Gear Review
GoPro today announced their latest flagship product, the Hero6. It’s only been 12 months since the release of the Hero5, but the company has been working extremely hard on the improvements brought to you in this new version.
Externally, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two models, it’s under the hood where the Hero6 really shines. Even more awesomeness for catching that slo-mo of your buddy faceplanting in the park.
Courtesy of the sports-tech genius DCRainmaker.com, here are 10 of the greatest new features:
1) New 4K at 60FPS: Previously the Hero5 Black was limited to 30 frames per second.
2) Image Stabilization at 4K: Previously this was limited to 2.7K, though you still can’t-do 4K/60.
3) New 1080p at 240: This is a significant bump from the previous 720p at 240FPS, which is used in slow-mo.
4) New GoPro GP1 Chipset: This in-house chipset for image processing replaces Ambarella, which GoPro and many others have used for years.
5) Better low-light performance: This is probably what I’d consider the two biggest items on the camera. It’s mind-boggling. Also, they increased long exposure to 10-seconds from 2-seconds.
6) Better dynamic range with lighting conditions: Like low-light performance, the speed and clarity here are astounding. Check out my comparison video below to see what I mean.
7) Better image stabilization: 3-Axis image correction in all angles, most notably the roll axis in wide shots (previously it didn’t correct for roll axis in wide).
8) New zoom slider option: You can zoom 0-100% within the image to a custom framing. This essentially gives you tons of flexibility compared to existing narrow/medium crops.
9) New HDR Photo Capture: While previously there was WDR, this is actually a 3-image compilation.
10) Dual 2.4Ghz/5Ghz for downloads: This dramatically speeds up downloads for larger files over 5Ghz, GoPro says this will double speeds, and that seems valid in my case.
As well as the regular smartphone GoPro app for getting visuals off the camera, which hasn’t really changed over the years, they also have their Quik app. This will auto-edit your videos from the day, as well as adding any other photos you may have taken on your smartphone, and overlays a cool soundtrack to create a video for you to share, with hardly any effort.
Already have the Hero5? Wondering if the newer version is worth the $100 premium? Here are some final words from DCRainmaker in his conclusion:
Overall, I’m blown away by the GoPro Hero6 Black. As regular readers know, I’m all about a few core things, and in particular with action cameras: Image quality, ease of use, and the end-state specs. And in all three categories this nails it, especially image quality. But even with recent improvements over the past year for the GoPro apps, things got considerably better. And of course, having the flexibility of 1080p240 and 4K60 is huge.
Do you ski with a GoPro, constantly recording? If so, is this now on your Christmas list?
Or, like me, are you more likely to ski down the hill, take out your smartphone and wave your arm in the air to signal to your buddy you’re ready to start filming him?!
Cant beat the price, was skeptical at first. I had a go pro before, had to return it because a button was stuck. So I was in the market for an action camera before my next trip abroad. Saw this on a lighting deal checked out reviews so I decided to give it a try. Very good I was surprised. I wish it recorded better in low light looks a little grainy. Still testing it out but like it so far. A good amount of accessories. The menu options on the camera are plentiful. The manual is very thin on description on what the menu options are, it could be better. Waiting on my trip in 2 months to try the underwater case and video quality. Will update.
Thank you very much!