The GoPro Hero 13 Black Is Worth the Upgrade
Some gadgets don’t feel like they can sustain an annual release schedule. As tempting as shiny new toys are, not everything can be updated noticeably and frequently enough to make shelling out a few hundred dollars each year feel worth it—especially when your old model probably still works fine. GoPro, however, insists on putting out a new camera each year, even as its past few releases have only offered incremental improvements.
This year, GoPro finally seems to have learned its lesson, with its biggest shake-up in years. The GoPro Hero 13 presents two compelling, totally new reasons to upgrade, although it’s still missing a one-inch sensor or 360-degree capture.
A GoPro with modular lenses
By far the biggest addition to GoPro’s camera ecosystem in a while, the GoPro Hero 13 introduces a host of modular new “HB-Series” lenses that turn the humble action camera into more of a portable film studio. These include your default wide lens, an ultra-wide lens for an improved field of view, a macro lens for close-up shots, and a series of ND-filters that can selectively block out light. There’s also a cinematic anamorphic lens set for release next year.
The good news is that having so many lenses means there’s one for everybody, with GoPro no longer forcing everyone into the same type of content capture. The catch is these lenses all cost extra. The whole HB-Series (which is just a marketing term, by the way) is kind of an extension of the Max Lens Mod approach of the past, and while that means your GoPro is now theoretically more capable than ever, it also means its most exciting upgrades don’t come in the box with it.
Magnetic accessories
That also rings true for the product’s second biggest change, which finally catches it up to competition like DJI—magnetic mounting.
In order to make it easier to quickly swap out GoPro accessories, you can now slot magnetic mounts into each of your accessories for either $24 (for a version with a latch) or $39 (for a version with a ball joint) a pop. You’ll want a specific mount for each accessory to get the most out of the system, as the mount on its own is just a set of fingers that latches onto the bottom of your camera. Since the camera already comes with its own set of fingers, it’s pointless without multiples.
With multiples, though, the idea is that you can pre-thread the mount into your various tripods or grips and then swap them into your camera in an instant. That way, you won’t have to un-thread and re-thread the fingers built into your camera each time.
It’s a bit of an expensive proposition, but if you can afford it, it works well. I connected my GoPro to a chest strap using the magnetic mount and took it running and biking without issue. Thanks to latches at either side, the mount doesn’t come loose even when I tug it as hard as I can. I even had a GoPro representative tell me he has used it during extreme sports without issue, and that he hasn’t bothered with non-magnetic mounts since he got his hands on the new ones.
One magnetic accessory I didn’t get to test was the new GoPro Contacto magnetic charging case and cable, which lets you charge your camera without opening the side door where the battery is stored. I wasn’t given one for this review, although at $79, you’d be spending a lot for a proprietary charging system. Because the GoPro’s side door can be a bit stiff to open, that might be worth it to you, but I don’t think the few seconds it saves is worth it, especially since you’ll still need to open that door to swap out SD cards, anyway.
What’s still not here
Personally, I think the new lenses, and to a lesser extent the magnetic mounting, are great reasons to upgrade this year, and are changes GoPro sorely needed. But because these are all add-ons, the camera itself does feel like a typical incremental update without them.
That means it’s still using the same processor, the same lens aperture, and the same 1/1.9” CMOS image sensor as last year’s model. There is new support for HLG HDR, plus a new Burst Slo-Mo shooting mode that can capture up to 400fps at 720p for up to 15 seconds, but otherwise, the Hero 13 Black without additions is largely old tech.
That’s a bit disappointing, since the real effective cost of the camera is a little misleading. But the versatility of the device with its add-ons does lessen the sting a bit. Because these are exclusive to the GoPro Hero 13 Black, they’re still effectively upgrades, as they raise the camera’s potential over older models.
What isn’t available on the device even with add-ons is 360-degree capture, a staple of competitors like the Insta360 brand. It’s not wholly necessary, but adding a second lens to the back of the camera would have been an easy way to differentiate the hardware itself from older models. Failing that, GoPro could have at least given us a way to swivel our lens around without buying a mount to do so.
