GoPro Hero
Ranked 3 of 4 action cameras by recommenders
Robust, simple point-and-record action camera that people still recommend, especially used. Critics most often report overheating and sudden shutdowns.
Robust, simple point-and-record action camera that people still recommend, especially used. Critics most often report overheating and sudden shutdowns.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 12
- approval share
- 40%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Respected, robust build and reputation
“Good and robust hardware, a lot of thought into usability for professionals, many accessories”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?” “Probably one of the greatest cameras ever made.”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027” “I had a Hero 3 back in the days and loved it!”
Comment from 3 Jun 2026 in “GoPro warned it may not survive” Good value used, still capable
“it's certainly worth getting a used GoPro vs any of these modern cheap alternatives”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?” “you could probably get by with a hero 4 black even today”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Overheats and shuts down
“I bought model 9 and since beginning it overheats, randomly stops recording or just shuts down.”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?” “I have the same model and hate it. Damn thing overheats constantly.”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?” “Mine overheats and dies after 15-20 minutes.”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “GoPro warned it may not survive” Battery dies quickly
“my gopro 11 black is somehow always dead when I grab it even after a few weeks”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?” “In the -10c snow they battery wouldn't even last for 5 minutes.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?” Recurring bugs and frozen video
“I reported this as a bug on the Hero7, was told it was being looked at”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?” “it just had frozen video, only playing sound”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?”
Other action cameras people recommend
The three most recommended other action cameras, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoPro action camera | 20 | 53 | 27% | 6 | — | — |
| Insta360 action camera | 15 | 4 | 79% | 3 | — | — |
| GoPro HeroThis page | 8 | 12 | 40% | 3 | — | — |
| DJI Osmo Action | 5 | 4 | 56% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Totally, I had the 4th generation one”
“I have the same model and hate it. Damn thing overheats constantly.”
“I bought model 9 and since beginning it overheats, randomly stops recording or just shuts down.”
“given snow sports is a key use case, this is poor”
“In the -10c snow they battery wouldn't even last for 5 minutes.”
“Half my hero4 videos are mostly blurry shakes and quite jarring to watch, with a bad fov.”
“not on the macos. Hero9 (or 10 i dont remember) owner here.”
“All GoPros since HERO 8 (released 2019) works as a webcam without any hacks, just plug it in.”
“Good and robust hardware, a lot of thought into usability for professionals, many accessories”
“my gopro 11 black is somehow always dead when I grab it even after a few weeks”
“it just had frozen video, only playing sound”
“I can take video from my Hero5 straight in to any ordinary NLE and go from there”
“I reported this as a bug on the Hero7, was told it was being looked at”
“it's certainly worth getting a used GoPro vs any of these modern cheap alternatives”
“At least with the normal cameras the software can be entirely ignored”
“you could probably get by with a hero 4 black even today”
“Mine overheats and dies after 15-20 minutes.”
“I never bother controlling or setting it up or anything: just power on, press record”
“I had a Hero 3 back in the days and loved it!”
“it's easily the worst camera product I've ever used”
“Probably one of the greatest cameras ever made.”
“Housing failed on my first use and they refused to honor the warranty.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.