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00:00I've got a lot of respect for surfers, that is not easy.
00:04Hey guys, I'm TomTheTechChap, and this is the new GoPro Hero 12 Black.
00:09And I asked you on Instagram stories how I should test it, and, well, this was your response.
00:16Okay.
00:17Okay.
00:18And now I hand you over to my lovely wife, Sarah, who is going to show me how to do it.
00:45And now I hand you over to my lovely wife, Sarah, Mrs. TechChap, who is better than me
00:50at this.
00:51So, cool.
00:52So this place is called The Wave in Bristol, which is near where I live, and it's a pretty
00:59amazing place to learn and practice your surf.
01:02And while I will admit my footage from the Hero 12 isn't quite as impressive as you may
01:06see from GoPro's own fancy promo commercials, I've got to say I have so much respect for
01:11surfers.
01:12This is not easy.
01:14Anyway, I can't believe I'm here with the 12th generation GoPro.
01:19The Hero 12 Black has just launched, and it's the same price as last year's Hero 11, at
01:23about £399 or $399.
01:25However, with increasingly stiff competition from Insta360's action cameras and also DJI's
01:31just updated Action 4, is the GoPro 12 still worth buying?
01:35Well, I must admit, it's not the most exciting upgrade.
01:38Same design, same sensor, same 5.3K60 and 4K120 options, with a fair few limitations
01:44as well depending on what mode you're in, and it's still not great in low light.
01:48That's why we all want a bigger sensor.
01:51But there are a couple of very welcome updates.
01:53We have longer runtimes, an extra mounting option, HDR video, as well as a new log recording
01:58option, GP Log.
01:59You can now shoot vertical video, so 9x16, and without having to rotate the camera.
02:05You can now pair wireless mics, even your AirPods, and it works with voice commands.
02:09The latest HyperSmooth 6 analyses 4x more data, apparently, so it's better tuned for
02:14giving you the right level of stabilisation.
02:16And there's a few extras like timecode syncing, which is handy if you're shooting on multiple
02:20GoPros.
02:21We also have a new photo interval mode, and they've introduced a new Max Lens Mod 2.0,
02:25which is slimmer, it's 2x more scratch resistant, and gives you an even wider field of view.
02:30Although this is an optional extra and will set you back around $100.
02:34So nothing exactly groundbreaking.
02:36The Hero 12 is more about quality of life upgrades, and also it caters more to professionals.
02:43Now you may have noticed I never actually reviewed the Hero 11.
02:46My last GoPro video was the 10, this guy.
02:49And I think the reason for that possibly, or at least the story I'm telling myself,
02:53is that when I reviewed this, I complained that it overheated and it shut down far too
02:57quickly after like 10 or 15 minutes when it was static, like if you're not going down
03:01a mountain on a snowboard or recycling.
03:03So now I'm back, and I have this review sample of the Hero 12, and I think that it's because
03:08they've made a big upgrade to the runtime.
03:11And it's actually not due to the battery life, but due to improved thermals.
03:15So this does not shut down as quickly as the older models.
03:18And GoPros say it should last up to two times as long as even the Hero 11, which is a pretty
03:23big claim.
03:24So how much longer does this actually last before it shuts off?
03:28Well, I don't have a Hero 11, but I do have a 10, and a little side-by-side comparison
03:32back at the office.
03:34So here on the left I have the Hero 10, and on the right the Hero 12, and they're both
03:37using the Enduro battery and shooting 5.3K 60 at 16x9, and look at that.
03:43Just under 16 minutes, the Hero 10 is too hot to carry on, and so it stops the recording
03:48and turns itself off.
03:49Whereas the Hero 12 lasts just shy of 26 minutes.
03:52So a good 10 minutes longer, still not exactly a long runtime, but given these are recording
03:57at room temperature and there's no wind or anything, it's not too bad and it is a significant
04:01step up.
04:02And also look at that, despite the Hero 12 lasting 10 minutes longer, it actually used
04:061% less battery than the Hero 10, and again, both using the Enduro battery.
04:10So it definitely lasts longer, both the runtime due to the thermals and not shutting off,
04:14and also the battery life, at least compared to the 10.
04:17Now my second favourite feature is actually underneath, because if I bring up my iPhone
04:22now, you can see that I'm recording this with the GoPro Hero 12 mounted on top of my Joby
04:29GorillaPod.
