Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsAbsolutely Love it!
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2020
So, I chose this particular camera instead of the MAX for a few reasons. The first one, the price was right. The second one, it shoots RAW photos, which the newer GoPro VR Camera doesn't (at least not as of this review).
Things that I like about this camera will focus on both my work and personal fun factor use.
1: It came with the selfie pole that doubles as a tripod. This may seem trivial to many, but it's actually much better than I thought it would be. Depending on the angle and extension you hold it out, the pole is completely gone from the picture.
2: The fact that the pole can be extended and retracted very easily is a big plus for carrying it everywhere and start shooting right away. Since it is a gopro accessory, you can also connect any other gopro or compatible action camera and accessory to it, if you won't use it for the fusion.
3: Ruggedness. It feels solid and the rubbery case makes it so easy to handle without much concern of slippery fingers which could spell camera doom. The buttons are also easy to reach and use and just feels solid
4: It's actually waterproof without any extra hardware! Ok, so you cannot go diving too deep with it, but it will still work for some nice underwater, rainy day or watery footage you may want... but for deep diving, you will have to get a special case. Now, underwater footage isn't so good for VR, but is good enough in overcapture, which is what I use most of the time, lately.
5: Almost unnoticeable stitch-line! This is a HUGE issue with many VR Cameras, and I have many! not even my 6 camera VR rig compares. Now, granted, you can remove almost completely the stitch-line using special software, but when I export to the Fusion software, it is almost unnoticeable 8 out 10.
6: Faster Turn-in: ok, I know there are faster better in-camera stitching options out there, but for the price I paid, it's hard to complain. Take the footage, dump the SDs into a project folder, run fusion, tell it what to render as VR or overcapture and let it do it's thing. Photos are almost immediate. Video can take longer
7: Timelapse Multishots: so I take bursts or timelapses as photos, because it will export the best, sharpest image I want... or create a short video if you prefer. your uses may vary, but I found it helpful for my work
8: Battery Life: It may come as a surprise, but the battery actually lasts quite a bit! I bought additional batteries and the dual charger to always have it ready. Heck, there is hardly a day I don't go out without it. For work doing virtual tours for clients or just for fun, battery lasts a long time
9: Image Stability: so I made sure to rough handle it to test its limits on motion sickness, but surprisingly, it is able to keep a nice horizon very nicely! Granted, there is a bit of shakiness still, but the stitch is also almost impossible to find even with the vibration of the drone, car, bike or jog. I'm still going to buy a sizable gimbal for overcapture footage, exclusively for this camera, but even with the selfie stick, I'm pleased so far.
10: you can use the GoPro remotes independently or alongside other gopros, even if they aren't a fusion! It just works far better than expected!
Now, there are a few things that I sort of don't like, but not a huge deal
1: two microSD cards: ok, so I don't hate it, but having to have 2 cards all the time, and having to export both cards for each project is truly a little annoying and can be time consuming if it's 64 or 128GB per card that you are transferring out. But knowing how long it takes, makes it easier to set a timeframe for clients.
2: stitching on the phone isn't quite as good as on the app itself. so it's good enough for personal facebook, but definitely not for delivering to clients. but when I do it for clients, I prefer doing it with the higher quality anyway, so RAW on photos and 4k ~ 5.2k on VR video or up to 3k on 2D video.
3: app can be annoying to work at times. so it's not as bad as it once was, but it's definitely not as good as I'd like for it to be. But it gets the job done, even if it requires a few extra steps... for easy sessions I just use the gopro remote and I'm golden.
4: No bracketing. If you aren't sure what that means, basically the ability to take underexposed, normal and overexposed photos at the same time, ranging from 1, 3, 5, 7 ~ levels. While you cannot do it in one shot, you can simulate it, but of course takes extra time. The benefit of this shines in RAW, because you can take really underexposed photos for better detail on bright windows, and overexposed photos to bring up the details in shadows. Combine all that in photoshop or other favorite software and voila!
5: Finding the software on the GoPro site is extremely difficult and it's probably easier if you just google it, since it's pretty much hidden away on their website to promote their newer cameras... But it's still there... just harder to find...
6: i cannot find anything else to complain about... the minor issues are just that: minor! All my other VR Cameras are now mostly for decoration in my office, except those for underwater
I honestly didn't see anything that wowed me from the MAX, so the fusion is just as good if not better, with the only issue of lacking a built-in screen and needing 2 microSDs instead of 1.... but for the amount of footage I shoot in a day, I'd still be carrying 4 cards, anyway, so yeah....
Anyway, I hope this review was helpful.
