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Magnets. Of course, it would be magnets. GoPro has a new action cam, the Hero 13 Black, and on its face, it looks a hell of a lot like last year’s Hero 12 Black. However, the new magnetic mounting system is one of the most significant changes to the hardware in years. There are even more magnets in the new “Contacto” charging door that will allow continuous power, even underwater.
While not magnetic, the company’s full-slate first-party lenses offer unique camera effects that greatly expand versatility. Unfortunately, each add-on is separate, costing the already expensive $400 action cam even more. You don’t get any of the new magnetic latches in the box. Instead, each costs $25, with a separate ball joining mount asking for $40. That Contacto kit goes for $80 separately. Want a new lens? You’ll need to spend between $70 and $130 individually.
GoPro Hero 13 Black Should Now Shoot For Longer with Even More Slo-Mo
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo If cost isn’t a concern, the new Hero 13 Black is still a step up from the previous generation. The new GoPro has a 10% larger battery at 1900mAh than the Hero 12. The company promises you can get over 2.5 hours of shooting at 1080p or 90 minutes of 4K at 30FPS. It should also be better for more extreme temperatures, but GoPro also says you’ll see the most drastic improvements when shooting at the higher 10-bit mode than the standard 8-bit.
The new GoPro has new sensor capabilities but is not as flashy as the extra accessories. It can still capture 5.3K at 60 FPS and 4K at 120 FPS. It maintains the vertical shooting from the Hero 12, but now it supports burst slo-mo up to 5.3K at 120 FPS and 900P at 360 FPS. The big new addition to visual quality is support for HLG HDR with its 10-bit recording and wider color gamut. For longtime GoPro users who decried the loss of GPS tracking, it’s back now. Users can add GPS information as bugs on their videos through the Quik app.
The company has made a few touches to the software, but this year’s mainline GoPro is easily the most versatile it’s ever been. The magnetic mounts attach to the folded wings of the GoPro’s underbelly. To put it bluntly, they’re so damn handy; I never want to screw in another mount again. GoPro invited me out for more than two hours on the back of a speeding jet ski. The camera never even rattled from its mount on my chest. One rep told Gizmodo he took it out for skydiving, and the camera never threatened to detach. We’ll see for ourselves how stable it is, but it makes a good first impression.
The New GoPro Lenses Will Impact How, Where, and Why You Shoot
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo The $100 Ultra Wide Lens Mod is the same as last year’s Max Lens Mod, though the good news is the older lens is still compatible with the 13. What you won’t get is the new auto-detect feature that automatically changes settings when you put on a new lens. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but not having to flip through settings is extremely handy when you’re out and about.
I also used the $130 Macro Lens Mod and some of the New ND Filters, which include four of various neutral density types between ND4 and ND32 for $70. Macro does make a difference when you grab shots up close with its variable focus. It looked best at about a hand’s breadth from the camera, even with the added distortion at the edges. The ND filters—used for adding a subtle sense of speed to shots—combined with auto-detect is especially interesting. The camera will suggest to users if they should go up or down a filter based on their light level.
The one missing piece of the puzzle is the Anamorphic lens. That huge, convex add-on with support for widescreen video, as if to turn your action camera into a movie camera. That’s not available yet, and we won’t see it until sometime in 2025. I saw the lens in person, and the images don’t do justice to how massive it is. I didn’t get to test out its filming capabilities,
The GoPro Hero is a Smaller 13 Black, But Still Shoots 4K
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo GoPro is facing more competition than it has in the past from companies like Insta360. The Insta360 Go 3S offers the most pint-sized portable camera that supports 4K with a removable camera pod you can attach magnetically with additional mounts. In response, GoPro spawned the new $200 Hero camera. It’s smaller by about 35% than the Hero 13 Black and weighs 86 grams, or a little less than .2 pounds. It has the usual GoPro mounting fingers, but it’s missing the new magnetic attachment points of the Hero 13.
It’s best to think of the Hero as the same thing as its more expensive older brother but slimmed down. It can shoot 4K and 12MP photos, though its slo-mo is limited to 2.7 K at 60 FPS. It has a stated survivability underwater of up to 16 feet. Its battery life is up to 100 minutes of recording on its highest video settings at room temperature.
I didn’t spend any time shooting with the Hero, and it made me wonder if the smaller camera is a simple afterthought compared to the Hero 13 Black. Both cameras are up for preorder on Wednesday. The Black 13 will start shipping on Sept. 10, while the Hero will be around by Sept. 22. The lenses, save for the anamorphic, will be available on Sept. 10.
