# GoPro Hero

8 Hacker News commenters recommended GoPro Hero and 12 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Robust, simple point-and-record action camera that people still recommend, especially used. Critics most often report overheating and sudden shutdowns.

## Why people recommend it

- Respected, robust build and reputation (3 comments): "Good and robust hardware, a lot of thought into usability for professionals, many accessories" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48959148)) "Probably one of the greatest cameras ever made." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47843440)) "I had a Hero 3 back in the days and loved it!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48390228))
- Good value used, still capable (2 comments): "it's certainly worth getting a used GoPro vs any of these modern cheap alternatives" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48958559)) "you could probably get by with a hero 4 black even today" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48958149))

## What people warn about

- Overheats and shuts down (3 comments): "I bought model 9 and since beginning it overheats, randomly stops recording or just shuts down." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48965573)) "I have the same model and hate it. Damn thing overheats constantly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48965617)) "Mine overheats and dies after 15-20 minutes." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48392402))
- Battery dies quickly (2 comments): "my gopro 11 black is somehow always dead when I grab it even after a few weeks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48958845)) "In the -10c snow they battery wouldn't even last for 5 minutes." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48962676))
- Recurring bugs and frozen video (2 comments): "I reported this as a bug on the Hero7, was told it was being looked at" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48958738)) "it just had frozen video, only playing sound" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48958748))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [GoPro action camera](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gopro.md): 20 recommend
- [Insta360 action camera](https://hackerapproved.com/p/insta360-camera.md): 15 recommend
- [DJI Osmo Action](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dji-action-camera.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=GoPro+Hero+action+camera&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://gopro.com/en/us/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "GoPro Hero", https://hackerapproved.com/p/gopro-hero-8/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).