Rising from the ashes of GoPro’s discontinued Karma drone, the Hero 10 Black Bones is the company’s lightest-ever action camera – and one that’s been specifically built for increasingly popular FPV (first-person view) drones. It’s also, currently, only available to buy in the US, with GoPro stating that “we do not have a date yet for international availability”.
FPV drones differ from standard drones like the DJI Mavic 3 in two main ways: they’re flown using a headset that gives the pilot a live view from the aircraft for maximum control, and they’re also typically smaller and more nimble than their mainstream counterparts.
This means that FPV drones are frequently used for racing, but an increasing number are being used to create spectacular aerial videos – and it’s this audience that the Hero 10 Black Bones has been designed for.
General
| Brand | GoPro |
| Model | Hero 10 Black Bones |
| Release date | 12th April 2022 |
| Model Name | Hero 10 Black Bones |
| Series | Hero |
| Color | Black |
| Type | Digital Camera |
| Dimensions(WxHxD) | 68x50x29 mm |
| Weight | 54g |
Sensor features
| Sensor Size | 1/2.3 inch |
| Maximum FPS | 240 |
Image features
| Image Stabilizer | HyperSmooth 4.0 |
| Image Processor | GP2 |
Connectivity features
| Wifi | Yes |
| Wireless Connectivity | BLE 4.2 |
Storage and power features
| Power Requirement | 5-27V |
| Batteries Included | No |
The Hero 10 Black Bones is a shell of its fully-fledged sibling – and that’s a good thing. In the hand, it weighs a barely noticeable 54g, which means it’s compatible with 3-inch class FPV drones (in other words, ones with 3-inch propellors) or larger. At a push, you could even mount it on smaller 2.5-inch models.
The reason why it’s so light is because GoPro has stripped out everything except for the Hero 10 Black’s sensor, processor and lens (which thankfully still supports replaceable lens covers for ND filters). There’s no display, battery, speaker, GPS, or metal enclosure here, with the Bones instead constructed from lightweight plastic.
GoPro says this shell still offers some protection, which you’ll need in the event of the inevitable crashes. But the more noticeable design feature of the Hero 10 Black Bones are its new vents, which help provide cooling to stop the camera from overheating while shooting. This design means it also isn’t waterproof.
On the back of the camera are just two buttons – one for power, and one for switching between video and stills. Above these buttons is an LED light, which blinks in various ways to tell you which mode you’re in. It follows a similar pattern to standard GoPros – for example, one blink every two seconds means it’s recording, while three blinks means it’s stopping.
Fortunately, there are easier ways to interact with the Hero 10 Black Bones. You can control it using the GoPro Quik app, GoPro’s The Remote accessory or, as our FPV pilot did, using QR codes generated by apps like QRControl (below).
The latter works with GoPro Labs-enabled cameras, which include the Hero 10 Black Bones (along with the standard Hero 10 and Hero 9).
So how exactly do you plug ‘Bones’ into a drone and mount it safely? This involves a little more tinkering than your average GoPro. On the back of the camera is a socket for a GH 1.25 3pin Connector, which connects to both the battery (supplied by you) and your drone’s flight controller. You can use battery types from between 2S (two cells in series) and 6S (six cells in series), with a voltage between 5-27V.
FPV drone pilots will typically carry a number of spares during a shoot, as each one will usually only last for a few minutes of recording, and batteries can be hot-swapped in and out of the Hero 10 Black Bones pretty quickly. You can also mount the camera pretty easily using a single screw boss or, on larger drones, the included adapter for GoPro’s existing mounting system.
