I transformed from a complete GoPro ignoramus into a total fan in a relatively short time. I've often written about this conversion; how I never used to "get" the point of action cameras but now the latest GoPro is the first thing I pack - whether I'm going on a week-long holiday or just on an active day trip.

I've filmed tramps, kayak adventures, beaches and mountains. I've taken GoPros swimming, biking, zip-lining and driving. I've captured stingrays flying beneath the ocean's surface and my dog hitting a ball with his head while trying to catch it in his mouth.

Like I say, I'm a fan.

Yet when GoPro launched an additional version of the HERO 11 Black, I have to admit, at first I was a bit confused.

As its name indicates, the HERO11 Black Mini (I'm just going to call it the Mini for the rest of this article) is significantly smaller than the latest GoPro flagship. The most obvious reason for this is there are no screens - well not on the front or back like there are on the full-sized model. This is what had me scratching my head; a no-screen GoPro seemed like a major step back in time. The early GoPros had no screens and that's precisely why they had me so perplexed... how can you film something if you don't know exactly what you're filming?

Then I got my hands on a Mini and things immediately started to make sense.

I could tell right away this was one tough little puppy. Although GoPros are notoriously difficult to destroy, apparently the more common breakages are to do with the LCD screens - so without those weak points, the Mini is instantly more durable. 

To say it has no screen is not strictly true - there's a tiny one up on top, just by the flashing red recording light. Both of these are bright enough to be seen even in bright sunshine and by using a combination of the one-touch record button, also on top, and the status/pair button on the front, you can scroll through various settings which will be displayed on that wee display in black and white.

There's an easier way of course; via the GoPro Quik app on your phone. This is definitely one of my favourite apps - not only does it help you set up your GoPro and give you easy access to its settings and firmware updates, as I've written previously, Quik is also a powerful, efficient and yes, speedy photo and video editing tool.

Not that the Mini takes still shots, only video. Although when filming at 5.3K, it's easy enough to save some pretty high-quality screen grabs. (Up to 24.7MP in fact)

Yes, that's right, the Mini boasts pretty much all the high-performance camera features of its full-sized sibling; up to 8X slow-mo, 10-bit colour, 60FPs and the exact same, larger 8:7 sensor. You can play around with Star Trails, Light Painting and Vehicle Light Trails at night and the Mini comes equipped with the new Enduro battery built-in, which delivers much better performance, especially in extreme temperatures.

Perhaps most importantly, the Mini also uses GoPro's latest HyperSmooth 5.0 digital stabilisation technology which, as far as I'm concerned, is one of the craziest magic tricks around when it comes to videographic technology.

So you're not missing much by going with the Mini. In fact, in some areas, you might even be winning.

Unlike the full-sized HERO11 Black, the Mini sports two sets of mounting fingers; one at the bottom and one at the back. This makes it more versatile than ever when it comes to attaching it to helmets, frames and even pets.

Another feature unique to the Mini is one even GoPro doesn't highlight and yet I think it's great; the door to the charging port/microSD compartment is significantly more straightforward to open than the one on the bigger model. There have been times I've literally bent my nail back trying to pry the side door loose on other GoPros but the Mini has a little toggle which is so much easier to access and operate. I hope they keep this on all future generations.

Something else that surprised me about this smaller package is it can still be set up to pair with your Wi-Fi to take advantage of GoPro's Auto-Upload feature. This sends your recently shot footage straight to the cloud as soon as you put the camera on to charge and then an AI-generated highlights package is sent back to your phone through the Quik app. That's right, you don't even need to edit your own video if you don't want to. (You'll need to be a GoPro subscriber for this - but you get a free one-year subscription when you purchase the camera)

If you're looking for a tougher yet lighter, more compact camera - perhaps to use as a second POV in tandem with a full-sized GoPro, it's pretty hard to beat the features built into the HERO11 Black Mini.

In the video below you might hear me comment "There's probably a proper harness for this..." and yes, as it turns out, there is. And like so many GoPro accessories, it's surprisingly well-priced. The Fetch Dog Harness is only NZ$74.95 - cheaper than many standard dog harnesses. I wish I'd looked that up before we went to the beach. Oh well. Next time.

Click here for more information and pricing on the GoPro HERO11 Black Mini.