I've had a very limited amount of time to play with my HERO8, but wow, this camera has really amazed me.
Functionality: The level of control is amazing. After watching some so so reviews, I was concerned about this. Turns out, the customizing capability and quick access (upper left/right, lower left/right) are simply amazing. I can see how this might be a little overwhelming at first to people new to GoPro cameras as the options feel limitless, but if you take a little time customizing each preset (and making your own), the functionality and power of this little camera becomes apparent pretty quick.
Quality: YouTube videos don't do this camera justice. Yes, this is by far the best GoPro camera.
Stabilization: Had to do the shake test. This is serious witchcraft.
Battery: Chews this up pretty quick. Feels very similar to the HERO7 Black, but I'm sure there will be an equal number of complaints/questions if it's normal. Messing around with the menus almost seems to burn battery life faster than recording. Turning down LCD brightness helps.
LCD: Screen is vibrant and bright (suggest turning this down) and very responsive. I do notice some light bleed when the camera is on in darkness, but it has no effect when in low to bright lighting.
Secret setting: When connected to the app there is a setting "Noise". Is this a Noise/Grain reduction setting? I'm going to have to play around with this.
Heat: Yep, it gets warm. Doesn't seem to be an issue and I had no overheating or freezing, but another thing I'm sure people will comment/question
Voice commands: Off by default. Limited test, but very responsive. Didn't get any false activation and always responsive to all of my commands. Haven't done the comparison against HERO5/6/7 yet.
One thing I've noticed when comparing my limited use vs all the videos I've watched so far (including DC Rainmaker's extensive rapid fire videos), is nobody has been able to touch on all the features of this camera. It's not for lack of trying, but there are many layers to this camera. It's super easy to use. Almost so easy that I think many people (including many of the reviews I've seen) are never going to get to them all.
In summation: This camera is a BEAST and I'm VERY happy I upgraded from HERO7 Black (which I originally wasn't going to do).
