GoPro Hero 12 Black review: spec-tacular upgrade
The GoPro Hero 12 has competition among rival action camera, but it remains the top go-anywhere camera, according to our nearly year-long testing
🏆 Review score: 4.5 out of 5
Pros
✅ 👑 GoPro Hero 12 Black is the king of reliable action cameras
✅ 🗼 Mount it on a normal tripod thanks to a 1/4-20 mounting thread
✅ 🌔 HDR video option enhances the quality of 4K footage
✅ 🎛️ Easy mode for novices, time code sync for experts
✅ 🎧 AirPods/Bluetooth headphone support for everyone
Cons
❌ 🤔 Still a learning curve to master the very best features
❌ 🛰️ No built-in GPS (a first to lack GPS since GoPro 4)
❌ 🤼♂️ New rivals – Insta 360 & DJI – offer tempting alternatives
❌ 🙅♂️ Some people won’t be happy that the sensor size is the same
Our GoPro Hero 12 Black review is almost a year old, but this action camera remains our favorite go-anywhere video camera because of its reliability and versatility. I can tell you (and show you) the key upgrades that keep GoPro Hero 12 slightly ahead of its compact camera rivals in many important review benchmarks when you’re making video, action-filled or otherwise.
This is especially important for GoPro because it has more action camera competition than ever in 2024. The DJI Action 4 and the Insta 360 Go 3 S bring new ideas to pint-sized cameras that GoPro hasn’t yet latched onto, like magnetic mounts and wearable magnet pendants, something we hope to see in the inevitable GoPro Hero 13 Black in September 2024. It also faces competition from the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which has its Apple’s own action mode (and is always in your pocket if you’re an iOS user), and not far behind is the iPhone 16 release date for the next version.
The good news for GoPro is that, in my review testing, the Hero 12 Black offered better exposure, a fantastic new HDR mode, and overall better durability than its rivals. It also includes an easy mode for novices, a new GP-log for experts, and a time code sync if you’re so pro that you’re using multiple GoPro cameras. But it does take a step back by axing the built-in GPS that’s been around since the GoPro Hero 5 (the first GoPro I reviewed eight years ago). GPS needs to come back in the GoPro Hero 13 Black if GoPro wants to stay ahead of DJI and Insta360 in 2024.
It could have gone further, too. Early GoPro Hero 12 Black leaks hinted at a 1-inch sensor and 8K video. But those lofty specs turned out to be fake. While some might see that as a disappointment, the reaction to these leaks was mostly met with a chorus of people saying, “I don’t need 8K. Just give me better performance at 4K!”. Thankfully, that’s exactly what the GoPro Hero 12 Black delivers.
Full GoPro Hero 12 Black review
🎨 Spec-tacular paint job. Blue speckles adorn the front and back plate of the Hero 12, as well as its buttons. It’s a fresh take on the traditional black, and one that I found particularly pleasing. The biggest bonus I found during my testing was that I could easily distinguish the new Hero 12 Black from the Hero 11 Black (or the many other similar-looking old GoPros) – infinitely important when out in the field.
🗼 I love the Hero 12 Black so much I would mount it. Finally, there’s a 1/4-20 mounting thread (aka Quarter 20) on the bottom of the GoPro Hero 12 Black. Ingeniously implemented right between the fingers of GoPro’s traditional mount, you can now attach this to a tripod or anything you’d typically screw onto your camera or screw your camera onto. Granted, I’ve moved my other cameras to a Peak Design/ARCA-Swiss mounting system, but this is a step in the right direction.
🧲 No magnetic mount. Ever since the DJI Action 2 launched in 2021, I’ve wanted GoPro to adopt a similar magnetic mount to mount its action camera to snap-on accessories. That’s not the case with the GoPro Hero 12, at least.
🔋 2x longer run times. The Hero 12 Black (like the Hero 11) comes with GoPro’s Enduro battery, which offers more juice at higher resolutions and frame rates. But there’s a little more juice year-over-year with 4K/120fps gaining 58 minutes of run time, and 5.7K/60fps gaining an extra 70 minutes of run time, according to GoPro. More action, less charging.
🌔 HDR video boosts 4K quality. Remember when I said I just wanted GoPro to have better 4K video recording? Well, thankfully, it does. The GoPro Hero 12 introduces an HDR video capture mode for 4K (up to 30fps in 8:7 and 60fps in 16:9) and for 5.3K (up to 30fps in 16:9). HDR video adds more dynamic range, though it doesn’t work in all situations (sometimes faces can seem a bit fake when it raises the shadows).
🪵 GP-Log. If you want even more dynamic range, the GoPro Hero 12 has a GP-Log that records video in a flat profile so you can apply LUTs later on. If you’re importing video files into Adobe Premier, Final Cut or Davinci Resolve, you’ll be at home here.
🌀 Time warp, ⏲️ Time lapse, 🌃 Night effects in 8:7. I loved that the Hero 11 Black’s 8:7 sensor introduced a good in-between movie format for cutting both 16:9 YouTube-style and 9:16 Instagram/TikTok video. The GoPro Hero 12 Black expands on this, letting you shoot everything in 8:7 (offering a 16% taller field of view than video). That includes taking photos, time-lapses and night mode shots.
🎧 AirPods & Bluetooth compatible. The GoPro MediaMod is great and all, but the GoPro Hero 12 further expands compatibility with tech that you already own – including AirPods. You can attach up to four Bluetooth devices to the Hero 12 Black (it was just one with prior models) and get clean mic and audio playback. No need to ever take those AirPods out of your ears.
