Running with Your GoPro: Hero 9 vs. Hero Max

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a post on running with your GoPro and while I’m putting the finishing touches on my Hero 9 review, I figured I’d take the opportunity to compare this new camera to one that came out last year, the Hero Max (which is a 360° camera).

It’s almost not fair to compare the two but with GoPro touting the new Hero 9 as the greatest GoPro camera, I feel like their daring me to do so.

So I do so.

The GoPro Max

Now, GoPro calls the Max three cameras in one which is kind of cheating, but I guess you can make the case for a hero on each side plus the 360 aspect.

Let’s look at five reasons the Hero Max should be your running camera of choice.

First and foremost – it’s a 360 camera! You have so many more choices in post production with 360 footage than you do with singular focus.

So you can do fun stuff like this

GoPro Hero 9 vs. Hero Max — 2019 NYC Marathon Starting Line

and this

Hero 9 vs. Hero Max — Same shot as above, but inverted

You can’t do any of that in one shot with the Hero 9. Actually, you can’t do all of that with MANY shots with the Hero 9.

Reframing Video with the Hero Max

You can also reframe any video to have what you want in the frame. All you really need to do is hold up the camera and make sure you’re not standing in the way, and you can get clear video for, well, 360 degrees.

Now, while technically the Max can record up to 5.6K video, that’s only in 360 mode. So if you’re reframing and punching out part of the video, you can only get up to 1080. So if you need to crop from there, it can get distorted, but 360 video beats the alternative any day in my book. Especially while running a race.

Is the Max Really Three in One?

As I mentioned, GoPro calls the Max three cameras in one, and true or not, it’s legitimately two in one. You can use it as a 360 or a regular Hero camera (is there such a thing?). So for $50 more, you actually get what amounts to a second camera.

$499 for the Hero Max and $449 for the Hero 9.

Granted you won’t have features like Hindsight or Scheduled Recording (more to come on those when I publish my Hero 9 review), but how often are you really gonna use those features anyway?