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GoPro HERO 7 Black
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Customer reviews
- GoPro HERO 7 Black
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- Customer reviews
Top positive review
It's worth it for HyperSmooth Alone ! One Major ISSUE!!!
October 2, 2018
The first six hours with this camera were frustrating and I'm a techy. Before you do anything disable WIFI Calling on phone and reboot then download the app and let it update the camera. Life is good after that.
650 people found this helpful
Top critical review
Great video, frustrating as hell features and use
October 9, 2018
First - the good. The 4k 60fps video is amazing. The hyperstabilization works really well. The low light video is a bit grainy, but other than that, it's beautiful.
The bad - and there's a bunch of it.
-You can't live stream and record in 4k. The most you can do is 1080p. To me, this is a total waste - why would I live stream with a high end camera like this, and skip the most important function of the camera. Some product manager needs a kick in the nuts.
-Battery life is pathetic. Get a very large external battery pack if you're going to record in 4k 60. Seriously, unless you take 2 minute videos, it will die before you capture anything.
-You can cook eggs on this thing when you're recording. If it's even remotely warm outside, it will shut down occasionally, from what I can only assume is overheating.
-There's no preview available while recording in 4k 60. My Hero 5 Blacks have it, why not this new one? Seems like a giant oversight.
-I had to go to youtube to find out how to set up streaming for something other than Facebook. Seriously GoPro - your documentation, both on-line and included with the camera, sucks.
-The whole streaming process is really funky. I keep having to delete the camera from the GoPro app in my phone and re-connect it whenever something needs to be changed.
Long story short, I'll use it for recording the same content I did with my Hero Black 5's, but won't be using the streaming features - which was the only reason I even though about upgrading. I wish GoPro had documented or at least given specifics on the new features. I have a feeling they purposefully held that information back because they knew it would piss people off and no one would pay to upgrade.
The bad - and there's a bunch of it.
-You can't live stream and record in 4k. The most you can do is 1080p. To me, this is a total waste - why would I live stream with a high end camera like this, and skip the most important function of the camera. Some product manager needs a kick in the nuts.
-Battery life is pathetic. Get a very large external battery pack if you're going to record in 4k 60. Seriously, unless you take 2 minute videos, it will die before you capture anything.
-You can cook eggs on this thing when you're recording. If it's even remotely warm outside, it will shut down occasionally, from what I can only assume is overheating.
-There's no preview available while recording in 4k 60. My Hero 5 Blacks have it, why not this new one? Seems like a giant oversight.
-I had to go to youtube to find out how to set up streaming for something other than Facebook. Seriously GoPro - your documentation, both on-line and included with the camera, sucks.
-The whole streaming process is really funky. I keep having to delete the camera from the GoPro app in my phone and re-connect it whenever something needs to be changed.
Long story short, I'll use it for recording the same content I did with my Hero Black 5's, but won't be using the streaming features - which was the only reason I even though about upgrading. I wish GoPro had documented or at least given specifics on the new features. I have a feeling they purposefully held that information back because they knew it would piss people off and no one would pay to upgrade.
859 people found this helpful
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October 9, 2018
First - the good. The 4k 60fps video is amazing. The hyperstabilization works really well. The low light video is a bit grainy, but other than that, it's beautiful.
The bad - and there's a bunch of it.
-You can't live stream and record in 4k. The most you can do is 1080p. To me, this is a total waste - why would I live stream with a high end camera like this, and skip the most important function of the camera. Some product manager needs a kick in the nuts.
-Battery life is pathetic. Get a very large external battery pack if you're going to record in 4k 60. Seriously, unless you take 2 minute videos, it will die before you capture anything.
-You can cook eggs on this thing when you're recording. If it's even remotely warm outside, it will shut down occasionally, from what I can only assume is overheating.
-There's no preview available while recording in 4k 60. My Hero 5 Blacks have it, why not this new one? Seems like a giant oversight.
-I had to go to youtube to find out how to set up streaming for something other than Facebook. Seriously GoPro - your documentation, both on-line and included with the camera, sucks.
