Thinking of getting a Gopro Hero9 Black action cam? For many, you should probably buy the Gopro
8 while it's still available at the discounted price. Here is the Gopro9 Black review from
a motocycling perspective, but my comments may be relevant if you are trying to decide
between the two. We did an earlier Gopro Hero8 Black review, see the relevant video.
A common criticism of Gopro is they don't iron out all the bugs before release,
and we consumers become the guinea pigs. The Gopro 9 was no exception.
Problems with overheating, voice commands not working, unable to connect, screen lag
and freezing, the list goes on and on. Firmware updates appear to have solved most issues. It
makes a lot of sense not to buy a new Gopro until at least the first firmware update is released.
So quickly, in what ways is the Gopro 9 better than the Gopro 8?
The resolution is higher, 5k instead of 4k. Although 4k is more than enough for most users.
If you are vlogging the front screen is bigger and can be used for viewing yourself.
The rear screen is slightly bigger too on the Gopro 9.
Gopro claim battery life is 30% longer, tests show that is a fairly accurate claim.
The lens cap is removable on the 9, it was fixed on the 8 so couldn't be replaced if damaged.
However, most of us buy the very cheap but effective tempered glass for the lens and screens
which protect the Gopro 8 Black well. Gopro claim their image
stabilisation has improved, personally I can't see the difference, at least not for motorbike riding.
Finally, Gopro has introduced the Max lens mod for the 9 model. Once you look into this, most will
find it's not a worthwhile addition especially at the cost. Research this and see what you think.
In what ways can the Gopro 9 be worse? It's bigger and heavier. For many, this
won't be an issue. But for motorbike riding, the camera is usually mounted to the helmet and it's
surprising how you do notice the extra size and weight. Not a deal breaker, but noticeable.
Unfortunately theGopro 9 still freezes regularly and you need to pop the
battery out and back in to reset it. Firmware updates and fast SD cards reduce the problem,
but it seems to happen with every single model, the Gopro 8 included.
To make this worse, the new battery door is harder to open on the 9 model. In fact mine was so hard,
I was breaking finger nails trying to open it so used a screwdriver.
Gopro sent me a new door which is a bit better, but not by much. I
don't know how widespread this is, but I have seen others complain.
The files formats appear to be the same, but I find the files from the Gopro 9 are harder
for my computer to handle. They take longer to import, they don't play smoothly in preview,
they take longer to render. I have a very high spec gaming laptop so this is quite
annoying when I make videos for a living. I'm keen to see if others experience this too.
The on off button is not as reliable as the 8 model.
Sometimes I have to press up to three times before I can get it to work.
Admittedly this is wearing motorbike gloves, but there were never problems with the 8.
Ditto with the touch screen, it doesn't respond as well as the 8 model did.
And a very strange glitch, often my very first recording for the day defaults to time warp,
but is fine after that. Very annoying if you really wanted that first file to record properly.
Hopefully the next firmware update will get that sorted.
So my conclusion? I suspect that the average
user may benefit with buying the Gopro 8. It's heavily discounted, bug-free, smaller,
lighter, and already has more features than most of us will fully use.
But are you vlogger? Do you regularly film in 4k so the bigger 5K resolution will be
handy for zooming in? Is the Max lens mod useful? Is longer battery life critical?
These would all be good reasons to shell out the extra cash for the Gopro Hero 9.
Keen to hear about your experiences, let us know in the comments.