Gopro Hero8 vs cold weather

[aanev]

I'm creating a new thread as Thom suggested

Last season I was very happy with my Hero8 working acceptably at -10C (14F). This year, however, it began behaving totally different and at -15C/-20C (5F/-4F) it would turn off within several seconds (missed the 30" footage).. Then I remembered that it worked OK even in December, just before I updated the firmware.

Managed to find firmware 1.2, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0 and the current 2.5 and started fridge testing.

From firmware 2.0 on Gopro introduced Hypersmooth 2.0 (boost) to almost all resolutions. Apparently, Hypersmooth needs a lot of juice but instead of disabling it in cold weather with a message as it was the case with Hero7, Gopro decided to simply turn off the camera. Probably, because of the backlash..

Long story short - I downgraded to firmware 1.6 and did some testing at -15C (5F) yesterday:
The first battery lasted 40 minutes mostly on standby. That was after staying unused for an hour on my helmet. No going inside + chairlift + high speed groomers.
With the second battery I started recording immediately without stopping it - lasted an hour and three minutes. It seems that the generated heat was enough to keep it recording. I also use a waterproof case to keep it warmer.

TLDR: Firmware 1.6 is far better in the cold.

firmware 1.2 - 27 Sep 2019
firmware 1.5 - 21 Nov 2019
firmware 1.6 - 21 Jan 2020
firmware 2.0 - 08 Aug 2020
firmware 2.5 - 10 Dec 2020

Additionally, previous models would die in the cold but when warmed would start again. This is not the case with Hero8. The battery has to be charged a bit to start the camera again. I guess it resets a flag.



Disclaimer: This is sample of one and should be taken with a grain of salt. Preset settings are lost when downgrading. If you kill your camera it is not my fault .

[galibier_numero_un]

Now, I have to get a Go Pro ;-)

... Thom

[FullStop]

Never played with different firmware but I've always turned my gopro off and put it in my pocket for chairlift rides, cat tracks, and before/after the gnar on a run. You'll get good at taking the thing off your helmet while moving.
Keep a spare battery in a warm pocket, and don't bother trying in -20.
Has worked well for me

[Self Jupiter]

+



On the back of the camera

[XXX-er]

toe warmrs have the sticky on them

[cravenmorhead]

A buddy found that turning the image stabilization stuff off seemed to reduce the initial power draw a lot, which didn't trigger whatever low voltage warning that was shutting the thing down. Might be worth trying.

[Backward_Banana]

My Hero 8 does this thing where when it gets cold the video will stop (maybe a few seconds into recording, maybe a minute) but the sound keeps going. When you play it back it's just a frozen frame with sound. Newest firmware, always kept in pocket, extra warm battery, kept against skin on the lifts, etc.

For what it's worth, the Hero 9 is heads and shoulders better in the cold. You can just leave it on your head and forget it. Now all I need is a gopro with a heated element on the lens to clear off all the rime that forms in these PNW storms.

[MiddleOfNight]

what morhead said.
My hero8 (2.5) hasn't shut down in the cold yet - I have the hypersmooth off, more a preference for how the video looks in truth, but if it has the benefit of keeping the thing on, that's great. I only tour, and start it on the decent and turn it off at the truck - which is usually what, 30 minutes in total.
Honestly, the camera tries so hard to correct pitch, color, smoothness, etc that I think it starts to look over digitized. I have an old hero4 session and sometimes prefer the footage from that.

[1000-oaks]

Yeah, personally I hate over-stabilized Max footage, it removes the POV perspective and looks CGI. The engineers need to dial it back. I skip those videos on YouTube or the Gram, not worth watching.

[Backward_Banana]

Been playing with the linear mode on the new 9 with horizon leveling. It's pretty bonkers, cool for chase shots of someone but it feels like you're watching a video game.

[aanev]

+1
No stabilization is nice, the first level (non boost) is OK and which one is better depends on context. Boost is simply too fake..

[MiddleOfNight]

So I have my 8 set on 'Activity' 2.7k/60fps, with hypersmooth off.

Maybe one day I will take both hero4 session and hero8 and do a side by side. look and feel goofier than I already do with that thing.

Might just be my imagination, but the footage from the hero4 looks better on youtube I think. It's still controllable by the app, and I haven't heard of any issues with cold (aside from the fact that batts don't like the cold)

Hoping for a long tour saturday, I'll see if I can do a side by side.

