The GoPro Hero11 Black Mini It is the latest release from the Californian company, a camera that loses both screens to drastically reduce its size. We have tested it for several weeks intensively, and we can say that it is a format that has convinced us almost enough to leave the normal GoPro Hero11 Black in a drawer.
Let’s remember that one of GoPro’s great milestones has been the GoPro Hero5 Session, which, over time, has gained value and is still used in many sports activities. It was a misunderstood camera at the time, it took GoPro customers a while to understand the benefits of minimizing the camera’s size by losing the touch screen, and the price didn’t help either.
GoPro has once again tried to repeat the game with the GoPro Hero11 Black Mini, which costs 349 euros, and it has been very well received news in the world of sports. This new model offers the same image characteristics as the GoPro Hero Black 11, the same resolution, the same objective, but in a much smaller size, although it is not so noticeable in the weight, whose difference is 20 grams, 133 grams compared to 153 The price, obviously, is also lower. In this case, the difference between the devices is 100 euros.
The new model is especially interesting for those who do not need to look at the screen to record. The device has a very simple operation. It only has two buttons, power and fire, and the preconfigured functions can be easily adjusted from the mobile. The tiny upper screen only serves to witness what we are doing, change the camera modes and some quick adjustments.
The GoPro Hero11 Black Mini offers good image quality. It’s hard to find any difference in the videos with his older sister. However, you do not have the option to take pictures, although they can always be extracted from the video.
The maximum resolution is 5.3k and 60FPS, in SuperView, wide angle, linear photo, and level with the horizon mode. Lowering the frames by half we can also activate Hyperview, the ultra wide angle. If we need the maximum frames per second, 240, the resolution would have to go down to 2.7k. Both in 16:9 and 4:3.
In case you want to use the camera in a fixed location for sports recordings, such as on a bicycle or on a surfboard, I would change the GoPro 11 Black for the MiniWithout hesitation, because once we know the recording angle of the camera, the screen is superfluous. Its smaller size makes it much more practical and does not interfere during sports activity, and by combining it with Hyperview, we can get spectacular first-person shots.
Some disadvantages
Despite everything, the GoPro Hero11 Black Mini does have some drawbacks, such as the amount of heat it generates when used for a long time. Despite the fact that they have added a heatsink in the back, if it is not ventilated it can get hot.
The other drawback is the impossibility of changing the battery, that is, for a long day we could not use a second battery as is the case with the GoPro Hero11 Black. Although, in general, the autonomy has been very good in our tests, enough for long outings, thanks to the fact that there is no screen that consumes energy.
GoPro products always excel in terms of strength and durability. We have subjected the GoPro Hero11 Black Mini to extreme temperature situations, spending hours in the desert in the sun, and it has responded without problems, we have also submerged it, always above 10 meters.
Worth?
It’s worth mentioning that GoPro’s mobile app Quick has improved in recent years, especially when it comes to cloud storage. However, there are some features of the app that still need fixing. New to the Hero11, auto-uploading to the cloud and auto-generating AI-powered videos don’t always work properly and can be frustrating. Although the idea is great, in practice, sometimes files get stuck or the upload doesn’t start correctly. The same thing happens with the editing and rendering of videos, we have tried it on several mobiles, and it has not worked on any.
In summary, the GoPro Hero11 Black Mini is an option to consider for those athletes who are looking for a compact and high-quality action camera. If you don’t need a big screen and you value the reduced size and weight, this camera will meet all your expectations.
