GoPro HERO7 Black — Waterproof Digital Action Camera with Touch Screen 4K HD Video 12MP Photos Live Streaming Stabilisation

I am a total novice with action cameras so I waited a while to review this so I could give a fair and informative review for a novice.I chose GoPro after going through a multitude of reviews for just about every camera and every price range I could find. I surprised myself by going for one of the most expensive on the market rather than a cheap one. So, what influenced my decision?Gopro continuously came up as about the best product on the market with the Hero7 black as the bees knees, and the silver and white falling into second and third place. I could not find a single good review, except on amazon, for cheaper copies. Although I am not in a position to criticise them.Review of the various GoPro versions on You Tube showed the performance of the black to be outstanding with additional benefits of good audio, has multiple microphones and is not impeded by the need for a waterproof case. It is waterproof to around 20-30 meters without a case and there is a further case available if you need to go to 40 meters. There is a wide array of photo and video settings, voice control, blue tooth, internet, remote phone connection at 2.5 and 5.0 “whatevers” for the mobile phone app. The features go on and on and what’s more they can be viewed working on the internet so in the end I trusted these features work, and they do.There were a few negatives and I have cured most of these.I discovered it eats power, like a bitch. Initially this caused me a lot of annoyance but I have discovered that the cure is simple. It’s certain features that kill your power so if you are not using them turn them off. Then the power consumption turns from useless to excellent. Features that need to be turned off if you are not using them:1) Connection to app2) Connection to internet3) GPS4) Voice Control5) Blue tooth6) Screen brightness – it is very bright so it only needs to be at about 20% and that is still brightI don’t find not using the app a problem as the touch screen is fully readable even if you wear a + 4.5 prescription lens (as long as you are wearing them). This surprised me as I normally have to go for a big screen option. The app is great when you are getting to know your device and getting used to the touch screen controls but, it can be a bit glitchy. Give the touch controls a chance. They are annoying at first but you soon get used to themExtra tips I would give are:1) Buy an extra battery or two and a charger, non-branded ones still work well.2) Only use voice controls if you need them or, all you hear in the recording is you shouting at your GoPro (probably no need to shout). In addition, when using the voice control the device reverts to stand-by for 6 hours following the command to turn off. During which it has a nasty habit of turning itself on spontaneously. I have had a 25-minute recording of the inside of the camera case with the voices of people around it and lost a good deal of battery power.3) Read the manual available online. I found it very helpful indeed, and it is not too techy to put a novice off.4) Make sure the memory card you buy is suitable for 4K recording, it needs to be high speed. Check the specs online before purchasing. I bought a 128gb high speed card, and you honestly do not need one with quite that much space but, it was not much more expensive than one with 64gb. Note: I have not bothered with the 4K yet as I do not currently have a 4K monitor.There is the option to buy the GoPro Plus which gives you unlimited cloud storage, extra support function, half price accessories and a new GoPro should you manage to break it. This to me suggested it was very difficult to break. I purchased it but, did note that you can only upload short clips i.e. less than 5 minutes. Disappointing but, not enough to make me cancel my subscription. The failed order I put through may. But, let’s see how they resolve it. Note: your first 30 days is free and the account does give you easy access to support information, downloadable content and various other bits and bobs that are very useful for a newbe.Overall it was money well spent. It’s a smart trustworthy piece of kit. The features work well once you get used to them. I even managed to take time lapse recording of night landing from the interior of a plane. Not brilliant but, it was my first attempt and there were results. I keep finding new stuff it does – which is amazing.I have given it 5 stars because 4 does not do it justice. It’s about a 4.6 with the loss coming from it little niggles when getting used to it and the power consumption before I worked out the cure.In terms of the EIS, I originally uploaded a sample but, I have removed it because the uploaded version just did not do it justice.

I have to update this review because things have changed for the better.After going through various forums regarding gopro hero7 black issues (and the forums are full of them) time after time the compatibility of memory card was the first recommendation to check.And so I did just that.I was using a Samsung 64 Evo+ etc. memory card but the recommended memory card was Samsung Evo plus etc memory card.And now after using the appropriate memory card the camera seems to be working so much better.No overheating.No freezing.No swiping issues.No manually turning it on/off issues.And the battery life is as expected now.I fully charged it yesterday, within seconds it showed a drop to 98% (which alarmed me) but then it stabilised and after turning it off I kept returning at various points to turn it on and check the battery status and it had hardly moved at all (so unlike previous issue).I have just turned it on now (6am) and I still have 96% so I am now contacting Amazon Customer Services to cancel my return for a full refund.My daughter has handled it and she wants it now it works like it should.So that is good enough for me.Hopefully there will be no need for a further update.I hereby apologise for my error that caused this gopro hero7 black to get such a bad review.It would be good for a clearer heads up regarding the compatibility memory cards being vital when selecting this camera.The voice commands is still hit and miss but I expect that is due to accent and various other conditions.I have altered my rating score from the 1 star that I had previously gave it to a 4.75 (though no way of showing that score in the star graph).And I have left my previous review as it was in case anybody else out there has the same issues and had done what I had done.Hopefully my experience will either help someone to avoid the issues or to remedy their issues.PeaceI bought this gopro hero7 black for my daughter for her upcoming holiday.I was very excited for her after all of the praise that gopro get.But as soon as I had charged it and set it up I gave it a dummy run and I found several issues.It was soon very hot to the touch, the on/off action was very inconsistent, I couldn't get to swipe the screen to flip through the 3 modes, the picture kept freezing and the battery died within an hour !There are more little niggles but compared to these major ones they didn't really need to be given.For all of that money and the reputation they have I am so disappointed in this product.I am just glad that I found out before my daughter had taken it on holiday because that would have been a major disaster for her.A full refund is required and I will now have to scour for a decent alternative camera.