One of the most versatile cameras to date, thanks to its dual-cameras setup and 360-degree footage possibilities. It's easy to use and easy to edit footage afterwards. But if you want 'normal' video then the Hero 8 is your better bet.

Really simple to shoot with; Editing from the mobile app is easy; Durable build; Fits most existing mounts and handles;

It's not cheap; Video captured in Hero mode isn't as good as an actual Hero; Sometimes struggles with exposure and shadows;

Nothing combines action cam and 360 video as well as the Max. There's a clear direction for improvement but it gets so much right and makes working with 360-degree video an absolute dream

The GoPro Max completely rethinks how to shoot and edit 360-degree video compared to the company's last attempt, the GoPro Fusion. It makes working with 360-degree footage a breeze and doubles as a capable GoPro Hero action cam too, boasting astounding image stabilisation and great versatility across its feature-set and shooting modes. Better colour science, low-light performance, image fidelity and UI stability are all areas to work on but the issues in their current guise are minor when you look at the overall offering provided by the Max.

Don't buy the GoPro Max if you want the very best 4K action camera footage around. Don't buy one if you want to shoot underwater, either. Do buy a GoPro Max if you want to have creative fun with an action camera. Its 360-degree editing is super-easy, it makes some wild-looking effects possible; and the "Warp" time-lapse video is great. This feels like a real 2-in-1 action camera.

Easy to use; Simple editing; Good environmental audio capture; Multiple fields of view;

Non-360-degree video quality not near Hero 8 Black level; Cheaper alternatives are now plentiful;

Last year, Insta360 revolutionized the idea of what a 360 camera could be capable of with the Insta360 One X. The One X was marketed not as a 360-degree camera, but instead a camera that could shoot 360 degrees of possible angles that could be accessed after the fact.

Familiar; durable GoPro hardware; Great audio quality; Responsive touchscreen

Stabilization is jittery; especially at night; Linear; non-fisheye footage is grainy; Doesn’t have as many resolution and frame rate options as the Hero 8

The GoPro Max is a genre-defining product – the best 360-camera we’ve ever used

Incredibly flexible; Great image quality; Easy to use;

Bulkier than a regular GoPro; Can’t shoot in 4K;

GoPro’s new Max 360-degree action camera is hell-bent on bringing spherical video to the masses. A new suite of on-camera processing removes the major pain-points from 360-video production, and integrates editing and reframing tools into the GoPro smartphone apps. It also bumps up the spherical resolution to 5.6K, offers flat 16:9 digital shooting lenses and will even live-stream in Full HD. Unfortunately, the limited 2D shooting modes are still a long way off competing with single lens action cameras. That said, the GoPro Max makes it easy to capture compelling and immersive reframed and 360-degree shots that are fundamentally impossible on traditional action cameras.

5.6K 360 video; 360 video reframing; On-camera stitching; Digital stabilization; Fits on existing mounts;

Limited shooting modes; Low-res 2D footage; Poor in low light/ underwater

One of the main attractions of shooting with a 360-degree camera is the ability to capture a scene without the need to stitch multiple shots from my DSLR camera and make it into a photo format that can be read as a spherical image.

10/10

Each new 360 camera that hits the market carries with it the promise of being the one that gets immersive video right. None have yet delivered on this promise. We’ve looked to GoPro before to be the savior the format so desperately needs, but 2017’s Fusion, GoPro’s first 360 camera, left much to be desired. Two years later, GoPro takes the lessons learned from the Fusion and wrapped them up into the smaller, cheaper, and easier-to-use Max. It’s a hybrid camera that can be used in 360 mode or “Hero” mode, where it operates more like a standard GoPro Hero camera, albeit at just 1080p resolution. As with many other 360 cameras today, the Max’s spherical footage can be re-framed in post, allowing you to “direct” the camera and add pan, tilt, and zoom effects. It’s a step in the right direction for GoPro. However, the Max is haunted by the 360 format’s usual ghosts, and does little to propel the segment forward. 360-degree video still isn’t ready for serious editing. While the Max is $200 c...

Excellent mobile app; Great image stabilization; Good audio quality; Rugged and waterproof; Keyframe-based reframing controls;

Video quality is OK; Imperfect stitching; No subject tracking;