The hero 12 is not worth the upgrade IMO. what do you think?

I'm just a random guy commenting (which I never do): This is one of the best comparisons I think I've even seen in my life hehe. Most important part is that this guy is not getting sponsored. Other than that --> easy to understand, organized, to the point, clear etc. Keep going!

Great comparison. Since I didn’t own a previous action camera the familiar style menus and color profile (and mounting) led me to the Action 4. It’s a great camera and is very quick and intuitive to use. Went on vacation and didn’t have a single glitch or hiccup first time really using the Action, no regrets.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, this is the most comprehensive and clear comparison id seen so far. Strait to the points and no fancy editing with side tracked nonsense.

I watch a lot of YT and i gotta hand it to you, Jake. Your reviews are on a whole other level. From the footage to the details in the product to the comparison you hit home runs consistently, the time and effort you put into your work shows. Well done dude! I think I'm gonna upgrade from the Action 3 to the 4. I have to agree it does much better on matching skin color and on night footage. Dji really does have exceptional products.

Excellent review Jake. The Action 4 has definitely become my go to for action cams for all the reasons you mentioned. However, two things stand out for me as being most important. First is image quality. I just like the more natural look of the A4. The other is user interface, which for me is better on the DJI.

Honestly it’s the best comparison video so far on these two actions cameras.

Super valuable comparison!! Thanks

Very nice comparison. I recently got the Action 4, and so far I am really happy with it. Previously, I used a Hero10, which is a nice camera, but I am really impressed with the Action 4 so far. I just used it in Chamonix for some Paragliding video. I filmed it in Log and I looking forward seeing how it grades. For audio and TC I used a Tentacle Sync and Track because I had about 3 cameras running for the video.

An excellent informative comparison guide. thank you much.

This was an excellent video on the subject. Thanks

Thank you for this! Living in the mountains in Montana and doing my off road exploring in the cold, you really helped me narrow things down! Trying to build my channel with a little better content and much better quality than just an iPhone recording.

I watched a few dozen comparison videos before I decided. For me and what I want to do with it I went with the Action 4. It will do 110% of what I want and has more options in my book. But my shop gets cold in the winter and I feel the GoPro just wouldn't cut it in that environment. And with 100% transparency it was this video that finally made up my mind. So for me I went with the Adventure Combo. I literally just got it in the mail today, so I will keep you posted on my views and opinions. Thanks for the videos and keep it up.

Thankyou for the comparison. Much appreciated. Take care.

good job watched every single comparison video on youtube your is the best 👏

such a comprehensive review. thanks.

I was just waiting for you to do this review. 🎉🎉🎉

I watched your video and now I'm a new subscriber. I got action 4 adventure combo a couple of months ago. First use was during a road trip in Balcans countries with a very hot sunny weather, most of time mounted on front window of the car and i' m very happy with it. I also use dji mic. It's also very impressive how fast you can reload batteries. Great job my friend!!!!

Very useful and insightful comparison. Both camera are very good, especially compared to what was available 3-4 years ago. Cold temperature battery performance is important for me because my main use case is filming winter fat bike riding. I have not used an Action 4 in the winter yet, but last winter I used the Action 3 very successfully in -20C temperatures. Almost flawless performance in fact. I would expect Action 4 to be the same and I will find out in a few months! New subscriber here based on this video and a few others of yours that ended up in my feed courtesy of “the algorithm”.

Fantastic video and super informative!

Great review! Thank you.

Hi Jake, hold onto the power button then press the shutter button to switch through presets on the GoPro (to not have to use the touch screen). It's had that function since HERO5 or 6.

Truly an excellent review video! I purchased the GP11 a month before GP12 was announced. My requirement was a built-in GPS (OA4 doesn't have one), the GoPro Labs and the Open GoPro Developer API's were also of major value to me. Using GoPro Labs, I have a large floating level on the screen in all modes, a constant display of the actual ISO, Shutter Speed, and surrounding Sound Pressure (dB). I can customize the beep volume, I can start the camera filming when I reach a particular speed in my vehicle. I can write scripts to do fantastic things with the GoPro. I also set a High Bit Rate of 200Mbps, set Noise Reduction off so I get very good video in the dark at 5.3k 30fps, 100-1600 ISO. Another reason for the GP11 over the OA4 is the 27MP camera features. I have reduced my reliance on a smartphone for taking photos, and I have all the location data stored in each photo which is uploaded to Google Photos. I also upload driving footage to Mapillary (Open Street Maps) and contribute scenery footage of roads (similar to Google Street View). The OA4 (and now the GP12) are unable to do so natively.