04:30Joby?
04:32The fact that it can simply screw in to any thread like that, and I have a million of
04:35them, these sort of tripods and GorillaPods and things like that, just makes it so helpful.
04:41It just screws in right there.
04:43Very much an underrated upgrade, I think.
04:46Now one of the new features of the Hero 12 is the ability to shoot in HDR.
04:49So you've got the standard, you've got the log, which is also new, but HDR, it's more
04:53like photography HDR, it captures multiple different exposures.
04:57You can see the difference shooting in HDR, particularly in highlights, like the sun,
05:01those bright sort of high exposure areas.
05:04You can see there's a little bit more detail, it's controlling those highlights a bit better
05:07in HDR.
05:08And actually here in my car, if I pan to the right, you can see the light, the sun reflections
05:12off that very bright silver car next to me.
05:15It is definitely a subtle improvement though, and I don't find myself really shooting in
05:18this mode that much, but again, it's nice to have the option.
05:21There are some limitations though.
05:23If I go to the HDR profile, with the 8x7 full sensor, we are simply limited to 4K30,
05:29which is a bit disappointing.
05:30Although switching to 16x9, we can go then up to 4K60 or 5K30.
05:35So not quite the same options as the standard mode, although you do still get all five different
05:41lens options here and a hyper smooth with auto boost, which I'd recommend keeping on
05:45because then it decides what level of stabilization you need based on how shaky your footage is.
05:50You don't really have to think about it.
05:54Okay, so let's talk about actually using the GoPro Hero 12.
05:57And if you have had a GoPro for the last few years, this will all be very familiar.
06:02You've got the power button on the side and with a long press of that, it'll turn on.
06:06And that's me.
06:07We've got this little square cover screen in the front and then the usual main screen
06:10in the back.
06:11On the top here, we have the record button and it's telling me off because I haven't
06:16got an SD card in there right now.
06:17And so if you then pry open this little flap here, you can see we've got the battery.
06:22This is the Enduro battery.
06:23This Enduro battery was introduced last year on the Hero 11 and lasts just a little bit
06:27longer.
06:28They sort of changed the battery chemistry compared to the regular GoPro batteries, which
06:31have this sort of blue accent, although they are interchangeable, but this one lasts a
06:35little bit longer.
06:36So that guy pops in there.
06:37You can still swap the batteries out.
06:39And then you've got the slot for the micro SD card in there, of which I usually shoot
06:43with a 128 gig card inside.
06:46Close that up.
06:47And this is water resistant to 10 meters or 33 feet, although you can take this deeper,
06:51and it will then require the separate protective outer housing.
06:55Up front, you can see we have the microphone and the audio quality recording from just
06:59the camera is pretty good, actually.
07:01Now, of course, you can connect wireless mics externally via Bluetooth, including even like
07:05your AirPods if you want to.
07:07And you can use voice commands through your AirPods to control your GoPro remotely, which
07:11is very cool.
07:12But obviously the main downside with pretty much all action cameras at the moment and
07:16continues with the Hero 12 is that the low light quality is not fantastic.
07:21The sensor is just not big enough and so it's quite noisy.
07:24Come on, bigger sensors.
07:25So in terms of design, the only difference really is the fact that it says 12 rather
07:29than 11.
07:30And also you've got this sort of blue speckly design within the rubbery finish.
07:35Still very small and compact, easy to chuck this in your backpack with you wherever you
07:39go.
07:40And it's just a lovely little action camera.
07:41And actually, one of the new features, as I say, of the Hero 12 is that you have this
07:44vertical framing option.
07:46So previously on Hero 11, to shoot vertical, you'd actually have to physically rotate the
07:50camera, which isn't the end of the world, but it does require a bit of messing around
07:53with the mounts.
07:54Now you can shoot vertical while the actual GoPro itself is still horizontal.
07:59You can see these menus don't always respond instantly.
08:01This is using the same GP2 chip as the Hero 10, I believe.
08:05So actually, if we switch from the 8x7 to widescreen or 16x9, that then does open up
08:10more options here so you can now shoot at 5.3K 60, 4K 120 or 2.7 240.
08:18So there are limitations, even though this is the most advanced GoPro yet.
