It’s been two years since the last major GoPro Hero launch. No, I don’t count the Session last year. I’m talking about a multi-camera launch like GoPro has typically done each fall for the majority of its history. Back in September GoPro launched three new cameras, alongside a drone and a gimbal. I cover all the basics of that launch day here.
This post is all about the GoPro Hero5 Black. You’ll find a GoPro Hero5 Session In-Depth Review coming up shortly (a few days), and then the Karma Drone and Gimbal reviews later this month (Update: Available now!). But even more exciting for consumers is that for the first time in a long time, we’ve got a legit high-end competitor to GoPro with the Garmin VIRB Ultra 30. These cameras were released a mere 19 days apart, and have an amazingly close feature set. Both have their pros and cons, which I’ll touch on throughout the review (as well as discuss in a round-up at the end). Without question these are the best two action cams on the market today – and that competition will only make these cams better over time. All of which is great for consumers.
While the GoPro Hero5 has many of the same specs as the previous generation when it comes to video and photo resolutions, there are some new features in it. Individually no single feature is a massive leap forward in the action cam industry, but collectively they represent a notable and substantial difference over the Hero4 Black. This section is mostly focused on these new features, while the remaining sections take a deeper dive into the core functions of the camera, as well as touch on these new features in more detail.
