GoPro used to have a solid advantage on the action camera market, but the company slowly got overtaken by its competitors once they stopped innovating so rapidly. Right now, there are plenty of good offers all over the place, and interested buyers don’t have to search long to find durable devices with great hardware components and features.
The company obviously hasn’t given up though, as they’ve just released the GoPro Hero 5, and are currently enjoying a lot of positive response all over the market thanks to the new camera. There are some issues with it, according to some reviewers, and it could have been a bit more polished in some areas, but the overall product is a great offer that should satisfy the needs of most action fans.
Some of the new additions to the design of the camera include a touchscreen display – something that has been requested for quite a while by fans – as well as an improved form factor that should make the camera more comfortable to use.
Durability seems to have been improved as well, as critics have been reporting significantly better performance from the camera in this regard. Some have apparently been putting it through more rigorous tests to see how much it can withstand, and reports so far have been very positive.
The camera arrived in several variants, including the GoPro Hero 5 Black and Hero 5 Session, and they’re aimed at users with different preferences. Those who want to truly capture every moment of their performances will want to go with the Black edition though, as it offers better framerate capabilities, and can record smoother video at various resolutions.
Otherwise, both models should offer users similar levels of detail and usage time, with the Black being aimed at those who want to get a professional edge in their recordings. There are lots of settings for the resolution and framerate on both devices, allowing a user to get precise control over the outcome of their sessions.
This goes for photos as well, as the GoPro Hero 5 Black actually offers some advanced capabilities for still photography. Not that this is the main reason people buy a GoPro in most cases, but it’s still good to know that the device can snap better shots from time to time. We can definitely see some users taking advantage of this.
Last but not least, the Black also comes with slightly better long-term recording capabilities due to its better battery, but that’s not to say that the Hero edition is actually bad in this regard. Those who want to make sure that the device will hold up even in longer recording sessions should definitely go with the Black though.
All in all, GoPro have designed a great selection of offers for their fans, and they should be able to retain the interest of action camera users for now. Whether the company will also survive in the future is hard to tell, but at least they have the potential to remain active on the market at the moment.
It will also depend on what other companies release in the coming months, as we suspect that competitors won’t stay quiet in light of the recent release of the Hero 5. There have been some rumors about interesting action camera offers coming from other companies soon, but we’ll have to wait and see if any of those appear before the holiday season.