What’s Changed? The biggest change on the GoPro HERO9 Black is the ability to see a live preview on the camera’s front display compared to settings only on the GoPro HERO8. The camera is ever so slightly larger and houses an improved sensor that is capable of recording up to 5K/30p video. Unfortunately that video is still crammed into a 100Mbps codec, but GoPro still provides an option for higher quality H.265 HEVC formatting. Battery life is improved to around ~2 hours with a larger battery.

Same App & Shooting Options. GoPro’s smartphone apps remain largely unchanged for the HERO 9 camera and offer familiar features like Hypersmooth stabilization, TimeWarp, HDR photos, & night lapse video while letting users control shooting modes like burst & scheduled capture. Photos can still be captured in JPEG or GoPro’s RAW format.

Inputs & Outputs. There’s not a lot here. This camera offers just one method of connecting to the camera by default. The USB Type C port is used for charging or for adding on a number of “mod” accessories, and the camera does not offer any other means of inputting video or audio by default. No mod accessories are included with this rental.

Mounting FIngers. This GoPro is compatible with the same hinge-style accessories as GoPros past and does not require a frame or case thanks to the mounting fingers the tuck into the bottom of the housing. We include a basic mounting kit with this rental that comes with a GoPro buckle mount and tripod adapter.