I've been exclusively using GoPro Hero 5 Black for all my POV shots since 2017. Every time GoPro comes out with a new camera, I try it out, only to find that GoPro Hero 5 Black is still the best GoPro if you need long continuous runtimes and no overheating/freezing issues. IT JUST WORKS. In addition to no overheating issues, the GoPro Hero 5 Black beat the GoPro 11 in these categories (tested in identical settings): -Closeup focus (GoPro 11 can't focus as close up as 5) -Battery life -Image noise/compression artifacts -Size -Price After I performed this test a few months ago, I put my GoPro 11 away and bought 4 more GoPro 5 Black cameras off facebook marketplace, which should last me enough years until GoPro makes a camera that finally beats the Hero 5 Black.

The release of the Hero 12 has been the best advertising DJI could have wanted for their Osmo Action 4!

I’m really enjoying the fact that you include family in your videos!

So, in conclusion, the Hero 12 is basically a Hero 11 with a firmware upgrade?

I was trying to sell my GoPro 11 before the release to get the upgrade, but after seeing it in action, I am not disappointed that it didn’t sell. I did get the Snap mount on your recommendation last year though, and that has been a game changer for my channel.

I loved your review, you touched on many of things I was interested in learning more about on the new Hero 12. Thanks for sharing.

My last GoPro purchase was the GoPro 8, but I'm looking to upgrade and your post has helped me consider my options. What really caught my attention was the app feature that allows you to see what you're filming - it's definitely my favorite aspect of the camera. Thank you for sharing your insights!

Great job on the video David! Thanks for making it.

Seems like the GP12 is more of a software upgrade and not so much of a hardware upgrade. If that’s mostly true, then they are charging $399 for a software update? I just feel like there should have been more hardware innovation in the GP12. Still a good camera but I’m happy with my Action 4 camera. I hope both companies push each other to innovate more

This video single handedly helped me decide to return my new GoPro 11 that I got for my Birthday a week ago. I waited to open it, knowing a 12 was likely imminent! I’m a huge customer of GoPro, but the 11 was sort of a “firmware” update of the 10, and this 12 isn’t doing much to impress, unless you like sparkles! So I’m personally planning on returning my 11, not buying the 12, and waiting ‘till Black Friday and will likely get another 9 or maybe a 10 depending on those deals. Happy shopping and recording everyone! 👍⚓️

Great comprehensive and honest video! Thanks David :)

David Thank you but everyone will now want to see a show down with the Osmo action 4 look forward to this

Yess was waiting for your in depth review!

Thank you for this comprehensive review. There are a few things that I really appreciate. The ability to see the review on your phone is HUGE for me. I think the time code sync would be nice since I almost always shoot two cameras at once and syncing is a pain. Finally they gave us a 1/4-20 mount! When upgraded from Hero7 to Hero11 it was an AMAZING UPGRADE. I don’t see enough here to upgrade to the Hero12 from the Hero11.

I got the Hero 12 as a birthday gift from my family and I love it! My first GoPro. I’m just using it as a daily carry and vlogging camera. Great little tool.

Excellent review and your footage is awesome. AND FINALLY, I can see (monitor) the camera with the cell phone app. YEAH!!!!

Really good review, you do a really good job of covering the important aspects without dragging it out too long. The side by sides are always informative, but I slow them down to 1/2 or 1/4 speed to really get a look. I ordered a 12 as I have an 11 (and a 4) and wanted a second cam with all the modern tricks. I may switch to DJI in the future as I have their drone and mics, but not yet on the cams, it's getting tough though.

24:46 in, I'm being honest when I say that made your entire video worth watching all the way through! Especially the fall off the suitcase! I was howling!! 😂

So far the most comprehensive and relevant review I have seen. Wish I could give it more than one 👍. A modest update it seems, that’s ok. And you were right…I couldn’t see the HDR difference, but on KZfaq difficult to see slight improvements on anything, AirPods didn’t sound great, I can see how it could work ok sometimes though. I would have added to the bad list the lack of ability to connect an external mic unless you buy the media mod or an external adapter. Not a new thing however.

Another plus regarding the bluetooth mic is that you can control the camera remotely by voice now even when the GoPro is out of normal voice range. It's evolution more than revolution, but they're going to need to something considerably more impressive next year.

I am so glad I did not wait for the 12 to come out and purchased the Dji Action 4. The only reason the GoPro battery is lasting longer is the lack of a GPS system inside. Thanks for the excellent video, I look forward to the next one.

