A compact action camera designed for mounting, the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini is best suited for use on motorcycle and bicycle helmets.
This is a typical application for GoPro’s action cameras, but over the last few generations, it’s possible to argue that they’ve lost some of their effectiveness in this situation. These cameras have improved in terms of image quality, stability, and performance, but the GoPro Hero 9 Black made them significantly larger.
The GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini is here to bring back a diminutive aesthetic without sacrificing performance because they have grown a touch hefty. Additionally, it is less expensive than the ordinary Hero 11 Black, yet we don’t advise purchasing this model only for the price reduction because the dual screens and increased flexibility of the Hero 11 Black are certainly worth the extra $100/£100/AU$150 for many. It is also less expensive than the Hero 11 Black.
Pricing and accessibility for the Go Pro Hero 11 Black Mini
Along with the Hero 11 Black, the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini was introduced in September 2022. No immediate precursor exists. There was no Mini model when the Hero 10 Black first appeared in 2021.
It’s a tad smaller and less expensive than the Hero 11 Black. When purchased with a GoPro membership, it costs $299, £299, or AU$499, or $399, £399, or AU$639 when purchased separately. This subscription gives unlimited cloud storage, a replacement if your camera is damaged, and discounts on accessories purchased directly from GoPro.
In contrast, the regular Hero 11 Black costs $499.99/£499.99/AU$799.95 without a GoPro subscription, or $399.98/£399/AU$649.95 with one.
Design of the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini
The GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini can be compared to the GoPro Hero 11 Black, but without the two screens. The little display at the top offers an image preview without requiring the Quik app on your phone.
Other action cameras without displays have been introduced, such the first Insta360 Go. But because it shares the same basic hardware as the Hero 11 Black, this one is more expensive. The 1/1.9-inch sensor, which is very sizable, and the GP2 CPU from GoPro are included.
GoPro’s normal Hero 11 Black is 15% heavier than the Hero 11 Black Mini at 133g. And at 52.4mm, it’s particularly slim.
If you plan to use your GoPro nearly entirely while mounted to something like bike handlebars or a helmet, the sacrifices you make will definitely be worthwhile. A preview image of your footage won’t help much in these circumstances anyway.
We believe you’ll miss the screens if you want to use the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini with a selfie stick. Instead, purchase the regular Hero 11 Black.
There are further compromises. The non-removable battery in the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini is a huge turn-off if you usually carry two or three extras around to increase your shooting time.
Despite the fact that GoPro labels it an Enduro battery, the Hero 8 Black’s 1500mAh battery capacity is actually smaller than that of previous GoPro models. Naturally, there aren’t any large, bright displays to power, but the battery-saving effect won’t be all that noticeable in circumstances where the Mini excels, such as “put it and forget it” situations.
While out on a shoot, you’ll need to recharge the GoPro 11 Black Mini, and GoPro makes no exceptional claims about how quickly it charges.
For the target audience, the absence of a hot-swappable battery might be more of a drawback than the inadequate screen. But this will be a very simplified and straightforward experience for you.
Black Go Pro Hero 11 Mini
Basic parameters are displayed on a little LCD on top of the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini. You may check the remaining space on your memory card, the battery life, and the mode that is now selected.
With the SuperView FOV set to 60 frames per second, the three presets—5.3K, 4K, and 1080p—can be changed with a side button. GoPro advises basing your decision on which one would provide the longest battery life before considering any other factors. Shooting at 1080p as opposed to 5.3K will likely result in a run time that is at least 50% higher. Of course, 5.3K does provide significantly more editing options and greater image quality.
You must use the Quik app on your phone to wirelessly operate the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini in order to activate any of the additional modes, which are numerous.
Features of the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini
The GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini is comparable to the normal Hero 11 Black in most other respects. It can record 4K video at up to 120 frames per second, 2.7K video at up to 240 frames per second, and 5.3K video at up to 60 frames per second.
There are also sophisticated low-light video settings that use extended exposure times to capture timelapses with excellent clarity. You may shoot at night to see the path of the stars as they pass the sky, paint in the air using a light source like a torch, and create light streaks out of car headlights.
There isn’t a separate stills mode, though. Instead, GoPro enables you to extract high-resolution pictures from 5.3K video. Technically, there is no reason why GoPro couldn’t include stills capturing. Most likely, it was believed that adding such modes would weaken the Mini’s focus and that the camera wouldn’t provide a high-quality stills experience. While the Hero 11 Black’s HDR photo feature is absent, 24.7MP still images are extracted from the high-res video recording, so you’re not really missing out on anything.
The horizon can be locked at up to 27 degrees of camera rotation in top modes thanks to the Hero 11 Black Mini’s use of GoPro’s most recent Hypersmooth 5.0 stabilisation technology. likewise a complete 360-degree rotation in resolutions with frame rates lower than the maximum. You must always utilise the linear field of view because there wouldn’t be enough extra image data in the frame to allow for this.
In either case, the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini will provide outstanding stabilisation. The odd 8:7 sensor shape is to blame.
GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini early thought