😅 Easy controls for the ‘rents. I bought my dad a GoPro for Christmas one year (he’s big into tennis) and it went… OK. Good video with a steep learning curve. Even for me, a techie, I’ve long felt Hero series’ controls require a master’s degree in GoPro – that’s why I’m in awe of GoPro creators who’ve nailed seamless-looking footage. Now it’s everyone else’s turn with a solid “easy mode” that has you decide just the basics: three framing options (vertical, widescreen and full screen), toggling 8x slo-mo on and off, and whether or not you want to create night effects.
⏲️ Time code sync. The experts are being catered to as well. In addition to GP-Log, I really like the unlimited syncing of Hero 12 Black cameras for multi-camera editing. It’s exclusive to the latest Hero 12 cameras, but all you have to do is show your multiple GoPros a QR code on your phone and they’ll all shoot footage in sync together. It works with Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premier, and other editing software to streamline post-production.
📸 Even more Instagram and TikTok-friendly. I hate having to vertically mount anything, so I was stoked when GoPro told me the Hero 12 can natively shoot 9:16 while it’s mounted horizontally. Better yet, you can shoot 4K 9:16 videos natively with the new Vertical Capture Mode. I’m still a big fan of the 8:7 aspect ratio so that I can drop and apply the video clip later to YouTube, but I get that 16:9 cuts to the chase if you’re just recording GoPro video for social media platforms.
📝 Better UI. Video settings feel much better laid out in a grid with all of the selectable options available at a glance. Previously, you had to pick each option, like resolution, first, and then you could pick something after diving into another set of options.
🎛️ Edit anywhere – including Mac again. The latest Quik app uploads all of your footage into the cloud and makes everything accessible from the new Quik Cloud editor. This new Quik Cloud editor will work on both your phone and desktop (yes, GoPro is supporting computers again), so you can start working on your laptop and then keep tweaking things on your phone while you go out.
🫥 PC version is MIA. The only caveat is that while GoPro’s Quik desktop editor did launch for Mac in February 2024 (it was originally supposed to launch in November), the Summer 2024-bound Windows version is still MIA as of August 2024. Really, it seems like GoPro is focusing on mobile with its Quik editor, leaving Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premier, and Davinci Resolve to worry about PCs.
📳 HyperSmooth 6.0. AutoBoost now analyzes up to 4x more data vs HyperSmooth 5.0, and the Linear + Horizon Lock built-in digital lens keeps your footage steady even if your camera rotates a full 360° during capture. You don’t need expensive gimbals or stabilization software for pro-quality results
🖼️ 🖼️ 🖼️ Interval Photo: You can capture 27MP photos, but even more interesting are interval pictures that can be taken in bursts from 0.5 seconds to 120 seconds. This joins useful features such as HindSight (always recording with a 30-second buffer), scheduled capture (set a time to turn on the GoPro 24 hours in advance), and duration capture (15 seconds to 3-hour-long clips set to a timer).
👐 Max Lens Mod 2.0. I’ve found Max Lens Mod 2.0 helpful for its wide field of view, offering 4K/60fps with the widest FOV at 177° – wider than any action camera, including spherical cameras shooting in single-lens mode. It’s a major increase from the 155° FOV of Max Lens Mod 1.0. Best of all it’s smaller, lighter and 2x more scratch resistance than the 1.0 version.
🛰️ No built-in GPS. Not everyone needs this, but built-in GPS has been around since the GoPro Hero 5 (the first GoPro I reviewed), and the fact that it’s not in the Hero 212 Black will be a dealbreaker for a lot of people. GPS is a feature that needs to come back with the GoPro Hero 13 Black.
🤼♂️ Competition for ‘Hero’ status. DJI and Insta360 have honed in on GoPro’s action camera dominance in recent years. Before it was knock-off action cameras with funky names that littered Amazon – you couldn’t trust them. But the DJI Action 4 and the nifty Insta360 Go 3 S (now in 4K) are gaining attention with reliable performance, and many smartphone cameras,
✨ Needs more AI. AI took center stage in my Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review, where my favorite smartphone camera relies on AI tricks to snap better photos and video. I’d love to see more auto-framing (sort of like the AI auto-reframing in Adobe Premier Pro) come to GoPro’s Quik app using its 8:7 video, allowing for 16:9 and 9:16 outputs that follow the action.
👑 Still the king of action cameras. Even with the increased competition, I’m finding ways in which the Hero 12 Black keeps GoPro on top of my recommendations list, and its chief rivals fail on me – I almost immediately lost the Insta360 Go 3 camera pill within 24 hours of owning one. New form factors are great, but reliability is king.
Should I buy the GoPro Hero 12 Black?
Yes, if…
✅ You want GoPro’s best action camera (and can’t wait for the GoProHero 13)
✅ You’ve been waiting for a GoPro with a 1/4-20 mount thread for your tripod
✅ You record video that requires the expanded dynamic range of the HDR mode
✅ You’re a GoPro expert who wants GP-Log and time code sync
✅ You want better battery life and less overheating vs past GoPro camera
✅ You desire video in 8:7 – including TimeLapse & Time Warp – to crop later
No, if…
❌ You are willing to wait for the inevitable GoPro Hero 13 (usually in September)
❌ You think recording video without a built-in GPS is a dealbreaker
❌ You simply find it easier to record with your iPhone (GoPro’s biggest rival)
❌ You’re tempted by the DJI Action 4 or Insta360 Go 3 S