$299 GoPro Karma Grip Lets You Take Stabilized Videos

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GoPro’s Karma Grip, a gadget that helps stabilize images and videos taken from a camera, is now being sold as an add-on for just $299. The tool is of great use to owners of GoPro’s cameras, as they need stabilization for the footage they take.

Stabilization is very important

GoPro is marketing the contraption as the Karma Grip, and it will support the Hero5 Black. The owners of other camera models such as the Hero4 Silver, Hero5 Session and Hero4 Black will have to spend $30 more for a harness that to strap their camera into place, says the Tech Times. However, the harness won’t be available until the second quarter of 2017.

The effects of vibrations and movements need to be smoothed out in an action camera; hence, stabilization plays an important role. Such cameras are built to work in strenuous environments, but unfortunately, only the Hero5 models have an on-board stabilization feature.

What’s even more depressing is the fact that this feature relies only on software and not a dedicated sensor or mechanism. There are, however, some cameras that allow their lenses to move in order to compensate for sudden jerks and movements. The GoPro software tries to smooth the video as it is captured, but the end result is not always good. It might appear like a shot taken through jelly, notes the Tech Times.

Now there will be an external motorized mechanism with the Karma Grip to compensate for vibrations while capturing videos and images. Whether the device will support action cameras from other manufacturing companies or not is not known as yet.

GoPro Karma Grip a useful tool

The device likely adds a powerful capability to GoPro’s cameras, as indicated by early hands-on impressions.  According to Matt Burns of TechCrunch, the Karma Grip directly competes with the DJI Osmo, but they both offer distinct advantages. Burns and TechCrunch’s video correspondent took both products with them to South Korea and put them through their paces.

In the tests, they found that the DJI Osmo offers more control, which is what many video enthusiasts are looking for, but the Karma Grip offers superior video quality when used with the Hero5. Also Burns says the Karma Grip “feels like it can take more abuse than the Osmo.”

“I’ve found the Karma Grip has encouraged me to dig out my older GoPro cameras. The stabilization makes a large difference in picture quality,” said Burns.

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