GoPro Hero 11 Black after a night outside capturing star trails

The world's best -- and most recognizable -- action camera gets an upgrade with the release of the GoPro Hero 11 Black. 

Bigger sensor, better colors, better stabilization, and the widest, most expansive field of view ever found natively in a Hero camera -- all built into a durable, lightweight package.

GoPro Hero 11 Black

GoPro has released three new cameras in the Hero 11 Black line today:

• Hero 11 Black: The base model action camera.
• Hero 11 Black Creator Edition: Adds a battery grip with built-in buttons for one-handed camera control capable of over four hours of 4K recording per charge. Also includes an optional directional microphone, external mic input, HDMI port for connecting to external displays, a high-output LED light and two cold shoe mounts for mounting additional accessories.
• Hero 11 Black Mini: A smaller, lighter, simpler version of Hero 11 Black.

Here I'm going to focus on the Hero 11 Black, because that was the camera sent to me for testing.

GoPro Hero 11 Black tech specs

• Sensor: 1/1.9-inch
• Max video resolution: 5.3K60 / 4K120
• Aspect ratio: (16:9) (4:3) (8:7)
• Digital lenses: HYPERVIEW, SUPERVIEW, WIDE,LINEAR, LINEAR+HORIZON LOCK
• Video stabilization: HYPERSMOOTH 5.0
• Video file format: H.265 (HEVC)
• Max video bitrate: Up to 120Mbps
• Photo resolution: 27-megapixels
• Weight: 153g
• Battery: 1720mAh Enduro Li-ion battery
• Max battery video runtime:137 minutes shooting 1080p at 30fps
• Waterproof: To 33ft/10m

GoPro HERO11 Black feature sheet

Bigger, better sensor

The bigger 1/1.9-inch sensor is a huge upgrade, not only capturing more light but also more colors (over a billion), with 10-bit color capturing 64 times the amount of colors that the previous 8-bit color GoPros could manage.

This means being able to capture more vivid and easier-to-process photos and videos no matter what the conditions.

The bigger sensor means the camera can capture more light, which, for people like myself who shoot in low-light or nighttime conditions (and for those who shoot underwater), means much better shots straight out of the camera.

Combine this with the new Star Trails feature built into the Hero 11 Black, and it opens up some amazing new possibilities.

It also does an amazing job when there's a bright moon in the sky. Capturing stars when pointed at a full moon is hard, but the Hero 11 Black managed it no problem. 

It even captured the formation of wispy clouds. 

This is amazing performance for such a small camera, and something that's actually quite tricky to do with a modern mirrorless camera costing several times what the Hero 11 Black costs.

And with the Hero 11 Black it was literally a case of set up the shot, choose the Star Trails setting, and pressing the button to start shooting.

Simple.

The sensor inside the Hero 11 Black can capture video in an almost square 8:7 aspect ratio, which gives it the the largest vertical field of view of any GoPro so far. This allows the camera to simultaneously capture extra-tall 9:16 vertical video for Instagram or TikTok and high-resolution 16:9 video for YouTube.

All from a single capture.

Durability

As for durability, the Hero 11 Black is just as rugged and waterproof as previous editions, and doesn't mind being left out overnight in the rain and dew, and dropped onto the floor and shook about when attached to vehicles.

And just in case you break the protective cover over the lens, this is removable just like the lens on the Hero 10 Black.

Front lens cover is removable... just in case of breakage

Better battery

Another feature of the Hero 11 Black that I like is the inclusion of the Enduro Li-ion batteries in the box. 

These 1720mAh lithium-ion batteries not only boost the camera's runtime by up to 40% and offer up to 13% faster charging, but also improves cold-weather performance in temperatures down to 14