The Hero 7 Black from American technology company GoPro, the creator of the action camera genre, has features that can beat smartphone cameras on their own turf.
With
the rise of smartphones that have proficient camera systems, the
relevance of most standalone imaging devices, including the action
cameras, seems to have come under question. From wide-angle lenses to
sensors equipped with optical image stabilisation, mobile cameras of
today are fit to give many an action camera a run for its money.
However, the Hero 7 Black seems to hold its own. Coming from the
stable of GoPro,
the American technology company that created the action camera genre,
has features that beat smartphone cameras on their own turf.
Like
the Hero 6, the Hero 7 Black also has a rectangular design with a
wide-angle camera lens, monochrome display and LED indicator on the
front, besides a touchscreen with secondary LED indicator on the
back. The camera shares its chassis and design elements with the Hero
6, making it compatible with the predecessor’s accessories, such as
mounts, tripod, Karma Grip, etc.
What
sets the Hero
7 Black apart from the Hero 6 is that the newer camera is loaded
with features — for one, it has a stabilisation system claimed to
match gimbal-like output. The camera actually lives up to the
expectations and records a smooth video with no visible shakes. Named
HyperSmooth, the stabilisation is software-based (EIS), and not
hardware-backed (OIS), so it trims some of the frame-of-view (FoV)
from all sides.
Interestingly,
video stabilisation is not limited to recording videos in a regular
mode; it also shows its capabilities in the TimeWarp mode. Exclusive
to the Hero 7 Black, this mode is available along with the timelapse
(Hyperlapse) mode. However, unlike the timelapse, where the
fast-forward video is recorded with a camera fixed at one place, the
TimeWarp allows you to take the camera along and record shake-free
fast forward videos — they come out perfect and open another
experimentation area for adventure sports enthusiasts.
If
HyperSmooth and TimeWarp were not enough, the Hero 7 Black also
allows you to live stream videos on Facebook and YouTube through the
real-time messaging protocol (RTMP). However, this feature requires
the camera to be connected with a smartphone (Android or iOS). You
need to connect the camera with a phone and set up the Facebook
account or RTMP settings in the GoPro app to share the live stream
from this camera. The Hero 7 Black is the only GoPro action camera
with this feature, and it works well, provided the connections
between your phone and camera, and camera and internet services, work
seamlessly.
The
GoPro Hero 7 Black also supports vertical video recording which makes
it ideal for social media enthusiasts — vertical videos work better
on social media than those recorded in the conventional 16:9 aspect
ratio. The action camera also responds to voice commands. Say “GoPro,
turn on” aloud to switch it on, and “GoPro, start/stop recording”
to begin or stop recording. Thankfully, the Hero 7 Black supports
Indian accent (Indian English, that is). Although the camera
recognises voice commands easily in silent environments, it shows
some difficulty (or completely fails) in loud and noisy places.
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