Wow, great and pretty worth watching comparison, cheers!

I upgraded my GoPro 7 to GoPro 12 a few days ago and have not regret the switch. But many times I'm wondering if comparing image quality between cameras like Action 4 with GoPro 12 is much about "pixel peeping". I think if you would make videos with both cameras and view them on a big monitor, not side by side, I think it would be very hard to tell which video is recorded with which camera.

Jake! Thanks for this review, definitely helped me make a decision on which to buy. But upon getting my Action 4, I'm a little confused about which lens to use for underwater shots. The camera came with two options: the one with a protective hood center and the one with an open center. Was hoping you could help me out so I can start testing these shots. Or if you have recommendations on which option is best to use while snowboarding (will be my main use).

Great review. Thanks! I own the hero 10, and might upgrade to the 12 or the action 4. My concern for the action 4 is that it shoots in such a wide angle! My fear is that it makes my main subject appear smaller in the frame, and my shooting style disagrees with that. What’s your opinion of that extra wide angle.

Another helpful vid Jake. & another load of truly epic locations. The scenery around your way is so lush. Question… Does the Action 4 use the same size and type Batteries & NDs as the Action 3? Cheers

Hi Jake, i am looking to buy one of those action cams, but I am not sure which one yet. Watching you’re video helps a lot. But I have one question, do you know of dji have the same editing program as GoPro like Quik because quick does most of the editing for you but I can’t find of dji has the same program. Thanks already.

Amazing video! Thank you so much! I am using the GoPro 11 to record weekly sermons in 4k. When I need to cut, I zoom in (full to half body or vivce versa) for another angle (using Adobe Premere Pro). This is the reason for shooting at 5.3k with GoPro 11. Will I get the same quality with an DJI Action 4 @ 4k?

Watched your video. Good info. I just lost my GP 9 sooo in the market to buy a new camera. Was leaning on GP 11 or 12 as I have some accessories for GoPro. Now you got me thinking.

Excellent comparison video

It’s kinda hard decision since they both have their pros and cons. However for me I would mostly be interested in video quality on bright sunny weather since that what actions cameras are for. If it’s dark I’ll take out my Sony full frame. Other Than that battery life and user experience like mounting system are also a good consideration since you want to be creative and mount on different spots. In terms of of audio for an action most wireless mics record external and that will always be a better option. Nice video and great review, watch a lot of YT and this one is a work of art !

I feel like you should also mention the max lens mod for GoPro. Nothing really compares to it from any other action cameras. Perfect horizon leveling at the maximum fov and resolution is very appealing for action cam users

Can you improve the results by manual settings? Disappointed that the 12 can't handle cold well, I need it to handle low sub zero temps, sometimes it gets down to -15C where I live. More commonly down to -10C. Do Hero 12 have the endless beep when SD card is full like on Hero 7, locking the camera completely, so you have to take the battery out and swap sd card? I could not even go into the menu to delete videos.

I bought the Action 4. It's amazing and I have no regrets.

That's a really good thing that you matched up the resolution and framerates in the battery and overheating test. A lot of people set them both on max. Which makes the OA3 max to 4K30 and Hero12 to 5.3K30. But that higher resolution will also increase processing and for that more heat generation and power consumption. So it takes no NASA scientist to find out that the Hero12 will shut down earlier then. Both are actually just some simple upgrades of the previous model. The Hero12 is just an firmware updated Hero11 and the OA4 is just an updated OA3 with a fixed focus problem, however it's great that they've updated the Image sensor, making it better in low light. On the Hero12 they've probably removed the GPS unit to save on production costs, keeping the price the same. Where the OA4 got more expensive. GoPro is defending this by stating that it was done to improve battery life and reduce overheating on certain resolutions and framerates. But they actually decreased bittrates drastically on those specified resolution compared to the Hero11. And here again, less processing is less heat and improved runtime. So GoPro is fooling people here a bit... Although I like the much smaller filesizes on both 1080p and 4K. This can be an interesting aspect of choosing one of them too. Especially on longer recordings like hikes or whatsoever.. I had a big issue with the touch screen badly responding on the Hero12. But manually updating/overwriting the firmware seemed to have improved if not solved that problem. Although what compensates a bit here is having the possibility of creating and customizing presets. Which can be changed with the physical buttons. So there's actually no need to use the touchscreen when setup for different occasions.

