GoPro's previous entry-level action camera, the $200 Hero5 Session, differed from its Hero line in design, cutting costs by omitting a touch screen. That's changing with the new Hero ($199.99), which has the same body design as the premium Hero6 Black, including a touch screen. It doesn't give you a lot of options when it comes to resolution or frame rates, which seems like an artificial limitation meant to push buyers to a pricier model. We like the SJ6 Legend more for its wider range of video features (including 4K) and lower price, although you need to put it in a case to make it waterproof. If you're set on a GoPro, the Hero is solid, you're better off spending another $100 and getting the much more capable Hero5 Black.

Design

The Hero ($235.99 at Amazon) looks just like the Hero6 Black. It's finished in gray and black, with a rubberized exterior to protect it from drops and a sealed design that's good to use as deep as 33 feet underwater. There's a 2-inch touch LCD on the rear, a record button on top, and a menu button on the side.

The camera measures in at 1.8 by 2.6 by 1.4 inches (HWD) and weighs around 4 ounces. It doesn't have any sort of on-body mount, but does include a case with a standard GoPro mount. Adapters are available to convert to a tripod mount.

Charging and data transfer are available via USB-C. The Hero's battery is good for 90 minutes of continuous recording. The charging door can be removed to power the camera continuously, but you need to leave the door on for the camera to be waterproof.

The Hero responds to voice commands, so you can tell it to snap a picture or start recording a video. It can also be controlled via an app, available for Android or iOS, and you can transfer video to your mobile device for editing and sharing. You can also edit on a computer—video and images are saved to microSD, although a card is not included.

GoPro's phone app, QuikStories, simplifies video editing. When you transfer files to your smart device, the app will do its best to identify highlights, add music and transitions, and spit out a video for easy online sharing. There's a level of manual control—you can tell it not to use a certain clip, or make sure your favorite moments are included. Desktop editing software, for Mac and Windows, is also included. It's something you lose when you buy from a brand without strong software support—if you opt for the SJ6 Legend or something like the YI 4K+, you'll need to provide your own editing software.

Video and Imaging

The Hero records 10MP images, a slight step down from the 12MP Hero6, and can roll video at 30fps or 60fps in 1080p or 1440p resolution. Even though 1440p sounds like a higher resolution than 1080p, you're only gaining a wider field of view by choosing it. The 1080p footage is in a 16:9 wide-screen aspect ratio, while 1440p simply uses the full height of the Hero's sensor to produce 4:3 video. Watching it on a modern TV will give you the same vertical letterbox effect you get when screening an old movie, like Citizen Kane or The Third Man.

The maximum 60fps frame rate means that the Hero isn't as adept at capturing extreme slow-motion video as its pricier siblings. But you can play back video at half speed without any stuttering when shooting at 60fps. The camera can also shoot at 30fps, but you can't push the frame rate higher than 60fps, and there's no 24fps capture option. That seems like an artificial limitation.

It does do time-lapse and burst shooting, at one image every 0.5-second and 10 images in one second, respectively. The lack of control over the time-lapse interval is another bone of contention—more advanced users can speed up videos in editing software to compress time further than the half-second interval does on its own, but it'd be much easier to do so if longer intervals between images were available in-camera.

There's a Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) option for stills with mixed lighting, but no HDR or Raw capture options. Likewise, you don't get any control over how your video looks. The default profile delivers crisp video with good color—it looks like the GoPro Color option on pricier models, but you can't adjust it in camera as you can on the Hero5 and Hero6.

The Hero does support digital stabilization for video. I recorded some handheld video while walking and was happy to see that it's nearly as good as what you get with the Hero6 Black. It effectively removes shakes and jitter, without introducing any sort of artifacts.

Conclusions

The GoPro Hero is an action camera for users who don't need the extreme slow-motion, 24fps frame rate, adjustable time-lapse, and 4K video capture offered by the $400 Hero6 Black, but want the same level of build quality and waterproofing. If your needs are met by the limited frame rate and resolution options the Hero delivers, you'll find that it is well made and bundled with useful software, both for your phone and desktop.

If you want more, without spending $400, the $300 Hero5 Black matches the Hero in design and well exceeds it in video capabilities. If you can live without a rugged build or caseless waterproofing, the SJ6 Legend remains a solid budget option thanks to 4K capture, efffective digital stabilizatin, and a touch-screen interface.

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