Ok already need the dji 4 vs GoPro 12 now

Great video David! I actually like the quick capture on/off because of how I use the camera (for mountain biking). There are times on my rides where I don't need it running and to save battery it's nice that it's only powering up to record and then just shutting off. I don't want to have to worry if I powered down the camera after I stopped recording. LOVE they upgraded the Max Lens Mod to now shoot in 4k and it can be used with other modes. Probably the main reason I ended up getting it. Also loved the bluetooth audio connectivity feature but agree, using your air pods or any small wireless headphones will not sound good because the microphones in those units are only built for phone use, not audio recording. So it's really not a downside of the camera, but more so the poor quality of the mics inside those wireless headphones. Just a pro-tip! 😉 Now if only I can connect my DJI Mics to the GoPro via bluetooth, that would be a game changer!

Newcomer to the channel - fantastic stuff, and hugely appreciate the depth you dive in. Curious if you have a take (and I'll do a deep dive into your content later on) on using an action cam for vlogging vs. using a mirrorless (I have the Canon R8 which is incredible in just about every instance so far) on a small gimbal. Obviously, there are pros and cons for each (size, depth of field, audio, having to use (or not use) ND filters, etc.), but I've never used an action cam and am debating getting one for b-roll type stuff, but was pondering the idea of using it as the main cam since it's just SO user-friendly to grab and go. Anyway, greatly appreciate you and the content, so thank you!

Great review, the one I was waiting for.

I watched your video on the 11 v Action 4 and jumped over to see your 12 review. Thanks for the great advice. I'm thinking of getting the 12. Currently, I have a 9.

Great review! Got us the snap mount kit!

Per usual, well detailed, great functional info, no bloats, always just what we want to know. Thank you! Thanks for confirming the live view while recording. A 10 minute GoPro promo video does show it. I had the 8 Black, which I swear had recording live view, but then was taken away. The 8 did still have it up to 1080p30fps, not 60, just to 30. I'm not an action guy, so overheating really was bothersome. But was able to overcome it by taking battery out and using usb, or even having the camera sit on a heat sink actually helped to run until the battery died. But not having live view during recording was extremely annoying. I like not being glued behind a camera, and seeing video on a bigger screen. Thanks again for your hard work!

Great informative vid David, think i will stay with my GoPro10 for the next 12 months as it is still awesome enough for what i use it for. Hopefully the 13 is a bigger upgrade for me.

I'm definitely keen to see some GoPro vs DJI low-light comparisons!

Been waiting for this vid all week! The bluetooth audio is pretty rough... I wonder what that sounds like if you were to run it through something like Adobe Podcast AI. 1/4 20 mount is long overdue, but that's awesome for tripods. Not to mention, a c-stand/grip arm/gopro becomes one of the easiest top down mounting options.

Finally dawg been waiting

Not going to lie, I have watched a few other KZfaqrs that do camera reviews but you are hands down the best. Maybe a little less production but I think that’s kind of your niche so I don’t hold it against you. Loved this review. Took about 13 or 14 hours to get through it all because life kept taking me away from my iPad. However, I asked you to do a particular video with the step by step on the Insta360 X 3 doing where the viewer gets to pick the view. You sent me a message and I did it and didn’t work. I must be doing something wrong so when you are done all these Hero 12 videos and looking for something to record…I would really appreciate a video on that. As always, appreciate your content and everyone subscribe to this guy and share it to your friends.

One thing to keep in mind and this will go for most cameras that are small, including mirrorless and DSLR types are the bodies do not allow adequate airflow for the internal components inside, and the big one is the sensor itself and one big issue with the GoPro, and other action cameras are the really small bodies so heat gets trapped and do better with adequate airflow. Marcus P did a test of several of the mirrorless/DSLR cameras and the camcorders, on a hot day, in full sunlight, I forget if HD or not (if HD, over 1080P) but all the smaller mirrorless/DSLR cameras all failed in the desert sun, most crapping out before 30 minutes, some much sooner, but all the camcorders were still recording. This is due to the larger bodies of even the small consumer cheap camcorders were superior to most of the other smaller cameras as far as handling the heat. I have the H9 and so far have not had overheating issues, but I also shoot in 1080P. Even many phones will overheat after several minutes when shooting 4K. 4K shooting will generate quite a bit more heat in general and do be aware that unless doing action shooting, most of us can get away with shooting much less as much of what you use when editing are seconds, if not frames of a clip anyway, so running your camera say, no more than 5 minutes at a time will give you plenty to choose from. BT is not a major thing for me as I use a wireless lav with the media mod, and you can likely still get the adapter that plugs into the USB port with the pass through door in place to plug your mic into if you do not get the media mod. I got the media mod for that reason and to attach a small battery light to it, and can run an external power brick with a USB cable if I need to. I'd be interested in this camera for GP-Log and TC sync. I would hope it can interface with 3rd party devices like the Octopus for jam syncing multiple cameras as needed. Having the preview still be functional while recording is nice, but not a deal breaker with my H9 as I can set up the shot with the phone, then hit record anyway. Overall, a good review of a really new camera. BTW, I personally don't do action video, but may be outside doing yard work, taking the camera to the beach or mountains etc and have found that what you use for media cards will make or break your success with the GoPro and Samsung SD cards seem to be liked better with my GoPro than Sandisk, of which came with my camera when I bought it new.

