ZGCINE PS-G10 GoPro Charging Case Review

The ZGCINE PS-G10 GoPro charging case is a portable GoPro battery charger capable of charging three GoPro batteries simultaneously.

One feature that instantly stands out is the backward compatibility which enables you to slot in both the latest batteries for models like the GoPro Hero10 Black as well as older post Hero5 GoPro batteries.

The GoPro Hero5 Black heralded an all-new look, and over the following four generations, the design has evolved. The GoPro Hero8 put on a little bulk, and then the 9 and 10 quite a bit more. While the 5 through to the 8 retained the same sized battery, the Hero9 and Hero10 require something a little bigger. Thankfully while GoPro updated almost everything else about the design, including the battery, the position of the contacts remained the same.

ZGCINE has cleverly included three caddies that enable you to charge the earlier and newer batteries in the same case.

As well as the three GoPro battery slots, there are also two USB ports on the exterior. The first is a USB Type-C which is two way; this enables you to charge the device from the mains or Jackery Explorer 1000 or charge a USB Type-C devices. The second is a standard USB type-A, and this enables you to plug in pretty much anything that allows USB charging.

Aside from the internal battery that enables you to charge your device batteries, the case also features imprints that enable it to hold four MicroSD cards, meaning that this charging case doubles as a memory card holder.

The exterior design of the ZGCINE PS-G10 GoPro charging case is simple; it’s just a black box. This design makes it easy to fit into a backpack side pocket with relative ease.

Size-wise it’s the same width as the GoPro Hero10 Black, length of the GoPro 10, 9 and 8 lined up and and just a touch taller. The weight of the three cameras minus the batteries is also around the same as the ZGCINE PS-G10.

Using the ZGCINE PS-G10 out in the field is easy; open the lid, held closed by a light magnetic clasp, pop in your GoPro batteries, close the lid, and the charging starts.

GoPro 9 and 10 batteries slot in place directly, whereas those from the 5, 6, 7 and 8 require a small caddy to ensure the contacts hit the right points in the case.

With the batteries installed, it takes around 1 hour 40 for a GoPro Hero8 battery to fully charge, that’s 10 minutes less than advertised, and around 2 hours 30 minutes for Hero9 and 10 batteries. At present, I don’t have an endurance battery from GoPro but will update the test if that’s of interest; just let me know in the comments below.

As each battery is slotted into place, a red light for each highlights charging, and once completed, the light extinguishes. Below these three lights are four white lights showing the charge left in the ZGCINE PS-G10.

Through the test, I found that the Hero9 and 10 batteries would consume about a 1/4 of the ZGCINE PS-G10 internal battery per charge, while you can charge around six Hero8 batteries.

As well as the main design that enables you to charge the GoPro Hero batteries, on the back, there are also two USB ports, a Type-C and Type-A. Through these, you can connect a phone or camera such as the Sony A73, and the pack offers two complete recharges with enough juice for a small boost for a third.

The charger’s design works well, with its simple no-fuss approach making it easy to handle and use out in the field. When it comes to the design, the smooth, hard plastic outer does make it a little bit tricky to use when wearing gloves, but to be honest, you’d probably have removed them anyway to extract the GoPro battery.

When it comes to performance, the ZGCINE PS-G10 does the job it’s designed to do, and the addition of the two additional USB charging ports is extremely handy.

I find the design of the ZGCINE PS-G10 a little lacklustre considering the intended GoPro market. Nothing is exciting about the design, there’s no way to secure the box to the inside of the bag, and there’s nothing outwardly rugged about it, although it is well finished.

When it comes to functionality, it ticks all the boxes, charges your batteries and other devices in relatively quick times and features the ability to hold spare MicroSD cards for good measure.

The fact that this charger caters for every GoPro Hero since the 5th generation is a great feature, and adds to the value of this device. The recharge times are good for charging, and the small light indicators do the job even if they are a little simplistic. For instance, there’s no way to gauge how far through the charging process you are.

Really as portable chargers go, the ZGCINE PS-G10 does the job well; it’s a solid piece of kit with excellent functionality, just not much excitement on the design front.