Nice comparison jake...just help me with this.... which of these two should i buy if my primary goal is to have good video quality...and if i use gopro 12 with Max lens 2.0..would i still get distortion in my picture quality ?

Action 4 is definitely the one for me, ease of use being the main reason, it just works straight out of the box. Plus the fact that it charges so much quicker. And lastly that magnetic mount, so innovative compared to GoPro.

I can't find any videos. is the GoPro 7 worth it or an upgrade to the Action 4 is suggested? the tabs on the GoPro 7 batteries keep or falling off or removing. has happened on 2 OEM GoPro batteries and 3 aftermarket.

I recreationally snowboard, and I am wondering which would be better for this considering the harsh white that is all over the place. I've never heard about this action camera before and always though that gopro would be better. It seems like the gopro is better for everything (snowboarding) except battery life & maybe white balancing. What would be your recommendation?

I'm going on vacation soon and I want to get an action camera for swimming, are there a lot of options for wearing/mounting the Action 4?

Thanks, just ordered my hero 12 lol it is my first action camera. I will test it out while hiking in the mountains, my only worry is not having a gimbal and using nd filters with hypersmooth. Any advice on this particular setup please? Does action 4 stabilisation work well with nd filters?

Hi mate can you use a 1tb micro sd card in the osmo 4 ? I don't want to change out cards on a long trip away .cheers

Great comparison video, loving my action 4 so far. Can i ask ehat sharpness/noise reduction settings you used on it, still experimenting to try and find the sweet spot and your footage looks fantastic! Many thanks

Nice video 👍 So, I've had a GoPro since the 6th, and this week I bought the hero 12 at BestBuy, I put it to film in 5K, and in 20 minutes it heated up and turned off, really the GoPro has been a disappointment in recent years, the touch on the screen as Sometimes it doesn't respond, and now it overheats after 20 minutes on a 5k, I've already ordered my DJI osmo action 4 and I'm going to return this hero 12.

Great comparison! I’m considering which one to buy for myself. 😊 I want mine primarily for city walks and for attaching to my moped during daylight hours! Which would you suggest?

Hi Jake i'm Currently using my S22 on a tripod with a wireless audio mic , with the mic attached to my lapel, i video myself in fishing matches and edit them and put them on my you tube channel . I now want to get a camera for doing this job, i am thinking Go pro 12 or DJ action 4 , or would the sony ZV-1F do the job . But i must be able to have a wireless Mic attachment as the camera will be away from me and there will be wind noise on some occasions . I also need to be able to hit record from a remote as i will be sitting on my seat box and i cant keep getting up and down during a match. Any advice would be greatly appreciated .

Had gopro 3 years been shooting in 4k for 2 years,the action 4 blows it out the water simple as,now all i need is a waterproof mini dji ,instead my monster water proof drone.very good video debs xx

I need to take videos when I’m inside of stores to record the prices of products. To do this I need to zoom in very closely. But I need the stabilization when I’m walking through isles. Which do you recommend?

Excellent video. Thank you so much. Which app do you recommend for the Action 4? I see several apps but most look like 3rd party (not made by DJI). Thanks!

Bought the action 4. But…..wind cancelling is not great at all, so i need external microphone, again a but….i need waterproof mic setup. DJI´s setup for the DJI wireless mic is failing the waterproofing. Any way to get a waterproof setup with the action 4 and external mic ?

I’m going to walk the Camino de Santiago. Which of these would you recommend as opposed to taking my Nikon D750 camera & all of its associated extras (heavy lenses etc)?

@ZoomRenity-zb7ck 21 seconds ago Can vibrancy and/or saturation be bumped up in the DJI Action 4 for videos and photos?

Do you know exactly why they didn't / can't do 2.7k 240fps on the DJI Action 4? Could they just update it on the firmware, or is it a hardware issue?