08:22And to illustrate that a bit more clearly, if I go back to the settings here and change
08:26the controls away from the easy simple to pro, which is kind of how I prefer and how
08:31we're used to it with GoPros, you can now see the familiar resolution, aspect ratio,
08:36frame rate and framing there.
08:38So if I customize this preset, you can see I've got standard HDR and log.
08:43These are the two new options for the Hero 12.
08:44You've got the four aspect ratios, the resolutions, the frame rates, the lens.
08:49So most of the time I find myself shooting in standard profile with a 8x7 aspect ratio.
08:55So that's the full sensor and that gives me the flexibility to edit it vertically or horizontally
09:00afterwards.
09:01The downside of that is that you do lose the ability to shoot at 60fps at that highest
09:055.3K resolution.
09:07So generally I find myself shooting at 4K, 60fps, still get the 10-bit wide lens currently,
09:12which also is a limitation of 8x7, hyper smooth on and then you've got your sort of
09:16pro settings down here and I haven't really tweaked any of this stuff.
09:19It's all pretty good out of the box now.
09:22So right now I'm shooting this on the Hero 12 in 8x7 full screen mode, full view mode.
09:27So I can then afterwards, whether it's in the quick app, the GoPro app or in my own
09:31editing software, I can then choose if I want it to be 16x9 horizontal or 916 vertical.
09:36Now, of course, this isn't new for the Hero 12, the 11 introduced it, but it is one of
09:40my favourite features and to be able to change the aspect ratio after you shoot it, it definitely
09:45makes my life easier.
09:46I just shoot everything in this mode, this 8x7 mode, so I'm basically all set regardless
09:51of what I'm using it.
09:53And we're home.
09:55So linear with horizon levelling, linear and then wide and then super view and then hyper
10:02view, which it's actually not allowing me to do right now and I think that's because
10:06I'm at the 5.3K resolution.
10:09So if I switch that to 4K, let's see if that works.
10:15Go back to that.
10:16Yes, there you go.
10:17So now hyper view is possible at the lower 4K resolution, which is 12mm, it is super
10:22super duper wide and then if you actually switch this lens out for the max mod 2.0,
10:28all you do is rotate it, pull it off and then attach the max lens mod and then it gives
10:33you the different modes, the max hyper view, super view and the regular wide.
10:37Just make sure if you do use the lens mod 2.0 that you then click this little button
10:40here and activate it because then it gives you the different modes.
10:50Now if you swipe across the screen or press the power button, you then switch the different
10:53modes and you can take a 27MP photo and then you've got the different time lapse options,
10:59so by default it's time warp, but you can also change to star trails, light painting,
11:03a whole bunch of different sped up or long exposure options here, which are all fun to
11:07play with.
11:08And then swipe down for the settings menu, of which you can swipe to the left and you
11:11can manage your SD card and also of course upload your footage to Quick, the app or GoPro
11:17storage, although that does require a subscription and then this way for more preferences.
11:21Again, nothing particularly new here if you have used a GoPro for the last few years.
11:26So should you buy, that's just too dangerous, I can't skateboard, I'm not going to pretend
11:30I can.
11:31Can't surf either.
11:32I don't know why they send me action cameras to review, I can't do anything action-y.
11:37But should you buy the GoPro Hero 12?
11:39Well, I think it entirely depends on what GoPro you currently have and if you need a
11:44new one, like if your current one's broken, because to be honest, while there are some
11:48very nice upgrades with this guy, I wouldn't chuck my own one in the bin just yet and actually
11:53I think the Hero 11 with its bigger sensor and the 8x7 and all that was actually probably
11:57a more significant upgrade.
11:59I think maybe if you've got a GoPro 7 or 8, possibly worth upgrading, there are quite
12:02a few nice-to-haves and the video quality I get from this thing is still fantastic.
12:07So I suppose the number one thing on my wishlist would be a bigger 1-inch sensor so it does
12:10perform better in low light.
12:12I'm sure they would if they could and there were rumors that they were going to with this
12:15but obviously it's going to be a challenge to maintain the thermals and the battery and
12:19the runtime, which has been a problem with these in the past.
12:22Let me know what you make of the Hero 12 in the comments below and also if you've got
12:25any questions, let me know.
12:26Thank you so much for watching and putting up with my terrible surfing and pretty appalling
12:30athleticism and I'll see you next time right here on the Tech Chap.