GoPro has just introduced its lightest GoPro ever. The new camera is named HERO10 Black Bones and it’s basically a naked minimalist version (only 54 grams) of the flagship. The camera is dedicated to FPV drones and it needs to be manually soldered to an FPV drone. It may be the best lightweight action camera of that kind. DJI’s pilots rejoice…Or should it be defined as “DJI FPV Killer”?
New specialized camera
We’ve previously reported about the new strategy of GoPro to release ‘specialized cameras’.“At the end of 2022, we plan to increase our hardware offering from two products types that we have today (HERO and Max), to four distinct camera products. And we will expand that further at the end of 2023.” said GoPro CEO Nick Woodman (Read our article which covers this: GoPro Announced the Development of Professional ‘Specialized’ Cameras). We had no idea about what was coming. This new camera is a bit of a surprise since it’s not a new camera perse, but a more naked/slim/minimalist version of the flagship HERO10.
We took everything out of a traditional GoPro except for what’s necessary for FPV. The result is a super-light 54g camera that meets our standards—a consumer-grade product with a well-ventilated design, and ready to fly with confidence.
GoPro
HERO10 Black Bones
The HERO10 Black Bones incorporates the same 5.3K60 video and Emmy award-winning HyperSmooth stabilization of the top HERO camera in an ultra-lightweight design that’s made specifically for FPV (First-Person View) drones. Weighing 54g, HERO10 Black Bones takes the core elements of the HERO10 Black imaging pipeline—lens, image sensor, and GP2 processor—and packs them into a slim, well-ventilated enclosure that’s ready to fly. It’s like HERO10 stripped down to the…Bones. Indeed, it looks like the bones of the HERO10.
Check out the commercial video GoPro made for the ‘Bones’:
HERO10 Black Bones highlights
- 5.3K60, 4K120 + 2.7K240 video resolutions
- Weighs 54g
- Includes Player + ReelSteady desktop software
- HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilization is built-in
- Well-ventilated, semi-durable enclosure: promotes continuous airflow cooling for long captures or flights
- Bring your own battery: compatible with existing drone batteries within spec (2S-6S, 5-27V)
- Control with onboard buttons, Quik app, The Remote2, or drone transmitter
- Using HERO10 Black Bones requires some soldering. Soldering equipment not included
- No screens, no speaker, no waterproofing (minimal design to reduce weight and dimensions)
- Easy to set up: easy to mount on drones with a single screw boss, plus comes with an optional in-box adapter for the GoPro mounting ecosystem; utilizes standard FPV industry connector for quick setup
- Replaceable Lens Cover: in the event of a crash, the lens cover is replaceable; also compatible with third-party HERO9 Black and HERO10 Black ND filters for reducing the camera shutter speed to cinematic levels
- Available in the U.S. only (why?)
Dedicated to FPV drones
Many FPV drone pilots use GoPro’s latest HERO cameras because they are the best action cameras around. The GoPro cameras have been utilized even on the DJI FPV drones in order to deliver higher image quality than the built-in DJI camera. For that, the HERO10 Black Bones plays a major role. “We took everything out of a traditional GoPro except for what’s necessary for FPV. The result is a super-light 54g camera that meets our standards—a consumer-grade product with a well-ventilated design, and ready to fly with confidence. There’s no need to take anything apart from yourself because we did it for you” GoPro explains. That is exactly the purpose of it. However, you will need to do some soldering. Nevertheless, there’re plenty of YouTube videos out there that can instruct you on how to do that. In fact, every FPV pilot should have some initial knowledge of basic soldering. “Since the dawn of FPV, pilots have been adapting GoPro’s versatile HERO cameras to capture incredibly immersive perspectives in flight – going as far as sawing them apart to engineer a better solution to address their needs,” said Pablo Lema, GoPro VP of Product. “With HERO10 Black Bones, the FPV community now has the lightest GoPro ever – an easy to set up, no-compromise, custom-designed camera for the FPV use-case. We’re excited to see how far the community can push the limits of FPV content creation with HERO10 Black Bones.”
Price and availability
This is not clear enough. The HERO10 Black Bones will start at $349 for existing subscribers. Without the subscription, the price is $550. It appears that the Bones is available to order only from the GoPro website, and only in the U.S., We assume that authorized dealers may join. We’ll update you if they will.
Final thoughts
Don’t look at the HERO10 Black Bones as another action camera since It’s far from that. GoPro has just granted FPV pilots and hobbyists a super solid solution to be utilized on drones. Many FPV pilots have been waiting for this. On paper, the latest HERO cameras deliver optimal footage for FPV drones, excluded heavy FPV drones that can lift a cinema camera on them. For those who build their own drones, or use DJI drones and want a better camera, the Bones offers an ideal solution. Hence, we expect the Bones will sell very well. And one more thing: Consumers can purchase an FPV drone ready to fly, or assemble it by themselves, in order to use the HERO 10 Black Bones instead of buying the DJI FPV drone. It will grant them a lot better professional options regarding imagery. Hence, this ‘Bones’ might be a DJI FPV killer. What do you think?