The go/no-go feature for me is GoPro's temporal/spatial stabilization (aka Hypersmooth) that corrects rolling shutter "jello" on high-frequency, high amplitude vibrations on a line-by-line basis (rather than frame-by-frame on all other action cams). Does the Action 4 live up to this? Can you clamp an A4 to a high-frequency, high-amplitude source of vibration (like any sort of small craft engine, especially 2-stroke) and get jello-free, rocky steady images? The GoPro 8 Hypersmooth 2 can, so one can assume version 5 or 6 of the Hypersmooth algorithm in the GP12 works even better.

Great reaction video 😊 most detailed and informative one Thanks a lot for bringing the clarity to me. I think Action 4 beats down GoPro 12 in many aspects. So i have decided to purchase Action 4 as my first Action camera for Moto Vlogging

Great review! I am ready to upgrade from my Hero 9 as its getting a mind of its own! It freeze's up regularly and switches off mid ride! I am torn between the two. I love the fact that the Dji has magnetic mounting, Great battery, Fast charging and all round great usability but in my opinion for mountain biking the footage is too shaky whereas the hero 12 is buttery smooth. I'd love to hear your thoughts?

I will be purchasing the DJI Action 4. I currently have a GoPro 9 that has failed me several times due to overheating issues. Also, the 4 little screws, that hold the plate that the 2 tabs are connected to on the bottom of the GoPro, sheared off while I had the camera mounted to the front bumper of our Jeep. Fortunately, I have a custom bumper and the camera fell into the well of the bumper so I didn't lose the camera. To GoPro's credit they will be sending me a new mount but I need to find a camera shop that will be able to remove the remains of those 4 screws. We do use the camera for off-road driving so it does take some abuse so we will see how the DJI Action 4 does. Thanks for the review of the two cameras...A job well done...Thanks!

Just got the Action 4. Never coming back to GoPro. The User Experience and unboxing is 10x much better, and GoPro with 5.3k doesn't make up really for the quality that Action 4 offers. DJI knows their work, and i'm very satisfied with their product, can recommend it 100%.

Nice video, great work man. I am planning to buy one, I want the camera for my cycling so, which one having good stabilization? either A4 or 12?. Thank you.

thank you very much for that informativ Video. I have one Question: How about battery drain, when you are not using the cameras? this annoys a lot with my old Go Pro. Greetings from Vienna

Holy Smokes! What a Fantastic and highly detailed review through subjective research... Absolutely fantastic in your approach to this findings regarding both units in question. Thank you

What first camera shoyld i get to vlog my sons basketball aau games never owned one before and was planning in buying one soon

Nice review sir...👍

Nice review!

I am in great uncertainty, whether to buy the action 4 or gopro 12. I feel that the action 4 mount will not suffice for when I ski or skate, as I do not trust magnets for when I fall, but then again the battery life is a great touch, but I also hate the UI

Hay jake! I have never had an action camera and gonna buy my first one tomorrow. Which one would you suggest?! Gopro 12 Creator Edition or Action 4 Adventure Combo?

So which one should a beginner buy as the best choice by price? Which will give me ease of access and great videos?

Were you at the July 4th car launch by chance? If so you may have seen two M3s, one of them was me, (alongside way too many smaller ones, super sketch flying in that swarm)

I had pretty much made up my mind about which one I wanted to get (the wider field of view and the marginally smaller size were selling the Action 4 for me) but your detailed review has helped me choose, thank you Jake. On a different note, your "backyard" : WOOF ...

Which camera was you using during talking about both the action cameras?

Great review! Thank you. Does anyone think dji will release a 5 before Xmas? Or a rough idea when the 5 will be released?

I lean toward the DJI. I've operated the 3 for an hour at -20C. I have the GoPro 8. And only use it in the summer. The 4 will enhance my winter shooting arsenal.

This is the best comparison I've seen so far. The image quality, especially color, with the Action 4 puts it as the clear choice. I've owned 2 GoPro cameras and both have come with problems. GoPro would have to be a clear winner for me to go back to them a third time.

Hello Which one would you recommend for a motorcycle trip?

The fast charging and the charge retainment of the DJI OA4 is another significant advantage over the GoPro 12 (or any GoPro, for that matter). The ditching of the GPS by GoPro is the only way they could get better battery life. It's basically a GoPro 11 with different software-enabled functions. Shame on you, GoPro!

Great Video! I will use an action cam for snowboarding and probably diving (not too deep). Anyone an idea which one I should buy?

Is gopro 12 any better in low light, if you lower resolution to 4k or 2k?

