GoPro announced the all-new Hero6 last week, and while it might look identical to the Hero5 on the outside, the camera's capabilities have been vastly improved thanks largely to a new custom-designed image processor called the GP1. But does this fancy new processor deliver on its promises for better stabilization, improved dynamic range, and improved low light performance?
The folks at Vistek wanted to find out, so they pitted the Hero6 against its predecessor in a range of head-to-head tests that demonstrate one thing very clearly: The GoPro Hero6 definitely delivers on its promises.
From stabilization—which is now available all the way up to 4K/24p—to dynamic range and beyond, the Hero6 soundly beat the Hero5 in every test Vistek threw its way. Of course, you'd expect this from a new model of the same action camera, but for the most part, the improvements are not simply incremental... they're obvious.
As with any small action camera there is still plenty of room for improvement; a small sensor is still a small sensor and there are plenty of things a tiny little action camera just doesn't do particularly well no matter what. But as Vistek points out, GoPro seems to have listened to its consumers (and competition from companies like Yi) and built that action camera that 'is what the Hero5 should have been.'
The question now becomes: is it too little too late? But you're the only one who can answer that.
The major deal-breaker for me and many other divers, bikers, pilots, drivers is that GoPro dropped the Video+Photo mode from Hero6 (presumably because the feature is patented by Ambarella) GoPro support arrogantly suggested that “You don’t need it because 4K video still capture is better”. First, 4K video capture will produce 8MB pics vs 12MB, which is a big difference in quality. Second, in most cases 4K capture is not needed or desired – 1080p is perfectly fine for most long duration actions where battery life, overheating and file size are much more important, especially if the camera can not be easily manipulated (underwater, planes, cars, bikes, etc) Third – who wants to spend hours in post-processing on a computer, generating video capture stills, as opposed to quickly viewing readily available still photos and immediately posting them? This is a first time since Hero3 I did not and do not plan to upgrade to the next model.
The only thing i noticed was a better touch screen in this video and a little better stabilisation but no where near as good as the sony x3000r in any way what so ever. would be nice to see your comparison. i will do my own on a Can AM sidebyside motorbike in the snow next winter
Unless I am missing something, I could only tell which camera was which when they were side by side in the video. The in-between frames didn't seem to be labled. Not sure.
Anyway, I have the Session 5 and like it. I use a couple devices, so that one is for the elements.
The exact same problems of the Hero 5 were simply brought over to the Hero 6. No video output and it still requires a shoddy casing without a 1/4 inch thread.
For me the biggest issue is still colour casts - I bought a Sony because the Sony had far more pleasing colours out-of-camera. The Go-Pro 5 (and predecessors) had a tendency towards warm colours and green skies...
The Vistek review does not mention audio. We do not hear any sound from the bike sequences. Would it have been mainly wind noise? What would the on-board mic capture of the surfing shots? True action shots are not amenable to external mics. The presenter used a clip-on mic, but was it connected to the GoPro? Presumably, version 5 and 6 are about the same, in that regard.
For me, I think this is a great update to the Hero line. The improvements to dynamic range are huge and very noticeable and the image itself looks to have way more detail than in previous models. It has improved its lowlight performance, its dynamic range, its codec, its frame rates, its IQ and its image stabilization. It has higher bitrates, faster processing and better overall performance. It does all of this and is coming out only a year after the Hero5. On top of all that, it did this without changing the battery or body size, so all your previous accessories still work. Finally, GoPro action cameras are really the only ones who have a good ND solution available which is huge for video. I don't understand why so many people, especially those in the announcement article, are so negative. This is a great camera.
Sir, You appear to have the GoPro 9 in your possession. Foe Eveyone else, the improvements in dynamic Range and Image Quality are only Marginal. Stabilization is one area where the quality improvement is very noticeable and greatly improved.
You must not have picked one up yet then. I got one the day it came out last week and I can tell you first hand it's a huge improvement. There's also a ton of reviews and first impressions online now and they all reflect this as well. I'm not sure why you would say I "must have the GoPro 9" when everything I've stated is out there for you to experience as well. I've shot with GoPro's all over the world, from Pakistan and Africa to Alaska, Canada, Mongolia and more and can state with confidence that none of the previous models come close to this one.
Still no good reviews on the mic/audio of the GP6. Attaching external mics defeats the purpose of an action cam like and therefore there should be some focus on how good or bad the built-in audio is.
As with any camera purchase, you have to weigh up if the improvements are in areas that are important to you. I don't need GPS for example, so that's not a biggy for me. The Hero 6 looks really good though, as a potential customer I amimpressed by this offering.
