Tag Archives: HyperSmooth

GoPro Hero 10 Leaks with 240fps in 2.7k!

It seems the leaks have come down heavily on the to be formally announced Hero 10 Black from GoPro. The latest by Winfuture.de & @rquandt. The most important part of the leak speaks about the use of the new GP2 chipset which is at least 2x faster than the already long in the tooth GP1 which was a great processing unit when released a few iterations back but now has a bit of catch up to do.

The leak also talks about new Hypersmooth 4.0 which seems to use also the oversampled sensor to deliver gimbal-like motion stabilization performance for the camera without the use of a physical stabilizing unit. We really like Hypersmooth 2 and 3 and if the GP2 is such a better processing core, it should in theory yield even better smoothness on most footage resolutions.  Frame rates have also taken a big leap here, and we speculate on what it could mean for slow motion enthusiasts. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

GoPro Hero 9 Black Slow Motion Fail!

Gopro Hero 9 Black Slow Motion Fail

GoPro has released the Hero 9 Black and in many respects, it is the best camera they have ever made. It is a little larger to accommodate a slightly larger battery and screens and it offers a new 5k mode that is very filmic like with pretty good dynamic range.  It has Hypersmooth 3 technology which does away with most gimbal situations and it can serve as a minute and reliable blog camera.

However, the GoPro Hero 9 Black is in some ways the end of an era for GoPro and the action camera market. It now heralds a new subscription model that aims to hook their market with a  lower price for the camera if the subscription to GoPro.com is added at check out.  Gone are the days of class-leading technology and in are the days of survival at all costs. Can we really blame GoPro for trying to make it?

GoPro Hero 9 Black Main Features:

  • 23.6MP Sensor, 5K30 Video & 20MP Photos
  • 240fps 1080p Video* 8x Slo-Mo
  • Live View Front Display/Rear Touchscreen
  • Webcam Mode & 1080p Live Streaming
  • HyperSmooth 3.0 Image Stabilization
  • 33′ Waterproof without External Housing
  • PowerTools & Protune Feature Suites
  • Time-Lapse & Night-Lapse
  • Built-In Flip-Out 2-Prong Mount
  • 30% Longer 1720mAh Capacity Battery

1080p Frame rates:

  • Linear Lens 240, 120, 60, 30, 24 fps
  • Linear + Horizon Leveling 240, 120, 60, 30, 24 fps
  • Narrow Lens 240, 120, 60, 30, 24 fps

2.7K Frame Rates:

  • Wide Lens 120, 60 fps
  • Linear Lens 60, 30, 24 fps
  • Linear + Horizon Leveling 60, 30, 24 fps
  • Narrow Lens 60, 30, 24 fps

If you decide to get a Hero 9 which in our view is still the best action camera you can buy, you may be inclined to lower your cost by subscribing to GoPro.com and shaving $100USD from the camera price.

HERO9 Black

$349.98 includes

1-year subscription to GoPro1

or
$449.99
without subscription Subscribing to GoPro gets you:

  • Unlimited cloud storage
  • Up to 50% off at GoPro.com2
  • Total camera replacement3

32GB SD card included

So what is wrong with this camera?

There are few things we don’t like on this camera which is a good thing, it has outstanding 5k 30fps footage, it has larger screens and better Hypersmooth in 4k, it has a larger battery, and it is a very refined product with a  quality build. It is in fact the best GoPro we have ever seen but sadly there are things we need to mention.

GoPro Hero 9 Black Slow Motion Fail:

The biggest issue we have is the stagnation of 1080p frame rates. 120 and 240fps in full HD remain essentially the same quality as they were in the Hero 6 Black.  Sure you get better Hypersmooth stabilization in 240p but quality-wise, the pixelation, and overall soft look of the slow motion footage is here with no apologies.

