HERO7 Black

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.

If you're on a budget I think everything past the Hero 7 black has had really usable video as that was the first model with the hypersmooth stabilisation which made a big difference. Definitely improvements have been made but footage from the 7 very much holds up. I would err on the side of getting a full fat "Hero X Black" model and just go older to fit your budget, as these tend to have the better support and reliability and replaceable batteries when some of the budget models have missed out on features like replaceable batteries and front and even sometimes rear screens Absolute lowest end of budget I'd recommend would be hero 4 silver. The rear screen makes such a difference to getting your shots right and it still has all the essential features that make a GoPro what they are. You can pick one up for a fraction of the cost of the top end models (£50 vs £250-350).

If you're on a budget I think everything past the Hero 7 black has had really usable video as that was the first model with the hypersmooth stabilisation which made a big difference. Definitely improvements have been made but footage from the 7 very much holds up. I would err on the side of getting a full fat "Hero X Black" model and just go older to fit your budget, as these tend to have the better support and reliability and replaceable batteries when some of the budget models have missed out on features like replaceable batteries and front and even sometimes rear screens Absolute lowest end of budget I'd recommend would be hero 4 silver. The rear screen makes such a difference to getting your shots right and it still has all the essential features that make a GoPro what they are. You can pick one up for a fraction of the cost of the top end models (£50 vs £250-350).

I don't really run into any issues with wind resistance at even well past 100kmh with a GoPro Hero 7 Black chin mounted to my Shoei GT Air 2. How big is the camera you're mounting on your helmet?

Oh me too, in Motosports tho. One thing the later GoPro's offer is the 8:7 sensor. And the 12/13 have GPlog in 10 bit which is the flattest available log file from an Action Camera, helping grading..around 13 F-stops, tested. GoPros generally save in HEVC but can be output in ProRes via GoPro player. I think your 7 offers H.264 as well. Prores from GoPro Player could help minimize surplus re-compressions. The 7 does around 78 Mbps in 4K...the 13 can do close to 300 Mbps on a good card, or even All-I (first and only action cam that can do that).

Guy on YouTube (not paid by camera company) put a GoPro Max 2 low light capture thru Davinci Resolve Studio. Noticeable change? A Hero black is a bit more capable here, more resolution too. This is easy to do! I use Resolve Studio but have never done this. I'd just use a vlogging camera or mirrorless instead. Would not use those for action tho. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvwuvD3uqac](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvwuvD3uqac) https://preview.redd.it/b9yju5wlrf9g1.jpeg?width=2500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=23bc6dcdee14d08def7440d3c0108a10478b55cd

Please don't buy a cheap camera, if you can find a second hand GoPro for around 100 I'd recommend the Hero 7 Black, its still an awesome camera and you might find one within your budget.

I would get at least a Hero 5 black if you use an external software for stabilization, and at least a 7 black to rely on the base stabilization.