GoPro Hero 10 Black: Company comments on overheating and automatic shutdown problems plaguing its latest action camera
Devices overheating during prolonged photography and videography sessions is nothing new, as people experienced with the Canon EOS R5. Now, the same is happening with Hero 10 Black cameras, as GadgetsBoy and The Tech Chap recently discovered. In short, their Hero 10 Black cameras have overheated after about 20 minutes of recording videos in 5.3K at 60 FPS, one of the camera's stand out features. In a statement, GoPro explains that:
Processing at high-performance modes requires a lot of power, so GoPro has put safeguards in place to protect consumers and the cameras from overheating when the camera reaches a certain temperature. The HERO10 is engineered to support what we know a majority of HERO owners use the camera for: to shoot shorter clips in environments with natural airflow.
GoPro's research shows that 75% of videos shot on GoPros are less than a minute and ten seconds. HERO10 Black can record 5.3k at 60 fps for 20 minutes with zero airflow — approximately 16x the average length of a GoPro video. HERO10 Black can record 4k at 60fps for 25 minutes with zero airflow — more than 21x the length of an average GoPro video.
So for the filming scenario when long clips at highest resolutions in a static environment are required, we recommend taking the necessary steps to provide some airflow. This will improve the camera's thermal performance and allow for longer video capture.
It is worth stressing that GoPro does not explain what it means by 'natural airflow'. While that may seem like a common-sense term, GoPro cameras tend to be used on the move and under what would be challenging for other cameras. A 'static environment' is a different definition, in our opinion.
As The Tech Chap shows, the Hero 10 Black will overheat when recording in a ventilated room. Specifically, he experienced overheating issues at 5K/30 FPS, 4K/60 FPS and 2.7K/60 FPS too, which should not be challenging for a camera as powerful as the Hero 10 Black. Unsurprisingly, the camera shuts down when it overheats, which is less than ideal. The Tech Chap showed his Hero 10 Black overheating just sat on his desk, which is not expected behaviour. For reference, the Hero 9 Black did not overheat in the same test.
Ultimately, GoPro has admitted that the Hero 10 Black runs hotter than its predecessor, albeit in a roundabout way. Seemingly then, the company did not improve heat dissipation within the camera's tiny chassis for its more powerful processor. In other words, the Hero 10 Black runs hot, sometimes too hot, and there is little that GoPro can do about it.
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