-The whole streaming process is really funky. I keep having to delete the camera from the GoPro app in my phone and re-connect it whenever something needs to be changed.
Long story short, I'll use it for recording the same content I did with my Hero Black 5's, but won't be using the streaming features - which was the only reason I even though about upgrading. I wish GoPro had documented or at least given specifics on the new features. I have a feeling they purposefully held that information back because they knew it would piss people off and no one would pay to upgrade.
The bad - and there's a bunch of it.
-You can't live stream and record in 4k. The most you can do is 1080p. To me, this is a total waste - why would I live stream with a high end camera like this, and skip the most important function of the camera. Some product manager needs a kick in the nuts.
-Battery life is pathetic. Get a very large external battery pack if you're going to record in 4k 60. Seriously, unless you take 2 minute videos, it will die before you capture anything.
-You can cook eggs on this thing when you're recording. If it's even remotely warm outside, it will shut down occasionally, from what I can only assume is overheating.
-There's no preview available while recording in 4k 60. My Hero 5 Blacks have it, why not this new one? Seems like a giant oversight.
-I had to go to youtube to find out how to set up streaming for something other than Facebook. Seriously GoPro - your documentation, both on-line and included with the camera, sucks.
-The whole streaming process is really funky. I keep having to delete the camera from the GoPro app in my phone and re-connect it whenever something needs to be changed.
Long story short, I'll use it for recording the same content I did with my Hero Black 5's, but won't be using the streaming features - which was the only reason I even though about upgrading. I wish GoPro had documented or at least given specifics on the new features. I have a feeling they purposefully held that information back because they knew it would piss people off and no one would pay to upgrade.
October 25, 2018
This GoPro is currently selling for about $200. You can buy the older GoPro HERO5 BLACK new for about $220, and that shoots much better looking 4K video, and it has a removable battery so you can carry multiple batteries and shoot for a lot longer than with this GoPro HERO 7 White. The HERO5 Black does everything this camera does and more, so I'd highly recommend getting that camera instead.
This biggest problem I have with this HERO 7 White is the non-removable battery. You can only shoot for a little over an hour, and then the battery is dead and you can't shoot any more until you recharge the camera for a couple of hours. This really limits the use of this GoPro, and for this reason alone I can't recommend this model.
I'd like to clarify something about this GoPro HERO7 White that seems to be confusing some people. It shoots 1440p, which means 1920x1440 pixels. A few years back there was a not-very-good video format also called 1440, but that was 1440x1080 pixels, with each pixel having a non-square aspect ratio. This GoPro is NOT that format. Standard HD is 1920x1080 pixels, so this GoPro has extra pixels on the top and bottom compared to HD. The footage from the GoPro has a 4:3 aspect ratio as opposed to the 16:9 ratio of HD. But because it has a full width of 1920 pixels, you can use this footage in an HD project by cropping off the top and bottom without losing any quality. Some video editing software might put black bars on the sides when you import this footage, but that's because it's shrinking it down so you can see all the pixels. You can safely blow the footage back up to 100% to fill the frame, and because there are extra pixels on the top and bottom then you can move the footage up or down to get the best framing.
Setting up this GoPro was fairly easy using the GoPro app on my iPhone. I had to wait about 5 minutes for a firmware upgrade to install, but after that it was good to go. There's no microSD card included so you have to provide your own.
This biggest problem I have with this HERO 7 White is the non-removable battery. You can only shoot for a little over an hour, and then the battery is dead and you can't shoot any more until you recharge the camera for a couple of hours. This really limits the use of this GoPro, and for this reason alone I can't recommend this model.
I'd like to clarify something about this GoPro HERO7 White that seems to be confusing some people. It shoots 1440p, which means 1920x1440 pixels. A few years back there was a not-very-good video format also called 1440, but that was 1440x1080 pixels, with each pixel having a non-square aspect ratio. This GoPro is NOT that format. Standard HD is 1920x1080 pixels, so this GoPro has extra pixels on the top and bottom compared to HD. The footage from the GoPro has a 4:3 aspect ratio as opposed to the 16:9 ratio of HD. But because it has a full width of 1920 pixels, you can use this footage in an HD project by cropping off the top and bottom without losing any quality. Some video editing software might put black bars on the sides when you import this footage, but that's because it's shrinking it down so you can see all the pixels. You can safely blow the footage back up to 100% to fill the frame, and because there are extra pixels on the top and bottom then you can move the footage up or down to get the best framing.