I would love to know how the HDR works under water compared to the normal and log profiles. Will it have more or less noise when snorkelling or diving? Will HDR give better low light performance than the other modes under water ?

Thanks for the review David. I have 4 questions:- 1) Is HDR video mode available in other shooting modes such as Night Lapse video. It would be good if you could expose for the night sky and then say a cityscape below the night sky. 2) Is it true HDR REC2020 video or is it just frame blending? 3) Will the Max Lens Mod 2.0 work on the 9/10/11? 4) Is there 120 FPS for 2.7k on the Max Lens Mod 2.0?

Thanks for review. I was wondering if the HDR feature might make indoor shooting a little better between darker areas & windows. do you have any thoughts on that?

When you do the Hero 12 vs Action 4 comparison, can you compare file size at 4K 60FPS? My DJI cameras produce much larger files, almost twice as big, when the quality is comparable. How much footage can you put on a 64GB memory card with each camera?

Still #1! I’ve been waiting for these upgrades for years!

Thanks @Dave. I have the 10 so I’m guessing it’s a bit more worth the upgrade (for 299usd)? 😅 also, I have the snap mount but i saw one of your recent videos about a Ulanzi mount trick/adaption. Which one would you recommend? Cheers and keep on doing great videos !

Thanks for the review, David. Could you check if it's possible to shoot 360 video using 2 GoPro 12 with max mod lenses when mounted back to back? Or would that require too much work stitching the files together?

Seems to me GoPro is now the Apple of action cameras. Like the iPhone…their action camera was first to do something “game changing” with a type of technology. Now it is a combination of incremental upgrades of questionable value, things that others were already able to do (e.g. viewing a video in the app as you are recording), and software improvements that they could add to their existing camera(s), but they force people to upgrade to get (which isn’t actually customer-friendly). Don’t get me wrong. They may still be the best action camera, but I feel that DJI and Insta360 are truly innovative. Maybe when the 13 comes out I’ll upgrade, but my GoPro HERO 10 remains enough, especially augmented with my Action 4 and GO 3. P.S. As usual, great video. I also like that I leave your videos feeling better than before I started watching. Appreciate your personality.

I feel like GoPro should calm down on the versions haha. I wish they brought back the GoPro Session. That little cube was amazing!

Great video review of the new GoPro 12. After watching it, I decided to keep my GoPro 9 though, and don't upgrade at this time. Actually, I am more motivated to buy the DJI Action 4 now, since it looks like it's an actual improvement compared to GoPro cameras. Did you already do a comparaison between the action 4 and GoPro 12 by chance ?... If not, that's something I am sure lot of people would love to see as well.

Hey David everyone is actually looking for the showdown between dji action 4 and the hero 12😢

Great endings!!! Lol 😂😂😂 nice review! Love the good bad n ugly sections!

3 points - what do people film at 4K 120fps for longer than 30 mins. I'm just thinking about editing. If you slow down 120fps to 30fps, that's a two hour video. Who would watch anything in slow for two hours? 2 - Does no one use buckle mounts? I haven't remove my bite mount from my 11 since I purchased it.

Thank you for this review :) I'm using a GoPro8 for my channel. Do you think I should upgrade to GoPro12 or DJI Action 4?

great video as always, i think to keep my 9 and get the action 4. waiting on action 4 vs GP12 video, thx....

The main reason I never parted with my Hero 8s is because it was the last camera which the Quik app allowed you to record and monitor what is recorded thru the app!!....Now it is back on the 12. AWESOME.

Thanks for the - as always - lots of good information. The #1 most important thing for me: stabilizer when recording while I'm running. The most important thing #2: recording in low light and at night. I now have to decide whether to buy the GoPro 12 or DJI 4. A comparison video GoPro 12 vs DJI 4 would be helpful for me. Will you do a comparison video GoPro 12 vs DJI 4 ? Best regards

That’s was cool that you went to Cabo, I’m from Baja my self, but live in US.

