GoPro clearly wants its Hero range to mix it with the best vlogging cameras around, thanks to accessories like its new Volta battery grip. And while the latter is certainly a useful sidekick, as you can see in our GoPro Volta review , it isn't quite as interesting as the modular vlogging camera we recently discovered in some fascinating patents .
Before we gaze ahead to what might be coming down the line, let's delve into the pros and cons of GoPro's new accessory. The Volta grip, which you can buy on its own or as part of a new Hero 10 Black Creator Edition bundle, combines a battery-equipped handle, tripod, and wireless controller in one handy accessory. It's mainly designed for the Hero 10 Black and Hero 9 Black, which benefit from its remote control powers, but will also charge and mount with older GoPros.
One of the main benefits of the Volta for vloggers and YouTubers is a significantly boosted battery life for their action cam. On the Hero 10 Black, for example, it'll jump up from 74 minutes (when shooting 5.3K/30p video) to over four hours when used with the Volta. Overheating limitations aside, that should mean you can leave the spare batteries at home.
The Volta's built-in camera buttons also give you one-handed control of your GoPro, or you can detach it to give you remote control of your Hero 10 or Hero 9 from up to 98 feet away. This means the Volta effectively combines three of GoPro's existing accessories (the Remote, spare batteries, and a tripod) into one.
One of the few downsides, as our review explains, is that the Volta is only weather-proof, rather than fully waterproof. So if you're planning to go diving, you'll still be best off getting a floating Handler grip instead. The Volta also doesn't, like the GoPro concept below, have a mechanical gimbal that would allow it to follow you around a scene, like the DJI Pocket 2 .
While the Volta is useful on its own, it still needs the help of Mod accessories like the Media Mod to become a really powerful vlogging setup. So GoPro has created a new Hero 10 Black Creator Edition bundle, which includes the action cam, a Volta grip, a Media Mod (which has a built-in directional mic, plus 3.5mm in and HDMI-out ports), and the Light Mod to help illuminate your subjects.
Naturally, this is a pretty pricey setup. You can buy the Volta on its own for $90.99 / £83.99 / AU$139.96 with a GoPro subscription, or $129.99 / $119.99 / AU$199.95 without one. But if you want the full Hero 10 Black Creator Edition, you'll pay $581.96 / £558.46 / AU$890.33 (for existing GoPro subscribers) or $784.95 / £759.95 / AU$1204.75 (without a subscription).
Luckily, there's also currently a special deal on the Creator Edition for new GoPro subscribers. If you don't have a Hero 10 or an existing subscription, you can pick up the bundle for $531.95 / £508.45 / AU$820.33, which is pretty decent considering the setup's filmmaking powers. But should you wait to see what GoPro has in store for later this year?
Analysis: A handy accessory, but is it a stop-gap?
Our GoPro Volta review concludes that the accessory is a "compelling option for creators on the go" that's both "comfortable to use and adds plenty of functionality" to the Hero 10 Black and Hero 9 Black.
The Volta is effectively three GoPro accessories in one, given it can act as a tripod, battery grip, and controller (both wireless and wired) for the action cam maker's two most recent Hero models.
The only real downsides are that it isn't fully waterproof, can't act as a wireless remote for older GoPros, and lacks extending selfie-stick powers for wider group shots. But could the Creator Edition bundle also be a mid-cycle stopgap for a more streamlined vlogging setup?
Earlier this month we discovered GoPro patents for a DJI Pocket 2-style camera that suggest it's planning to resurrect its Karma Grip as a new all-in-one camera with a mechanical gimbal.
Naturally, patents can only be treated as concepts rather than signs of concrete plans, but these were highly developed and match GoPro's comments earlier this year that it's planning new 'types' of action cam for 2022.
The downside of the Volta grip and Creator Edition bundle is that it lacks a mechanical gimbal to follow vloggers around a scene as they're talking to camera. So while both are certainly worth investigating if you already have a Hero 10 or Hero 9 action cam, there could be a more exciting vlogging solution coming later this year.
This is the one Wordle hint I wish I'd had for today's answer
Have you been struggling with today's Wordle answer? I certainly have - after a run of 'swift-threes' (getting the answer in a couple of minutes in three attempts) I nearly came to a grinding halt this morning.
Looking at the data around search trends, it seems that you lovely readers are also struggling with this current puzzle, as there's a definite search spike for the phrase 'Wordle hint' today:
The issue for me today was that I managed to choose some words beforehand (which I won't give away here, lest it gives the game away for you) that contained a good variety of letters, and it excluded some obvious ones.
And because I play on 'Hard Mode', where you have to guess using the yellow or green letters you've already uncovered, I was stuck.
Essentially, I got tied up by not being able to use certain letters - so I couldn't even sacrifice some words to get me out of trouble.
The Wordle hint I think will help
It's very hard (and, let's face it, thoroughly boring) for me to describe a Wordle attempt to you when you're struggling in just the way I did - so let me give you a useful hint.
What made it extra hard is that, in my 62-strong Wordle run ( which only has one, horrendous, failure ) I've been doing my homework - even studying popular sets of two letters, known as bigrams, to see the most likely words.
But today's answer didn't contain an obvious one - so here's my big Wordle hint for today:
The answer ends in OT, but pronounced just 'O', as in the T is silent.
I really hope that helps - if it does (or absolutely doesn't) please email me or tweet me to let me know.
And don't forget to check out our plethora of other Wordle content: I'd advise going for ' How to choose the best Wordle starting word ' to get you going.
Your Zoom calls may soon get a lot more physical
Getting noticed on a Zoom call could soon be a lot easier thanks to a new update coming to the service.
The video conferencing platform has announced it is bringing gesture recognition to its desktop versions of Zoom, giving users a much easier way to capture attention.
Currently, only two gestures will be supported, but they're pretty important ones - Thumbs Up and Raise Hand - so you should be able to get the spotlight with ease.
Two thumbs up
Gesture recognition had been present in some versions of Zoom for a little while, namely the company's iPad and iPhone apps, but this marks the first time the feature will be available on its desktop apps.
Performing one of the two included gestures will display the relevant emoji in the meeting itself, giving a useful way to respond or react if you're in a particularly loud or crowded place.
Users will need version 5.10.3 or more recent to utilize gesture recognition, which can be enabled at the account, group, or user level - although it is disabled at the client level by default.
In addition, the company has also announced the launch of Zoom Whiteboard in a bid to help boost online collaboration . The "completely rebuilt" online whiteboard experience is described as, "a persistent, expandable, digital canvas", offering shapes, connectors, sticky notes, adding images, and more features.
The company says the upgraded Zoom Whiteboard makes it easier to replicate the spirit of in-office collaboration among remote teams, across use cases as varied as education, training and project management.
Elsewhere, Zoom has also introduced a host of new upgrades and updates as it looks to keep pace with its rivals.
This includes increased visibility of breakout room activities or hosts, the ability to create a central library of polls for meetings, and requiring users with a work email login who do not have two-factor authentication to enter a one-time password when Zoom detects a suspicious login.