GoPro launched its first-ever FPV camera, the GoPro 10 "Naked". It's basically the beloved HERO10 Black, but stripped down to the bare bones (hence the name). The Hero10 Black Bones is specially designed for FPV, keeping only the essential features for FPV pilots to be as light as possible, allowing them to be used on smaller drones.

What is a "Naked" Gopro?
The term "naked GoPro" was coined when the FPV community began to disassemble GoPros to keep weight to a minimum. This is quite a risky and tedious DIY task, and third-party power boards are not always reliable. It's great that GoPro has finally stepped in and is offering the "Naked" GoPro as an official product!

All HERO10 Black Bones cameras come complete with the new GoPro Player + ReelSteady V2.0 software. In the box you get a manual, mounting fingers and a power cable as accessories.

Specifications and features
The image quality and stabilization of the Naked GoPro 10 is completely identical to the original Hero10 Black, as both use the same image sensor and processor:

  • 1/2.3” image sensor
  • GP2 system processor
  • 5.3K60 + 4K120 Video
  • HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilization

However, the Hero10 Black Bones has been made much thinner and lighter by stripping away everything but the essentials. This drops the weight from 158g to just 59.9g (my measurement is slightly heavier than GoPro's claimed 54g, maybe they didn't include the lens protector).

Despite the huge weight reduction, it's still significantly heavier than the older Naked GoPros (double the weight).

  • Naked GoPro 6 with BetaFPV V2 case: 25.7g
  • Naked GoPro 8 with GEPRC case: 27g
  • Naked GoPro 9 with NamelessRC case: 30.5g

But a 60g camera is still manageable for most 3" and even some powerful 2" FPV drones and Cinewhoops. The "bare" GoPro 10 is also significantly larger in size than the older "bare" GoPros.

The input voltage is 5V to 27V (as specified in the manual), which means it can be directly powered by almost all common LiPo batteries we use on FPV drones (2S – 6S). However, some users have reported an issue with the camera randomly stopping recording when powered by 5V, so it may be best to power it from a higher voltage power source.

It has a built-in microphone for sound recording.

Unlike previous Naked GoPros where you have to take it apart and put it back together in an aftermarket case all by yourself, the Bones comes fully assembled, ready to use right out of the box.

When you buy Hero10 Bones, you get a free copy of Reelsteady V2.0 ($99 value).

The best part? GoPro offers damage protection and replacement for GoPro Plus subscribers!

A closer look at the GoPro 10 Black Bones
At just 60g, the Hero10 Black Bones is the lightest camera GoPro has ever released (even the next lightest, the Hero5 Session, weighs 74g).

The minimum weight is achieved by removing the displays, battery, speaker and GPS module in the Hero10 Black. They also replaced the metal casing with a lightweight plastic casing that still offers some degree of protection.

Inside the well-ventilated protective case is a radiator for cooling. However, the plastic case looks glued together, there are no screws on the outside, so it can't be opened easily. The radiator looks similar to the original radiator which is quite heavy. Probably explains why Bones is so heavy.

Bones has the exact same interchangeable cover glass as the original Hero10, offers lens protection and can be swapped out for your favorite optional ND filter.

The SD card slot is located on the right side.

There are two buttons on this camera just like the original Hero10 Black – Shutter and Mode/Power. They are located on the back.

The power input is also on the back, it's a 3 pin Molex PicoSPOX connector (1.5mm pitch) which is an unusual connector and hard to find. Originally they were going to use a GH 1.25 3 pin connector, the same as the GEPRC BEC, but eventually gave up, this is still in the manual but different in the final product. It doesn't fit at all as the shape is different. Some say that a Molex PicoBlade (clones are sold as Micro JST1.25) somewhat works, but it is not recommended because it bends the pins slightly due to the different pitch and the connection is not secure. Another option is JST ZH, the step is the same so it might be more suitable but not confirmed yet.

There is a mounting hole right behind the lens, when mounted on a drone it holds the lens right in the center. With the mounting hardware provided, you can mount the camera to a standard GoPro mount adapter or a 3D printed drone mount.

Here is the power consumption in different modes:

  • Idle - 0.15 A at 16.4 V (2.46 W)
  • 1080p 60fps (highest bitrate) – 0.29A @ 16.4V (4.76W)
  • 4K 60fps (highest bitrate) – 0.34 A @ 16.4 V (5.58 W)

If you're powering the camera with a different voltage, just divide the wattage by the voltage and you'll get a rough estimate of what the draw would be. Take the power supply into account if you use a voltage regulator between the power source and the camera, I think this would be a popular approach as it adds an extra buffer/protection against voltage spikes.

Change settings
There are several ways to change the camera settings:

  • Using the Quik app (Android/iOS) via Bluetooth/WiFi
  • Scan QR codes
  • In theory, you can also use the physical buttons – but there's no display, so you won't know what you're pressing
  • The Quik app is the easiest to use, it was easy to pair (connect) and change settings. The preview is really useful to check the exposure level as there is no camera screen.

It's also good to know that you have full control over the Protune settings in the app, including bitrate, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, sharpness, etc.

Should you buy Bones?
Hero 10 Black Bones is surprisingly durable. Oscar Liang says that he had a crash (lost video, the drone free fell from about 50 meters), broke the arm of the drone, but the camera was perfectly fine.