GoPro Max 360 Review

GoPro has just released some new action cameras, the new GoPro Hero 8 Black (Check out the review here) and the GoPro Max 360, the new 360-degree camera. It’s a dual-lens camera that GoPro claims to be much better than its previous 360-degree camera GoPro Fusion

Record video with a single lens, hyper-stabilized, and with HERO style video footage, or capture amazing 360° video content. You can also Vlog with the MAX, with the selfie screen and audio as if you were using a cannon microphone.

It also comes with a smartphone app connection to be able to connect to the GoPro app, you can make your amazing 360 ° videos transform into traditional videos and photos. Play, edit, and share, all from your phone.

In terms of resolutions and framerates, it can go up to 5.6k 30 fps and up to 16.6MP 360 degree pictures in great quality. Very similar to the GoPro Fusion specs. In terms of specifications, GoPro Max doesn’t have anything special, but it has a lot of new features to look forward to.

In this blog post, we review this new 360-degree action camera from GoPro and it’s new features and some comparisons from the 2017 GoPro Fusion. Has it improved? Is the video quality better, more stabilization, better audio?

Specs

The GoPro Max uses the GoPro GP1 chipset and can record up to 5.6K in resolution and up to 30fps in 360-degrees and up to 16.6MP pictures, and up to 5,5MP 270 ° panoramic photos. The Max records at 78 MB/s in MP4 (H.264/AVC), (H.265/HEVC)

It comes with six wind noise reduction built-in microphones to capture and astonishing 360° surround audio, directional audio to record video blogs, and the best stereo sound a GoPro has ever had.

The GoPro Max also comes with a GPS, touch screen, USB-C, and is also waterproof up to 5 m. And of course, it comes with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth to connect to the GoPro smartphone app to capture, edit and share your videos. The GoPro application creates impressive editions automatically, which are also easy to share with everyone.

Like most action cameras it uses a Micro SD card to save your pictures and videos. To learn more about SD cards for action cameras click here.

Design

The GoPro Max is a well-built action camera, it’s color is black, and has 2 lenses to get incredible 360-degree footage. On the backside, below the lenses, we can find the LCD touch screen to control the camera. And on the side, we can find the battery and the SD card compartment.

Like in the case of HERO 8, we have the mounting system integrated into the design, which means that we do not need additional housings to use them. But unlike the GoPro Hero 8 (Click Here to Check out Review), the MAX doesn’t come with any external mods.

The GoPro Max is also a waterproof camera, with the included protective lenses, you can go ahead and use it in the water. In addition, it is submersible up to 5 m which is pretty impressive.

A great feature on the GoPro Max is the big LCD screen which lets you control the camera from there without the need for your smartphone, and also be able to view your cameras and videos on the screen. On most 360-degree action cameras you have a tiny screen only for changing settings or no screen at all.

It measures 1.6 x 2.6 x 2.9 inches (4 x 6.6 x 7.3cm) and weighs 5.8 ounces (165g). The GoPro Max also has a replaceable lens which is an amazing new feature from GoPro and very useful for 360-degree cameras.

Battery

The GoPro Max has a smaller battery than the GoPro Fusion. It has a rechargeable 1600MAH Lithium-ion battery, which comes in the package of the GoPro Max

The battery is situated on the side, where there is a cover that gives access to the battery. You can also always buy separate batteries for it and change them whenever the first one runs out.

Pros and Cons

Photography

It’s able to take pictures in 360-degree as well as normal pictures, it can take pictures up to 16.6MP in 360-degree or HERO style pictures at 5.5MP.

PowerPano pictures, the Max can take 270 degree-panorama shots in just 1 click and get amazing and undistorted pictures. You can use PowerPano for both selfies and action.

The Max also comes with a digital lens, which means it has the ability to change the FPV through the settings, it comes with a narrow, distortion-free linear, wide classic action camera look and Max SuperView, GoPro’s widest view yet.

Video

It has pretty good video quality recording up to 5,6K and 30fps, and can also record at 1440/30p and 1080/60p. It comes with 3 shooting modes; 360 video, Hero mode, or the Vlogging mode.

The Max also comes with a new feature GoPro has called, Horizon leveling; in Hero mode, game-changing horizon leveling gives you that silky-smooth cinematic look Whether you’re getting sideways, flipping through the air, or chasing your kids.

The Max Vlogging mode is very useful, record yourself and with the 6 built-in microphone, you will get awesome vlogs and be able to tell your story in 360 degrees.

It is able to record in slow-motion with 60fps but a lot less than the HERO cameras from GoPro. And comes with very impressive 360° degree audio, the Max comes with six built-in shotgun microphones, which combined capture 360° surround audio, directional audio to record video blogs, wind noise reduction, and the best stereo sound a GoPro has ever had.

It is also able to record short clips just like Instagram stories, it’s able to record 15 or 30-second clips that you can instantly post on social media.

Stabilization

The stabilization is the GoPro Max’s killer feature, it comes with the “Max HyperSmooth” which is Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS), introduced in the last year’s HERO7 Black. With improvements in the GP1 chip and 2GB memory, the GoPro Max and the HERO 8 (Click Here to Check out Review), deliver gimbal-like stabilization for creating even more smooth video captures, as well

The Max also comes with real-time stitching stabilization, which means that the video is already stitched for you and you don’t have to process it in postproduction, and the video will already be stable.

Features

Max timewarp, like in the GoPro Hero 8 or 7 but in 360-degree, the timewarp is similar to a timelapse, timewarp allows you to capture super stabilized time-lapse videos while you move and great an amazing cool effect. And with the Max, you are able to get 360-degree video and also be able to switch speeds during the timewarp.

Livestream with stabilization, GoPro Max comes with the ability to Livestream on social media such as FaceBook, Instagram, and YouTube, or other social media. The Livestream comes with the Max stabilization to get great smooth results.

Self-timer is another great feature that we have been waiting for since it’s a very useful feature to have to get pictures of yourself, something which the Fusion didn’t have.

Voice commands, do you have your hands busy? With the voice command, you can just tell your GoPro what to do with the 13 voice commands, such as “GoPro, record video” or “GoPro, take a picture.”

Keyframing is another useful new feature of the Max, with the GoPro app you will be able to keyframe camera movements on your 360-degree video

Should you buy it?

If you’re looking for a 360-degree action camera this is a great option. It has pretty good video and picture quality. It’s a great convenient camera for anyone to use, it’s easy to use, can be used as a regular action camera, has amazing real-time stitching stabilization, and comes with many great features.

It’s a great camera for vlogging as well, great 360-degree videos and with the 6 built-in 360° audio you will get 360 degree-audio and will change depending on which direction you are facing on the video, this makes it very realistic.

GoPro launched this 360-degree action camera by surprise and is one of the most exciting sports action cameras of 2019, and definitely worth checking it out on yourself, and if you’ve never had a 360-degree camera this is perfect for you.

GoPro Hero Max (Amazon): https://amzn.to/3oC190W