Today we are going to talk about GoPro Hero 10 Bones. It is a GoPro made specifically for FPV drones. You see, for some time now, GoPro has been the camera of choice for FPV pilots due to its size, solid image quality, great built-in stabilization and even better post stabilization in Reel Steady which is also getting an upgrade. But for some pilots, the one key element missing from the Hero10 was what was not missing, specifically, about 100 grams of weight.
Here's the thing. FPV pilots have been modifying their GoPros. Now, GoPro obviously isn't the heaviest camera to begin with, but when attached to an FPV drones, especially like Cinewhoop, which already have very limiting batteries, every gram is super valuable. And it's also important that the pilots keep their drones under 250 grams.
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Internally it is the exact same GoPro as the GoPro Hero10. You get the exact same image sensor, the latest GP2 chip and it can shoot 5.3K 60 video and 4K 120 video. You still have multiple options to control your camera through the Quik app or the GoPro mode, or the QR codes. Even a couple of physical buttons. This GoPro, probably like your drone, is not waterproof. And it also has GoPro's latest in-body stabilization in Hypersmooth 4, which not everyone uses for FPV. Most people tend to just go with ReelSteady which has now been renamed to GoPro Player + ReelSteady. It's also just faster with a few more editing options including more precise horizon lock.
There's a little bit more shake and a bit more cropping. But it still works very well. Of course, with a device like this it's more about what you don't have. Obviously there is no display or speaker. There's these two physical buttons we mentioned, an LED indicator and a microphone. But there's no battery. It draws power directly from the drone it is connected to, and yeah, you do need to solder it on to it yourself. There's no door, no GPS or metal enclosure.
There is no fan in here. GoPro instead says that the camera has a well-vented enclosure that promotes airflow cooling. So it is not exactly the same tear down. Not that we would expect it to be.
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So I even tested this new GoPro with an actual drone. So I thought it felt pretty good. Yeah. When I took off it was noticeably a little bit heavier. Of course we pre-measured it and determined it was about 21 grams heavier. Taking off you can feel it, but it's not much. I didn't really notice any changes in flight time, but if I were to pay attention to it hard enough and actually clock times, it would probably be a slight flight reduction due to the 21 grams. With the off-center mount I anticipated feeling something, but I actually didn't. I think there's still definitely a market for decasing GoPro Hero10s because they are 21 grams lighter, doing it ourselves. That's a very niche market I would say.
If you're gonna buy one, here's what you're looking at. If you're an existing or a new GoPro PLUS subscriber you can get the device and ReelSteady from 400 bucks. And if you just want the camera without the subscription, then you're looking at 500 bucks. If that sounds similar to the Hero10 pricing that's because it is, which is sort of interesting. Sure, it is a niche product, but you're getting less stuff. Maybe not as much less as you think. GoPro less Bones is 54 grams, which is insanely light for a camera that can do all this.
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All in all it is an interesting first entry into GoPro's new strategy of creating what they call derivative or specialized cameras. Now, I'm not sure how much mileage they will get by simply repackaging existing cameras to satisfy specific markets. Sure, we see that with smartphones all the time but GoPro isn't even selling this directly to retailers. You buy it directly from their website. It's actually not even featured on the homepage. But making action cameras is what GoPro does best. And after trying to expand into making other products like drones, it just makes more sense for them to create a camera that's better for drones, instead of doing things the other way around.
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