GoPro Hero 9 Black Review: More Screens, More Resolution, More Stabilization

This product was reviewed in 2020

GoPro releases a new flagship action camera once a year like clockwork, but it’s been a while since the platform received a significant shakeup. In 2020, with the arrival of the new GoPro Hero 9 Black, that’s exactly what we got. Our roundup of the best GoPros features our favorite cameras that the brand currently has on offer.

A new sensor, new maximum photo and video resolutions, improved stabilization, and a beefier battery may give users with older Hero models a serious reason to upgrade. Meanwhile, the inclusion of a front-facing color screen for the first time, makes the Hero more accessible to new users and opens up a whole new world of selfie-style shooting.

GoPro Hero 9 Black review: What you need to know

The GoPro Hero 9 Black has refined nearly every aspect of its predecessor, the Hero8 Black. The natively waterproof body with built-in mount that was introduced with the Hero8 remains, though the body itself is now larger overall. This may disappoint those who have only just swapped their accessories to fit the Hero8, but the change allows for a larger battery, as well as that secondary screen.

The imaging sensor has seen a resolution bump for the first time since 2012’s Hero3. The new sensor allows the Hero 9 to capture 20-megapixel stills, up from 12-megapixel, and record video at up to 5K. While at first glance this may seem like an odd resolution (how many people run 5K displays?), in practice, it allows you to crop in further during editing for more precise framing. Shooting in 5K to edit and export in 4K should also deliver a cleaner, less noisy final image.

While 5K recording tops out at 30fps, 4K at 60fps is available in all view modes other than SuperView, and up to 120fps is supported at 2.7K using the Wide view mode. For higher frame rates still, up to 240fps is possible at 1080p in Linear view and Narrow, enabling 8x slow motion playback at 30fps.

Hypersmooth Stabilization also gets an upgrade, with the Hero 9 packing HyperSmooth 3.0. HyperSmooth 3.0 and its “Boost” mode in all resolutions and frame rates, although the Boost tacks on a 25% crop. GoPro has also added the Horizon Leveling feature from its 360 cameras; while it’s only available in Linear view, Horizon Leveling ensures your footage isn’t only stabilized but level, too.

A range of other features have also seen tweaks for this latest flagship. TimeWarp 3.0 now allows for sections of 2x slow motion in hyperlapses; HyperSmooth has been added to in-camera streaming, and new HindSight and LiveBurst options now let you start shooting video and photos before you even press the shutter button, so you don’t miss your shot.

GoPro Hero 9 Black review: Price and competition

The GoPro Hero 9 Black launched with a list price of $450, or $350 with a one-year subscription to GoPro.

Update: GoPro stopped offering a discount on subscribers’ products in 2023, three years after this review was written. All GoPro Hero cameras are now available at the same price to subscribers and non-subscribers. At the time of writing this update in 2024, the Hero 9 costs $160 from Amazon, but can be found for as little as $209 at Walmart and $213 at Best Buy.

The Hero 9’s closest rival is its successor the Hero 10 Black. Its processor is much faster, doubling the frame rates of the Hero 9; it also offers more effective video stabilization, and delivers a more responsive user interface. The Hero 10 was released in 2021 at a list price of $500 without a GoPro subscription, but now costs just $245 from Amazon and $250 from GoPro.

GoPro’s latest camera is the Hero 12 Black, released in 2023. It combines GoPro’s top-tier image quality and stabilization tech with a more accessible user interface and improved audio options, plus much-improved heat management and battery life. The Hero 12 has a list price of $400, but it’s often available for less on Amazon.

GoPro isn’t the only player in the action camera space. DJI’s Osmo Action 4 has a larger 1/1.3in sensor, giving its low-light performance a notable boost. It costs $299.

The Insta360 One RS is also a capable competitor. Its modular construction allows it to be kitted out as a traditional action cam or a full-blown 360 camera. The single-lens 4K kit also comes in cheaper than the Hero 9 Black at $240. Image quality can’t quite match that of the GoPro, however.

GoPro Hero 9 Black review: Features and design

From a distance, everything looks like business as usual with the Hero 9 Black. The materials, control layout, built-in mounting point, and overall silhouette are essentially the same as before. Up-close, though, it’s noticeably bigger and heavier than its predecessor, measuring 2.1 x 2.8 x 1.3in and weighing 5.6oz compared with the Hero8’s 1.9 x 2.6 x 1.1mm and 4.4oz.

Across the front there’s the usual protruding lens, a microphone and, of course, that new front-facing LCD screen. The lens has been tweaked and is now interchangeable and user-replaceable, which is good news; scratches and cracks won’t write off the whole camera. GoPro has also announced the Max Lens Mod, which will allow the Hero 9 to copy the ultrawide 155-degree field of view from the GoPro Max 360 camera, and shoot with “Max HyperSmooth” stabilization in 2.7K resolution at 60fps.

