GoPro - HERO11 Black Mini

Since you're doing night photography, you'll be using long exposures and pretty much any GoPro that can shoot Raw will be fine. The 11 and higher have the highest resolution though at 27mp and are much better for things like timelapses.

Agree. The mini is great... when it works. I had 2 die under warranty and were replaced. Total hassle. It's all good then one day won't turn on. Can't pull the battery to reset when frozen. Skip the mini.

Excuse me while I tighten my tin foil hat, but my GoPro hero 11 black worked absolutely amazing... That is, until the 12 came out 🤔. Now it's an absolute pain in the ass trying to connect it to the app to download pictures from the device I know Apple got caught doing forced obsolescence to push sales of the newer devices but, can't help but to think GoPro does the same

GoPro Mini 11 was a broken product. Overheated repeatedly, couldn't run for more than a few minutes. Worst $200 I ever spent. My Hero 4 Silver is still running, but has poor resolution in this day and age.

To size down, the only ones I know of are Dji action 2, GoPro 11 mini, GoPro session 4 and 5, insta360 go series (the pill-lookin one). Theres also some from runcam and others but I don't think they are quite on the same quality level. If you're doing kitesurfing you'll probably want something waterproof otherwise you might look into naked GoPros (which is a bit of a rabbit hole) If you're looking for a freestyle unstabilized action look I'd say Dji action 2. If you want a stabilized cinematic look using gyro flow or something, I'd say hero 11 mini. They can be found on eBay usually for around $200-250 if I remember correctly. Biggest issue with these is that they both have inbuilt batteries that are not replaceable

i've been really happy with my gopro, the price is right. i've had the 8 through 11. You can actually pull some great stills from video if you get lucky - i've managed to blow up some stills into large format prints to hang and they look fantastic. Lighting + basic editing skills makes a huge difference.

I have the go pro hero 11 mini and its been amazing! It does weigh 133g so might be a bit heavy for your use but I cant even notice it on my 5inch

What do you have? I agree it's not a huge deal as I rarely use my hero 11 at night but when compared to the competition, it's a huge difference.

You could find a used GoPro 11 under that budget, way better than the basic GoPro Hero which I don't recommend it, nor the Akaso/SJCam action cameras, audio quality is bad and stabilization it's not that great. The Insta360 Ace camera it's slightly over your budget, could be worth it, but still I think the GoPro 11 it's a bit better.

It's simple to me. GoPro Hero cameras are a huge PITA to use. They're horribly unreliable and nowadays DJI/Insta look just as good. It's been like this since at least Hero 10. They have done nothing to fix the Hero line and continue to push out a new model every year. It's corporate greed and it's killing the company. I've spent a lot of money on GoPro gear only to be burned by them over and over again. I go out of my way to recommend against GoPro any time some asks. I will give credit where it's due though. The MAX 360 has been a great camera for me. I don't have any of the issues that are so abundant on Hero cameras. It's the only GoPro product I've had a good experience with but I still can't recommend it because of the culture at GoPro. I know if anything comes up that requires them to lift a finger to fix, it will remain broken forever while they work on the next yearly model release.

I would go for a GoPro that has the Hindsight feature (GoPro 9 -13) as this allows you to grab footage of a catch without having to be recording continuously your whole time on the water

Where are you from? Recently got a Hero 11 brand new (box was opened though) for 86 €. I'm from germany.

I don't necessarily agree that the latest one would be the best because though the 13 Black is the newest "best" model its upgrades over the 12 and 11 are minimal i.e. slight improvements in HDR/color and uses the same Enduro battery which is already in the 11 and 12. So the best would be to get the 11 Black. But if your budget is still too tight for that you can go for a more compact Hero 11 Mini that keeps the performance up but without the screens. If you're looking for more then you can try [10 Best Action Cameras to Invest in 2025: Full Guide](https://alaskanarrows.com/10-best-action-cameras-to-invest-in-2025/) Cheers and sorry for the long long reply!

