When you think of GoPro , the first thing that comes to mind is the great experiences and activities you can capture with these devices, such as surfing, skydiving or bungee jumping. However, with its new family of devices headed by the Hero 11 , the company wants to maintain its leadership in the market and, why not, expand more and more towards social network creators.
During 2021, GoPro shipped more than 3 million cameras, positioning itself as the leading brand and during the same year generated revenues of more than 1,000 million dollars, according to figures reported by Statista, a firm that expects revenues of 4,400 million dollars by 2028 .
This new device generates high expectations in terms of sales, Sergio Bruno, director of sales and marketing for Latin America, told Expansion, because in their strategy they have made a strong investment to generate content on social platforms, such as Instagram or YouTube, in addition to being engaging new content ambassadors for TikTok.
I had the opportunity to test the camera for a few days in adventure experiences in Los Cabos and I was satisfied with the results, because I realized that anyone can use it and get a lot of use out of it, even if they have no experience with these devices. Especially when it comes to capturing wide landscapes.
The same design, but a sensor that makes the difference
Outside there is no change. The only element that distinguishes it from the Hero 10 is that it has the number 11 on the side. Inside is where its new sensor marks a new level for the company.
It is a sensor that allows an 8:7 aspect ratio, with which content can be made for different platforms without losing image quality. For example, videos can be made in horizontal format for YouTube or in vertical format for Reels or TikTok.
Even if photography is your thing and not so much video, the camera also has a photo mode. In technical matters, the company promises depths of 10 bits or 1,000 million shades in colors. That is, your images will be much closer to reality.
One of the points that I highlight the most in both video and still images is their ability to adjust both the image quality (from 5.3K to 1080p) and the camera lens, since it has a wide angle (also known as “eye”). fisheye”) in both modes, but also with a linear lens that doesn’t distort the sides and delivers images like those of a 35mm camera.
Therefore, this feature is something that content creators, especially those from TikTok and Reels, who want to deliver a product without errors in the low and high parts of their videos, while the wide angle is mostly taken advantage of by, are going to look for. the adventurers, who seek a way to cover a wider expanse of the landscape.
For the most creative, the Sequence mode is available, with which it is possible to make timelapses of different aspects, including the lights of the cars, painting with light or taking pictures of the celestial vault at night to capture the movement of the stars.
Stability and automatic editing, although inaccurate
For video recording, another useful tool is HyperSmooth stabilization. In this model, GoPro installed version 5.0, whose most important novelty is AutoBoost, which enters automatically when it detects instability to deliver an image that does not look shaken.
Before it was installed on the Hero 11, it was only possible to make this change on the later edition. And precisely because the issue of post-production is being addressed, with Hero 11 new features arrived on the Quik platform, focused on faster content generation.
Pablo Lema, product VP at GoPro, mentioned that this platform has changed the brand’s business model, because instead of just selling the camera, they now seek to provide a greater relationship with users through new features for the user.
The addition that draws attention is the Featured button, which works with Artificial Intelligence to analyze the videos and automatically take a fragment that may seem interesting and thus form a video with different clips.
While the tool may be easy to use, the reality is that it doesn’t take the most interesting moments of each video and then the user has to interfere to cut the video to their liking and that could involve double work.
Therefore, my recommendation when using Quik is to take advantage of its cloud storage features, as well as a way to transfer content from the tablet to a device (mobile, tablet or Mac) without the need for cables.
Lema said that they will continue to invest because “we want to get all the work out of the user. It is the only camera of its kind that is tied in with the idea of capturing images and turning them into something you want to share.”
Do I recommend getting the new GoPro Hero 11?
As always, it depends on your situation and spending intention. Its cost is 11,899 pesos and if you already have a Hero 10 or even a Hero 9, I would not say that the change is necessary, because many of the functions of the new model are maintained.
But if this is your first time buying an action camera, you should definitely go for this model as it also has a longer battery life and you can take advantage of all the features.
If your thing is creating content for social media and you’re looking to lighten up your team, this is also a good option, plus it combines with the Quik platform to generate quick and basic edits, which you can complement with other editing software more sophisticated.