There has not been a consolidated effort to offer 480fps or even 320fps footage in 1080p even as the camera has grown to accommodate 4k 60p and 5k 30p recording modes.  In other words, slow motion is mostly frozen in place except for one little glimmer of hope. GoPro needs to become a leader in frame rates again, it was and still is one of the most important considerations for its users.

That hope is in the form of 2.7k at 120fps which is detailed, offers excellent color and dynamic range for such a small camera and sensor. They did a really good job extracting those 120 frames and we feel that this should be your default slow motion option on this camera. 1080p is simply to soft to even consider it for full HD quality, it is still more like a 720p upscaled mess.

5k is essentially the star on this camera and it is probably the main reason to get this camera over the Hero 8 Black.

GoPro Hero 9 Black Video Test 5K by KabyNougat: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

GoPro Hero 7 Black Has Killer Stabilization but Same fps!

GoPro Hero 7 Black

GoPro has released 3 new cameras including the Hero 7 Black which is now the flagship product for the company.  The key feature is HyperSmooth which is a predictive stabilization technology based on scene analysis and sensor telemetry to accurately anticipate motion and correct the image to generate a gimbal-like smooth appearance to the video.  When you see the footage it is clear it is a huge improvement compared to even the Hero 6 Black which had a pretty good stabilizer.

The Stabilization, however, is limited to  4k 30/60p and other resolutions below 120p but anything above 120fps will use the previous stabilization feature which is not predictive and have no stabilization support at all at 1080p 240fps which is the highest slow motion mode.  No 480fps or other higher fps settings are available as the camera uses both the same Hero 6 Black sensor and the same GP1 system chip for this new camera.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Frame Rate support:

4k Recording:

  • Wide FOV: 60,30,24 with HyperSmooth!
  • Super View: 30, 24fps
  • 4:3 4k  30,24

2.7k Recording:

  • Wide FOV: 120, 60, 30, 24 fps
  • SuperView FOV: 60, 30, 24 fps
  • Linear FOV: 60, 30, 24 fps

1440p Recording:

  • Wide FOV: 120, 60, 30, 24 fps
  • Linear FOV: 60, 30, 24 fps

1080p Recording:

  • Wide FOV: 240, 120, 60, 30, 24 fps
  • SuperView FOV: 120, 60, 30, 24 fps
  • Linear FOV: 120, 60, 30, 24 fps

960p Recording:

  • Wide FOV: 240, 120

720p Recording:

  • Wide FOV: 240, 60p

Formats:

  • File Format: MP4 (H.264/AVC), MP4 (H.265/HVEC)
  • 78 Mb/s (4K)

Introducing HERO7 Black – Shaky Video is Dead by GoPro:

There is no question that the Hero 7 Black is the best GoPro ever introduced. The quality and features are top-notch considering it remains an affordable $399.99(Available At Amazon Now) which is in line with other competitors.

The lack of above 240fps frame rates is disheartening as the spec has remained pegged to the camera since the Hero 5 black with only improvements in aliasing reduction and codec bit-rate. The footage does look better in the Hero 7 Black compared to the Hero 6 mostly due to increased bit-rate but not because the imaging system has changed because it remains exactly the same. The changes are mainly in the addition of a 1GB of extra RAM memory to help with Timelapse/Hyperlapse modes and the new HyperSmooth stabilizer. The extra GB helps the camera buffer enough information for real-time stabilization that is in a word unique.

This new stabilizer is so good that it really kills off gimbals for the Hero series like GoPro’s own Karma stabilizer which may still offer an edge but much less so now.  The Stabilization will, of course, reduce image quality with cropping but it does so intelligently by sampling a larger sensor area and then trimming as little as possible to maintain resolution across the board.

As mentioned earlier, the stabilizer will not work in 240fps slow-motion modes but many will point out that at that speed it will be overkill and redundant since stabilization in slow motion happens as a side effect of the high fps capture and regular speed playback.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review: 16 THINGS TO KNOW by DC Rainmaker: → Continue Reading Full Post ←