GoPro HERO5 Black vs HERO6 Black: What are the Differences?

GoPro HERO5 Black vs HERO6 Black: What are the Differences?

Hey there. Welcome to another episode of Tips & Tech Talk. I am your host Ron, and today we’re going to tackle a subject that I had no intention of making a video about. You see, this time last week I was a proud owner of a HERO GoPro 5, but if you follow me on Facebook you might have noticed that I lost my GoPro while I was kayaking down the Clinton River. So here I am at Best Buy, replacing that camera. So without further ado, let’s go into Best Buy and replace that GoPro HERO5 with a HERO6 Black.

Now, before I get too much into talking about the HERO6, another thing that I found interesting inside Best Buy is their new Fusion that GoPro has just introduced. It’s a 360 camera.

Best Buy Representative:

“Yeah, so the Fusion, it’s a 360 camera. It’s the newest camera from GoPro.”

But let’s stop talking about a camera I didn’t purchase and talk about the HERO6 Black, which I did. Like I said, I could’ve purchased the HERO GoPro 5 again but the the upgrades on the HERO6 were just too impressive for me to ignore.

The HERO6 shoots in 4K and 60 frames per second. It shoots at 1080 at 240 frames per second, which will give you some silky smooth, slow motion video. Another great upgrade I like about the 6 over the 5 is it’s internal microphone.

I’m not a fan of any internal microphone on a camera. Most times, you’ll find me using and external microphone – even on the Canon ADD, I use an external microphone. But at the same time, very rarely, will I be in a situation with my HERO6 where I’ll be needing audio. If I need audio, I’ll use a different mode.

But that was a big thing for me is the internal audio, plus they have something new where you can zoom in on the shot in real time. So there’s a lot of upgrades that the HERO6 Black has above the HERO5. But ultimately, the proof is on the pudding. So ,what you say we take this camera out and give it a day in court?

I have taken the liberty of purchasing a handler. It’s kind of a selfie stick. So we’re going to take you along and we’re going to see what this camera, this HERO6 Black can do. So from here and out, we’ll be shooting our video about the HERO6 Black.

So I’ve got my HERO6 set up right here in my vehicle, so this’ll be the first perch, I guess, is my little tripod here in my truck. I am recording at 1080 at 30 frames per second. But some other things that I love about the HERO6 Black is that it shoots in 4K up to 60 frames per second. It shoots at 1080 as I mentioned, at 240 frames per second.

GoPro HERO6 Has Better Stabilization Features

I mentioned those two features, but there’s some other cool little features in this GoPro as well. For example, its stabilization. If you’re in a mobile environment and you’re using it in an action environment like riding a bike or you’re in a kayak, you want to use that stabilization. The HERO6 stabilization is way above the caliber of the HERO5. They changed stabilizations in the internal camera and it’s just much smoother if you’re not using a gimbal. There are so many reasons to like this GoPro 6, but as I mentioned, we’re going to take it out and we’re going to shoot a little bit with it and try the different settings.

Linear Mode Features on GoPro 5 and 6

So another great feature that has been included in the last two or three versions of the GoPro is the linear mode. I think it made its debut in the Hero 5, maybe the 4. But a lot of times when you’re shooting video with the GoPro, you get that fish eye lens and it just doesn’t look like real video. It doesn’t look real. It looks distorted in some cases. So one of the big perks about the HERO 5 and now the HERO6 is the fact that they have a linear mode and couple that with the 1080 and 30 frames per second. This is what you’re looking at me in, the linear mode.

I could make it a little wider and you get more inside the vehicle, but really there’s no need for that. If if I was in a environment where there was a lot of water or a lot of landscape, maybe I’d use that wide angle. But for now, in this situation and for most situations, I’m a real big fan of the linear setting.

GoPro HERO5 and HERO6 are Both Waterproof

One of the big advantages and one of the upgrades that’s been with the GoPro camera is you can take it out of a case because the whole body of the GoPro is water proof. So I don’t need a case for this GoPro and I can take it up to 30 feet under water with no problems.

GoPro HERO6 has Better Zoom In Capabilities

Another upgrade on this camera is the ability to zoom in. Since the HERO5 came out, they had a backing on the GoPro. Now with the HERO6, you can see what the camera sees, unlike the first four versions of the GoPro. So HERO5 and HERO6 have really been a big step up in a lot of different situations.

But with the HERO6 now, the new little thing you can do is you can zoom in on the back of your camera and it will actually zoom the camera in up to 50% which is a very cool feature if you’re recording in a certain situation.

GoPro HERO6 has Better Video Quality in Low Light Situations

Another thing about the HERO6 is its increased improvement in low light situations. One of the things that didn’t like about my HERO5 was its inability to recognize things in dark situations. The HERO6 Black is said to have made a bigger improvement in low light situations. So that would be one of the things that I test out.

Testing the GoPro HERO6 Black Camera

So enough talk of what this camera can do let’s say we take this camera out for a walk and see what it WILL do.

So one of my favorite things about the GoPro HERO6, or the HERO5 for that matter, is the camera’s ability to Protune. What is Protune? It allows you to have flatter settings and control the settings so you can color correct in post production and make the video look so much better than what you’re going to get out of the camera.

So while we’re out here walking Bailey, I thought I’d get some more shots, this time in Protune so that you can see how this video will look after it’s color corrected.

As you can see, out of the camera it looks a little flat, this Protune setting. However when you put it in post and you color correct, add the settings afterwards and post, it looks much better.

One thing I noticed off the bat is that the GoPro HERO6 image stabilization works really, really well.

The truth of the matter is if it had a better internal microphone, I would use this camera a lot more but it’s not going to take the place of my Canon ADD. It’s not going to take the place of my XA10, or some of my other higher end cameras. But there are certain situations where this GoPro HERO6 will come in handy whether it be riding a bike or kayaking. And actually, I’ve been thinking about taking my GoPro and putting it on Bailey, putting it on my pooch. Maybe make a Bailey cam.

So that’s the basic comparison of the GoPro HERO6 and HERO5 . I hope you’ll like this video. If you did, please hit that Like icon, share it with all your friends. Also, go to my YouTube channel and hit that bell icon to make sure you’re notified when I make future videos, if you haven’t done so already.