GoPro - HERO13 Black Ultra Wide Edition

Basic summary is the X5 is out for obvious reasons (curved lenses don't work great underwater), the Action 5 tends to overdo the "blue" correction and isn't always accurate to the real colors, and sometimes loses sharpness in some scenarios. The AcePro's colors are better, but the highlights tend to be quite soft which removes some of the punch from the image. It also loses sharpness in some scenarios. The GoPro tends to have the most accurate colors and the best overall sharpness in these tests.

For the most part. Same hardware, same lens, same processor. The 13 just has a better battery and updated firmware.

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.

Either standard hero13 or hero13 plus ultra wide lens mod is the call for MTB. I do a lot of biking and the results are great on GoPro. Plus you can use GoPro labs and dial in the right exposure and bitrate settings to maximize the quality.

Either standard hero13 or hero13 plus ultra wide lens mod is the call for MTB. I do a lot of biking and the results are great on GoPro. Plus you can use GoPro labs and dial in the right exposure and bitrate settings to maximize the quality.

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.

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.

The GoPro is good for (some type of) underwater videography. For photography is it entirely unsuitable. Even an older Olympus TG is better than a GoPro.

As others said any GoPro from 11-13 (I would even say starting with Gpro 9) would work. I would also recommend the gorpox Max (360) great for something like shark cage where you can re-fesme the video later....just keep in mind 360 is a pia dealing with file sizes and whatever you do don't scratch the lenses

Go for the 12 Black from the Hero 4. It's got way better stabilization, longer battery life, and sharper video. If you're comparing, the 12 is more battery-efficient and handles bright lighting better, which is great for both water and stainless steel surfaces compared to the 11. Yeah, the Hero 13 has slightly better low-light performance, but unless he's filming at night, it's not really worth the extra cost really. If you're getting two GoPros, I'd go for two Hero 12s to keep the video quality consistent. One can be overhead for cooking and the other gets close-ups? or for fishing, one can be chest-mounted while the other is set up for wide shots. [10 Best Action Cameras to Invest in 2025: Full Guide and Review](https://alaskanarrows.com/10-best-action-cameras-to-invest-in-2025/) would be useful too. But if you want a more budget-friendly option, a Hero 12 + Hero 11 Mini is a good combo-same great video, but the Mini is lighter and easier to mount so he can be creative with it ya know . For accessories, is he editing on his phone or laptop? That might affect which accessories are worth grabbing too but a suction cup or magnet mount for kitchen shots, and a Floaty Case or Waterproof Dome for underwater footage. Tldr: 12 black is the best, get two of them and a floaty case plus suction cup as accessories

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!

If you use the flat color profile, then GoPro handles the shadows quite ok

I use flat color profile without editing. To me it looks better than the other profiles

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?

That is not correct. You can shoot in 4K 120fps 16:9, or 2.7K 120fps 4:3 on the Hero13

1) is it a Hero13? 2) is it in Standard Lens mode, and not using a Max Lens Mod, etc? 2) is it in Standard profile, and not HDR? 4K 120 fps 16:9 is a selectable option in the product manual and on the list of available video settings on my Hero13s themselves

Correct - the Ultra Wide Lens puts the camera into a different mode, which has different shooting options and resolutions. If you install the standard lens cover (or just manually put the camera into Standard Lens Mode), you'll see the shooting options that are available with the standard lens, which is different from Ultra Wide Lens mode

Yep, no prob - every lens mod has a different set of shooting modes that are optimized for that lens' distortion / the amount of light it lets through / the processing required / etc

The colors of dji might look "better" out of the box if you prefer oversaturation. But if you want to get the best end result you should film in flat/log and do the color grading yourself. There gopro wins. I also feel I remember some reviews about the stabilization being better on gopro, which might be nice for mountain biking. As for low light dji probably wins, yeah

The GoPro is good for (some type of) underwater videography. For photography is it entirely unsuitable. Even an older Olympus TG is better than a GoPro.

I would choose the Max2 in most cases it looks pretty rad unless you want 120fps then get the Hero 13. Unless you live where I live (WA State USA) then all of the GoPros kind of suck at low light / overcast scenarios.

Go for the 12 Black from the Hero 4. It's got way better stabilization, longer battery life, and sharper video. If you're comparing, the 12 is more battery-efficient and handles bright lighting better, which is great for both water and stainless steel surfaces compared to the 11. Yeah, the Hero 13 has slightly better low-light performance, but unless he's filming at night, it's not really worth the extra cost really. If you're getting two GoPros, I'd go for two Hero 12s to keep the video quality consistent. One can be overhead for cooking and the other gets close-ups? or for fishing, one can be chest-mounted while the other is set up for wide shots. [10 Best Action Cameras to Invest in 2025: Full Guide and Review](https://alaskanarrows.com/10-best-action-cameras-to-invest-in-2025/) would be useful too. But if you want a more budget-friendly option, a Hero 12 + Hero 11 Mini is a good combo-same great video, but the Mini is lighter and easier to mount so he can be creative with it ya know . For accessories, is he editing on his phone or laptop? That might affect which accessories are worth grabbing too but a suction cup or magnet mount for kitchen shots, and a Floaty Case or Waterproof Dome for underwater footage. Tldr: 12 black is the best, get two of them and a floaty case plus suction cup as accessories

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

One big complaint here (been using GoPro13 for about 7 months now)... It overheats so, so easily. :(

I have a GoPro Hero 13 and just switched to a DJI Action 5 Pro. The difference is not even funny. DJI is cheaper, has far, far better low light performance and better battery run time. It also comes with a charger and 3 batteries at that lower price point.

What do you have currently ? I can provide settings. 4k 30 Ev -.5 exposure Sharpness low Denoise high ISO 100-1600 night Idk 100-800 day Shutter auto [motorcycle at night GoPro 13 example settings](https://youtu.be/hlWSRe3uBsQ?feature=shared)

The Insta360 X5, GoPro Max 2, and DJI Osmo 360 will require a special case in order for it to take sharp footage underwater. The GoPro Hero 13, DJI Action 5, and Insta360 Ace Pro 2 shouldn't require a case as long as you don't go too deep.

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.

Open youtube on your desktop pc, the one with a 32" display, and search for reviews comparing Ace Pro 2 and Hero 13.

That is not correct. You can shoot in 4K 120fps 16:9, or 2.7K 120fps 4:3 on the Hero13

Yep, no prob - every lens mod has a different set of shooting modes that are optimized for that lens' distortion / the amount of light it lets through / the processing required / etc

Get whichever Go Pro is in your price range. Anything Hero 7 and above will have hypersmooth and as long as you're not running it at max resolution and fps it shouldn't overheat, especially with a fan or AC on in the car. 30 fps would be my recommendation, and most should be able to handle that at 4K just fine.

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.

i bought one for pov driving too, a month ago. be aware that 120fps is only available at 1080p.

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.

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

Well then look into the ace pro 2 better low light than both . I have both GoPro 13 and ace pro 2. GoPro is the better all around and ace is better in low light

Yet another phallacy. Fact: not even the latest Gopro 13 camera sports a decent night mode video recording, while people actually using those latest "crappy chinese knockoffs" publish pretty decent night mode clips all over the socials. Are those clips all fake? Are those people all paid reviewers?

the fuck did i do wrong then? or are we talking about slo-mo? cuz thats another case