11 Mini should have been the best camera ever. But it will die and stay dead. Removable battery is a feature to not overlook. I won't buy another GoPro with internal battery. Too many warranty issues with 11 Mini. Reddit search will agree.

Low light video is awful.

The GoPro Hero 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 are all the same size and use mostly the same accessories (HB series lenses for the Hero 13 are not backwards compatible, nor are the Hero 13 batteries backwards compatible). Dive cases and mounts are all the same. If you have a dive case for a Hero 9 or 10, it will fit the Hero 11, Hero 12 and Hero 13. The Hero 9 and 10 have the same sensor. The Hero 11, 12 and 13 also all have the same sensor which is just a taller version of the sensor used in the Hero 9 and 10. The proper settings will make all the difference when filming in different lighting scenarios. Filming in a flat profile and color grading in post is the best option for Hero 11 and earlier. Filming in GPLog and color grading in post will work best for the Hero 12 and 13. The GoPro Labs firmware has several tweeks (including a DIVE mode) for helping with stabilization underwater as well as color balance for the temp (color) of the water. Your sharpness should also be set to low when recording.

they are all 90% the same (this includes older models) with similar advantages and drawbacks (compared to other camera types) unless you compare them side by side, the results will be more than good enough, no matter which you choose gopro has slight disadvantage in low light - but its action camera, low light isn't what its designed for or its intended use on the other hand it has advantage in the new lenses (even thou I think they are a gimmick) its up to you what among the little detail differences is import to you dji action 5 seems like the best option right now, but DJI had (has) its own problems (like release with limited bitrate) personal I hate the way dji is controlled (but that might be because I am long time gopro user) just pick the you one like and you can buy cheapest and dont forget to consider older models, gopro 11 was sold on sale for 100€ and its perfectly comparable to the 13 or action 5

Yeah it is overkill. Overkill in both price and features because though they're great as action cameras, you don't need the stabilization, high frame rates, and rugged design for your casual travel videos mate. If you really want one, you can get an older GoPro (Hero 9, 10, or 11) if you find a good deal since they still have solid stabilization and decent built-in mics (still relatively heavy when clipped to a cap, and after 30 minutes, you might feel the strain honestly) I'd suggest you check on the Insta360 GO 3, it's tiny, weighs only 35g, and comes with a magnetic clip that can be attached to a cap more comfortably than a bulky GoPro. Otherwise, you could also check on the DJI Osmo Action 4 or Akaso Brave 7 LE too, all decent prices for your use case. You could try [10 Best Action Cameras to Invest in 2025: Full Guide and Review](https://alaskanarrows.com/10-best-action-cameras-to-invest-in-2025/) for other options too. Tldr: GoPro overkill, Insta360 more appropriate, can consider getting an older GoPro like the 9,10 or 11 if you can get a good price

I just got an ace pro 2, and the night and day difference in raw video from my hero 11 is crazy. Crystal clear shots. Amazing low-light footage. The tiktokers and influencers aren't wrong. The GoPro is absolutely the weakest of these cameras...except in underwater. From all the research I've done, for some reason, GoPro still shoots best underwater. Don't know if it's a mixture of the exposure the other cameras have that improve daytime video, so it over exposes underwater.

Send me a dm I have a go pro max and a hero 11 I would love to get rid of

Try for an 11, 12 or 13. Newer the better, yes, but the 11, 12 and 13 are all basically the same camera just with feature improvements. They are the "modern" generation of GoPros, which brings the taller 8:7 sensor, 10 bit color, Log encoding etc, noise reduction control etc.

Absolutely 💯 is. I have both the 11 and 13. Gopro finally upgraded the heatsink on the 13, which is the biggest reason I bought it.

Yeah the battery life is bad on the Gopro, but idk if the others are better, you'd have to check that. I have no experience wirh Insta360 products unfortunately. And DJI Osmo Action is a different product from what I mean (camera with gimbal), DJI Action is a regular Action Cam.

