Home » GoPro Hero 12 Black: Unboxed, First Impressions

GoPro Hero 12 Black: Unboxed, First Impressions

Written By Abe Olandres
Published • October 6th, 2023
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We finally got a review unit of the GoPro HERO12 Black to unbox and review; and while we’re still going thru the full video review, we’d like to share with you our first impressions of this action camera.

Right out of the box, the packaging of the Hero 12 Black is more compact (like every other global tech brand that’s trying to be ecologically conscious or sustainable) with the device, battery, attachment clip and screw, charging cable and a bunch of documentations.

The body of the GoPro Hero 12 is not much different from the Hero 11, but we noticed a new paint job here that looks like dark blue flecks. Perhaps this makes it more rugged and, in time, unnoticeable against the usual wear and tear of using it in the outdoors.

We have a collection of old GoPro’s here at our studio (Hero8, Hero10 Black and Hero11 Black) and they all look quite identical (yeah, we’re a big GoPro fan!).

The GoPro is waterproof up to 33 feet or 10 meters, and with the Max Lens Mod 2.0 attachment add-on, users can see as much as 177-degree field-of-view in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second.

Compared to the HERO11 Black, the HERO12 Black introduces several improvements, with one of the most significant being its battery life (around 10 to 15% better battery life on the newer model). GoPro claims up to 70 minutes of recording time at 5.3K 60FPS, which is double the recording time of its predecessor at the same resolution.

The main lens is a 27MP sensor with 8:7 aspect ratio, but you can set it to capture 16:9, 9:16, and 8:7 footage without re-orienting the camera. It can shoot a maximum 5.3K @ 60fps, 4K @ 120fps and if you want slow-mo you can shoot 2K @ 240fps.

The GoPro HERO 12 Black can shoot up to 5.3K at 60FPS for 70 minutes, but 5.3K@30FPS will provide up to 1.5 hours of recording.

The action camera now also has Bluetooth support that can record audio through headphones or earphones now.

So far, here are the features that we really liked about the GoPro Hero 12 Black:

1) Previous GoPros have good stabilization, but the Hero12 Black greatly improves on it. We’ll be including a lot of footage from our trips to demonstrate this in our video review (vs. the Hero 10 and Hero11).

2) There are lots of options for mounting and compatibility with existing accessories. If you’ve been a long-time GoPro user, this is a big advantage since all your previous accessories will work flawlessly.

3) Bluetooth audio support is new and very useful but it depends on your case use.

However, some things still remain wanting with the latest model — among them is the similar build to the Hero 11 and apparent lack of low-light capabilities.

Nevertheless, there’s still room to consider the Hero 12 Black as an optional buy to those who already own the Hero 11 but a definite yes for those who owns the Hero 10 or lower models. We’re finishing our full video review of the Hero 12 Black so watch out for that on our YouTube channel this week.

GoPro HERO12 Black is available at GoPro Official LazMall and Shopee Mall Stores and at GoPro Authorized Partners nationwide—Abenson, Camerahaus, Colours Foto, Electroworld, Henry’s Cameras, iBook, Inbox, Infomax, SM Gadgets, TechPro Unlimited, The Vault, Timeline, Urbangiz, and more.

The GoPro HERO12 Black has a suggested retail price of PHP 24,990. The Max Lens Mod 2.0 is available for an additional PHP 7,490. For the ultimate bundle, there’s also the GoPro Hero 12 Black Creator Kit priced at PHP 36,990.

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Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.