Using the GoPro Hero 13 Black
Let’s get the basics out of the way first: All of GoPro’s classic, bread-and-butter features work just as well here as previous models. Image stabilization is smooth; video is detailed enough to be used in professional content; you can record at up to 5.3K across multiple aspect ratios; and even outside of the new 400fps burst slo-mo, you can capture up to 240fps for extra smooth (or slowed-down) footage. While there’s not a lot new here without any add-ons, this is still a reliable workhorse out of the box, which is impressive for how small the GoPro continues to be.
It’s when you swap in a new HB-series lens that you start to see the reasons to upgrade, though. It can be a bit tricky to actually perform the swap—sometimes, you might have to screw the lens in tighter than you’d like—but the results are well worth it.
The ultra-wide lens is the most similar to existing accessories, in that its primary purpose is to extend your GoPro’s maximum field of view from 156 degrees to 177 degrees. This functionality was technically available through the Max Lens Mod on previous models, but the Hero 13 Black makes it far more compelling.
In unaltered footage, I can’t really tell the difference when the Mod is applied vs. when it’s not. It’s only in the new aspect ratio option that I start to appreciate it, and that’s exclusive to the Hero 13 Black.
The ultra-wide lens on the Hero 13 Black now lets you capture full-frame, 1:1 footage, which greatly expands on the 8:7 aspect ratio that the prior model capped out on. What this means is you can capture a large square of what you see in front of you as opposed to a rectangle, essentially shooting both horizontal and vertical video at the same time. GoPro’s app makes it easy to crop that footage into the desired format later, and it’s a huge time saver for content creators, allowing them to make uncompromised videos for all platforms in one go.
The Macro Lens Mod, by contrast, is entirely new. This makes the GoPro better at close-up shots, with a manual focus ring that can be set for objects as close as 4.33-inches away. On the surface, that’s still not as powerful as, say, portrait mode on the iPhone, although I found it to be an equivalent experience in practice, since I rarely need to get closer to subjects than 4 inches anyway.
The video use cases here are a bit more niche—GoPro suggests that some users will be fine never taking the macro lens off, simply capturing far-away subjects by zooming the focus all the way out. In practice, I found this just produced a fuzzy picture. Bikers looking to capture footage of their helmets or wheels could get good video out of a properly focused macro lens, as could chefs recording their cooking process. But to me, it works best in photos.
I’m not complaining about that. I’ve never liked GoPro’s photo mode prior to the Hero 13 Black, but the macro lens makes it possible to take photos that, in the right light, look as good as the ones I take on my iPhone 15 Pro. This only works for close-up shots, since there’s not nearly as many zoom features as on my phone, but finally: I don’t need to constantly swap between my phone and my camera depending on whether I’m shooting still or moving footage. There’s even a Night Shot mode that uses long exposure to capture evening footage, although I did find this can look a little muddier than what you might get on your phone.
The third promised HB-series modular lens is the anamorphic one, which is set for release next year. I won’t talk about it too long as your guess is as good as mine for how well it will perform, but the idea of it is tantalizing. It’ll let you capture 21:9 footage and make it easier to incorporate effects like lens flares and soft corners. It could be a great way to get started on cinematic home movies, and is definitely not something you can just do on your smartphone without third-party attachments.
Finally, there’s the ND-filters, something that I’ll admit I don’t have a lot of experience with. These can limit exposure, plus your GoPro can automatically detect which one you’re using and adjust shutter speed alongside it. Using both effects in tandem can create pronounced motion blur, and to help you get started, the GoPro can suggest which filter to use based on lighting conditions around you. Experts can also adjust shutter speed and exposure manually, but there’s one caveat: You can’t use an ND-filter in addition to a specialized lens, which is a limitation you don’t get on more traditional gear.
