GoPro gets lit 🔥 – an unexpected play from action camera creators might change the game...

GoPro launched a surprise camera alongside the much anticipated Max 2 today, the 'Lit Hero' – an upgraded version of the company's smallest camera with a screen, the GoPro Hero (2024), boasting a LED light array.

GoPro describe the Lit Hero as "a miniature lifestyle camera" and the light as enabling "whatever, whenever" capture.

The new camera captures 4K video at up to 60fps, and offers up to 2x slow mo, while weighing just 93g – only slightly more than the 86g GoPro Hero 2024 which lacks the light or the ability to shoot in 4K60.

It is waterproof to 16ft (5m), and can shoot for over 100 minutes in 4K on one charge. GoPro note that the 12-megapixel 4:3 sensor makes cropping for social media less lossy than a 16:9 video. The camera includes GoPro's magnetic mounting system with flaps and screws so all the expected mounting options are available.

GoPro seems to be targeting a new group of creators with this camera, and offering a different answer to queries about low light than a bigger sensor, but the appeal is clear.

Announced alongside the Max 2 and the GoPro Lit Hero was another new tangent for GoPro, a phone or GoPro gimbal stablizer with AI subject tracking called the Fluid Pro AI. The device has swappable mounts so it can be used with a GoPro or a phone up to 400 grams (14oz) – for reference the iPhone 17 Pro Max weighs 233g.

The subject tracking can lock onto a subject in both forward or backward directions, and the system has a built in fill light.

The Lit Hero, announced today, will retail for $269.99 / £239.99, while the Fluid Pro AI gimbal will retail for $229.99. Both are available for preorder now from GoPro, and will hit stores on October 21.

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Check our guide to the best action cameras and even the best body cameras.

I have recently reviewed the potential competitor that is the Insta360 Go Ultra for a slightly different take on very compact cameras.