is that it is an improvement that is much appreciated and that, for my taste, has taken a long time to arrive. In any case, it works surprisingly well.
The lens adds a water-repellent layer that prevents droplets from sticking together and can interfere with recording.In terms of size and ergonomics, the camera experience is totally similar to what we had with the GoPro Hero 9 last year . In fact, the weight of the GoPro Hero 10 is 153 grams, five grams less than its predecessor. It is a minimal difference that is not noticeable from one camera to another.
When recording, we can comfortably hold the GoPro with one hand to take all the shots we want, whether we want to record ourselves subjectively or if we want to capture the landscape in front of us. In hand, the GoPro Hero 10 feels rubbery and pleasant, and its weight means that it is not uncomfortable to carry for several minutes of recording.
Performance: polishing roughness
As we have mentioned before, this new generation of GoPro makes sense thanks to its new GP2 processor , the renewed version of the GP1 that the GoPro Hero 9 Black had inside.
The GP2 manages to improve the weaknesses we experienced last year , especially at the interface level and experience with the camera. This time we have found a much faster and more stable software, with very few hitches or errors compared to last year.
The touchscreen responds significantly better to touches . The perceived speed of switching from one mode to another or navigating through the various settings panels makes the user experience much more pleasant than with the GoPro Hero 9.
The interface remains true to what we have seen for several years in GoPro camera software, so it will be familiar to all users who have used a GoPro Hero 7 and up. If it's your first time with a camera from this company, no problem. The menus are simple and intuitive and distribute and divide very well the different recording and photography modes that we can use with this camera.
The GoPro Hero 10 Black's interface is intuitive and easy to useDelving into the possibilities of use that we have with this GoPro Hero 10, the three main modes must be clear to us: Sequence, Video and Photo . As usual, the GoPro has different factory pre-installed default settings for these capture modes between which we can change and even create our own to our liking.
In addition, we can also change its values individually, such as resolution, lens, capture speed, frame rate per second or recording duration, among others. In this way, we can create different recording profiles for each moment of the day or for each activity that we are going to carry out.
Sequence mode, as its name suggests, is the one we must use if we want to do the classic timelapses thanks to the TimeWarp 3.0 function, which this year maintains the same settings as last year.
It is a very useful mode if we want to show a long video sequence such as a sunrise, a sunset or the path that we walk, by bicycle or by car from one point to another. Like last year, this mode is still very versatile since while we are recording the sequence we can choose the option of capturing a certain moment at real speed with sound and re-capturing at a higher speed whenever we want.
If we talk about the result and the quality of the videos captured in sequence mode, it should be noted that we will have the option of recording with different resolutions, from 1080 to 4K through a 2.7K option in 4: 3 format . The images we capture have good quality and are very stable, as this function takes advantage of the electronic stabilization capabilities that the GoPro has, which we will talk about in a moment.
Video mode is for making traditional recordings. Without a doubt, this is the mode that gets the most out of the GoPro Hero 10 as it takes full advantage of the new GP2 processor. In addition to offering better performance, this processor has been able to double the frame rate with which we could record with the GoPro Hero 9.
The recording quality settings that we have in the new GoPro Hero 10 range from FullHD (that is, 1080p) and reach a maximum of 5.3K resolution , slightly exceeding the 5K resolution that we had in the previous generation. As I said, the frame rate has doubled compared to last year, allowing to have some very interesting recording settings, such as being able to record at 2.7K at 240 frames per second or the one that I liked the most: 4K at 120 frames per second .
The result of these settings is to have slow motion recordings without losing image quality , something that can greatly benefit our video clips. Below you can see some clips recorded with the GoPro Hero 10 Black:
In this section it should be noted that users can choose the type of lens we want to use when capturing our sequences, videos or photographs, electronically. In this section, we have many options for use, especially in video mode.
We can choose the " SuperView " lens, which offers the widest field of view; the " Wide Angle " lens, with a fisheye effect on the sides of the image, and the " Linear " lens, which offers a wide-angle field of view but without a fisheye (which is the more traditional lens, so to speak somehow). Finally, we have the " Narrow " lens, which as its name suggests offers a narrower field of view without the fisheye effect.
If we choose the "Linear" lens we have an option that helps maintain alignment with the content horizon . This function is very useful especially if we tilt the camera without realizing it and we want the GoPro itself to correct the tilt. In fact, last year this tilt limit was 27º and, in this generation, this value has been increased to 45º.
After having tried it, I think it is a tool that works very well, especially if we want to make sure that the planes we record are as aligned as possible with the horizontal axis, although it is true that on some occasions the corrections can be a bit rough during the recordings.
Last but not least, we can also capture photos with this GoPro with a maximum of 23MP resolution . Obviously, these types of sports cameras are not primarily intended for photography, as we cannot capture very close details. However, it does well when it comes to capturing some landscapes sporadically.
Image captured with the GoPro Hero 10 Black. 
Image captured with the GoPro Hero 10 Black. 
Image captured with the GoPro Hero 10 Black.See complete gallery » Photos of the GoPro Hero 10 Black (13 photos)
We must also talk about the new version of GoPro Quik , the application for mobile devices with which we can increase the possibilities of using this GoPro Hero 10. In addition to being able to control the camera remotely, we will have access to our entire gallery of recordings and photographs that we have taken and we will have the option to upload them to the GoPro cloud or download them to our mobile device.
But also, one of the most important novelties is that we can edit videos very easily thanks to a video editor that has been incorporated in this latest version and that is capable of automatically creating videos with songs and effects. Obviously, we can modify the videos to our liking with transitions, changing the music and adding effects. Despite its simplicity of use, the end result is surprising.