That new secondary display is a color LCD measuring 1 x 1in. You have the option to display either your full frame with horizontal black bars above and below, or show a square central crop. Key stats are presented around the edge of the frame, or, if you miss the old-school monochrome status screen, you can enable an LCD equivalent.

The larger body allows for a larger 2 x 1.3in primary touchscreen at the rear. This is used for the bulk of camera control, but you also get a large shutter button on the top panel of the camera and a multifunction power/mode button on the right edge.

A second microphone sits beneath this power button but, unlike on the Hero8, this mic is housed within a special inlet that’s designed to allow it to drain faster when filming underwater. The inlet looks remarkably similar to the door latch on the opposite side, though, so you’ll need to make sure you don’t get the two mixed up.

On the left is the Hero 9’s water-tight door, behind which you’ll find the battery, microSD card slot, and USB-C port. The battery is all-new for the Hero 9 and 30% bigger than before. This is good news if you don’t like having to change batteries on-the-go, although less so for those who already have a collection of incompatible older GoPro batteries.

GoPro Hero 9 Black review: Performance

You have a ton of shooting options with the GoPro Hero 9 Black. The multitude of resolution and frame-rate combinations alone read like a phonebook.

Luckily, the quick select menu from the Hero8 is still in place in the Hero 9, allowing you to either pick suitable setting combinations from GoPro’s presets or set your own. The mode button allows you to hop between Photo, Video, and Time Lapse modes, then a simple tap and scroll across the touchscreen will let you toggle between HD, 4K, and 5K setting combinations. You’re also able to customize some of the on-screen toggle options for each shooting preset.

In Video mode, the GoPro Hero 9 Black produces consistently well-judged exposures, with accurate color reproduction and excellent dynamic range. In resolutions of 2.7K and above, the Hero 9’s High bit-rate mode records at up to 100Mbits/sec, with the Standard bit-rate option topping out at 60Mbits/sec. You can opt to shoot with a flat profile if you want more latitude for tweaking your footage in post, but I found the GoPro color profile produced perfectly usable results with excellent pop straight out of camera.

In 5K mode, as you’d hope, the recorded footage is richly detailed and, under the right circumstances, offers a noticeable edge over the 4K footage. I say “the right circumstances” because, as with all action cameras, you really need to be shooting in bright sunlight. For capturing outdoor sports during the day, 5K footage is great, but in lower light footage can quickly become grainy and muddy.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Hero 9 uses HEVC H.265 video encoding for a number of its resolution and frame rate options, including 5K recording. H.265 encoding allows the Hero 9 to produce video files that are roughly half the size of those recorded with H.264 encoding, without a noticeable drop in quality. This is great for storage, but it can cause compatibility issues with older computers and smartphones, which may lack the ability to playback the H.265 files natively. You can find a full list of the resolution and frame rate combinations that use HEVC H.265 encoding on GoPro’s website.

For stabilization, HyperSmooth 3.0 is the best we’ve seen. It’s able to smooth out even more erratic movements and, unlike the stabilization provision in some smartphones, it feels fluid and natural; it won’t suddenly jerk when transitioning from a static shot to a moving shot.

Better still, HyperSmooth 3.0 is available in all resolutions and frame rates, so your footage will be consistent; and when things get really hectic, there’s even a Boost mode. Although note that while Boost keeps things even steadier, it comes with a 25% image crop penalty.

Another excellent new feature is Horizon Leveling, first seen in GoPro 360 cameras. Working in conjunction with HyperSmooth, it keeps your shots level as well as stable. This combination really lifts the GoPro above the competition, resulting in footage that looks more professional and polished; it avoids any queasy roll.

Audio quality is essentially identical to that of the Hero8, which is to say it’s excellent. You can toggle wind reduction and even opt to record a RAW audio track with a user-determined level of processing. Regardless of which options you go for, the Hero 9 sounds great. Long-gone are the days of tinny action camera audio.

Although small, the front-facing screen works very well for selfie-style shooting. It’s worth mentioning that it isn’t always the smoothest, and while recording at higher resolutions, it seems to stutter. While this has no impact on the recording, the Live view image can drop down to perhaps 10 or 15 frames per second, which can be a little distracting.

The rear touchscreen can also be a little temperamental. With so many settings to choose from, you often need to be quite precise with your fingers – and, unfortunately, I found it wasn’t always as sensitive as I’d like it to be. It often ignored some gestures, leaving me jabbing at the screen in frustration. This is hopefully something that will be addressed in an update; but until then, it takes a little of the polish off this flagship product.

GoPro Hero 9 Black review: Verdict

If you’re looking for the best GoPro Hero camera released in 2020, then end your search, this is it. The refinements made to the overall design, UI, and performance all come together to create a solid, versatile action camera – and the HyperSmooth 3.0 stabilization is second to none.

While there are a couple of display-related quirks that need smoothing out via firmware updates, they don’t stop the Hero 9 Black from comfortably becoming the one to beat. A five-star recommendation is a no-brainer.