The GoPro Hero 9 Black has just been launched last month, along with a couple of significant upgrades over its predecessor: 5K video recording, a front-facing display, and a new HyperSmooth 3.0 stabilisation feature.
The Exterior
Compare to its predecessor Hero 8 Black, Hero 9 Black camera body is slightly larger and heavier than the Hero 8 Black. GoPro also has increased 30% on its battery which makes the batter larger than the Hero 8 Black. GoPro has brought back its removable lens as they heard its users grief on not having it on the Hero 8 Black.
The font facing screen has been turned into a color screen and it is larger compare to Hero 8 Black. These was a most sought after features that has been waited by GoPro users for quite sometime as many of them would be more comfortable to have a front facing camera to estimates whether the object that they wanted are in frame or not.
GoPro Hero 9 Black also have a larger back screen on it for a more better viewing. There is also an improvement on its battery cover where it is much more stable when it is half open for charging.
Features
The highly promoted feature for Hero 9 Black was its ability to record video on 5K format. Which would be a game changer not only for the action camera but also for many mirrorless and DSLRs cameras. It’s camera has been upgraded from 12MP to 23.6MP too.
Some other improved features in Hero 9 Black were its; Hypersmooth 3.0 and TimeWrap 3.0 which has been proven to be another improvements on its recording performance. One of the improvements that impresses us was it’s ability to record a video for 3 hours continuously. Comparatively it’s predecessor Hero 8 Black could only record less than 26 minutes at a time with 4k videos. We believe GoPro has fixed the overheating issues which caused the camera to auto shuts downs when it overheats.
Besides that Hero 9 Black has also been included a few more new features such as Horizon Leveling , 1080p Webcam, HindSight, Duration Capture and Schedule Wake Capture.
The Horizon Leveling allows you to capture that silky-smooth cinematic look whether you’re getting sideways, flipping through the air or chasing your kids. This feature will only level your videos on the horizontal axis up to 45 degree, meaning that any movement from panning up or down will still be visible in your shots. The 1080p Webcam mode allows Hero 9 Black to be used for 1080p Live Streaming and as a webcam.
HindSight is similar to the LiveBurst feature in the Hero 8, and now the Hero 9, that captures 1.5 seconds of video before and after you take a picture. For HindSight, it stores a 15- or 30-second buffer for video. As you press record it starts with the video stored in the buffer.
Duration Capture lets you set a timed recording from 15 seconds to 3 hours. Scheduled Capture lets you pick a time you want the camera to turn on and start recording automatically — perfect for sunrises and sunsets or anything else you don’t want to miss because you won’t be there to press record.
Cons
Since the exterior and battery are much more larger than Hero 8 Black, GoPro Hero 9 Black would not be able to to used its predeccesor’s accessories such as battery, external battery charger and Media Mods. The back screen was also appear insensitive and hard to be used. Hopefully GoPro would be coming out with some solutions for the back screen really soon.
Overall Hero 9 Black was a game changing action camera compare to its competitors. If you are looking for any action camera, this on would be the one that you should consider seriously in 2020.
GoPro Hero 9 Black are currently available for sale in Malaysia. If you are interested to purchase one of the GoPro Hero 9 Black, you can pick one up at GoPro’s authorised retailers or GoPro’s Shopee site, as well as retailers on Lazada.
P/s: There might be some counterfeited GoPro products online. In order to avoid it, it’s advisable to purchase the products from an authorised seller which is FunSportz Official Store in Shopee or Lazada if you are in Malaysia.
