GoPro HERO13 Black review: into the wild

When the new GoPro HERO13 Black arrived at my desk, I was ready to pack it up for my annual trip to Alaska. Alaska is the perfect sandbox for all things action and adventure, and GoPro’s cameras stand at the ready for anything. I’ve seen many products do great and others absolutely terrible, so I decided to take the GoPro HERO13 Black with me for my month-long trip.

Note that I’m not a video guy — I’m a photographer. I love stills and have never really had time to learn video skills, so I was keen to see what I could do with just a GoPro, a few ND filters, and the newly released lenses. I also had to learn the Quik app, which you can use to both control the GoPro HERO13 Black remotely, edit and create videos and download content to your phone. My learning curve looked steep, but I was up for the challenge.

GoPro does have some competition — the Action Cam by DJI is now available and makes a strong case as a viable alternative. With the increasing number of alternatives to the flagship brand and the gold standard in this sector, I was looking forward to cutting my videographer teeth on this nifty device. Let’s dive in to see if the GoPro HERO13 Black rumors were true about the updates.

Editor’s Choice

GoPro Hero 13 Black

Pros

• Feature rich
• Great range of formats and frame rates
• Slo-mo is excellent
• Easy to use UI
• Battery life is improved

Cons

• Pricey vs new competition
• Deeper editing needs a computer
• Can’t mix lenses
• App disconnects during download
• Some accessories dont work with ultra wide angle lens

Price, specs, and availability

The new HERO13 Black and the HERO13 Black Creator Edition arrived on the shelves of tech outlets around the world a month ago. If you’re in the market for a new GoPro, you can choose from the HERO13 Black at $400 (which is the camera on its own), or the HERO13 Black Creator Edition ($600), which includes the Volta Power Grip, Media Mod, and Light Mod, or opt for activity-focused HERO13 Black accessory packages that are available as well. There are a slew of new features with most of the changes happening on the exterior of the GoPro HERO13 Black. The internals haven’t been forgotten with a few updates that feel like a perfect evolution from the previous outgoing model.

The GoPro HERO13 Black’s internals have been reworked slightly. The removable 1900mAh battery now has around 10% more capacity, additional enhanced power efficiency (not sure what that actually means yet), and a redesigned battery enclosure. The HERO13 Black offers 1.5 hours of continuous recording in high-resolution 4K30 and 5.3K30 modes, and over 2.5 hours at HD 1080p30, which is around the same as the outgoing model.

Slo-Mo has also been improved. The HERO13 Black captures up to 400 frames per second in HD-quality 720p, 5.3K video at 120 frames per second, and 900p video at 360 frames per second. There’s also new and improved Wi-Fi 6, although no further information is available with regard to the specification.

The other feature that stands out to me is the professional-grade Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) HDR Video. GoPro says it delivers broadcast-standard 10-bit video with Rec. 2100 color space, offering a much wider color gamut than standard high dynamic range, or HDR.

There are some new audio smarts, which look to improve balancing ambient background sounds with the original audio mix.

New lens HB series lenses and automated settings

New toys

Now for the exciting part — on the exterior of the new GoPro HERO13 Black sits one of the new HB series of attachable lens filters and, when attached, automatically sets the camera to the appropriate mode when applied. Add the new HERO Black HB Series Lenses to the HERO13 Black, and it will automatically detect each lens and adjust settings for optimal performance based on the lens type and environment. The four HB-series lenses are compatible with GoPro’s HyperSmooth stabilization and feature a waterproof, scratch-resistant design with hydrophobic coatings.

Ultra Wide mod has a POV with a 177-degree field of view and a 1:1 aspect ratio, allowing flexible cropping to widescreen (16:9) or vertical (9:16). It also enhances HyperSmooth stabilization with 360° horizon lock, supporting resolutions up to 4K60.

Macro mod is exactly what it sounds like with variable focus, capturing distant subjects or close-ups up to 4x nearer than a standard GoPro lens. The adjustable focus ring allows precise focus from as close as 4.3 inches (11cm).

There’s also anamorphic mod for ultra-wide, cinematic style footage with a 21:9 aspect ratio and reduced distortion compared to traditional wide-angle lenses. Add dramatic lens flares and use in-camera “de-squeezing” to simplify editing. Sadly, I haven’t got this lens yet to try out, but the ND Filter 4-Pack — maybe the most essential of the add-ons announced in my opinion — lets you achieve cinematic motion blur with neutral density filters (ND4 / ND8 / ND16 / ND32) as well as used for super bright environments to slow the shutter.

0:34

Related

The Volta is the first accessory I recommend every new GoPro user buys

The GoPro Volta is a grip, battery, remote, and tripod all in one.

I took the GoPro HERO13 Black to Alaska

The ultimate harsh environment test for the new GoPro

Every year I head to Alaska to photograph Kodiak brown bears, the biggest brown bears in the world. One thing I have learned over the years is that the Alaska wilderness is very unforgiving to camera equipment, let alone tech of any kind. Last year, my Nikon Z9 decided it no longer wanted to have a lens attached to the flange anymore.

