New GoPros! First Look At The GoPro Hero 6 Black and Fusion
The new GoPro Hero 6 Black looks to set the bar for image quality, stabilisation and simplicity, with an all-new custom processor giving their latest little box of tricks, amongst other things, 60fps 4K footage. But there’s also the Fusion…
GoPro just lured us to their European HQ with the promise of nibbles, red wine, beer, and something ‘undisclosed’. Oh, it’s a year since they released the Hero5, we thought. Maybe it’s the release of the rumoured GoPro Hero6? That, or they’d figured out how to retinally implant their cameras thus making the Radical Unicorn extinct. That would be sad! Turns out it was the former and no Radical Unicorns have been harmed.
Yes, the GoPro Hero6 launched with great fanfare, some AWESOME and hand signs of satan, plus they also unveiled new updates to their Karma drone, launched their chin-stroking spherical video-capturing Fusion camera, improved their QuikStories app, and dropped some new mounts too.
GoPro Hero6
€569.99 / £499.99 / $499.99
The star of the show, though, was undeniably the new GoPro Hero6 Black. It was, lest we forget, reserved for the Jobsian ‘one last thing’ in the webcast we were plugged into. Over the years we’ve been constantly baffled by the amount of video and photo tech they’ve manage to pack into this little box of magic, and while from the exterior there’s not much of a change from last year’s Hero5 (the outside of which was a bit special when that dropped last year – GoPro ditched the protective/waterproof housing in favour of a slimmer, all-in-one waterproof/impact-resistant design), it’s mainly inside where the Hero6 Black’s magic happens.
Thanks to their new, custom-designed GP1 processor, the Hero6 Black offers you even more mindblowing image quality including a ‘whoooah’-inducing 4K60 and 1080p240 video (in layman’s terms you can now get decent slow motion at 4K resolution, and ultra-mega-wtf-mo at good old-fashioned 1080p) and the most advanced video stabilisation ever achieved in a GoPro.
Hero6 also has improved the dynamic range and low-light performance you can pump out to really make things pop, and an added digital zoom so you can crop in on the fly. Madness for pros, but this is something the man on the street will lap up. Importantly, GP1 automates all of these new tricks, allowing regular Joe to bag vibrant videos and stunning photos without messing around with mindfuck image settings. GP1 also advances GoPro’s capabilities in computer vision and machine learning, enabling HERO6 to analyse visual scenes and sensor data for improved automated QuikStories.
GoPro Fusion
€799.99 / £699.99 / $699.99
You know what we said about the Hero6 being the ‘main event’? Actually not so sure about that. This was the presentation’s opener, and like in snowboard movies the opener could maybe even be more important than the Hero6’s ender…
This slightly awkward-looking thing (when you’re used to GoPro’s dinky tech boxes) was the first new product rolled out, and could – basically – change the game. The GoPro Fusion was announced months ago, so it felt a little like old news… until we saw what it could actually do. The example clip was a skate fella who set up the Fusion on a tripod in the middle of a bowl, and then proceeded to film the whole 360-degree experience. And what he could pump out from that footy was, to use a GoPro-ism, awesome.
You can pan around this auto-stitched 360-degree footy it bags, get all VR and headset like a badman, or mini-Earth the shit out of it if you want, but for us the most tantilising thing was the Overcapture feature. This allows you, while in playback, to re-capture sections of the 360-degree action to produce a 2D clip that kinda takes the framing out of framing. Apart from you still need to be able to frame to get a good frame, so creative people aren’t being sent to the Knacker’s quite yet.
It’s a game-changer in many ways, however the price, the not-insignificant size, and the fact that when the 360 footy is pulled out into 2D it comes out at 1080p at 30fps, means that for us it’s a toe-dip into the future of all-capturing media wizard boxes rather than a fully-fledged tool that can be used for pro-level edits. That said, for the man on the street with a couple of spare sheckels, friends they want to impress and a YouTube account… it will blow minds.
QuikStories
If you’ve never played around with GoPro’s QuikStories, you should give it a whirl. This functionality sits in the GoPro app on your phone and allows you to select your banger clips easily (even easier if you’ve voice-tagged the best ones while filming); not just that it’ll frickin edit them all together – with transitions, titles and cuts on the beat of the music – automatically. It’s never been easier to bosh out a quick, decent-looking Instagram edit on the fly. Hero6 has 3x faster WiFi on it, meaning footy will zing over to your phone, where the GoPro App will work its magic and create QuikStories for you.
Karma
€ / $
Karma, GoPro’s drone/stabliliser grip combo, is now Hero6 compatible. Obviously. They’ve also made Karma able to now ‘Follow and Watch’ – using GPS it can now automatically follow the controller (hopefully you, not some thievish crack head who’s mugged you) on the go. This is something drone boners have been used to with other products, so it’s good for GoPro to add such functionality. Other updates include an expanded Cable-Cam auto-shot path, and the capability for the camera to be instructed to tilt up and look above the horizon. These added functions are available via a firmware update that’s ready to be downloaded from the GoPro site right now.