Ultimately, I enjoyed shooting with the modular lenses, since for the first time in a while, they changed how I actually used my camera. The ultra-wide lens prompted me to actually experiment with vertical video for once, something I had considered an afterthought in the past but can no longer ignore thanks to TikTok. The macro lens made for delightfully detailed photos taken during an evening stroll. I think the promise of these lenses presents a great opportunity for GoPro to go from just one tool in your kit to potentially the only camera you need. Hopefully, the anamorphic lens lives up to those expectations.
The downside here is the cost. These lenses are the most impressive back-of-the-box feature for this new GoPro, but they’re all additional costs, and without them, the camera doesn’t feel nearly as new. Right now, the Ultra Wide Lens Mod costs $99, the Macro Lens Mod costs $129, and a pack of four ND-filters of various strengths costs $69. When it releases, the Anamorphic Lens Mod will also cost $129, bringing the total cost of the camera and all possible lenses to $825.
Battery life
While the GoPro Hero 13 Black sans add-ons is roughly a similar experience to past devices, its interior has one surprise. This year, GoPro has redesigned the battery to be a little bigger and a lot more efficient. With 10% extra capacity at 1,900mAh, it does run legitimately longer, and from my personal experience, it runs cooler as well. Last year’s GoPro heated up so quickly for me that it kept turning itself off mid-shoot to cool down, and I didn’t get that issue once this time around. That alone could be worth the upgrade, if you’ve been running into similar issues (not all of my colleagues have).
As for actual runtime numbers, those are a bit hard to narrow down. GoPros aren’t really intended to run continuously on the same settings until they shut down. That's indicated by their nifty feature to jump right from being powered off, to shooting, to turning back off again with the push of a button. To simulate your average experience, that's how I used my GoPro for most of my time with it. By only shooting a few minutes at a time this way, I was able to take it out on hour-long excursions while only losing about 20% battery life each time. Shooting this way will also help you save SD card space, another reason why I’d consider it to be a more reasonable way of using the device.
Should you buy the GoPro Hero 13 Black?
Whether you’ll want the GoPro Hero 13 Black depends on if you already have a GoPro and how much you’re willing to kit it out.
If you’re not yet in the GoPro ecosystem, it’s an easy recommendation. It’s got recording up to 5.3K, supports up to 400fps Slo-Mo, still has stellar image stabilization, and comes with a year-long subscription to GoPro’s Quik app for easier editing and cloud video storage. It runs for longer and much cooler, and while it’s not quite as cheap as the DJI Osmo Action 5 (announced today) or as novel as an Insta360 camera, it strikes a good middle-ground of doing everything you could want well.
But if you are already in the GoPro ecosystem, this camera could either be the biggest upgrade you’ve made in years or so incremental you won’t notice a difference. I personally love the promise of the modular lenses, especially the new 1:1 aspect ratio on the ultra-wide, plus the idea of future additions like an anamorphic lens. The magnetic mounts are less exciting to me, but still seem convenient for people with a lot of tripods or gimbals. To me, these accessories mean that GoPro is finally addressing its hardware and not just its software, providing a significantly different experience for the first time in a while.
But if you don’t use your GoPro professionally, the extra cost associated with them might not be worth it to you. The new hardware ecosystem will be closed off to you on older models, but it might as well not exist if you don’t buy into it. There’s also the chance that GoPro will abandon the HB-Series lenses in the future. If you buy into all of these now, will they still work on future models? And could we expect any other new lenses after the Anamorphic Lens releases?
As someone who’s been hanging around the GoPro space since the Hero 10 Black, I’m pleased with the Hero 13 Black, and if I hadn’t upgraded since then, this would be the one I’d go for. But if that’s not convincing enough for you, or if you don’t want to bother with multiple lenses to actually get something new, GoPro has an ace up its sleeve. Its new $200 Hero camera, with no number attached, is designed to give budget users a basic and more portable pick-up-and-play experience that brings back some of the original model’s casual approachability. I’ll be reviewing that next, and I’m interested to see how GoPro is going to use it to recapture that portion of its audience that thinks action cameras have peaked.