Reality is the Yi 4K+ offers a lot too now, and this new GoPro isn't cheap. I thought the Hero5 was competitively priced from its release, but the Hero 6 is just plain expensive now.
Personally I'd love to see a 1/4" female mount on it. Seems silly to be rugged and waterproof naked, but need fiddly cases or cage frames to mount it absolutely anywhere.
But seriously, the "cinematic feeling" is 24 fps on 24 fps viewing device. 24 fps on 60 Hz monitor is headache. 30 fps is pretty cinematic and palys nicely on 60 Hz monitor.
And anyway, there is not much cinematic with that lens, electric image stabilisation and all the other processing :) but I admid I have GoPro too, great for many uses.
98% viewed on 60Hz monitor? I'd have to question your logic there. The majority of the world is PAL, not NTSC, and computer screens will be something like 144Hz as often as they are 50 or 60.
4k24p seems to be the end of the stabilization, so that resolution and framerate will probably be used more than folks would want.
I do not believe there are any 24p viewing devices. I thought theater projectors ran at a sudo 96Hz shutter cadence by showing the same frame twice with two black frames 24 times/frames a second. I would guess 24p content is consumed more often on a higher Hz device as a lot of television is shot in 24p. Not a big deal with pulldown.
24p problem is that the motion doesn't look smooth. 30 fps fits better to 60 fps monitor. It is pure mathematics. Try to fit 24 frames equally to 60 fps screen. Some frames are shown longer than other frames. Not good. It is somehow acceptable if there is enough motion blur, soft backgrounds etc. to mask the problem but anyway 30 fps is smoother. 60 fps even better.
"98% viewed on 60Hz monitor? I'd have to question your logic there. The majority of the world is PAL, not NTSC, and computer screens will be something like 144Hz as often as they are 50 or 60."
I live in PAL country, my monitor has 60 Hz refresh rate, most computer monitors have 60 Hz, unles you are a hardcore gamer etc.
120 Hz monitor indeed would be nice as both 24 fps and 30 fps displays smoothly on it. It is just, 120 Hz monitors are usually FHD only and expensive.
"I think 24p looks fine a computer monitor. What is the problem?" good for you, on my eyes it just looks bad. We are not all the same.
Have you ever seen colour blind colourist? , based on how much this type reviews and blogs etc. are posted 24 fps on youtube, world is full of motion blind editors.
Yea, once again I'd have to question the "most" because that certainly isn't my experience of computer monitors, and not just of gaming ones. Sure, a fair few are, but 98% is a mahussive stretch.
I think you are mis-interpreting my comments. When I say the 24p looks fine I mean the 24p is being represented properly on the 60Hz device. You may or may not like the slower framerate but showing it on a 60Hz device is not the problem! You just do not care for the look of 24p with the content shown.
I would tend to agree that GoPro style action shooting is not the best fit for 24p shooting.
"TVs run at 60Hz (or 50Hz in some countries). To get 24fps to show on a TV that's technically doing 60fps, a method called 2:3 pulldown is used. Here, the first film frame is shown twice, the second three times, the third two times, and so on. With 50Hz generally the 24fps is sped up slightly, to 25fps, which fits nicely with 50Hz.
The 2:3 method works, technically, but it's not terribly pleasant. The result is a noticeably jerky motion whenever there's a camera pan, or horizontal motion on screen. Your eye/brain picks up this odd cadence, and it looks like the camera is jerking sideways instead of a smooth motion."
I respectfully disagree about pulldown. The jerky motion IS the 24p. It is a slow framerate. It does not react well to hardly any camera movement.
Once again, there is no 24Hz viewing medium!! All monitors or televisions have a rate they refresh any screen changes and they happen to try to not go below 50/60Hz because they would show flicker that the human eye can pickup. Cinema projectors do the double frame, double shutter thing.
24p is a tricky framerate but when you watch produced drama like "Game of Thrones" are you saying that it does not look proper? Just trying to keep the technical information correct here because people often blame 24p jerkiness on the viewing equipment when it is really the thorns of the framerate.
Now modern flatscreen TVs (like computer monitors) can handle progressive input (24p 30p 60p) unlike earlier TVs which where interlaced only. But do not let this get confused with refresh rate (Hz). Some newer TVs have a higher refresh rate like 240Hz and the motion looks totally different.
In practice most of the 24fps material in youtube looks less smooth and often erratic compared to 30 fps material. This is often the case in drone footage.
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