HERO11 Black

It's the exact same sensor on the 11 as on the 13.

Since you're doing night photography, you'll be using long exposures and pretty much any GoPro that can shoot Raw will be fine. The 11 and higher have the highest resolution though at 27mp and are much better for things like timelapses.

Everyone here saying to get the 13, but the 11, 12 and 13 all use the same sensor and all shoot raw, so they will all deliver identical results for your use case. The only benefit of the 13 is a better first party macro (and anamorphic) lens attachment which can be beneficial for photography. There are however third party macro lenses for the 11 and 12, and while they're not as easy to use or as versatile as the one that's made for the 13, they do work.

Have a Hero11 Black. It works great. I've used a GoPro Max for action sports outside the water. I really love that camera, but I've heard it's not so good for underwater shooting.

The 11 is great, don't over think it. Buy whatever is in your budget, 11 is great due to the front screen and quality is great too.

Same here! Do got the media mod, it makes a ton of difference in the sound. Be aware that all the previous generations weren’t that good in low light. If it is for vlogging, there is a light that attaches to the media mod, so he’ll be sharp. The ones that were just announced are supposed to be better in that regard. However I also have a Osmo Pocket 3, the bigger sensor ís better, but it’s still physics and a lightsource is simply better. Very nice to gift him this camera

I have a GoPro 9, 10 and two 11’s and had a DJI Action 4 at the end of last kayak fishing season. I don’t care how anyone regards GoPro in relation to DJI or Insta360, I care about my own experience. I chose to stay with GoPro. Edit: I forgot that picked up a GoPro Max on super deep discount at Best Buy after I decided to sell my Action 4 and stay in the GoPro camp.

My 9, 10 & 11 are awfully good to me.

Personally I'd rather have two used Hero 11's than a single Hero 13. Whilst things like the magnetic mount are convenient, having two cameras offers a lot more flexibility. Eg, leaving one rigged on the bike full time, and having another to use for scenery, pieces to camera, etc.

Get whichever Go Pro is in your price range. Anything Hero 7 and above will have hypersmooth and as long as you’re not running it at max resolution and fps it shouldn’t overheat, especially with a fan or AC on in the car. 30 fps would be my recommendation, and most should be able to handle that at 4K just fine.

So obviously it's known that GoPro has been regarded as not being as good as DJI or Insta360 these days but as a GoPro user I really can't seem to think of many deal breaking issues. So I'd like to ask people what they think. I don't want people to just say "DJI better" without giving any real reason. What is it exactly that makes GoPro the butt of all jokes in the action camera market? The only complaints I can think of is overheating but what I'd like to say to everyone who has an issue with that is: Professional mirrorless cameras overheat at 4K 120fps in less or equal time to my GoPro Hero 11 Black many professional cameras still don't even offer 4K 120fps. So is this really a valid complaint when you can do so much in such a small form factor? The fact that I can get 30 minutes of 4K 120fps recording out on a sunny day is impressive for a GoPro especially when you take into account that cameras around the £1800 mark can only just about do that.

Maybe the MAX 2 would be a good idea for you, that way you can shoot in all directions just incase you miss anything. If you want a Hero body then go for Hero 12 if it’s significantly cheaper, unless you need gps then go for the Hero 11 or Hero 13 whatever you like. I have the Hero 11, not too much reason to go to the 13 unless you plan on using the lens mods.