GoPro has released its latest flagship action camera product, The Hero 6 Black, in an event in San Francisco last Thursday. This camera is a successor to their famous Hero 5 black and is the most powerful and advanced GoPro up til now.
The Hero Black 6 is almost indistinguishable to the last flagship. It has the same lens and LCD placement with same size and structure. There is no difference externally at all apart from the side text that says Hero 6 Black instead of Hero 5 Black.
However, internally this camera is completely different, it has a new chipset and a whole new bunch of features have been added, down below we have reviewed all the great features of this camera:
• 4K At 60 FPS:
The feature that has been buzzed about the most is the capability of recording 4K 2160p resolution at 60 frames per second which means that now you will be able to get all your fast moving action shots like mountain biking or skiing at 60 FPS and then you can slow that down afterward. This higher frame rate will give you a lot of options in post production if you use software like Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro.
However, there are some limitations in 4K resolution like there is no option of linear mode so it is wide only that will give you a little bit of fisheye look to it.
• Image Stabilization:
The next feature is the improvement in image stabilization means now the camera allows you to stabilize image up to 4K at 30 FPS, the Hero 5 was only able to stabilize image at 2.7K.
This is not unfortunately optical image stabilization like you would have seen on smartphones or other digital camera. Optical image stabilization is basically hardware based while image stabilization on the GoPros is some kind of software based image stabilization.
• 1080p At 240 FPS:
Next, up on the list we have the feature of recording 1080p at 240 FPS which is double the frame rate of the Hero 5. This is huge for people who are capturing sports or other super fast objects, this will really help slow things down in post production which looks really beautiful.
• GoPro – GP1 Chipset:
The company has introduced their very own chipset by the name of GP1 Chipset in the Hero 6 to separate it from other action cameras out there, in the past the company has been using Ambarella chipset which is used by most of the manufacturers.
In general, when companies do stuff like that it is generally for cost saving purposes and that usually means that the image processing is not going to be up to the level. But in the case of Hero 6 the company actually nailed it and the image quality and processing look astonishing.
• Better Low Light Performance:
One of the features that everyone looks for in a camera is its low light performance. The Hero 6 has an excellent low light performance. It produces spectacular footage and the colors are super clear and saturated even at night time. This feature is my favorite of all on the list.
• Better Dynamic Range:
The GoPro has also improved the dynamic range which means the images look more clear, they look better, they have more contrast and the colors look more eye catching and beautiful.
It also fast processes light changes meaning while going from darks to lights it adjusts so much faster than the Hero 5 Black, so now you won’t be facing problems like washed out or under exposed scenes in the video.
• HDR Mode:
There is a new photo mode available now, last year we had WDR mode in the Hero Black 5 which essentially takes one picture and just adjusts it to give you more dynamic range, while in HDR Mode the camera takes multiple images and combine them into one to provide you with more details and dynamic range.
• Dual WiFi Chipsets:
You now also have dual WiFi chipsets inside the Hero 6 Black, so you will have both 2.4 GHz as well as 5 GHz which is really going to help you in the download speed. The 5 GHz is almost gonna double the speed of transferring your files from your camera to your phone as well as into the cloud storage via WiFi.
• New File Format:
The GoPro will now be using H.265/HEVC file format for 4K 60 and 1080p 240. This will help you a lot with the storage cause this file format will almost minimize the size to half without compromising on the quality or resolution of the image.
• Voice Commands:
New voice commands have been added and the voice control has slightly been improved, now you can even turn on the camera using just your voice, previously you had to power it on manually.