I'd been using the gopro hero 6 for a couple of years before recently
upgrading to the gopro hero 8. When the gopro hero 7 came out I just wasn't
convinced that there'd be enough of a difference to justify the upgrade.
In this video I'll tell you why I did finally decide to upgrade to the 8
and I'll show you some comparison footage so that you can decide if it's
worth the investment for you. Now let me start by explaining my
specific use case for the gopro. I typically shoot on mirrorless cameras
along with larger cinema cameras for professional applications.
But when i'm traveling fast and light on an adventure or during a trail race
I need a camera that is light, tough and simple to use.
iIm a firm believer that the best camera is the one that you have on you.
If a camera is even slightly too heavy or cumbersome you're likely to decide to
leave it at home more often than not and that's where the
gopro comes in for me. It's my default camera for backcountry
skiing and trail running adventures. It's got great
stabilization when shooting video and I can shoot raw photos that I can
then develop in Lightroom for publishing to Facebook and Instagram.
It's waterproof and practically bomb proof
but it's also easy to function when I'm tired or I just don't want to be
distracted. Sure, it leaves something to be
desired in terms of quality and the focal length can be a limitation
but as long as you shoot with a flat profile and you spend time grading your
footage in post you can get some surprisingly beautiful
shots. So let's talk first about the gopro hero 6.
I bought this in early 2018 to use during the Tor Des Geants
a 200-mile race in the Italian Alps. I bought some extra third-party batteries
and two 64-gig cards along with a handle and neoprene protective case.
I was super impressed with the stabilization as well as the quality of
the footage once it was graded especially
considering i had been upgrading from a gopro 4
which didn't have any stabilization and required a separate housing to become
waterproof. I also love the voice activated
functionality which is super handy if you want to take a selfie
or if you're wearing big ski gloves. Now the gopro hero 7 came out a few months
later which reportedly had an updated interface
as well as slightly better stabilization than the 6
but it didn't seem worth the expense. But when the gopro hero8 came out it
boasted a new and improved hypersmooth 2.0 stabilization system
as well as different housing options with support for a number of add-ons.
Fortunately, my stack of batteries from the 6 still work in the 8
although with limitations in terms of the stabilization feature.
But given that the new batteries are a fraction of the price of what they used
to be, it was a no-brainer to buy a couple of
extra along with my new gopro hero8. I also picked up this Shorty Mini
extension pole which works as a grip as a little selfie stick and even as a
small tripod. The first thing i noticed compared to
the gopro 6 were the improvements in the user interface.
I tend to switch not only between video and photo mode quite often but also
between video frame rates and field of view when filming. Iprefer to
shoot on narrow mode when shooting landscapes and then back to a wider
angle for selfies. But the stabilization made the upgrade
worth it alone from the 6 to the 8. My biggest gripe with the gopro hero 6
is the stuttering effect that i would often get in my footage
where the electronic stabilization seems to struggle to keep up
especially when running or when quickly panning. I was surprised by just how much
the algorithm had improved with Hypersmooth Boost in the gopro hero8. As you
can see in the side by side comparison no additional stabilization has been
done in post although the footage has been color graded with the same LUT
applied to both. You can see just how much less bounce there is in the
footage from the gopro hero8 and that stuttering effect is completely gone.
There's definitely still a technique to shooting smooth footage
and I tend to do more of a crab walk than a run when shooting on the move
avoiding any fast pan. But even while running the stabilization in the gopro
hero8 has no problem keeping up. I'm looking forward to using this camera
on all of my upcoming adventures so stay tuned for footage from those
but in the meantime check out some of my films
shot on the gopro hero 6 including my latest from when i attempted to
fastpack the Tahoe Rim Trail back in early summer of 2019.
So what do you think, have you made the
jump to the gopro 8? What about those of you with the gopro 7, do you think you'll
make the investment to upgrade to the 8? Tell me in the comments below and be
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