Even though it’s not the only action camera on the market at this point, the GoPro is still going strong with new releases and improvements to their line, and it’s obvious that they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Sure, others are catching up quite fast, and there is currently a lot of active competition in this field, but this certainly doesn’t mean that GoPro have an inferior offer, all things considered. And with the release of the Hero 5, the company might find itself back in the spotlight for a good while.
The new camera is going to improve the formula in various aspects, as the company has been looking at both the exterior of the device as well as the inner parts. On the outside, users will get great waterproofing capabilities – much better than anything we’ve seen so far in the line, according to reports – while the camera itself is going to support 8K video recording and various other features.
What’s more, it should also be able to record at 60 frames per second at that resolution, and there are also rumors of even higher FPS rates for the lower resolutions. That could make this camera the best in its class when it comes to capturing outstanding shots full of action in every second, and showing them in great detail. Not to mention the potential for downsampling from a higher resolution and watching slow-motion videos thanks to the higher framerate.
All of this will be packed in a brand new body, according to rumors, which is going to reduce both the size and the weight of the camera by a large margin. Its size is reportedly getting cut down by half, and the weight is close to that as well, so we’re going to get an even more compact camera capable of taking amazing shots, perfectly suited for active people who like the idea of capturing all of their action in exquisite detail.
We don’t know how much it’s going to cost, but rumors are that GoPro are aiming to retain their pricing system but with a slight increase so we’re probably looking at a $500-$600 price tag, while older models are likely going to be reduced in price. As for the increase, it should be warranted by the various extra features offered in the camera, as it comes out with hardware that’s objectively better than what the previous model had when it came out, considering the time when it’s coming out.
With all this said, one big question remains – when? We still have no idea when the next GoPro is going to arrive to the market, but most rumors indicate that it’s not very likely to happen by the end of this year. The most popular predictions put the release date sometime in the beginning of 2016, and that might make sense with regard to the way GoPro have been releasing their models so far. However, it could also be a small problem for the company.
They are going to miss the holiday season if they did that, and now would be the perfect time for a release like this one. Many people would happily buy the Hero 5 as a gift or for themselves for the winter holidays, especially if it’s as good as rumors are saying. On the other hand, releasing it early in 2016 could have some potential benefits as well, so both sound like viable options.