GoPro 5… and yet another new action cam

The GoPro Hero 5 Black more or less takes up the design of the Hero 4 family, with a rectangular body. However, it stands out on many design elements, starting with its texture, much softer and pleasant to the touch than that of the Hero 4. With a peach skin effect, the GoPro Hero 5 does not slide as easily as its predecessors and we can therefore more easily wedge it on a slippery texture.

There is always a small non-backlit screen on the front of the camera to display some information such as recording time, format, remaining battery capacity and the remaining space on the SD card.

Integrated LCD screen

The biggest novelty of the Hero 5 Black is located on the back of the camera, since there is a 2-inch LCD screen directly integrated into the device. This one is very practical for framing, since it previously had to go through a screen to add to the camera (except for the Hero 4 Silver which put aside 4K), which made it heavier and made it much less compact.

However, it is still possible to frame directly with the video return, via Wi-Fi on your smartphone. The touch screen also allows you to quickly change the settings of the GoPro thanks to a brand new interface.

A brand new interface

The interface has been completely redesigned, and it is much more pleasant to use even if the addicts to the old GoPro will have to get used again. Changing the settings is much faster than before, since for example, to change the interval during a timelapse, simply slide your finger on the screen to select the duration. Much more practical than having to press dozens of times on a physical button like on the Hero 4. The information displayed on the screen is easy to read and the brightness seems good for framing outdoors.

Total water resistance… up to 10 meters…

If you are in a hurry type and want to start recording at full speed, GoPro had the good idea of ​​allowing the recording to start and start with a single button. There is still a second physical button to change the mode, without using the touch screen. Convenient to use the GoPro in water without using the touch screen. Because yes, the GoPro 5 is fully water resistant, up to a depth of 10 meters, without additional housing. A shocking argument since we keep the screen and the microphones in all circumstances.

RAW, USB Type-C and stabilization

To avoid having wind noise without a box, GoPro has integrated an algorithm to suppress this noise. We were unable to test this functionality when we got started. Likewise, we were unable to test digital stabilization or camera control through voice. All these features were still highly anticipated and we are impatient to be able to test the image quality and in particular the RAW mode in photo or the WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) mode in video. Good news also, the GoPro Hero 5 now includes a USB Type-C port in addition to the micro HDMI port allowing to output 4K stream at 30 frames per second.

Price and availability

The GoPro Hero 5 Black is available at a price of 429 euros, the same price as the Hero 4 Black.