Hey! Would it be possible to show the difference between superview and hyper view with and without the max 2.0 lens? Think it will be perfect for helmet placed fpv skiing. I guess it is the widest filed of view before getting a 360 cam. Have been waiting for a GoPro max (360) camera, but with only one lens, and this might be that?

Hi David and thanks for your work. Do you know if max lens mod 2.0 is or will be compatible with Gopro 11 ?

Thanks for the video. I returned the Hero 11 because it overheated on a 90 degree day in 15 minutes. I am undecided right now and am looking at the Osmo Action 3,4 and Gopro Hero 12.

Good 👍 video, amazing job , what size is the sensor ? It’s not 1 inch

Being able to connect a wireless mic, was one feature that i was hoping for.. especially when walking around vlogging... but... bluetooth.. damn, thats not gunna do much, was hoping it would be 2.4 GHz frequency band, like the DJI Mic or the Rode Wireless GO.. dreams... Also was so looking forward to the low light capabilities for the rumoured 1 inch sensor... I've got the GP9.. been waiting for a low light upgrade for vlogging at night.. to buy, i guess the HDR goes part of the way there.. Great vid dude, always watching, thanks for all the work you put in.

Great review. The best 'voice' in reviewing tech overall! Hah!

David, if you do an overheating video could you include a battery-less test? I'm still at Hero8 and will run them without a battery when I'm recording bike rides. This way I don't have to stop and swap batteries or fiddle with it at all until the end. I just got an Insta360 X3 and will do the same thing as that sucker gets hot. Also, with the wet screen not responsive, could you experiment with using something like Rain-X to make the screen hydrophobic or dish soap to make it hydrophilic? Also, spitting on it or using something like Frog Spit that swimmers use in their goggles. I don't use mine in the water, but it might help other folks. As always, I look forward to your reviews. By the way, just received a couple of those 4way adapters for my GoPros. They're working fantastic! Thanks for the suggestion.

any idea if it works with the instamic? that would be a perfect pairing. bluetooth audio sounds bad, which is a bummer, that was one of the reasons i pre-ordered... the other was the wider FOV on the max lens mod... not looking great for GoPro at the moment

Your GoPro videos are my favorite GoPro videos. Props for taking the time to orchestrate a legit hurricane to be part of your testing 🫨

Luv the snap mount

I have a GoPro hero 10 black and I’m wondering if you would recommend the DJI action 4 or new GoPro hero 12 for an additional camera. My hero 10 keeps freezing up on me and it’s really irritating missing terrific shots. I am based in Florida maybe it’s just the heat?

Timecode question - can you jam sync a GoPro 12 with an external timecode generator via the USB-C slot or is it only via QR Code? Right now only the Tentacle Sync system supports the GoPro QR Code in their Timebar App. All timecode generating systems (Deity, RODE Wireless PRO, Tentacle, etc.) support syncing via direct cable connect to cameras. GoPro support states that the 12 doesn’t support that, but the GoPro Labs software for the 11 seemingly does.

Question about Bitrate, should you use higher bitrate for higher resolutions (4k)? Do you lose information if you use the same bitrate with 1080p to 4k?

Hi there You can use that app on your gopro ten And it works as well Because i'm thinking about getting the gopro12

About the bluetooth feature, i can imagine it might be more interesting with other microphones than airpods. I'm not sure if there are good dedicated bluetooth mics, but i can imagine they work much more convenient that having a wireless mic and needing an adapter mounted on the GoPro. I definitely like the idea, and who knows, if a bluetoot connection to microphones gets supported more, maybe Rode, Sennheiser etc. might actually make really high quality bluetooth mics. Honestly, i wish my fullframe camera could support bluetooth for both microphones and headphones, since even just being able to recieve audio feedback on the headphone might be really useful here and there. I definitely appreciate the idea to implement it on the GoPro, even if it might need microphone manufacturers to tag along for maximum benefit

I really loved the review! I have a GP11 and max ill not upgrade this year. I will get the osmo action 4 this year instead. Im waiting on the max 2 !!!

How's the low light on it? It would be cool if you can get a video use on cruising grand! 14:26

Good Vid. For sure want to see head to head with osmo 4, is there a osmo 5 coming this fall BTW? battery life in cold conditions is top of my list and remote control operations stability from each app is key. Thanks

I can see in certain situations connecting headphones to the GoPro is good but I think the audio quality is just worse and I think that using and external recorder and a mic or just the recorder and just syncing the audio later is a better option or just using the internal mics in the GoPro. I also think the 1/4-20 mount should have been built in a few GoPros ago.

as a photographer looking for their first go pro for documentary footage/vlogging/travel videos/car timelapse/underwater footage etc. would you recommend this model?

