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If you’ve been eyeing the GoPro HERO 11 Black but are looking for something more compact and cheap, the HERO 11 Black Mini is without a doubt one of the greatest GoPro cameras and the best action cameras. The HERO 11 Black Mini, a scaled-down version of its larger sibling, retails for US$299.99/£299.99/AU$499.95 with a GoPro Subscription and is aimed at cyclists, skateboarders, skiers, and surfers seeking the smallest action camera possible for attaching to a helmet, to equipment (including drones), or wearing as a body cam. Compared to the HERO 11 Black, that’s a savings of around 25%.
The HERO 11 Black Mini offers nearly all of the same features as the HERO 11 Black, making it a throwback to both the GoPro Session (released in 2015) and the GoPro HERO 10 Black Bones (released in 2022, but only in the United States). So close, yet so far away. Neither the front nor the back have any LCD screens. There is no way to change the battery. The HERO 11 Black Mini could be the right choice if you don’t plan on using any of those functions.
GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini Specifications
It’s safe to argue that the HERO11 Black is among the finest cameras that GoPro has ever produced. There have been a few particularly notable cars during the series’ history.
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Resolution | Up to 4K at 60fps |
| Stabilization | HyperSmooth 4.0 |
| Display | Front and rear touch screens |
| Water Resistance | Up to 10 meters without a case |
| Battery Life | Up to 2 hours of continuous use |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS |
GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini: Design
The GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini was created with form over function in mind, as its design prioritizes appearance over portability. It’s not much lighter than the flagship GoPro, which weighs 5.5 oz/156 g, at 4.7 oz/133 g. But it’s square and hardly more than half as wide, so it’s plainly designed to be mounted on bicycle handlebars or a motorcycle helmet.
The standard GoPro attachments are located on the undercarriage, making good use of the extra room created by the absence of a rear-mounted LCD. Here, you’ll find a second piece of mounting hardware, giving you more options for concealing your GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini. Its entire set of folding fingers is magnetic, so they’ll always lay flat when not in use. You can buy this camera from its official website
Setup and Use
As is customary with GoPros, there are few physical controls on the device’s exterior. The GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini’s sole screen is a tiny, nearly unreadable 0.55′′/13mm status monitor, which may be navigated using the power switch and the record button. At the very least, it provides an alternative to using the GoPro Quik app as a remote for the camera.
However, this is the most effective application of the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini. If you wish to use it to record a bike ride, for instance, you can see a preview of the camera’s field of vision in the app and then move it to the optimal position on a handlebar mount. In my testing, I found that it was simple and dependable to establish a connection to the device from an iPhone, first via Bluetooth for initial setup and then over the device’s built-in Wi-Fi network for real-time previews.
GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini: Performance
The GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini performed admirably during my tests, generating high-quality footage in all scenarios. After roughly 30 minutes of use, it got quite warm, but the performance seemed unaffected. It was a pain to have to continually opening the Quik app to make changes to the video settings, but in practice, you’ll likely just pick a resolution or mode and start recording without touching the app again.
You wait till later to watch the footage. The GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini was made specifically for this, and it excels in this role. The loss of a front and rear screen on the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini may make composition more challenging, but we found that we rarely needed to use any of them.
GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini: Battery Life
However, it’s important to note that with each new model, GoPro usually attempts to enhance battery life. The Hero 9 Black, for instance, has a larger battery than its predecessors, allowing for significantly more time spent recording. In addition, the battery life of most GoPro cameras may be modified through the settings menu. Battery life may decrease more rapidly if you use power-hungry settings like recording at higher resolutions or frame rates or enable features like stabilization and wireless connectivity.
Price and availability
The GoPro HERO11 Black Mini was released in the United Kingdom in November 2022. GoPro cameras may be purchased for $299.99 in the United States and Australia.Prices start at $399.99 for non-members of GoPro and $449.95 for members. For the most recent pricing information, please refer to the widgets placed at the top and bottom of this review.
Final Words
When it comes to action cameras, the GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini is where it’s at. Its sole purpose is to provide a secure attachment to a fixed point, such as a bike’s handlebars, a skier’s body strap, or a surfboard’s nose. This compact action camera is designed for extreme sports, which is likely the major target market for action cameras, as opposed to the more expensive GoPro Hero 11 Black, which offers various displays and is therefore more attractive to vloggers, Tik-Tokers, and filmmakers.
GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini review: The good and The bad
If you need a compact action camera, the Mini is an excellent choice.
The Good
- Compact size
- Excellent video quality
The Bad
- No LCD displays
Questions and Answers
Both the normal and tiny versions of the GoPro HERO 11 are waterproof to a depth of 33 feet (10 meters) right out of the box, making them ideal for snorkeling and other watersports. If you won’t be diving deeper than 33 feet (10 meters), you don’t need a second housing.
The GP2 CPU and full RAW support make the GoPro HERO 11 an excellent camera for still photography, and the new 27-megapixel, 1/1.9-inch sensor only improves things further.