Setting up this GoPro was fairly easy using the GoPro app on my iPhone. I had to wait about 5 minutes for a firmware upgrade to install, but after that it was good to go. There's no microSD card included so you have to provide your own.
November 12, 2018
First GoPro and do not like this. Bought for diving and picture quality is very blurry even when on dry land. The battery is horrible. Took two 5-minute videos and then it died. When charging the battery, the device gets extremely hot. I thought it was going to burn a hole in my table. Ordered a replacement, but haven’t used it yet. Return process is also terrible. I had to take it to an actual UPS store and PAY to ship it back. What a waste of my life.
November 23, 2018
I can't get this camera to work consistently, it worked once or twice but then doesn't seem to sink to my iphone and requires me to type in the long wifi of the camera each time. I want to use it for my daily bike commute. Hard to believe for $300 the company can't be bothered to include some basic instructions - I find this typical tech company arrogance, assuming everyone can figure it out on their own or spend hours online looking at forums for instructions.
December 31, 2018
Never have I ever had such a difficult time being able to record footage. Initially, the GoPro did a great job capturing footage in beautiful 4K. After about a week, the camera kept crashing in mid-recording and couldn’t save files once it crashed. Apparently, overheating is a common issue and there is no warning of it hapoening. I visited the forums and I followed the advice of using a recommended microSD card, keeping the camera away from heat, and lowering quality settings. All of these suggestions did not resolve any problems. I missed a lot of opportunities to film and I’m really disappointed with this purchase. The battery doesn’t last too long either. If you’re using 4K stabilized (when it decides to work), expect less than an hour of recording time.
The two stars is for the quality of footage. After owning a couple of the previous gen GoPros, I can say that this provides the best image quality. Although, it’s not by much.
The two stars is for the quality of footage. After owning a couple of the previous gen GoPros, I can say that this provides the best image quality. Although, it’s not by much.
January 15, 2019
The photos and videos are ridiculously beautiful, but I had a problem that was astonished. I have a GoPro Hero 4 and when I use it with the cover in the pool, river, or in the sea, I have never had problems. But when I buy this GoPro Hero 7 Black camera, the gopro website says that it resists up to 10 meters, but it was not like that, I entered it as 30 in a pool, without the super suit, everything was perfect, the photos and the perfect videos, then I turned it off while I was inside the pool and then I tried to turn it on and it did not turn on. Then I left the pool with the gopro and immediately checked inside the camera and noticed that water had entered the camera.
I already started the warranty process, it goes directly to Californonia to be reviewed and await answers if I am going to receive repair or replacement.
What I was surprised, when I had the chat with the customer service of GoPro, the person who took care of me, he said that it is advisable to always use the Super Suit for the GoPro Hero 7, so I feel cheated with what the camera promises versus what the customer service tell me.
Even so, I'm going to buy another GoPro while the other camera goes into the warranty process. I love the camera shots and also allows me to record any time or extreme action.
I already started the warranty process, it goes directly to Californonia to be reviewed and await answers if I am going to receive repair or replacement.
What I was surprised, when I had the chat with the customer service of GoPro, the person who took care of me, he said that it is advisable to always use the Super Suit for the GoPro Hero 7, so I feel cheated with what the camera promises versus what the customer service tell me.
Even so, I'm going to buy another GoPro while the other camera goes into the warranty process. I love the camera shots and also allows me to record any time or extreme action.
February 21, 2019
I just returned the second Hero7 because of constant freeze-ups, video orientation problems, a nearly impossible to open battery door, and issues with the camera not turning off correctly. I have a Hero 6 that works quite well, but wanted a few of the features that the Hero 7 offered for my YouTube channel (Planet Mojo). The crashes are so frequent that it is just not worth the trouble. When it freezes up, the battery needs to be pulled to get it working again, and the battery door is so hard to open on this model that the new features are just not worth the hassle. I guess I'll wait until the next version of the camera or just move to another camera altogether. A very unhappy customer!