Additional New Products
Shorty – This is a pretty handy-looking grip that can be extended into a pole, and even be spread out to work as a tripod.
The Handler – An updated floating handgrip with a quick-release mounting feature.
Bite Mount + Floaty – A versatile bite mount with an easy-to-spot float, ideal for POV.
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PR comms…
Hero6 Features: Custom GP1 Processor, Next-Level Video Stabilization and 3X Faster QuikStories Fusion Spherical Camera Launched – A New Era of Creativity Begins GoPro today unveiled HERO6 Black, the most powerful and convenient GoPro, yet. Powered by GoPro’s custom-designed GP1 processor, HERO6 achieves an entirely new level of performance including stunning 4K60 and 1080p240 video and the most advanced video stabilization ever achieved in a GoPro.
GoPro also launched Fusion, its bar-setting waterproof, mountable 5.2K spherical camera. Additionally, GoPro introduced new mounts and accessories plus a new Follow mode for its Karma drone. HERO6’s next-level image quality, video stabilization and three times faster QuikStories performance makes it a powerful storytelling extension of your smartphone, said Woodman. It’s never been easier to live it, then share it…using a GoPro.
HERO6 BLACK: With stunning 4K60 and 1080p240 video packed into a rugged, waterproof, go-anywhere design, HERO6 Black and the GoPro App automatically transform your adventures into cinematic QuikStory videos you can share with the world. HERO6 also has dramatically improved dynamic range and low-light performance to really make things pop, and an added digital zoom just to get crazy.
– Powered by GoPro’s Custom-Designed GP1 Processor
– 4K60 and 1080p240 Video
– QuikStories Enabled, GoPro App Compatible
– Most Advanced Stabilization of any HERO camera
– All-New Touch Zoom
– 3x Faster Offload Speeds via 5GHz Wi-Fi
– Waterproof to 33 Feet (10m)
– Compatible with Karma and Existing GoPro Mounts
– Improved Dynamic Range and Low-Light Performance
– RAW and HDR Photo Modes
– Voice Control in 10 Languages
– GPS, Accelerometer and Gyroscope
– WiFi + Bluetooth Developed from the ground up to maximize a GoPro’s capabilities, GP1 enables twice the video frame rates, improved image quality, dynamic range, low-light performance and dramatically improved video stabilization over previous HERO camera generations.
QUIKSTORIES
QuikStories is an app feature that makes it easy to share short videos of your adventures. HERO6 is optimized for QuikStories with 3X faster WiFi. This means your footage will rapidly transfer from your GoPro to your phone where the GoPro App will automatically create QuikStory videos for you.
FUSION
With its ability to capture immersive 5.2K spherical content, GoPro Fusion marks the beginning of a new creative era. Fusion captures everything around you so you’ll never miss the shot, and gimbal-like stabilization makes it all shockingly smooth.
Use the GoPro App to play back and share your footage as VR content or use the app’s OverCapture™ feature to recapture and share your spherical shot as a traditional fixed perspective video.
– 5.2K30 and 3K60 Spherical Video
– 18MP Spherical Photo
– GoPro App Compatible
– OverCapture Allows for Traditional Video Creation from 360 Footage
– Advanced Stabilization
– 360 Audio
– Waterproof to 16ft (5m)
– Time Lapse Video + Photo, Night Lapse and Burst Modes
– Works with Most GoPro Mounts
– Includes Fusion Grip Mount
– Voice Control in 10 Languages
– GPS, Accelerometer, Gyroscope and Compass
– WiFi + Bluetooth
KARMA
Take the Lead. Karma will tag along Karma is ready for HERO6 Black and features two new auto-shot paths: Follow and Watch. Using GPS, Karma can now automatically follow the Karma Controller while you’re on the go, keeping you framed in the shot. The Watch auto-shot path will keep Karma hovering in place while it rotates, keeping the Karma Controller in frame wherever it goes. Other new Karma updates include an expanded Cable-Cam auto-shot path and Look Up camera tilt capability.
– Now HERO6 Black compatible
– Follow – Follows the Karma Controller, framing you in the shot
– Watch – Automatically keeps the Karma Controller in frame while hovering in place
– Cable Cam – Set up to 10 waypoints for more complex shots
– Look Up Tilt – Allows camera to tilt upwards to look above the horizon
Current Karma owners may unlock new features via firmware update, available today.
Additional New Products
– Shorty– The ultimate pocket-able extension pole and tripod, perfect for any activity.
– The Handler– An updatedfloating handgrip with a quick-release mounting feature.
– Bite Mount + Floaty– A versatile bite mount with an easy-to-spot float, ideal for POV.
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