GoPro Hero 13 Black Review: Upgrading Almost Everything

The leaves are starting to turn, the geese are flying south, there's a chill in the air, and it can all only mean one thing: It's action camera season, and time for me to hit the trails with the new GoPro Hero 13 Black. GoPro kicked off the action camera genre, and dominated the field for many years. However, over the past few years the competition has finally caught up, and the Hero 13 has a lot to prove to both long-time GoPro users and to newcomers interested in picking up their first action camera. 

On paper, there are some exciting new features that could be real game changers, such as new lens mods which now feature electronic communication with the camera, or the magnetic quick release plate functionality and GPS capability. However, there are also a lot of specs here (in this review unit provided by GoPro) which are worryingly similar to the prior Hero camera, so the question becomes whether or not the upgrades found in the Hero 13 Black are enough to make it a meaningful upgrade over the Hero 12.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed when I found out that GoPro had decided to stick with the same sensor as the Hero 12. It was showing its age in 2023, and is definitely weighing the Hero 13 down in 2024. Don't get me wrong, it delivers results in good light that are on par, and perhaps slightly exceed the competition, and the unique 8:7 aspect ratio of the sensor still offers very real advantages. However, it's more glaringly evident now than ever that GoPro's sensor is woefully behind when it comes to filming in low light.

Andy Zahn/SlashGear

Andy Zahn/SlashGear

Andy Zahn/SlashGear

On a brighter note, GoPro has massively upgraded its LOG color profile for the Hero 13, and it now definitely reigns supreme over comparable color profiles offered by competing action cameras. It's now very flat indeed, and offers a lot of wiggle room when editing your footage. The Hero 13 now has a slow motion burst mode which can record 5,3K 120fps footage, or even 400fps video if you drop the resolution down to 720p. That's definitely low resolution, and it looks pretty rough, but I appreciate having the ability to capturing 400fps in a pinch. Continuous 4K 120fps recording is also available, and HLG HDR video capture capability has been added.

Andy Zahn/SlashGear

Andy Zahn/SlashGear

GoPro's "HyperSmooth" stabilization is still as good as ever, but as with the camera's low light capability, it's starting to show some weaknesses compared to competing action cameras. Stabilization performance in the Hero 13 also does seem to be tied in part to lighting conditions, which tells me that this, too, is a symptom of aging sensor technology. The takeaway is that the Hero 13's sensor manages to hold on to relevance by a hair this generation, but next year (2025) GoPro really needs to step up with a serious sensor upgrade in the Hero 14.

The Hero 12 went in a bit of an odd direction with its color scheme last year, with a speckled design that I just couldn't learn to love. It's great to see that the Hero 13 goes back to a classy black look, plus a few new smart upgrades of a more practical nature. Most noticeably, the Hero 13 now features a big heatsink below the lens on the front.

This helps the Hero 13 deliver a 13.5% increase in runtimes, thanks also in part to the new 1900mAh Enduro battery, which offers greater capacity and resistance to cold and hot temperatures. Unfortunately this means that if you already have GoPro batteries they aren't compatible with the Hero 13, and the Hero 13's battery isn't compatible with other GoPro cameras.

The Hero 13 joins competing action cameras by adding a magnetic latch to its mounting system, in addition to the folding fingers of the traditional GoPro mount and ¼-20 mounting threads. This magnetic latch is the best of its kind I've used, and it means you can quickly swap the camera between different mounts. I really appreciate that GoPro retained the screw and prong mounts in addition to the magnetic latch, as I very much value having as many options as possible in this regard. My only complaint is that like all magnetic camera mounts there is the tendency for it to pick up particles of sand and dirt that are difficult to clean off.

While for the most part the GoPro Hero 13 Black might seem very much an incremental upgrade, there's one aspect of this camera which does bring something new and exciting to the table. In the past, interchangeable lenses for Hero cameras could not communicate with the camera. However, the Hero 13 solves this, with electronic communication between lens and camera, enabling the Hero 13 to automatically adjust to each of several new and upcoming lens mods. This opens up many exciting possibilities, which I very much enjoyed having the chance to explore.

There are three lens mods currently available: an ultra wide, a macro, and a set of ND filters. GoPro has also announced an anamorphic lens mod for 2025, which will give you a cinematic field of view, as well as that horizontal lens flare and general look and feel typically associated with theatrical films. This not only has the potential to make the Hero 13 a more viable option for professional cinematography, it also makes that wide angle anamorphic look more accessible than if you were to buy something like Viltrox's EPIC 25mm cinema lens.

The new ND filter set includes ND4, 8, 16, and 32 strength filters for various scenarios, and thanks to their being able to communicate with the camera, the camera now automatically adjusts your settings to add that desired motion blur effect.

