GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini: A bit smaller, rather less succesful | Engadget

GoPro’s annual Hero Black replace got here with a small shock this 12 months. Instead of simply the same old flagship digicam, a “Mini” model was additionally unveiled. Alas, solely the common Hero Black was accessible once they have been introduced, so if the diminutive model caught your eye you needed to wait till Oct twenty fifth. And then you definately needed to wait just a little bit longer. But lastly it’s right here and it’s an fascinating proposition.

Of course, the pitch is straightforward: A Hero 11 Black however smaller. The Mini is about 3/4 of an inch narrower than the common Hero 11 Black if you take a look at it head on. But it’s additionally a teensy bit taller and about 5mm deeper. It’s clearly smaller general, however there’s a lot much less of a distinction than there was with the Session cameras and the flagship of the time. As with that digicam, although, the principle commerce off is the dearth of viewfinder/shows. That’s a giant deal, in order that discount in measurement actually has to attraction to your use case. And I can say proper up prime right here, for most folks, it seemingly doesn’t.

To put issues in perspective, on the time of writing, the Mini sells for $299.98 with a GoPro subscription, whereas the common Hero 11 Black is listed for $349.98 with the identical deal ($449.98 / $549.98 respectively if for some cause you possibly can’t take the subscription supply). That’s both a $50 or $100 distinction, relying, for the general compromises and comparatively minor distinction in measurement. And there are further variations past the dearth of display that you just’ll wish to contemplate. For instance, there is not any picture mode this time round.

To be clear, sure you will get photographs out of the digicam (there’s one proper above this sentence) however you’ll be pulling frames from video. And whereas that’s fairly straightforward, it’s undoubtedly not so simple as selecting picture mode and urgent a button (additionally your photographs would possibly find yourself 16:9 if that’s what the supply materials is). Taking photographs is unquestionably one thing you would possibly assume you are able to do natively and I’m obliged due to this fact to let you know that you just can’t.

Of course, as talked about, there’s no touchscreen which impacts the way you entry the menu. You can navigate the settings by way of a small show on the highest that can ship GoPro veterans proper again to the Hero 4 (and earlier) days. The choices listed below are barely restricted, with simply capturing mode, mode settings and a few (however not all) normal settings up for grabs. Everything else you’ll be doing via the app.

I personally choose doing most issues on the digicam itself, after which use the app when the digicam is mounted out of attain, however I didn’t discover it onerous to transition to doing most the whole lot in Quik. This solely actually turns into a problem in the event you’re doing one thing the place your cellphone isn’t close by. Surfing, for instance, would possibly want a bit of little bit of pre-planning to be sure to’re arrange earlier than you get within the water.

Relatedly, I observed the digicam goes into standby in a short time. After simply eight seconds of inactivity the Mini will flip itself off (15 in the event you’re within the settings menu). This is clearly to avoid wasting battery life, however it additionally means in the event you have been simply pausing for thought, it’s a must to flip the digicam again on, and probably re-connect to the digicam over WiFi after which decide up the place you left off. It seems like a straightforward repair so as to add an choice to vary the period of time, however for now, that’s how it’s.

If you’re used to utilizing GoPro’s video presets, it’s value figuring out there’s just one right here on the Mini. Unlike the common Hero 11 that provides many together with the choice to create your personal for various capturing situations, the Mini has the necessities and never a lot else. It simply means you’ll want to change your video settings on a per-shot foundation (like life earlier than GoPro launched presets) however it was one thing I discovered myself lacking.

As for battery life, there’s excellent news and unhealthy information. The unhealthy information is that the sealed-design means you possibly can’t swap out a brand new cell do you have to run out of juice. The higher information is that the Mini makes use of the brand new longer-lasting Enduro battery. GoPro claims you need to get about an hour of steady recording on the highest high quality, or nearer to 2 hours are much less demanding settings. This feels about proper based mostly on the quick time we’ve had with the digicam and in addition inline with the Hero 11 Black, which makes use of the identical battery.

Since the newest redesign and addition of 5.3K video modes, some folks had points with the digicam overheating whereas recording indoors, with the digicam in a set place. The firm issued a software update in response together with a brand new “stationary/tripod” mode.

When we examined our Hero 9, 10 and 11, we didn’t expertise that problem, however with the Mini, it occurred fairly rapidly (in beneath 10 minutes) when recording at 5.3K/60fps. In much less power-hungry modes the difficulty disappeared, so something 1080p, for instance, was superb. GoPro’s messaging right here is that the Mini is an out of doors digicam, designed for mounting on you or your gear. So, in the event you have been taking a look at this for a possible static/indoor utility, it’s not the digicam you need, even in keeping with GoPro.

If that appeared like quite a lot of phrases about issues you possibly can’t or shouldn’t do, then the excellent news is that, from right here on out, it’s all about what the Mini can do. The quick model of that’s, largely the whole lot it’s greater sibling can. But it’s value calling out some specifics, and even a few issues which might be distinctive to the smaller digicam.

The very first thing I wished to verify was that the Mini had full 360-degree horizon lock. This was one thing new to the Hero 11 Black and it was one of many standout options this 12 months. There was no cause why the Mini wouldn’t be capable of do that, with it having the identical sensor and all, however contemplate this affirmation of that nonetheless.

The identical goes for the brand new Hyperview mode, which squeezes each pixel from the sensor right into a 16:9 video. It’s extremely immersive and makes even essentially the most mundane of actions appear surprisingly dynamic. And after all, full-frame capturing can also be right here, so you possibly can seize the whole lot the sensor sees after which punch out totally different mobile-friendly or desktop movies from the identical supply file.

Where the Mini excels, unsurprisingly, is with something physique mounted. The smaller form-factor and lighter weight make it a a lot good expertise for head or helmet mounting. In truth, I’d go as far to say that the Mini is all about being a helmet cam. Not least due to the second pair of mounting fingers on the rear that make it simpler to repair in a forward-facing place.

And this actually seems like what the Mini is all about. If you don’t need all of the bells and whistles and simply need an honest-to-goodness motion digicam with all of the Hero 11 Black video credentials, then the Mini is it. It additionally seems like it might make a great secondary digicam for a unique angle. Similarly, in the event you use a full-size GoPro for drone FPV footage (somewhat than the devoted “Bones” digicam) then the Mini can also be an ideal choice for that – plus you get a digicam you should utilize elsewhere, too (in contrast to Bones).