The Buyers guide to...Best GoPro cameras in 2023

GoPro updates its Hero Black action camera every year, and with the Hero11 Black it adds a new 1/1.9-inch sensor with an 8:7 aspect ratio, making it the biggest sensor yet in a GoPro camera. What’s more, this new sensor can process 10-bit colour, meaning the Hero11 Black can capture the most realistic colours of any GoPro camera to date.

The Hero11 Black’s new sensor also makes possible a bunch of new features and capabilities. Hyperview is a new mode that takes the camera’s 8:7 footage and delivers it in 16:9. GoPro is calling this a ‘digital lens’. There are also new Night effects, such as light trail modes for capturing light painting, traffic trails and star trails.

Also on board are all the usual features that make GoPro cameras great, chief among them being its impressive electronic image stabilisation system, HyperSmooth, which is now in its fifth generation. Improvements include a Linear and Horizon Lock digital lens that keeps footage straight even if the camera rotates 360 degrees.

The camera’s frame rate and resolution options remain the same as in the Hero10 Black. Pound for pound, the GoPro Hero11 Black retains the mantle as the best action camera you can buy.

Find the latest deals on the GoPro Hero11 Black at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Read our GoPro Hero11 Black Review

Read our GoPro Hero10 Black Review

The GoPro Hero9 Black makes the most substantial update to the Hero Black line that we’ve seen since the Hero5 Black was introduced in September 2016.

Along with a significant increase in size, the Hero9 Black adds 5K video and 20Mp stills capability plus 30% longer battery life and even better stabilisation than its predecessor. As much as we love the technical improvements, the downside to the beefed-up body of the GoPro Hero9 Black is that it’s not compatible with the MediaMod module that was introduced with the Hero8 Black.

However, the Hero9 Black is the best action cam that GoPro has produced to date and its Hypersmooth 3.0 stabilisation, complete with in-camera horizon levelling is fantastic.

While the 5K-shooting capability is enticing, the fact that it’s limited to 30fps is a bit – well, limiting – but the quality of the footage that the Hero9 generates at other settings is a step-up from the Hero8.

Further good news with the GoPro Hero9 Black is that the removable lens makes a return. That means if it takes a dive and gets scratched, you can change it. GoPro has also promised a Max Lens mode to enables a 155° field of view, but we’ve yet to see that in the flesh.

The front screen is also now coloured and can show a preview of what the camera is seeing. That’s perfect for filming yourself in action.

We like the GoPro Hero9 Black so much here at Jabber HQ that we’ve all bought one. Yep, we paid our hard-earned cash and got one each. How much more of an endorsement do you want?

Read our GoPro Hero9 Black Review

The 2019 incarnation of the market-leading GoPro action camera may look the same as the previous three generations, but the Hero8 Black is very different.

Subtle design tweaks streamlined the usability for existing extreme sports users, and the optional Mod system was designed to appeal to vloggers.

There are major design changes when compared with the Hero7 Black; firstly the cage has gone, the entire body is redesigned and there’s even a new workflow to the UI. 

While the Hero8 Black’s build and handling are good, the side door has a tendency to come off completely when released. 

The new-to-the-range drop-down finger mounts are very neat but they can be a bit of a faff when you’re fitting the camera to a mount. 

However, the Hero8’s performance is undeniably good and it produces clear crisp images and video. The TimeWarp feature with the real-time option is also fantastic. 

Is this all enough to warrant an upgrade from the Hero7 Black? We think so when you factor in the Mod system and the housing-free waterproofing.

Read our GoPro Hero8 Black Review

It’s GoPro’s latest 360º action camera following on from the GoPro Hero Fusion. Many of the old issues with the Fusion have been sorted out and the performance and video quality is impressive.

This is a 360º camera truly designed by GoPro and it features many of the same great options as the GoPro Hero8 Black. For example, HyperSmooth makes an appearance offering unsurpassed image stabilisation and of course, you get to shoot in 4K resolution.

What will really appeal to many users aside from the ability to shoot in full 360º is the re-frame feature.

This enables you to film in 360º and then reframe the shot when editing and exporting to flat 1080p or 4K.

Read our GoPro Max Review

Don’t mistake the Hero 7 Black for a small update over its predecessor. It may have the same looks as the Hero 6 and match the resolution and framerate, but when it comes to performance, it’s a huge leap forward.

The colour is the most apparent change, from grey to black, and as the GoPro powers up for the first time, it reveals an all-new interface that gives the camera a fresh feel.

Linking to the mobile app has been streamlined, no passwords or faffing, just follow the instructions and within a few moments, all is connected.

Flicking through the options using the touch screen and it reveals the new features such as HyperSmooth and Live Streaming. Activating these, as with all setting changes, is as easy as a quick swipe and tap.

Back home and the footage reveals the power of the new HyperSmooth feature, the fluid motion is mindblowing.

Live Streaming is equally easy to master, sign into your FaceBook account and within minutes you’re launched on to a world social platform broadcasting live.

There may be no leaps forward in the usual sense of quality, but when it comes to usability the GoPro accelerates forward, and HyperSmooth isn’t just excited it’s the most groundbreaking advancement we’ve seen from GoPro since they launched.

Compared with the flagship Black models the Silver and previous White versions have received far less press.

That’s not to say that these small action cameras aren’t good, they still pack in many of the main features, it’s just that they’re out shadowed by the Black models.

On the surface, it would look like there’s little difference between the GoPro Hero7 Silver and many of the other action cameras on the market. To some extent this is right, you are paying a slight premium for the GoPro brand.

However, with the brand comes to build and video quality, you know what you’re going to get and you know that it’ll be good.

The Hero7 Silver may not be as awe-inspiring as the Hero7 Black or even 8, but it’s still a damn good camera.

When the GoPro Hero5 Black arrived it marked a new dawn for the company. A new look, sleek touch screen interface and unrivalled specification.

However, GoPro had diversified and hadn’t focused on its core market. Users had started to look elsewhere and as suddenly the company that had dominated the action camera market for so long was struggling.

However, the Hero5, along with its host of accessories did get noticed and while the Karma Grip and ill-fated drone are now confined to history, the small Hero5 Black is still an excellent camera.

Under the hood, it is essentially much the same as the Hero4 Black, but the touch screen, voice control and host or refined features elevate the Hero5 Black well beyond the capabilities of the previous generation.

Supplies of the Hero5 Black are rapidly disappearing, but look around and you certain to pick up a bargain with this excellent if ageing action camera.