Action camera manufacturer GoPro seems to have recovered in the last year, despite the pandemic sales are up like 70 per cent.

Which brings us to the imminent autumn releases of the Hero10 and possible Max2.

So far there is basically no solid rumours floating around, just whishfull thinking. But leaks tend to surface at this time in late august for the usual late september announcement. Production of the new models is underway, this seems to start around june/july at the factories in China/Mexico.

Wishlist:

• The "gopro" SOC has been around for four cameras now and need an imminent replacement IMO. For better refresh of front screen and overall performance. And lower power consumption.
• Integrated option for wireless mic (like DJI has in the Pocket2).
• Lager edge-to-edge back screen.
• Significantly better stabilisation performance in indoor lighting. Hypersmooth is basically crap even in well lit interiors IMO.
• Better in low light in general. Pocket2 managed to squize in a slightly larger sensor which seems to boost low light performance. With the larger Hero9 form factor it should be possible to use a slightly larger sensor even in the GoPro.
• Ditch the media mod and include the HDMI output and analogue input on the core unit. Instead provide a light weight frame with cold shoes.
• Option of turning of excessive image processing in pro tune mode (i.e. like noise reduction).

Still better than the Hero 10's stabilization at night (awful, unusable).

But the gimbal in conjunction with the Hero 10's least-cropping stabilization ("Standard"), you get an extraordinary smoothness. So you can produce full-resolution 5K 60P videos that are tripod steady when static and look cinema smooth when moving with the camera, in good light. At least, that is what I discovered.

Here is my test video: static shots followed a by a torture test - 2 minutes continuous walking briskly with the camera on slanted, uneven grass terrains and through leaves and over curbs. Then a sideways, parallel subject following (which I could never do with the camera alone) and finally a follow-subject walk. Shot in 5.3K 60P wide, just like in the night video.

The gimbal is tiny and light, basically you can think of it as a little handle, which I would and do use anyway when shooting handheld with a GoPro. The battery lasts 14 hours, so no worry about that constraint. It is splashproof, so it like the camera can be used in the rain or snow, no constraint there either. It connects (easily) to the GoPro by bluetooth so you start and stop recording with the gimbal button. And, best of all, no balancing, so you will use it. You just hook the camera on (no screw necessary) and go. $79 on Amazon.