I would avoid GoPro Hero 10 or beyond. Those are the only Hero cameras I have experience with and they're a huge PITA especially for motorcycling. It either doesn't turn on, doesn't record, or records with no audio ALL THE TIME. If you happen to notice it's not turning on, then you get to pull over, take your helmet off, unmount the camera, and fiddle with it until you figure out what's not working. Usually requiring you to remove and reinsert the battery. It's the most frustrating thing ever on a bike and I'd argue dangerous since you're preoccupied with the camera instead of your ride. I tried working with a Hero 10 and 11 for over 2 years before I swore them off forever. I recently switched to Insta360 and couldn't be happier. The Insta has literally not one time malfunctioned or not recorded when I pressed the button. I also have an old DJI Osmo Action that never had reliability issues. I would say any Osmo Action gen or the previous gen Insta360 (R One or something like that I cant' remember the name) would do the job well. If part of its job is dashcam you might also consider a 360 camera. You'll have way butter luck catching incidents with it than a regular action cam. I also have a GoPro 360 MAX camera. Unlike the Hero cameras, it's been great. It's still glitchy at times but nowhere near the regularity of the Hero cameras. It's kind long in the tooth now too so you may be able to find them on a good deal somewhere.

If you don't care about a display, the GoPro 11 mini is $139 at Best Buy. Great camera but there are some trade offs

I'd get a GoPro and underwater housing long before I bring my phone under with me. I thought about buying a case like divevolk for when I'm hanging out on decompression stops (long boring stops underwater after deep diving) to read and watch movies but my practical consideration is that I need to have my phone on the surface because my family needs to hear from me and what if there was an emergency or something happened that I needed a phone, but my phone was dropped or flooded because of a case failure I'd be very upset.. I think my solution will be to get used phone from eBay that I don't activate a cellular plan for but use it for it's native functions like the camera, and bring that underwater with me. But a GoPro underwater if you drop it you haven't lost all your photos, contacts, text history and so on so forth Edit: get a GoPro Hero 10, 11 or 12 (better price, and they don't over heat as much as the new ones under water) with a dive housing

had a gopro 11 and 12 before switching to dji action, even my DJI pocket 1 had better video quality in daylight and low light than the gopros. small sensor, only software upgrades since the gopro 11, overheating after maybe 20 minutes indoors at 20°C, worst cameras i ever had. only good thing they had was the 5.7k resolution which was only usable with good lighting conditions.

1:1 ratio released first with GoPro 11 - almost straight after I purchased the 10. can't say I wasn't pissed.

Anything from GP11 till 13 would do just fine. All are waterproof and in general good action cameras. They are great for shots during daylight and night lapses, but not fantastic for low light shooting. In general 13 would be the best, and with all technology, buying the latest version future proofs your camera. I got a GP11 a couple of years back to go on a snorkelling holiday and i still use it. If you can get your hands on a good priced one then go for it. There will be minor benefits if you get a more modern one but I dont think i can give you a full rundown. Let me know if you have more specific questions

Yes, I regularly do night photography with my GoPros - Hero10 through 13, as well as 360 cameras. But I want to stress that your subject needs to also be stationary - it's not like you can film wildlife with this approach. But if you're just trying to capture trees or landscapes, depending on how much moon & starlight you have, this might work fine. Can you give more detail about the types of images you want to capture?

For me GoPro always had the best mic/audio balance. insta always sounded baseless and sucked at eliminating wind noise as well

Oh yeah I have that camera as well.

Gopro hero 11 user here... Don't go for gopro. I can't record in 4k during the day even at 30 fps. The device overheats in like 5 mins. On 1080p it's no issue but then again if you are buying such a costly cam you would want to record in higher resolutions.

Literally every post now seems to mention low light. I've never had an issue with my GoPros and I've owned every GoPro Black since the 4. Sounds like your sports don't really need low light either, so not sure what the hesitation is. I own a few DJI products as well (drone, mic mini, Osmo mobile) but I'd get a GoPro over the DJI camera for sure.