February 5, 2019
I like the camera but there's two reason make me disappointed 😒 first one the battery die so fast so quick
and the second is there is nowhere you can't charge it or replace the battery unless you take out the cover.
Now here's the problem the case is made with hard plastic and it's too tight it takes me two minutes to figure out how to take out the camera from the cover I have to push the camera with my fingers from all the corners so I can take out the camera
GoPro please fix that case cuz we can't use it without the case cuz if it's drops will break right away.
and the second is there is nowhere you can't charge it or replace the battery unless you take out the cover.
Now here's the problem the case is made with hard plastic and it's too tight it takes me two minutes to figure out how to take out the camera from the cover I have to push the camera with my fingers from all the corners so I can take out the camera
GoPro please fix that case cuz we can't use it without the case cuz if it's drops will break right away.
February 24, 2019
This is a great camera, but I am very frustrated by the fact that there are serious problems with the telemetry data stored in the MP4's: it is *impossible* to show GPS tracks and other accumulated data for videos longer than 8:50-9 minutes.
The camera limits individual video files to less than 9 minutes - it will create a new file every 9 minutes to keep file size down. There is no way to later combine these files and show GPS tracks for anything longer than 9 minutes.
I've spent hours trying to do this. Their GoPro Quick software does not merge files. Dashware, an outdated piece of software that GoPro may or may not own, has an option to merge video files, but it doesn't work.
FFMPEG, a public domain command line utility, *is* capable of combining the video files along with GoPro's metadata track, but GoPro Quick and Dashware will not use the telemetry in these files because they don't see the two other tracks that GoPro adds to the MP4 files.
Other features, quality, user Interface, image stabilization are all terrific but the fact remains that this camera doesn't do everything it promises.
The camera limits individual video files to less than 9 minutes - it will create a new file every 9 minutes to keep file size down. There is no way to later combine these files and show GPS tracks for anything longer than 9 minutes.
I've spent hours trying to do this. Their GoPro Quick software does not merge files. Dashware, an outdated piece of software that GoPro may or may not own, has an option to merge video files, but it doesn't work.
FFMPEG, a public domain command line utility, *is* capable of combining the video files along with GoPro's metadata track, but GoPro Quick and Dashware will not use the telemetry in these files because they don't see the two other tracks that GoPro adds to the MP4 files.
Other features, quality, user Interface, image stabilization are all terrific but the fact remains that this camera doesn't do everything it promises.
July 11, 2019
My last gopro was a hero 4 black. It still works great. I wanted to get the stabilization from the 7 so i took the plunge.
The menu system is way different and some would say not intuitive at all, the truth is that it takes a few times before you get comfortable with it...like anything else in life. So menu navigation was not bad at all.
The image is great but not really that much better than my gopro 4...but still great. The stabilization is amazing, simply awesome, enough said in other reviews and videos online...believe the hype! And 60 fps is simply great to have.
The hero 7 black has some serious issues with it however. I happen to have a beast of a PC...alienware with all the ram i can possibly need and a video card with 11 gig of ram...so computing power is not an issue. I also use Black Magic Davinci Resolve Studio to edit my videos...so video editing software is also not an issue.
Gopro records in HVEC format and it is too new...so i hear...so the gopro video is not friendly with most hardware that you will be using to edit it or even view it. Make sure, really make sure, that your hardware and software you will be using can work with the gopro video. I had to convert 269 videos shot on my hero 7 black from HVEC h265 to h264 in order to edit/work with them. Not a huge deal, but if you are looking for a simple plug and play camera, this may not be your first option.
The main problem that i have with this camera is the fact that it is an action camera and it does not do well when it gets wet. I took it to the sea of Cortez in early June, the water was not super cold nor was it super warm. Water temperature should not have been a problem...and it was. The gopro has a touch screen on the back of it, when i set it to record, go underwater the water acts like my fingers on the screen and change settings, open the menu, and ultimately get my camera to be ready to change everything that i had set up before going in the water. It never stopped my recording, but if you do not notice that the menu is open and you simply start "recording" again, you may now be taking a time-lapse, or a warp-lapse or a photo instead of the video you thought you were taking. As you can imagine this is very upsetting since when you are diving or snorkeling you may not be placing undivided attention to the settings on your camera...specially if you think you already set them up perfectly.
