It's been six years since GoPro refreshed its Max 360-degree action cam, and the new model brings plenty of new features and thoughtfully updated hardware.
The Max2 promises 21% more resolution than than competing "8K" models. What that means is you have more of a usable picture in 360-degree mode (where there's basically two circular fields of view and an unusable black area in between) than rival cameras. As a result, you should get sharper detail in your final edited output.
In case you haven't seen this category of camera before: a 360-degree action cam has two spherical lenses and sensors, one each on the front and back. Together, they capture everything around the camera – so while you're editing your footage, you can frame your shot using any perspective you like. So your bicycling video can start with you in the saddle in the initial frames, switch to the road ahead of you, and intermittently pan around to the scenery around while you ride.
8K video is cool, but what's especially neat about the Max2 for folks who'll use this a lot is that it comes with replaceable optical glass lenses that you can twist off and switch out on your own in case they're damaged. If you shoot often, you're likely going to scuff up your lenses, so it's nice to be able to sort this out yourself without having to ship it back to a service center.
The Max 2 can capture 10-bit color in 8K for true-to-life images and high dynamic range, and it supports GP-Log Encoding so you can color grade your footage the way you like. There's also an optional GoPro Labs firmware available if you want to unlock 300-Mbps bitrate capture and other advanced features.
As you'd expect, the Max2 has proper action cam chops, including features for flexibly editing your footage after the fact on desktop and mobile. With this model, you can draw over an object in your frame to track it automatically while editing. The mobile app normally has you swipe around on screen to reframe your shot, but you can also physically move your phone around to achieve this.
Thanks to the 360-degree lenses, the Max2 can dish out video output in whatever aspect ratio you need without reshooting. You can also do 3x slow-motion spherical video in 4K, or push the resolution to 5.6K for 2x slo-mo. If you're doing stills, it'll snap 29-megapixel 360-degree photos with a number of creative shooting options that you can mess with on the fixed touchscreen monitor.
Of course, you can also shoot in 4K at 60 fps using just one lens, and try out four other lenses, including a 180-degree one for a really wide image, and a more traditional Linear view.
GoPro says this camera has its most advanced stabilization system on board for smooth captures. It's also waterproof up to 16 ft (5 m), and a model-specific dive case is in the works. There's even built-in GPS for overlays with your speed and direction of travel, which can come in handy when you're shooting sports like bicycling.
The Max2 also has Bluetooth, so you can use your wireless headphones' mic for capturing commentary while you're inside a vehicle with the camera mounted on the exterior. It does audio pretty well on its own too: a 6-mic array captures stereo sound while reducing wind noise. You can also have the audio width match your camera's field of view when you're using a single lens.
The included 1,960-mAh battery is good for 66 minutes of 8K/30fps shooting, or 76 minutes of 4K/100 fps. It's built to perform well at good in low temperatures, so it's good for winter sports like skiing and snowboarding.
Reviewer DC Rainmaker notes that its low light performance isn't great, and GoPro said it made that tradeoff in favor of a smaller design. Now, you've got a couple of options in this category from Insta360 and DJI, and while they're both taller, they're also roughly the same weight of around 6.9 oz (195 g). So it's hard to say if this was really the best choice; I imagine there'll be a few instances where mounting this more compact camera is easier than the alternatives, but that's about it.
The Max2 is competitively priced at US$499.99, and is currently available to pre-order on GoPro's site, as well as on Amazon US. That brings it in below the $530 DJI Osmo 360 and the $550 Insta360 X5. It'll begin shipping on September 30, so you won't have to wait long to get your hands on one.
Source: GoPro
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