Another year, another GoPro camera. Two, actually. GoPro has announced the new GoPro Hero 13 Black ($399) and Hero Compact ($199) cameras. The new Hero 13 Black appears very similar to the Hero 12 Black ($349.99) but with a couple of noticeable exterior changes.
There are some changes internally, too, with timecode for syncing multiple cameras, and a huge battery for up to 3 hours of use. Well, it’s three hours if you’re shooting 1080p. Once you go up to 4K or 5.3K, it drops, but you still get an hour and a half on a full charge.
GoPro Hero 13 Black – 27MP, 5.3K 60fps, 4K 120fps
The GoPro Hero 13 Black sports a 27-megapixel sensor, capable of shooting 5.3K footage at up to 60fps and 4K at up to 120fps. To make the most of this, the new camera includes a 1,900mAh battery, which GoPro says should power the camera for up to one and a half hours at 5.3K or 4K footage and a whopping three hours at 1080p.
An interesting addition to the Hero 13 Black is that there is a new range of HB Series accessory lenses available (separately). These include a 177° Ultra Wide, 4x Macro, ND filters and even anamorphic lenses. It appears that accessories may be where GoPro is hoping to differentiate the Hero 13 Black from the 12.
It looks like GoPro isn’t following in Insta360’s footsteps with the flippy-up display on the rear of the camera. Rather than putting a selfie screen on the front, Insta360 added a flip-up screen to both the Insta360 Ace Pro ($349) and the Insta360 GO 3S ($399) for vlogging and selfies.
Filmmaker & Creator Features
The Hero 13 Black offers HDR/HLG for both 5.3K and 4K video, as well as photo modes. The Quik App also lets you grab 24.7-megapixel stills from your videos – if that’s your thing. At 2.7K, you get 240fps for some pretty extreme slow motion when needed.
You get 10-Bit colour and LOG encoding with GP-Log. This provides smoother gradients and enhanced colour depth for grading in post. If you own multiple Hero 13 Black cameras, you also get Timecode sync. Whether or not you can jam sync from something like a Rode Wireless Pro is unknown.
Note: DIYP has reached out to GoPro for clarity on exactly how timecode works with the Hero 13 Black and will update this post when they reply.
For easier audio recording, you’ve got Bluetooth audio connectivity. So, you can connect up your Bluetooth microphone or your favourite headset. As well as recording audio from your microphone, this allows you to hear back the audio on recorded footage or send voice commands to the camera.
GoPro Hero Compact Action Camera
This is an interesting camera. It’s quite basic, but looks plenty capable for what it costs. It allows you to shoot 4K footage at 30fps and up to 60fps at 2.7K. Stills are 12-megapixels and there’s no front screen. So, if you were thinking of using this for selfies or vlogging, that would be challenging.
It doesn’t appear to be IP-rated, although it claim to be waterproof to a depth of 4.9 metres (or 16ft). It has a screen on the back, although it’s perhaps not quite as large as you may be used to. It’s certainly not as large as that on the Hero 13 Black, but it’s large enough to be able to see what you’re shooting and sift through menus.
It has a lightweight and rugged design. I can see this being very useful as a first action camera, as a B cam to the Hero 13 (or 12) when you don’t need high frame rates, or as the camera you use when in really risky situations. The $199 price tag certainly reinforces this.
Price and Availability
The GoPro Hero 13 Black is available to pre-order now for $399 as a standalone unit or in a creator bundle for $599. The GoPro Hero Compact action camera is also available to pre-order now for $199.
