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Gadget review: Hero5 Black, the best GoPro yet

By, Mumbai
Mar 27, 2017 02:53 PM IST

Outstanding 4K video quality, voice commands, and death to the waterproof case. The GoPro Hero5 Black might be the best action camera out there right now

What: GoPro Hero5 Black
At a glance: 4K action camera with display
USP: Touchscreen, waterproof body, audio-command enabled
Best buy: Rs 30,000 (amazon.in)
Rating: 4/5

The Hero5 Black cuts down on the number of accessories(courtesy gopro.com)
The Hero5 Black cuts down on the number of accessories(courtesy gopro.com)

Do you need an action camera that’s priced at upward of Rs 30K? Well, depends. If you’re just looking for a cool little camera to sit on your cash dash or go into the pool with you once in a while, you could look at other action cameras, both within the GoPro stable as well as outside it.

But, if your weekends are spent trekking, cycling or doing serious laps of Olympic-sized pool rather than dreaming of doing those things, this is the gadget to get.

The GoPro Hero5 Black is waterproof by itself, so it no longer needs a waterproof casing (Courtesy gopro.com)
The GoPro Hero5 Black is waterproof by itself, so it no longer needs a waterproof casing (Courtesy gopro.com)

What’s good: Now, not everyone is a fan of the warped lines of wide-angle action cameras. The Hero5 addresses that with a linear view option that’s great for photos of people or casual videos at parties. The touch screen is a big differentiator, and sets the Hero5 apart even from the new Hero5 Session (smaller; without a display).

The video quality – in regular mode and time lapse – is by far the best we’ve seen in the action cameras category. It shoots at 4K resolution at 30FPS (frames per second), and HD (the more practical option) at 120FPS. The image stabilisation is excellent, and we got steady videos with the camera sitting on our car dash on Mumbai’s horrendous roads. The Hero5 is also waterproof by itself, without needing a case. This means less parts to carry (or lose), and less sound loss inside the glass box. Oh, and you can speak to your camera, since it’s audio-command enabled.

What’s not: Switch to night mode, and the images lose a lot of its daytime sharpness. Also, it works only with images and not with video. Moreover, with the big-ish touchscreen, and the Wi-Fi, the battery drains much more rapidly than you’d like on your action camera.

Verdict: This is a flagship device with good reason. It delivers on quality, build, and ease of use. What you have to ask, though, is this: is this just another toy, or are you active enough to deserve the Hero 5?

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