GoPro Hero 8: 5 Things You Need to Know

The GoPro Hero 8 is a major change for the GoPro brand with the new Hero 8 Black offering mods to add to the usability and an integrated mount that makes connecting the camera to tripods and people simpler and faster.

You can buy the new GoPro Hero 8 starting today for $399 with a free micro-SD card offer and the new $499 GoPro Max a 360-degree camera is also on sale today. the GoPro Hero 7 Black is now $329 and the Hero 7 Silver is $199.

While the GoPro Hero 8 looks very similar at first glance, there is more than meets the eye, and if you need to add to your filming arsenal, you can do that with the new Go Pro Mods.

This is what you need to know about the 2019 GoPro Hero 8.

GoPro Hero 8 Release Date & Price

The GoPro Hero 8 is on sale now at GoPro and Best Buy for $399. We expect to see it available at Amazon and B&H Photo soon.

Pre-orders are live now, and the GoPro Hero 8 release date is October 15th. If you order now, you should get your Hero 8 on the 15th.

While this is an exciting upgrade, we don’t expect a sell-out with delivery dates pushed back significantly.

GoPro Hero 8 Design

The GoPro Hero 8 features a new design with an integrated mount and support for GoPro Mods that allow you to add a screen, external microphone or light. The lens doesn’t stick out quite as much and the total package is slimmer since you don’t need a cage to mount it to anything.

Simply flip the mount down from the bottom of the Go Pro and you are ready to connect to Go Pro gear that uses the familiar two-three finger connection. The Hero 8 is waterproof down to 33 feet.

GoPro Hero 8 Features

There are a lot of interesting new Hero 8 features on the camera and in the software. Here’s a closer look at the top 8 GoPro Hero 8 features;

1. HyperSmooth 2.0 – New levels of stabilization including Boost and Horizon leveling.
2. TimeWarp 2.0 – Automatic speed detection for Time Warp videos, plus you can still manually control.
3. SuperPhoto + HDR Enhancements – Boost contrast and kill blur with SuperPhoto and get jaw-dropping colors with HDR.
4. LiveBurst – The Hero 8 captures 1.5 seconds before you hit the shutter, so you have 90 still images or a 3-second 4K clip.
5. Night Lapse Video – Special time-lapse mode for night time videos.
6.  Three Mics – Better audio and less wind with the built-in microphones.
7. Four Lenses to Select – Narrow, Linear, Wide, and SuperView
8. 4k60 / 1080p240 – You control your resolution and frame-rate.

You also get Voice Control, Live Streaming in 1080P, Presets an on-screen shortcuts, a Photo Timer, Short Clips, 8X slow motion, Face, Smile, Blink and scene detection and more.

Watch the video above to see more of the features and see side-by-side footage fo the GoPro Hero 8 vs Hero 7.

GoPro Hero 8 Mods

One of the biggest stars of this show are the GoPro Her0 8 mods. These are official Hero 8 accessories that add to your camera’s capabilities by adding some of the most requested features. This also helps bring the Hero 8 in line with action camera competition from Sony and DJI. If you want to use the Hero 8 for Vlogging, you’ll likely want all of these new Mods.

• Media Mod -Shotgun Mic, USB C, HDMI and 3.5mm ports plus additional mounts – $79
• Display Mod – 1.9-inch display so you can see yourself – $79
• Light Mod – 200 Lumen waterproof light – $49

The Light and Display pack their own batteries, so they don’t drain the Hero 8 and you can attach the light to a mount or head strap for standalone use. GoPro says that more mods are in the works.

GoPro Hero 8 Deals

At this point, there is only one real GoPro Hero 8 deal. When you buy direct from GoPro, you get a free 32GB MicroSDHC card. We expect to see some deals later this year, potentially around Black Friday, but many of those will likely focus on the Hero 7 models.

Typically we see a trade-in deal with GoPro and bigger deals in January, so if you want to save, you may need to hold off until 2020 before major deals appear.