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Sweden, Stockholm
1 Level
670 Review
60 Karma

Review on GoPro HERO8 Black Ultimate Bundle - HERO8 Black Camera, Shorty, Head Strap, 32GB SD Card, 2 Rechargeable Batteries by Tim Woods

Revainrating 2 out of 5

Terrible battery life, camera settings, good video

This is by far the worst GoPro I've had in terms of battery life (GoPro 2 and GoPro 4 are the others I've used). I've shot an 8 minute 4k 30fps video and only turned on the camera 3 times since purchase and the battery life is currently 34%. He loses a few percent of his life just by turning it on and glancing at the menu for a moment. It also drains a bit when it's off. I fully charged both batteries that came with the kit the day before leaving for a race weekend (I bought this to record car videos at the track) so it was only 3 days. I also checked if stabilization is disabled. before recording because it's important to see exactly how the car reacts to hard driving. On sharp turns, however, the camera "spins" left and right as G-forces build up. I'm using a GoPro brand mount that doesn't rotate, so that's not a problem. I just checked that I actually disabled stabilization and it's disabled. If it's a setting that requires you to disable the app, it's very annoying. Which brings me to the next point. The settings on the camera suck. I have three options to choose from for videos, I can change the lens type to three different options (linear, wide and superview), select slow motion and enable/disable stabilization. If there are other options, they are only available in the app. First of all, don't let me use your app just to use my camera. I had to connect it to the app to even fully turn on the camera the first time I used it, and it wouldn't connect (but at least allowed me access to the camera). My GoPro 4 had all the features that were available on the camera and they all have to be like that, idiotically REQUIRING a companion app to use the camera. Finally, I would like to say that the camera made a great video. The interior of the car is quite dark, especially compared to the track I was driving in the middle of the desert during the day, but I managed to keep the exterior from being overexposed and found a good balance. I would have preferred being able to adjust various camera settings directly on the camera, but from the start it was great for filming videos. Update: You need to select or add the pencil (edit) icon next to one of the presets to get the Protune settings. It was my fault for being too hasty and already frustrated with the camera. I still can't get the app to connect to the camera's WiFi. I got it once but tried to update the firmware and it got lost and I couldn't restore it. No more manual updates. EDIT: I've updated my rating from 3 stars to 2. I just tried it out in low light so I bought a new camera. Low light noise is off the charts, haven't tried any correction software yet but my first impression is that it's worse than the GoPro 4. I'm pretty sure I have an ISO limit of 1k which is too lower than my GP4 so should be less noisy. I'd see what it is, but the battery died at the end of my 15-20 minute test ride. I would give this camera 1 star but it takes good video at least during the day.

Pros
  • Annual trial
Cons
  • No

Comments (1)

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May 07, 2023
Easy to use and highly portable, it worked great on a backpacking trip to the Sierras.

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