GoPro’s HERO7 Black doesn’t need a gimbal. It’s got HyperSmooth

GoPro has had a rough time. But that doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten how to make the thing they’re practically synonymous with: Action cameras. And their latest device looks pretty bonkers. It’s called the HERO7 Black and this tiny action camera features something called HyperSmooth.

No, it doesn’t mean that this tiny action camera is really skilled at social interactions. HyperSmooth is what GoPro is calling the brand new video stabilisation feature in the HERO7 Black. In fact, they’re saying that it’s the best in-camera stabilisation ever.

It’s kind of hard to tell from the promotional videos just how well this works, but from the looks of things HyperSmooth seems absolutely awesome. There’s this clip of a guy just full on running at the edge of some cliff holding what I’m assuming is the HERO7 Black, and yet the footage is still as smooth as butter.

It almost looks like it was shot on a mechanical gimbal, which is the point I guess that GoPro is trying to prove.

According to TheVerge who have had some time with the HERO7 Black, the reason this apparently magical video stabilisation is possible is because of how familiar the action camera maker has gotten with their custom GP1 chip. I suppose people will be bummed out that the HERO7 Black still uses the GP1 processor that debuted on the HERO6, but does it really matter if at the end of the day you’re getting a better experience?

Apparently HERO7 Black takes your regular electronic image stabilisation (EIS) and builds on it with the GP1 processor, extra RAM and internal sensors in the HERO7 Black to predict in real-time how the camera will move.

That sounds like an incredible amount of computing from something that’s about the size of several rice crackers stacked together. Very impressive. Though, I have had the chance to use Sony’s FDR X3000 action camera and that had some remarkable stabilisation too, with Sony’s SteadyShot. It’ll be interesting to see how much better GoPro’s will be.

But, crazy smooth video won’t mean a thing if the footage isn’t good. Thankfully, the HERO7 Black continues GoPro’s track record of high-resolution video recording as it is capable of recording 4K video footage at up to 60fps, 2.7K at up to 120fps, and 1080p at up to 240fps. Unfortunately, these are the same kind of video recording formats as the HERO6.

The big change — besides HyperSmooth — comes in the form of something called SuperPhoto. Y’know, like a photo but more super. In essence, it looks like the HERO7 Black is capable of what looks like a similar kind of smart HDR feature as the one you’d find on something like a Google Pixel 2 and that’s not a bad thing at all. The photos look pretty good.

Besides that, HERO7 Black also has other features like TimeWarp which looks like some form of a stabilised hyperlapse, and can even livestream videos to Facebook Live, Twitch, YouTube or Vimeo over a phone’s cellular connection. So, if you were ever mountain biking through a jungle with your friends and thought “Gee, I wish I could livestream this”, GoPro’s got you covered. I mean, assuming you can get a cell reception there, of course.

The rest of the HERO7 Black is pretty similar to the HERO6. They’re about the same size, so your old mounts and accessories will work with HERO7 Black too. It’s also waterproof without a case down to 10m, has an LCD touchscreen, features voice controls and can also automatically back up your footage over WiFi to GoPro’s cloud subscription service.

Probably the best part about the HERO7 Black for people who already own a HERO5 or HERO6 is that it uses the same batteries so you can swap them around no problem.

But, all of those goodies come at a price and the HERO7 Black’s RM1,869, which is actually significantly cheaper than the HERO6’s launch price of RM2,399. It’s much closer to that of the HERO5 which retailed for RM1,849 at launch. You can pre-order GoPro’s latest action camera at several authorised dealers including Harvey Norman and ThunderMatch Technology.

Of course, if the HERO7 Black is too pricey…

GoPro didn’t just launch one high-end HERO7. In fact, they launched three HERO7s. In addition to the top-of-the-line HERO7 Black, they’ve also launched the HERO7 Silver and HERO7 White which are much more affordable than the HERO7 Black. Unfortunately they’re also down on features.

Neither of these cameras have HyperSmooth, neither are powered by GoPro’s GP1 processor and both of them feature built-in batteries so you can’t remove them. That last one is honestly the most baffling thing about these two cameras. Why would anyone build a camera with a non-removable battery? Especially an action camera.

These cameras also take a big hit in video recording capabilities, with the Silver topping out at 4K 30fps while the White can only record up to 1080p at 60fps. The only upside is that these are also water-resistant down to 10m without a case and feature touch screens as well as voice control like the Black.

Oh, and of course the lower price tags mean they’re more accessible too. The HERO7 Silver retails for USD299.99 (around RM1,242) while the HERO7 White is priced at USD199.99  (around RM827). Unfortunately, there’s no information on when — or if — these affordable HERO7s will make it into Malaysia.

For more deets, check out GoPro’s website.