This problem is completely unacceptable, this camera is made to get wet, to go underwater and it simply fails at that and becomes unreliable and the user needs to constantly make sure he/she is still in the desired setting. Of course, the solution is to turn off the touch screen every time you are planning to go in the water but to me that is not a proper solution, gopro should not expect the user to disable a feature because it is broken, they should fix it!
So, the image is about the same as the older gopro cameras, the file format is too new for now and will most likely require file converting software to change it to a usable format, and the biggest issue...you cannot get it wet and expect it to work the same every time...it will fail you, guaranteed. And when the sea lion is bumping the camera with its nose and you thought you had it all on video you may later realize that you took a photo when you pressed the "start video" button 3 minutes earlier and the rest of the time you were floating around pointing your camera around without doing anything. Perhaps the sea lion was telling me to turn the darn thing on.
I do not think the camera was ready to be released, they needed more testing and time to fix the problems.
Thankfully i had more than one camera going and was able to catch "most" of my video without issues...but that is not a realistic expectation for most of us.
The menu system is way different and some would say not intuitive at all, the truth is that it takes a few times before you get comfortable with it...like anything else in life. So menu navigation was not bad at all.
The image is great but not really that much better than my gopro 4...but still great. The stabilization is amazing, simply awesome, enough said in other reviews and videos online...believe the hype! And 60 fps is simply great to have.
The hero 7 black has some serious issues with it however. I happen to have a beast of a PC...alienware with all the ram i can possibly need and a video card with 11 gig of ram...so computing power is not an issue. I also use Black Magic Davinci Resolve Studio to edit my videos...so video editing software is also not an issue.
Gopro records in HVEC format and it is too new...so i hear...so the gopro video is not friendly with most hardware that you will be using to edit it or even view it. Make sure, really make sure, that your hardware and software you will be using can work with the gopro video. I had to convert 269 videos shot on my hero 7 black from HVEC h265 to h264 in order to edit/work with them. Not a huge deal, but if you are looking for a simple plug and play camera, this may not be your first option.
The main problem that i have with this camera is the fact that it is an action camera and it does not do well when it gets wet. I took it to the sea of Cortez in early June, the water was not super cold nor was it super warm. Water temperature should not have been a problem...and it was. The gopro has a touch screen on the back of it, when i set it to record, go underwater the water acts like my fingers on the screen and change settings, open the menu, and ultimately get my camera to be ready to change everything that i had set up before going in the water. It never stopped my recording, but if you do not notice that the menu is open and you simply start "recording" again, you may now be taking a time-lapse, or a warp-lapse or a photo instead of the video you thought you were taking. As you can imagine this is very upsetting since when you are diving or snorkeling you may not be placing undivided attention to the settings on your camera...specially if you think you already set them up perfectly.
This problem is completely unacceptable, this camera is made to get wet, to go underwater and it simply fails at that and becomes unreliable and the user needs to constantly make sure he/she is still in the desired setting. Of course, the solution is to turn off the touch screen every time you are planning to go in the water but to me that is not a proper solution, gopro should not expect the user to disable a feature because it is broken, they should fix it!
So, the image is about the same as the older gopro cameras, the file format is too new for now and will most likely require file converting software to change it to a usable format, and the biggest issue...you cannot get it wet and expect it to work the same every time...it will fail you, guaranteed. And when the sea lion is bumping the camera with its nose and you thought you had it all on video you may later realize that you took a photo when you pressed the "start video" button 3 minutes earlier and the rest of the time you were floating around pointing your camera around without doing anything. Perhaps the sea lion was telling me to turn the darn thing on.
I do not think the camera was ready to be released, they needed more testing and time to fix the problems.
Thankfully i had more than one camera going and was able to catch "most" of my video without issues...but that is not a realistic expectation for most of us.