So, I was keen to take the Gopro HERO 13, as well as all the new lenses and filters available to me, to Alaska with the hopes it would last longer than my Nikon did in one of the most remote and harsh environments in the world.

Related

DJI’s Osmo Action 5 Pro could put mirrorless cameras on notice

The DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro’s upgraded sensor is all about light and dynamic range.

Before I continue, it should be noted again that I’m not a video kinda person. While you won’t find me shooting the next Jurassic Park movie, making a short video for a single day of my trip was my goal, using nothing but the GoPro and the Quik app to edit and produce it.

What I liked about the GoPro HERO13 Black

More of the same, but some notable new standouts

The GoPro HERO 13 looks and feels very much like its predecessor. In fact, it seems GoPro made sure the form factor was identical, so you’re not investing money time and time again on new accessories. It’s all a part of the GoPro success story, I’m sure.

One of the standout features of the small action camera is the new lenses and filters that can be twisted and locked to the front. The ND filters worked well with the bright skies, although I saw little blue during my September trip. Controlling the light intake from the reflection of water and the direct sun worked very well, although you can only use one filter at a time, and they do not mix with the macro and wide angle lens.

Related

Is the Osmo going Pro? 4 things I want from DJI’s next action camera

DJI is teasing a Pro camera — could we soon see an action cam with the same features as the brand’s Pro drones?

Which brings me to the video I was trying to create. I loved using the wide angle lens — it was a game changer for how I use a GoPro. As a wide angle connoisseur, I was delighted to use the lens for my hiking segments. Switching lenses was easy enough — with a twist to the left, they popped off easily. The macro lens was a bit of a struggle and needed a bit more force to twist it onto the housing.

When switching lenses, the GoPro Hero 13 will change its settings and update them for whatever is applicable for that camera, like screen width. I love using GoPros for run-and-gun shooting, on-the-fly filming, or capturing b-roll. It’s exactly the kind of task where GoPros truly excel. The menu options have not changed for many years, and for newbies (and oldies like me) the UX is very good — all the options are easy to find and intuitive. Once, you connect to the Quik app, you can also adjust settings remotely, download your videos to edit and create films.

Trying the hypersmooth feature while shooting from a side mount on a boat was amazing — the video footage didn’t feel choppy or uneasy to watch back, even with the wide angle lens that would exaggerate any tilt to the GoPro held fast and steady. The same could be said for the hiking segments of the video that I made. No Blair Witch Project style shaky cam production (or videos of my nostrils) was present here.

The battery lasted all day on a single charge, which was impressive and a huge improvement over the last gen. Of course, though, I did turn the camera on and off religiously between shots since I only had a single battery.

Want to see what I made? The video is below, check it out.

What I didn’t like about the GoPro HERO13 Black

There’s not a lot to pull

It’s really hard to criticize the GoPro Hero 13, but I have a few items I’d like to mention. Firstly, it’s getting your content off the camera via Wi-Fi. GoPro says they have Wi-Fi 6 onboard, but I can’t understand why it took forever to get a few one-minute clips of b-roll to my phone. I was in the wilderness of Alaska, so there was zero interference from other devices or Wi-Fi hot spots stinking up the airwaves. However, it took about an hour for my content to get to my phone. I was shooting in 1080p at 60fps, so the files were not humongous 4K 120fps monsters, either.

I would’ve expected the transfer of content to be fast and easy. I got regular disconnections or items wouldn’t transfer at all, prompting me to retry numerous times before a successful transfer. Hopefully, there will be some firmware updates to fix the issue, saying that it is a notable concern.

Related

DJI Mini 4 Pro vs DJI Mini 3 Pro: Is newer better?

DJI’s latest Mini drones are stacked with similar features, but what makes the newest model better than its predecessor?

The rear screen struggled in harsh light too, something which makes using the phone a valid option to control the device. Can we finally have a brighter screen now?

Should you buy the GoPro HERO13 Black?

The USP of the GoPro HERO13 Black is certainly the lenses and filters. Other features are all nice to have, but if you have the GoPro HERO 12, I don’t think there is enough to get excited about upgrading.

Sure, the battery life is excellent and an improvement to boot. The slo-mo upgrade is pretty good, but the use case is limited as you can do plenty of the same in post-production.

What I love about GoPro is the ability to create quickly. The Quik app and the GoPro camera work well in tandem and videos can even be left to AI to make almost-there content in the app. Editing on a phone is a bit of a pain, but on a tablet the experience improves dramatically.

Related

The DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro is finally a worthy rival of the GoPro

DJI’s latest action camera is packed with useful features and impressive quality.

I also tried a few accessories with the new GoPro, and I must note the issues with fitting the wide angle lens and the macro lens into housing and covers. I had to swap over to the standard glass lens to use older cases.

Where the GoPro HERO13 Back shines is the wide angle lens — it’s wonderful to create using the 177-degree field of view and the glass did resist the battering Alaska gave it.

If you have an older GoPro HERO of some kind, the upgrade choice is a no-brainer, but if you have the GoPro HERO12, for example, upgrading becomes a choice about needing the new lens system or not.

Editor’s Choice

GoPro Hero 13 Black