Winter trip day (Ioannina - Kipi Zagoriou):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d3UAq9e014
Purchased a few months ago to replace the GoPro Hero 10, as it promises:
1) greater battery autonomy,
2) greater resistance to overheating, and
3) better video quality in low light.
One is true, the other two are not:
1) Battery autonomy: True and then some. I believe that at 4K@25 it can easily last 1.5 hours of use, compared to the 1 hour of use that the GoPro Hero 10 gives me.
2) Resistance to overheating: With the setting at 4K@25fps, we have and say (the last test was done on 23/6/23):
DJI Osmo Action 3: 16 minutes and a few seconds (battery remaining 86%).
GoPro Hero 10 with Enduro battery: 30 minutes and a few seconds (battery remaining 57%).
DJI Osmo Action 2 (without the Power Module, with the protective case provided by DJI): I stopped it at 30 minutes because the battery had dropped to 23% and the internal memory was almost full.
Insta360 One RS 1" with Boosted Battery Base: 1 hour, the core was very hot and I stopped it because the others had left it in the dust (battery remaining 56%).
In short, the GoPro Hero 10 and the DJI Osmo Action 2, which are criticized for overheating, last almost twice as long without overheating.
Disappointment and -1 star.
(If you place it inside the car (on the windshield), it will overheat even faster - the shortest was within 9 minutes, in February and with the cold air directed at the windshield and indeed at maximum).
Note that at 1080@25 it comfortably records for 1 hour and at 1080@50 it produces about half an hour to forty minutes.
Also, I tested it without a battery, connected directly to a power bank and power supply (as I do with the GPH10 and it records continuously for hours) and the results were even worse...
3) Video quality in low light: it has the Max ISO set to 3200 by default, if I remember correctly (compared to the Max ISO 1600 of the GoPro) and the videos come out brighter, but with a lot of noise.
If we lower the Max ISO to 1600, then the videos are darker than those of the GoPro Hero 10).
Positives:
- In terms of construction, it is sturdy and slightly smaller than the GPH 9, 10, 11.
- The mobile app supports live preview, something that GoPro has eliminated in the latest models.
- It has the largest horizon range I have seen to date in an action camera.
- Videos in normal lighting conditions come out very clear and with natural colors, and its stabilization is very good (GPH10+ level).
- The Hyperlapse is very commendable.
See here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsrskqctKvg
And here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtWeJqX9b4s
Other negatives:
According to an official DJI representative, the quick-release magnetic clip it uses instead of the traditional screw system of GoPro is NOT suitable for use in a moving vehicle (car, motorcycle, etc.). That is, if you want to place it on the exterior of the car or on your helmet, DJI not only does not guarantee that the magnetic clip will withstand the air resistance, but rightly advises NOT to do so... (Disappointment and - 1 star)
I bought a SmallRig that has a 1/4" 20 socket to use it safely outside the car on a screw base, but it is excessively heavy and with the cost of such a purchase, there is no difference from getting a GPH10 or GPH11 and doing my job with or without a battery without the stress of overheating.
Overall, a disappointing choice and the issue with overheating has to do with EU legislation regarding when the software automatically shuts down a camera in operation because it has overheated, which for explosion protection reasons due to overheating is significantly lower compared to those intended for America, etc.
How much lower? The GoPro and Osmo Action 2 shut down when they overheat, and the Insta360 One RS when frying on the Core of the egg, while the Osmo Action 3 when it is simply warm.
So American YouTubers praise it because the software there has higher tolerance limits regarding internal temperature, while Europeans either don’t use it as much or are embarrassed to say so.
Finally, if you really want to buy it, the Adventure Combo is worth it because it really offers a lot of extras that you will definitely need.