Can you use either with an extenal barttery pack and USB-C power?

Super happy owner of oa4 bought it as soon as it was released and never regretted after h12 came out. Using it for my gravel bike rides and on vacation

Thanks you for sharing

Do you know if DJI do a care fresh with this camera?

I went with the Action 4, the external audio and the rechargeable battery case sold me on it over getting another Go Pro.

I am just a beginner and thinking of starting to vlog on daily basis. Which camera would you recommend? Thanks

Thanks for very informative video, I'm so glad I watched it because I nearly ordered the go pro 12 but one of my most important needs is for a good low-light camera so the action 4 wins, cheers, Mick.

What about the voice control of the camera? I never owned action camera before I bought the Action 4 and it's working great.

Hey Jake, In the beginning, you mentioned you didn’t see difference between 4K and 5K. I would suggest shoot details like macros (close up) or details and you should see which is more detailed. Conversely, shoot 2.7K or 1080p on A4 vs 4K on GP12 and if my assumptions is wrong, then we can start buying 1080p cameras. For lowlight, both are bad and I don’t shoot action cams in these settings. A4 is better but why average down? For stabilization, same like the comparison of 4K vs 5K, not going to see difference is shooting wide and just general. But put both next to each other and shake the hell out of it (not real world) and you will see one better than the other. At least I saw the difference between HS 6.0 vs 5.0. It just shows tech advancement is more like incremental enhancements which leads to me suggesting these competitors to move the design cycle to 1.5-2yrs as if the changes are small to consumers, they won’t upgrade anyways. GP10 to 12, there is difference and worthy of upgrade for me, not with 11 to 12. A3 to 4 is not worthy of upgrade for me but for sure A5 when it releases. Good fair review. Glad to see you give more unbiased reviews. Not judging others who are sponsored as we all need to make a living but state it upfront then cherry pick to the brand that sponsors you. YT is about keeping or protecting your reputation. Otherwise it becomes disingenuous. Thanks for putting the work with these videos!

Do you think it’s possible to get cinematic style footage with the action 4?

Is the hero 12 better for me?I will be taking photos+videos in good to bad conditions.I dont really like the action 4 because of past experiences.

You are the best, Jake. Well done, and the best scenery. DJI all the way. Don't like GoPro - nothing but bad experiences. Thanks for making this video! 😀 PS. I have the Action 2, 3 and 4. All wonderful.

Hi Jake.....Great review. I really need to step up to a action cam rather than using my note 10 + It would be the A4 for me......👍

12:02 that's weird it was not an option, it was on Hero 7, useful for setting up the angle on a helmet cam setup for example. Live preview is a must. Absurd if they removed it before. Did they bring it back for those cameras? was it just a app bug? Hero 7 Still has live preview.

for motovlog, for which one would you go? mounting camera on the helmet chin. in my eyes id say action 4. any one else having experienced both in that case?

I’m very impressed with my Action 4 camera…. the video quality and ease of use is awesome

Great review. One point I would make having owned 7 GOPROs, regardless of what you think of DJI/Insta (main competitors) the problem is this: GOPRO has experienced a huge shift in their customer service standards. Previously, as a subscriber they would honor the warranty and fix/replace. Currently, I have a GOPRO 10 that has experienced multiple bouts of failures resulting in complete data loss multiple times. I am still a subscriber and they have not fixed my issue, despite HOURS of phone calls to off shore customer service reps, nor responded to ANY emails I have sent. I am so disappointed with their customer service and the fact that they didn't honor the replacement standards they offer members.

Do you recommend me to upgrade my DJI Osmo Action 3 to DJI OA4?

Come on, another video with no mention of how fragile the osmo is using the wxternal mic plugged in the side. Its a handy mounting method but is it stabke and still abke to be used as an action camera is relatively extreme scenarios - the go pro media mod with external mic dows this well. Id appreciate uour thoughts on the osmo in such situations as it looks fragile

that's surprising that the GP12 actually shuts down in cold water, since that's still above 32F/0C, so that begs the question what happens when you have the GP on your jacket while skiing or boarding, or hiking? That could be problem for cold water surfing, tho rarely would folks be surfing in icy water.

I have bought a GoPro camera twice but the power button got damaged/ destroyed and got wet inside(the water leaks). I think they need to improve on this. Now, I will try using a DJI camera.