We Tested Out the New GoPro HERO To See if It’s as User Friendly & Easy To Use As It Claims To Be

However, in 2024, the technology company introduced two new models: the upmarket HERO13 Black (RM1,999) and the stripped-down HERO (RM999), a more affordable version of the camera made for creators who don't want to spend too much on an action cam.

Although we got the chance to test out both models, we opted for the GoPro HERO, which is more suitable for new users who are not familiar with GoPro’s products, such as myself.

The GoPro HERO is definitely marketed toward beginners looking to pick up their first action camera, but is this the Hero they're looking for? To properly test out the HERO, I took it with me on multiple adventurous trips, such as during my review of ESCAPE Ipoh and the LEGOLAND theme park in JB. Here’s what I found:

Small and lightweight but tough

The HERO is essentially a sized-down action cam that is more suited for novice action cam users looking for something more basic than the fully specced HERO13 Black.

The HERO is considerably more compact, weighing only 86g, and it has 35% less volume and 46% less mass than the HERO13 Black. However, smaller doesn’t mean it's not as good as the GoPro HERO. It is completely waterproof and rugged enough to capture the fun whether you’re ripping through mud, snow, water, or just exploring a new city.

Although we were initially hesitant to bring it along with us during water activities due to its tiny size and perceived fragility, our worries were put to the side after we brought it along to try out ESCAPE Ipoh’s Marine Academy. Thanks to its being completely waterproof (up to a depth of 16ft/5m), we were able to capture some cool shots!

Ease of use and features

It comes with GoPro's signature fold-out mounting fingers on the bottom, allowing it to be attached to over 35 GoPro-made (and countless third-party) accessories like selfie sticks, helmet mounts, bicycle mounts and more. In the box, you get a single curved adhesive mount, one mounting buckle and one screw.

Despite its small stature, the HERO features a small LCD touchscreen on the back. It does its job well, giving you just enough space to swipe though the shooting modes, adjust settings in the menu screens and review the shots stored on the camera.

The action cam comes with two large, easy-to-press physical rubber buttons: one to start and stop image capture, one to power the camera on and off, and one to switch quickly between the shooting modes.

In terms of storage, the GoPro HERO has a microSD card slot, but it does not come with a memory card, so you’ll have to use your own.

Alongside the card slot is a USB-C port, which can be used to charge the battery or transfer files. Fortunately, GoPro supplies a short USB-C to USB-C cable in the box, so you won’t need to use one of your other cables.

Quality of shots

In my experience, the footage captured with the HERO looks good but is nothing special. Your HERO footage will look how you'd expect GoPro footage to look with very limited frame rate and resolution options.

It can shoot at 4K at 30fps, and the overall look of the video is similar to what you'd expect from the Hero 13 Black at that same resolution and frame rate, though of somewhat lower quality.

Meanwhile, there is a "slow-motion" mode, but it maxes out at 2.7k 60fps, which is about the absolute minimum to qualify as slow-motion.

In its photo mode, 12MP can capture decent pictures. However, with how advanced smartphones are nowadays, I found myself preferring to use my phone’s more advanced camera capabilities instead of relying on the GoPro for stills.

Battery life

Although I haven’t had much experience with GoPros, one aspect I disliked about the HERO is how the battery is built into the camera and is non-removable. This meant that you couldn't just swap batteries in a pinch.

However, I found that the battery life was pretty good. According to GoPro, the HERO features a long-lasting enduro battery that can record continuously for up to 100 minutes at its highest video setting on a single charge.

Additionally, the HERO comes equipped with a battery saver mode, which lets you shoot for a very long time without charging. However, this is done by dropping the resolution from 4K to 1080p.

Transferring of files

This was one of the things I hated doing most with the GoPro HERO. I wasn’t able to transfer files directly to my laptop with just the USB-C cable, nor was my laptop able to read the micro-SD card I had used with the GoPro HERO.

With those problems in mind, I decided to try GoPro’s Quik app, which was equally frustrating to use as I had to first transfer the footage from the HERO to the app and then download it on my phone.

Additionally, the HERO does not apply HyperSmooth stabilization in the camera but rather in the Quik app, so there’s no way to stabilise it on your desktop PC, making things much more complicated.

However, this entire process is apparently made easier if you have a GoPro subscription, which comes with some useful benefits such as:

• unlimited cloud storage,
• automatic uploading at full quality for all your photos and videos,
• automatically edited clip videos, ‘
• directed’ by AI,
• discounts on accessories purchased through the GoPro website and off your next GoPro camera; and
• up to two replacement cameras per year if your GoPro is lost or damaged

Is it the HERO we needed?

Although we loved how compact and rugged the HERO was, we ultimately regretted our decision and wished that we had instead tried out the full-fledged HERO13 Black.

The HERO has limited options, controls, and no add-ons, which makes it as basic as decent 4K action cameras come. However, despite its limitations, we’d certainly recommend it due to its affordability and low risk, making it great for kids and those looking for a simple and basic action cam.

But we believe that to truly get the most out of the HERO, you’d need the GoPro subscription, which costs $24.99 (RM111) for new users for the first year, so do consider this before making up your mind.