Despite looking exactly the same on the outside, this is GoPro’s most evolved Hero. The new Hero6. It blew the minds of GoPro enthusiasts with their teaser video last week, showcasing a range of extreme slo-mo footages as well as a huge improvement in detail throughout.
Still, what a bummer, they’ve made it look identical to the Hero 5. How about an all black casing for a change? Wouldn’t that have paired better with its Hero6 Black name?
5 Reasons
I’ll list down the top favourite features and reasons why the Hero 6 is the one to get, especially if you haven’t already got one, or are coming from the older Heros.
I’m looking forward to seeing how these new bits improve my own in-car, on board driving scenes for starters as well as night footages, walk around clips and so on.
As you can see from above, the difference between main cam, the Hero5 and side cam Hero4 in exposure
When I go out, I only carry with me a jaw clamp + gooseneck and a suction mount most of the time, plus when I test cars, its almost always a rush getting in and out so any improvements in speed, clarity and stability would definitely help eliminate wasted moments and bad videos.
Now Shoots in 4K60 / 1080p240
Surely, you’ve dabbed in slo-mo videos one way or another. These days we manage with current FPS offerings pretty well and if needed, post processing in Final Cut Pro gets the job done. So no big deal right, the extra FPS in the new Hero?
Not true. Not until you see what you can achieve with double the power. The Hero6 is ground breaking because it’s going to enable even slower-mos from now on.
As you can see from the teaser videos, even water droplets can freeze in time and the motocross bike, I’ve never seen sand spray like in the dune scene, what spectacular footages they were. Very looking forward to this feature for sure.
Even better video stabilization
So there are 2 major kinds of video stabilization, the optical kind and the electronic kind. GoPro uses the electronic kind where the outer perimeter of the video is sacrificed to align the footage to achieve a stabilized video.
This time around, the Hero6 promises far better stabilization by introducing 3 new or improved aspects:
- New GoPro developed GP1 processor provides double the power
- With 4K in 4:3 aspect, there’s more video to sample from
- Combines gyroscope + accelerometer data to achieve 3-axis stabilization
With 3 axis stabilization means you can achieve far better “Gopole” or hold-in-hand results than before. Many of you would know even in final cut, there’s a limit to how much one can stabilize a clip. 3 axis aims iron out that aspect. Mimicking the power of hand held gimbal stabilisers.
You can zoom now
In recent GoPros there’s been an option to select Linear shooting mode, which basically is the opposite of its traditional fisheye effect. So things are less far and the frame is more tight.
With touch zoom, one can instantly reel in the subject, which was always a known disability of any GoPro. Say for example you’ve filmed a particular car or venue and now you want to focus on detail shots of say the gearknob or the doorknob. That’s how you can do it with one touch zoom, without having to stick the GoPro within inches of the product.
WiFi file transfer is 3x faster
They’ve quicken the process of receiving GoPro footages via WiFi to say, your smartphone by up to 3 times, so that’s good news for sure. Any added convenience is a good thing.
For example, today a Samsung Note 8 can make space for 128gb or more worth of storage with its external sd memory. It has more than enough processing juice to crunch video editing jobs, Quik Stories even play preview clips just as smooth as a rendered movie so that’s how much power one has in the palm of their hands today.
I do quite a bit of editing on the phone as well so this is gonna speed things up a bit. Especially now with Quikstories where footages are automatically stored in the smartphone. So, being able to start processing immediately is just awesome to know.
Improved Dynamic Range and Low-Light
GoPros are usually used in spontaneous situations, therefore face challenges such as harsh lighting and so on.
It has improved steadily over the multi generations of GoPro. Today, even with the just replaced Hero5, one can leave their worries behind and know everything is taken care of, especially the lighting. Theres no chance of washed out footages by lighting from the windows or in my case, more often than not, windscreens.
Recent GoPro saw improvements in both dynamic range and low light abilities, and it gets even better now with the Hero6. This means better results when handling extreme dark, extreme bright and everything in between in a particular scene.
Full Features
- 2K30 and 3K60 Spherical Video
- 18MP Spherical Photo
- GoPro App Compatible
- OverCapture Allows for Traditional Video Creation from 360 Footage
- Advanced Stabilization
- 360 Audio
- Waterproof to 16ft (5m)
- Time Lapse Video + Photo, Night Lapse and Burst Modes
- Works with Most GoPro Mounts
- Includes Fusion Grip Mount
- Voice Control in 10 Languages
- GPS, Accelerometer, Gyroscope and Compass
- WiFi + Bluetooth
Price: RM2,399
On Sale: Now
FunSportz – GoPro Sole Distributor, Malaysia
