Thinking about buying an action camera for your upcoming travels?
Let's talk about the GoPro Hero 8!
Hey guys, Chris from Stoked For Travel here! Welcome back
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Today we're going to talk about
one of my favorite travel gadgets - the new GoPro Hero 8. We're gonna talk about
the good, the bad, whether you should upgrade and of course whether it's worth
the money! So yeah let's get started...
So first things first what is new with the
GoPro Hero 8? wWell there's been a lot of internal upgrades with the Hero 8 over the
Hero 7 - upgraded superphoto, live burst mode - which takes 90 pictures in a
video and then pulls them out as stills, which is great for action photography.
The camera itself is actually 14% lighter and they've also implemented
these new folding fingers, which lie flush with the camera. More about that in a bit!
Now if there's one stand alone feature that would make you upgrade to
the GoPro Hero 8 it has to be Hypersmooth 2.0
Now the GoPro Hero 7 introduced
Hypersmooth which is gimbal like quality and was an absolute
game-changing for action camera. Now the Hero 8 builds on this with Hypersmooth 2.0
which massively ups the game. Being able to shoot 4K @ 60 frames a second,
2.7K @ 120 frames a second and even 1080P at a whopping 240 frames a second
really opens up a whole heap of creative options and gimbal quality
silky smooth footage. So yeah for serious videographers looking to go for the
upgrade Hypersmooth 2.0 is all you need to know!
Over the last 6 months of
using the GoPro on the road I've noticed there's lots of little touches that GoPro
have implemented on the Hero 8 to make it a better user experience.
The biggest impact on this has to be the new GoPro user interface on the camera
itself. This allows you to switch between modes and functions a lot easier which
makes it a better user experience overall. One of the main things on this
is the new preset button where you can pre-program your favorite settings
including resolutions, frame rates and field of vision so you can swap between
them quickly and adjust to different situations or
situations that you shoot over and over again and have a specific set up for.
So yeah - a much better user experience on the Hero 8 and it builds on the
usability of the Hero 7.
Now if you want a full rundown of all the little
internal tweaks that GoPro has made on the Hero 8, hit the link in the description
below and it's got a full rundown of everything that's new but those points
are my key features that I've been using and made the most of with the Hero 8 upgrade.
Now alongside the Hero 8, GoPro also launched their new Media Mods -
specifically for the Hero 8 camera. Now this Media Mod comes with an additional
mic on both the front and the back, but more importantly comes with a 3.5mm
jack on the back as well. Now this opens up a whole heap of options
for attaching external microphones and vastly improving the GoPro audio
experience. Whether you use a shotgun mic or a lavalier mic, like I'm using here, it's
is a massive improvement on the audio quality of all the previous GoPros.
Now alongside this there's also a cold shoe mount on both the top and the side of the
Media Mod so you can add on the extra mods as well - such as the LCD screen or
the LED light. Now all of these do come packaged separately so they do up the
cost of your GoPro kit. But for vloggers out there it's an awesome investment.
now if you want to learn more about vlogging with your GoPro or my
personal setup, check out the link in the description below for my full written guide.
So what are the downsides of the Hero 8? Now actually for me the
biggest downside of the Hero 8 is actually the folding fingers. Now some people will
love them because it makes the camera nice and smooth and sleek, however that
cage mount has actually been something that's been really useful when I've been
shooting. Having the cage attached to various mounts means you can just
quickly pull out the camera and plop it into another mount and continue shooting.
That floating finger adjustment now means you have to unscrew them and
rescrew them. It might seem like a mild inconvenience, but when you're shooting a
lot of different scenes and using a lot of different mounts it can get quite
annoying, quite quickly. And not only that but the lack of cage mount does also
impact the durability of the GoPro. Of course if you dropped it or were doing a
lot of action sports and was taking a lot of knocks the cage actually provided
a lot of protection. Now GoPro has said that you know the glass is more
durable and the case is more durable, however in the long run I think that the
lack of cage mount is actually going to limit the lifespan of your GoPro Hero 8.
Now on the durability side of things the GoPro Hero 8 does also lack the
replaceable lens cap than the Hero 7 had. On the Hero 7 you could quickly un attach
that for the dive housing, but also to replace it if it did get
scratched. Now on the Hero 8 that is all part of the now new, streamlined shell,
which does mean if you do scratch the lens you have to send it back to GoPro
to get it repaired which is a bit of an annoyance,
especially if you're trying to put the GoPro through its paces and doing things
with gravel, or surfing, or anything that's going to really knock it around.
Now one of the best things about shooting with the GoPro is the amount of
accessories that are available, so you can get really creative with your shots.
Now does a GoPro Hero 8 work with all your accessories? Well for 99% of things,
including your poles, your floaty grips, and your mouth mounts - YES the Hero 8 will
still be compatible. The main exception to this because of the change of the
form factor is going to be your Supersuit. So if you're going diving or want
to get more waterproof, or that little bit of extra protection, you will need to
upgrade your GoPro Supersuit to the Hero 8 one.
Now for the big question...
Should you upgrade to the GoPro Hero 8? Now personally if you're shooting with the
GoPro Session or the GoPro Hero 6, then I say YES - upgrade it! Hypersmooth 2.0 is
gonna blow your mind and there's so many new features involved - it's gonna be epic!
Now when it comes to the GoPro Hero 7 things get a little bit tighter. In terms
of cost the GoPro Hero 8 is a little bit more expensive so you've got to take
that in mind and whether you'd be better off investing in some more accessories.
But the main defining factor I would say it was whether you're gonna use Hypersmooth 2.0
to its full extent. For serious videographers out there
being able to shoot 4K 60 or 2.7 at 120 and of course 1080 at 240 frames a
second then yes that is gonna be why you're gonna want to upgrade to the Hero 8.
For everyone else it really comes down to money and whether you
think investing that little bit extra is gonna be better for you or whether you'd
be better off getting more accessories and really getting creative with your shooting
So after six months on the road with the GoPro Hero 8 what are
my final thoughts on the Hero 8 itself? Well it's an awesome little action
camera and arguably the best one out there at the moment. Hypersmooth 2.0
took the gimbal quality footage of Hypersmooth to the next level, of course
unlocking those extra frame rates was an amazing addition to any persons camera
bag. Sure it wasn't quite where I expected Hero 8 to go - I was really
hoping for an LCD screen on the front like the Osmo Action. Even so it is an
incredible camera and the Media Mod and the external microphone options really
give you a few more options for shooting and vlogging with the camera. Whether it's
worth the upgrade is really going to come down to your budget, I think the
Hero 9 is obviously still a way away, so it's still an excellent investment.
But yeah, for me, Hero 8 - another amazing camera by GoPro and I highly recommend it!
That's it for this week guys, please make sure you like, comment, subscribe and I'll
see you next time!
Yeeeewwwwww!