Also does the original max lens mod work with the 12? Ok it's not quite as wide but it's easily wide enough and Vs $100 extra it's definitely good enough

Nice video 9:45 and thank you for this. I have never seen this before

I’m interested to hear if the rode or Dji wireless mics can sync directly to the gopro 12 & if so what the sound quality is like. Hopefully better than those ear buds 😂

Can you add in your testing somehow of how the GoPro does with no battery and external powered. If it over heats and how long until it does.

Does the Bluetooth audio improve with different Bluetooth headphones? A few of my colleagues use their AirPods in zoom/teams meetings and they don’t sound great! Other headphones/headsets do though!

you could have demonstrated the AutoBoost at 9:09 with how much you waved your hands about, hahaha much love

Ahh come on David, someone… you know who 😂 It looks so nice and sunny out there ☀️

TimeCode Synch - is that a unique GoPro feature? or is there any chance that it can be used when filming something with a set of other cameras, for example Canon R7 + 6DII + 80D? or even sets with different brands of cameras, for example a Canon cam + a Sony cam + a Panasonic cam?

have you tried a decent bluetooth mike or transmitter. Are airpods the limit or the gopro?

Coming from a GoPro 8, I ordered a 12. Often times reviews compare to previous gen, but some of us don't upgrade yearly. 8 -> 12 is a significant upgrade in terms of quality and performance.

Did you get the stock audio mic even though the GoPro is connected to your AirPods? It's like having two audio tracks in one video

Question: can you still shoot 2.7K 60 with the Max Lens Mod 2.0 attached or are the only options 1080 120 and 4K 60? The GoPro literature is unclear about this. Cheers!

David my only question to you is will it work. I dont trust. And please compare with action 4. I am thinking of action 4

i wonder if they took out gps for the heating improvement, would make sense haha or an excuse for them to upsell the remote too

Do you have a channel where we can watch your action camera footage, your surfing videos and other action sports

If you disable GPS on the Hero 11, does the runtime improve to the same extent as on the 12?

Love the airpod Bluetooth capabilities

I have a recommendation: your videos are good. Keep up the good work

Just curious, what kind of GPS stuff can you do with the GPS enabled models??

I'm only interested in how a bluetooth mic will work with the 12 for motovloging purposes...in a helmet.

Hi just a quick question ive bought GoPro 12 yesterday and trying to set the aspect ratio to 5.3k but max it says is 2.7k what am I doing wrong

Invisalign bro, get that tooth fixed. I’m in my 25th week with just a few more weeks to go and I’m surprised and impressed how well it has worked for me.

So really nothing bad to say about the GP12. As for your surfboard issue, I have a Ulanzi ball mount that I can twist 180 degrees. (Not sure how it will work in salt water...) As for the touch screen on the front...I can get over that. And not matter what anyone says, the video quality is better than any other action camera - I think people are giving the Action 4 a pass on video quality. The only thing on my wish list is a mic jack. (and as for low light...there's not that much action happening in lowlight or dark conditions)

Aloha~ yes i am re-learining setup list since it is new upgrade settings comapre to my gp9 and gp10blk..so far no problems...my biggest worry is the battery overheating...does anyone know if recording on normal sunny day on 4k60 how long does avg enduro bettery last? Mahalo!

if you were to consider the hero 12 vs the action 4 JUST for timelapses while on vacation, which would you pick? The bigger sensor on the Action 4 seems like it might be helpful but the higher MP sensor on the hero 12 might result in better images. So torn.

Given that gopro have now reduced the prices of the hero 10 and 11, what would be your pick value wise for the cameras between gopro and dji? I'm in Australia and the hero 12 is $649, the 11 is now $579 and the 10 is now $429. The Action 4 is $629 and action 3 is $519. I'm looking at getting a camera to do basic recording on a motorcycle and bicycle and maybe some motovlogging (so would need a microphone connection as well). What would do the best job for the money? Obviously i would need a media mod for a gopro which increases the price somewhat (although i had thought about trying to record seperate audio with a mic hooked into my phone - I'm going to test that this weekend). I don't know how much a microphone adaptor for the Action 3 and 4 is. I'm currently tossing up between the hero 10 and action 3. Is the 10 still worth looking at given how cheap it is or should i drop it from my options and decide between the Action 3 and the hero 11, which would put the Action 3 in prime position, given that recording audio on it will still put it at less than the hero 11?

Can you test if the max mod 2.0 works on older cameras?

Will the preview while recording be available for older cameras or is this for the 12 only?