[aguo5520]

My Hero 8 does this thing where when it gets cold the video will stop (maybe a few seconds into recording, maybe a minute) but the sound keeps going. When you play it back it's just a frozen frame with sound. Newest firmware, always kept in pocket, extra warm battery, kept against skin on the lifts, etc.

For what it's worth, the Hero 9 is heads and shoulders better in the cold. You can just leave it on your head and forget it. Now all I need is a gopro with a heated element on the lens to clear off all the rime that forms in these PNW storms.

This exact thing happened to me. Talked to gopro support and figured out that I was using a recommended SD card. I switched to one of the better SD cards recommended by GoPro and it now works fine.

[aanev]

I did some more experimenting in the freezer and here are my results:

0:53 - 1080/60/S HEVC (no stabilization) + no case - HERO8 battery2
1:00 - 1080/60/S HEVC (no stabilization) + no case - HERO8 battery1
1:12 - 1080/60/S HEVC (no stabilization) + waterproof case - HERO8 battery1
1:13 - 1080/60/S H.264 (no stabilization) + waterproof case - HERO8 battery1
1:14 - 1080/60/S HEVC (no stabilization) + no case - HERO7 battery1(brand new)


Additionally, if I put a bare HERO7 or HERO8 battery in the freezer for 30-40 minutes and then try to start the camera it dies within several seconds. However, once HERO7 battery is warmed up, the camera fires and shows full battery charge (99%), while HERO8 battery needs to be charged a bit in order to start and then shows between 1/2 and 2/3 charge.

[MiddleOfNight]

Interesting study - thanks.
Which firmware is in your hero8?

I took out the hero8 again on Saturday, but couldn't bring myself to take the 4session along as well.

Multi-hour tour in, and I keep the camera in my pants pocket until we're dropping. But I turned it on and left it on my helmet, stopped and started recording a few times over a span of maybe 45 minutes for about 25 minutes of footage. No issues whatsoever, thing worked great.

It was 20deg outside, camera set at 2.7/60/superview hypersmooth off.
Firmware 2.5

fwiw superview might be a little fish-eye-y so next time I may try wide or linear to compare.

[aanev]

The tests were performed using firmware 1.6 which works best for my needs.

My experience with firmware 2.5 was less than ideal in cold weather (5F/-4F) and that prompted all these tests. My guess is that 2.0 and 2.5 are more sensitive to voltage drops.

[MiddleOfNight]

hm. Have you explored the SD card thing aguo mentioned?

I also wonder, if you start with a warm camera and turn it on, then let it sit in the cold while on, does this change things? It is just a start-up issue?

This might seem to be what I'm doing, and I guess since whatever I'm doing ain't broke, I won't work to fix it.

[aanev]

No issues with SD card (SanDisk Extreme PRO) in my case.

IMHO it is mainly a start-up issue but not always - depends also on temperature, wind-chill, etc..

Once the camera is started, it would typically generate enough heat to keep it going. Sometimes just leaving it on will lead to longer overall performance (and larger files ) than switching it on and off.
Additionally, I would not expect issues in the range 25-30F.

[MiddleOfNight]

I guess I'm lucky. I take a long walk then just do one lap down, so turn the thing on when warm at the top .. then I use the app from my phone to start/stop recording - but don't turn it off.

edit* I just watched an older session4 video and recent hero8 video .. 8 is much better.

[mattig]

Just tried using mine for the first time last weekend. Got about 1 minute at 20-30 degrees, 2.7k, wide, but I did have stabilization on (no boost). Had it in my pocket until go time. Will try a few of the approaches suggested here this weekend. Frustrating to no end given the intended market.

[MiddleOfNight]

Frustrating to no end given the intended market.

Yeah that's a fair point.

Got mine to die in the cold yesterday. It was really cold out. My legs were really cold so the pants pocket prob wasn't keeping the thing very warm to begin with.
I started it with the app while it was still warm-ish and just let it go. So it was up there running while we dug a pit and all that. Died after about 45 minutes. Given how cold it was, that experience doesn't offend me.
Just for experimenting I warmed it back up and tried it, but the batt still showed dead. I'll prob just get a spare battery and keep it someplace warmer.

[mattig]

Getting about 20 minutes of record time now after heating it up a good amount before heading out and letting it run most of the time (in pocket when not on). Temps were 26-27f . Absence of precip seems to help.