The new ultra wide lens mod is the latest in a line of ultra wide lens mods which have been a staple of GoPro accessories for several years now. Before, you had to go into a menu and manually select the ultra wide lens mod, but now the camera instantly detects the lens and makes the necessary adjustments. It's great for POV (point of view) shots, or indeed any scenario where you need the widest field of view possible. With a 177 FOV, pretty much everything in front of the camera is captured when shooting with this lens.

Another advantage of this lens is that it allows for more effective horizon balancing, in which the camera can turn around in a complete circle while video capture remains stable. However, you are limited to 4K 60fps capture if you want stabilization. Given the improved ease of use, this is a worthwhile upgrade over the previous ultra wide lens which lacked communication with the camera. The new 1:1 capture mode is also a great upgrade, as it brings the advantages of shooting in 8:7 with the standard Hero 13 lens to the ultra wide lens.

The macro lens mod is the most interesting of the currently available lens mods, as it changes much of the fundamental nature of the Hero 13. GoPros have, throughout their existence, been wide angle cameras with fixed focus. This means that anything closer than about arms length will be blurry, while everything beyond that is nice and sharp. The macro lens mod changes that, allowing you to focus as close as 4.33 inches. That means it's not what you'd expect from a 1:1 macro lens on a full frame mirrorless camera, but it is 4x closer than the standard Hero 13 lens, and allows the camera to be used for a wider array of subjects which have traditionally been incompatible with GoPro cameras.

I put this lens to great use in a variety of scenarios, from recording peacock chicks eating corn from a ground level perspective, to filming a top-down angle shot of an SSD installation, to capturing anemones in a tide pool. GoPro does say that the macro lens mod is not designed for use underwater, but I captured some great results with it while snorkeling before I learned that this was the case.

This is also the first GoPro lens with variable focus, so you can back it off far enough to use the lens for vlogging and other moderately close subjects while blurring out the background a bit. Keep in mind that this lens cannot focus to infinity. Getting the focus right can be a bit tricky, so you'll probably want to enable focus peaking in the Protune settings menu.

GPS capability has made its return in the hero 13, enabling the camera to record speed, path, terrain, altitude, and g-force, which can be overlaid in the Quik app. Speaking of which, it's now 40% faster to transfer files from the camera to your phone, thanks to Wi-Fi 6 integration, The Quik app is one of the more powerful companion apps out there compared to those by other camera brands, though some of its functions such as auto-upload do require a GoPro subscription to use.

Back on the camera itself, GoPro has added audio tuning which, allows you to switch between the standard recording profile and a new Voice Audio mode which emphasizes voices over ambient sounds. Also, the QuikCapture function (where you press the record button to both power on and start recording simultaneously) now provides a 5 second window after stopping the recording to start a new recording, or to press the mode button to keep the camera powered on. It means you're not stuck with the camera just powering off every time you're finished using QuikCapture.

With a price of $399, the GoPro Hero 13 Black costs as much as you'd expect, and you can shave $100 off that price if you pay for a GoPro subscription. All the accessories that make the Hero 13 stand out also add up fast, with the lens mods being particularly pricey, running all the way up to $129 for the Macro and Anamorphic lenses. However, they too qualify for a discount with the subscription, and a variety of accessories bundles are also available which will save you some money if you have your eye on something in particular.

With discounts and subscription cost taken into consideration, the Hero 13 falls roughly in line with the cost of the Insta360 Ace Pro, though given current discounts, the very competitive DJI Osmo Action 4 is significantly cheaper, being under $300 as of this writing. Overall, for a brand new action camera, the GoPro Hero 13 Black is acceptably priced, but not a bargain.

I'm very conflicted in how I feel about the GoPro Hero 13 Black. On one hand, there's not a lot that's fundamentally new here compared to last year's model, and the competition from other brands has only grown fiercer since then. On the other side of the coin, when you consider the expanded lens mod ecosystem launched alongside it, the Hero 13 seems like a hugely innovative product. The caveat is that if you invest in all these lens mods, the total cost climbs rather quickly, but they do allow the Hero 13 to do things no other action camera is capable of.

Additionally, the new magnetic mounting system is really well implemented, and combined with the more traditional mounting options built into the Hero 13, you have a level of useability which other action cameras just can't beat. Having the prongs and screw mount on-camera rather than as a detachable accessory makes me more likely to reach for a GoPro even if other options are superior in other regards. However, there's no getting away from the fact that the sensor tech in the Hero 13 is showing its age, and that holds it back despite the inclusion of an excellent new LOG recording profile.

Overall, I'd recommend the GoPro Hero 13 Black so long as low light capability is not a priority, and particularly if you find the idea of shooting close up macro video with an action camera as exciting a concept as I do.

The GoPro Hero 13 Black is available from GoPro's own website and Best Buy, among other retailers.