[Mini Review]I took a picture of Asakusa Hanayashiki Coaster with GoPro HERO12. 4K new Max lens is amazing – AV Watch

HERO12 Black with Max Lens Modular 2.0

GoPro’s new model “HERO12 Black” will be released from September 13th. The highlight of this event is the “Max Lens Modular 2.0,” which can now shoot at 4K resolution. I’ve experienced it ahead of time, so I’ll give you my first impressions.

The HERO12 has received many updates for professional use, such as HDR shooting, Log shooting, and timecode synchronization, but it also has a wide range of functions for general users who want to easily enjoy beautiful Vlogs. Among them, the most noteworthy feature is Max Lens Modular 2.0.

Max Lens Modular 2.0 allows shooting up to 4K60p in 16:9, 9:16, and 4:3 aspect ratios. The viewing angle has been increased from 155 degrees on previous Max Lens Mods to 177 degrees, which is wider than any action camera, including single-mode 360-degree cameras.

I experienced the power of Max Lens Modular 2.0 in Asakusa. At “Asakusa Hanayashiki”, which was the filming location for this time, there are some attractions where photography is normally prohibited, but this time we were able to take pictures with special permission.

All Asakusa Hanayashiki scenes were shot using Max Lens Modular, mainly using “Max SuperView”, but only the last scene, “Roller Coaster”, was shot using “Max HyperView”, which has the widest viewing angle.

Horizontal locks are also used, and the exterior shots taken from the first vertically rotating attraction, Little Star, prove their effectiveness. As the Disc-O rotates horizontally and swings around a lot, I used an accessory called Gumby to fix it on the back of my hand, so my hand was shaking quite a bit, but I was able to capture footage that didn’t make you feel it.

How it is fixed on the back of the hand using Gumby

By the way, the roller coaster video uses Chesty, which is worn on the chest. Since the photo was taken with Max HyperView, I was able to clearly capture the scenery even from her chest.

How to wear Chesty

Next, this video was taken from a walk around Asakusa to the rickshaw experience.

The moving scene in the first half was shot with “Max TimeWarp” in GoPro’s time-lapse mode, the state in which the person in the distance is visible was shot with “Max SuperView”, and the next scene shows people in the foreground. The scene where he is is shot in “wide-angle” mode.

Next is the scene where you enter a building, but this one was taken with a regular lens at an aspect ratio of 8:7 without the Max Lens Modular 2.0, and then Quik automatically cropped it to 16:9. Even without manual adjustment, the position of the subject being photographed is captured and cropped in a good way, so there is no discomfort.

The final rickshaw scene was shot again using Max SuperView using Max Lens Modular 2.0. When shooting in a vlog style, it is said that it is better to take pictures from various angles and directions, and also include selfies, instead of holding the camera at one point, but I am not good at taking selfies, so I hold the camera from behind. I turned it to , and took the picture so that what was behind me was also visible. If you do it well, you can get the feeling of being a passenger, but in this case, only the back of the head was visible.

Mr. Oka from Ebisuya Asakusa, who pulled the rickshaw this time.

The video shot this time was edited using the smartphone app “Quik.”

Quik has an automatic editing function, so if you edit video data from the GoPro itself to your smartphone and select the video you want to use, it will automatically create a video with background music. You can check the finished video and adjust the scenes you want to use, select a style for changing scenes, change the background music, and more.

You can adjust the scene to be adopted by pressing the edit mark (shaped like a pencil) on the timeline.

You can also change the viewing angle and video “style” (changes in processing such as scene switching).

You can also set BGM and approximate video length.

This editing function is available even without a subscription, but since you need to import the video to your smartphone once, it will consume storage on your smartphone. Especially when shooting in 4K or 5.3K, the capacity becomes quite large.

As a technique to save storage space and the hassle of post-editing adjustments in Quik, he recommends importing a video, immediately cutting out only the scenes you want to share, and deleting everything else from your smartphone.

Even when shooting, if you think you’ve captured a good scene, you can add a highlight tag by pressing the power/mode button. Tagged videos will be marked in the app list, and a mark will be placed in the seek bar, making it easier to find the scene later.

When you add a highlight tag, a yellow mark appears on the list or seek bar.

Even if you select the scenes you want to use in advance, it often ends up being quite long if you connect them all together. However, since Quik automatically stitches together the most interesting scenes, there is almost no need for post-editing adjustments, making it easy to share on social media.

GoPro certified influencers Kei (left) and Aya (right) gave a lecture on easy techniques for shooting and editing this time.

With Quik, you can also edit videos and photos on your smartphone, so you can easily edit videos that combine videos shot not only with GoPro but also with smartphones and other cameras. It’s quite easy to create videos that look great, so if you have any videos that you’ve left unrecorded, try it once and you’ll be surprised at how easy it is.

This time, I took pictures of Asakusa using a combination of HERO12 and Max Lens Modular 2.0, and with the viewing angle of Max HyperView, I had the impression that it would be interesting to take pictures while walking in nature. I think it’s especially useful for selfies because it allows you to project a vast landscape behind you.

Also, although it is possible to shoot with the HERO11, even if you shoot at an 8:7 angle of view with a normal lens, you can adjust the top and bottom when cropping at 16:9 later, and you can also crop the vertical position for short videos without any hassle. I found it fascinating. By using Quik, you can easily capture your private memories, making it an attractive camera that can be used for both serious and casual photography.