The bad news about this new video editing function is that the vast majority of options, settings and even the export of videos to our mobile phone requires paying for the GoPro subscription, which is currently priced at $ 49.99 . It is positive that GoPro have wanted to improve their application, but it is negative that so much is wasted for users who do not want or cannot pay for this service
HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilization
One of the highlights of GoPro cameras for several generations is their electronic stabilization technology dubbed HyperSmooth. In this GoPro we have version 4.0 , which in this generation offers different stabilization settings that we can modify before recording our videos. In this sense, we have standard stabilization, high and the boost mode which is the maximum video stabilization with a tight crop.
To test this HyperSmooth 4.0, the company has sent us a radio control boat with an adapter on the top so that we can attach the GoPro Hero 10 Black and we can make recordings with a lot of movement. Here are some examples:
After testing it, we would like to point out what a good job HyperSmooth 4.0 does on this GoPro Hero 10 . It is something that we had already experienced in the past generation and this year it has surprised us again, offering stable shots in all situations, including those that we have recorded on top of the radio-controlled boat, which is undoubtedly the litmus test we have done with this camera.
Battery: good, but can be improved
The battery of the GoPro Hero 10, at the size level, is the same as the ones we can use in the GoPro Hero 9. In fact, this year the 1,720 mAh capacity that we had last year remains . And yes, for those of you wondering, the GoPro Hero 9 batteries can be used with the GoPro Hero 10.
But of course, here you have to take into account a detail. This GoPro Hero 10 arrives with a more powerful processor than last year, several things from the previous model are maintained and many settings that require more power from the camera have been improved. All this without increasing the 1,720 mAh capacity of the battery . The question is obvious: what impact does the new GP2 processor have on the battery of this GoPro Hero 10 Black?
The battery has the same capacity as the GoPro Hero 9 Black and the autonomy can be improvedWell, we can say that the battery is the section of this GoPro Hero 10 that has the most room for improvement, although its life and charge cycles depend on two factors: the quality settings that we use to record and the configuration of parameters and tools of the own camera (bit rate, shutter, sharpness, RAW audio, etc).
In this sense, if we use high resolution settings combined with high frame rate rates the battery will drain quite quickly. To give us an idea, a timelapse recorded in 4K with the wide angle lens with an automatic parameter setting is capable of draining a little more than half of the battery of this GoPro Hero 10 in 15 minutes .
If for some reason we want to raise parameters such as bitrate, Raw Audio quality or we have noise reduction activated, the battery time will be reduced even more. Taking this into account, after the use that we have given it, a battery of this GoPro Hero 10 can have an approximate life of about 40 minutes at most .
Keep in mind that we are talking about a 1,720 mAh battery that must handle all the power of the new GP2 processor, in addition to supporting high resolution recordings. Even so, we think that the ambition of this new processor and the high recording quality that we can achieve take their toll, negatively, on its autonomy .
During the analysis we had to charge the two batteries that accompanied this GoPro Hero 10 every day , something that can be cumbersome if we are on vacation or away from home for several days. Therefore, it is advisable to buy at least two batteries if we want to acquire this model in the future. Another option is to take advantage of those of the GoPro Hero 9, in case we have it.
Regarding the process of charging the batteries, it should be noted that if we do not have any charging accessories, we can do so by connecting a USB type C charging cable directly to the GoPro , which does not have fast charging support. To charge a battery from 0 to 100% we will have to wait approximately one hour and 45 minutes . As you can see, it is quite a long time that it would be nice if it were reduced, especially considering that we have already been 10 generations of this camera.
One of the least convincing points about the GoPro Hero 10 Black is the heat dissipation: the camera heats up relatively easilyAnother flaw this GoPro Hero 10 has is its notable lack of heat dissipation . It is a device that overheats more than necessary in most occasions of use, especially if we use it for a long time (making recordings of more than five minutes, for example), reaching its maximum temperature during the recordings of the timelapse .
In fact, on a couple of occasions, the heat that the GoPro gave off was even worrying to me , becoming very annoying when I held it by hand after recording. I was even forced to let it "sit" to bring it back to a normal temperature state.
The integration of the new GP2 processor is appreciated, but without a doubt heat dissipation is a subject that GoPro must work on urgently.
GoPro Hero 10 Black, the opinion of xiaomist.com
The GoPro Hero 10 Black is undoubtedly an off-road camera . We subscribe to the company's words by saying that this model is the most powerful that GoPro has brought to our hands to date. The GP2 processor does its job very well and not only makes the user experience smoother, but also manages to offer a very interesting image quality, enhancing the images that we can get in slow motion. In fact, the GP2 does its job so well that it overheats the camera excessively.
The stabilization of the captured videos continues to rise as we have seen in previous models of this camera, and the HyperSmooth feels really good in all the shots we can take.
The market price of this GoPro Hero 10 is 499 euros (399 euros if we are GoPro subscribers) and that makes it an expensive sports camera. It is obvious, since we are talking about a high-end sports camera that is obviously not for everyone.
If you are a very active athlete, who goes out frequently to do training, routes or practice some extreme sport and you want to make videos with very good quality, this GoPro Hero 10 can be a very worthy candidate for this purpose .
It can also fit into a profile dedicated to sharing personal content on social networks, in the form of videoblogs, especially if you are looking for comfort and practicality when recording. It is true that it does not offer the versatility of a DSLR camera , but it is perfect for documenting lifestyle related content.
In short, the GoPro Hero 10 is one of the best sports cameras we've tested so far and comes with most of the ingredients that are needed to attract the attention of content creators or more adventurous athletes. However, the recipe can literally burn or spoil with the battery section.
The device has been released for testing by GoPro . You can consult our policy of relations with companies
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The news GoPro Hero 10 Black, analysis: even better stabilization for the most powerful GoPro camera to date was originally published in xiaomist.com by Mario Arroyo .
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