HERO12 Black

12 is a great camera. It's basically a Hero 13 without the optional lens attachments, which you likely won't need anyway.

Yes, Hypersmooth has been pretty much perfected for a while now (everything since the 8 is rock solid). It's only incremental things that get added, like horizon leveing (available from the 11+), and then support for the extra lenses GoPro releases with each new generation. Battery life on the 12 is better than the 11, but the 13 is the best overall.

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.

gopros are sports cameras, they are not design for night thats why they are terrible in it but night timelapses are very cool on newer gopros. i use gopro 12

I have been using a GoPro 3 Black, 4 Black and now a 12 Black. I am using Solo Storm and its controls the camera we are using. The biggest challenge of any camera is mounting to get the view or perspective you are after.

If you’re leaning towards the GoPro side, get the Hero 12 or 13 Black Just be warned that GoPros are notorious for overheating if you’re just letting them sit and record long clips in 4K with no airflow. If you’re planning on doing stuff where you’re moving like biking or hiking then it’s fine but for stationary vlogging, it can be a bit of a literal headache If not those two, then consider the Insta360 Ace Pro. It’s got a flip-up screen which is huge if you’re planning on talking to the camera because you can actually see if your face is in the frame. It also handles low light way better than the GoPro, which usually turns into a grainy mess the second the sun starts to go down. More options on here like the Sony to narrow down your choices - [10 Best Action Cameras to Invest In](https://alaskanarrows.com/10-best-action-cameras-to-invest-in-2025/) Either way, make sure you save like $60 of that budget for a high-quality V30 SD card and an extra battery! Cheers

I'd say give the GoPro HERO8 Black a try which will probably max out your budget but trust me it's a great camera, I had one for some time and switched to the Hero12 Black only because I found one with a really good deal. The 8 shoots in 4K, excellent stabilization (HyperSmooth 2.0) and you can put it into water up to 10 meters, so its a steal if you can get it second hand in a good condition. But if you want to spend less maybe the Akaso EK7000 Pro V2 might work for you since its cheap and last time I heard shoots 4K at 25fps, has basic stabilization and some other extra accessories. If not, you could try [10 Best Action Cameras to Invest in 2025](https://alaskanarrows.com/10-best-action-cameras-to-invest-in-2025/) could be helpful too! Hope this helps you in some way mate, cheers

DJI Osmo Action 3 and GoPro Hero12 are the default for these use cases Caveat: they don’t have the same cinematic depth or control you get from a larger sensor camera but for most trail and POV hiking content theyll look clean and sharp still + weight advantage More premium option with better shooting under different light settings - Sony ZV-E10 which is more of a traditional camera than a “action camera” but choice is really yours, weight will be a factor here but still sub $1000. More options though - [10 Best Action Cameras to Invest In](https://alaskanarrows.com/10-best-action-cameras-to-invest-in-2025/) for you to consider But whatever you choose, prioritize battery spares and a way to keep them warm too! Cold temperatures and long hours of shooting on the trail will drain power, and fast Cheers!

What are the comments on this sub lmao are they bots? Go for the 12 or 13 over the 10 for sure. I’ve got great footage underwater from my 12

Yes, I regularly do night photography with my GoPros - Hero10 through 13, as well as 360 cameras. But I want to stress that your subject needs to also be stationary - it’s not like you can film wildlife with this approach. But if you’re just trying to capture trees or landscapes, depending on how much moon & starlight you have, this might work fine. Can you give more detail about the types of images you want to capture?

GoPro has higher resolution, higher framerate, higher bitrate, taller aspect ratio (than 5), and better image quality in daylight conditions. Action 5 & 6 have better low light performance. It's just a matter of whether you film in light or dark environments

I've had * Hero 3 White * Hero 4 Silver * Hero 7 Black * Max (1) * Hero 12 Black and I still have all but the 3 white. The 3 white was the only 'bad' one I think, one where the camera really didn't live up to the hype for me and hence I upgraded quite quickly. As for my favourite? In the context of when they came out the 7 felt the most incredible, it really was a big jump with the stabilisation. But I probably shot most of my coolest footage on either the 4 Silver or the Max, just because of the time in my life I was using them and the novelty of 360 footage at the time.

I just took a GoPro Hero 12 down to 60ft diving with a case and red filter, with stabilisation set to boost. Uploaded and composed on ipad then share. Very good video quality. DJI is pumping heaps of money into marketing their products. YouTube reviewers are, generally speaking, paid. The reviews always skew towards the company paying. 

**TLDR**: If it is *only* cae diving then I think a traditional action camera like DJI Osmo Action 5 or 6, Ace Pro 1 or 2, , or GoPro Hero 12/13 will be better in that order. **Longer explanation** I own a Insta360 X2, X4 and Ace Pro. So the X4 is a 360 camera that captures a 8K 360 that can be cropped to a 16:9 rectangle video with detail between 4K and 2.7K video. https://preview.redd.it/viqqk4gml37g1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1054ec547a621f46b44285ce65cee5994cc602b2 This is extremely versatile and convenient when you have multiple moving subjects (such as yourself and another person) as you don't have to explicitly point the camera at your subject. Also the 360 camera has a "convenient" blindspot between the two camera modules that allows for an immersive third-person camera view of yourself without the selfie stick being visible. The spherical view allows for very good image stabilization as well. However, to film underwater you need a dive case otherwise the video is blurry because water refracts (bends the light) and messes up the video stitching which looks like this [https://youtu.be/DZ-D1DxKpNo?si=zmZVJWnVliYgs8EU&t=53](https://youtu.be/DZ-D1DxKpNo?si=zmZVJWnVliYgs8EU&t=53) That's another $100USD. so I'm imaging you are in a dive cage you basically only have one direction to point the camera (out of cage) so the 360 aspect is less useful. It would be useful if you are free diving or snorkeling around as you can video yourself AND the fish swimming around at the same time (I think 360 camera in general are the most versatile and I could only own/bring one it would be my 360 camera) So again when the subject (a big shark) is "straight" in front of you and say (e.g. 4-15 ft) - than a traditional action camera will be able to use more of the sensor area (and more effective pixels) to record your scene and that is going to give you a better image quality in low light (e.g. murky water). In general I like the DJI and Insta360 action cameras better than GoPro because they have a larger sensor, the batteries charge quickly (80% in 20 minutes versus 80% in 60 minutes on the GoPros) and have quality of life features like the long press the shutter button to cancel the current recording (limiting clutter of files that you have to go through later) - that being said the GoPro image quality in sunny conditions is still very good. Between the DJI and Insta360, I own the Ace Pro - but the Osmo has 10-bit log recording which is going to be easier to color correct the blue tint from being underwater (although that may or may not be too advanced for you - both have underwater color profiles to do a basic job of fixing the color). Between the Osmo Action 5 and 6, I don't think you really need the added features of the Osmo 6 and so the cheaper Osmo 5 is better. The same for the Ace Pro vs Ace Pro 2. If you are still set on a 360 Camera, I would consider the X4 air over the X4. It is smaller/lighter than the X4, but with a better sensor for better image quality (its video quality is between the X4 and the X5) and it has user-replaceable lenses (you buy an extra for $30USD and can untwist the scratch/broken one and screw in a new one... with the X4 you have to send the camera in to be repaired. I hope that wasn't too much information and helps.