It鈥檚 been more than a year since GoPro released the Hero4 Session鈥攁 one-inch cube designed to stick to basically anything and thus听expand听the possibilities of POV shots. From a sales perspective, , taking the company's stock prices with it. As a result,听investors and content makers have been eagerly awaiting听the听launch of the .
I got to play with all three models in Lake Tahoe听this week. Now, in general,听I think听it's听time for the increasingly saturated POV听market to take a big听step forward when it comes to creatively capturing听high-quality footage. While听I听would have liked to see听GoPro听attempt听a听bold听rethink of the action cam (think:听a model with听detachable lenses that would expand the focal range),听I can听say that the听Hero5听Black is听the best POV camera on the market. And the Karma sets a new benchmark for ease of use and capability for a consumer-level drone.听I鈥檒l be testing both cameras and the drone extensively over the next few months, so check back for more in-depth reviews soon. In the interim, here are my first impressions.听
First, the Karma, which has been in development for several years. The drone enters听a market听dominated by the but I听think it听will win over a number of those customers.听
For starters, it comes with a detachable three-axis gimbal鈥攁听device used to stabilize the camera for smooth footage. The key word here is detachable:听you can fly the gimbal on the drone听or remove it and use it on a听handheld grip to create buttery smooth run-and-gun footage from the ground. The听gimbal works with other mounts, too, so you can wear it on your chest or听pack strap听while skiing or mountain biking, for example. It鈥檚 the first time we鈥檝e seen this kind of portability in a gimbal, and it's by far the Karma's most significant feature.
Other benefits: the drone is compatible with GoPro鈥檚 latest and much improved听Hero5听cameras (more on them听in a bit).听It's small, folding into an included daypack, and weighs听just four听pounds. The gameset-like controller comes with its own screen, so you don鈥檛 need to rely on your phone (as you do with听DJI products). In the air, the Karma is fast, intuitive, and fun. It听goes on sale October 23听for $799,听or $1099 with a Hero5 Black.听
Now onto that camera.听The Hero5 Black ($399, available October 2) is the latest update to the GoPro family. The new camera doesn鈥檛 get a video or photo-quality upgrade鈥攊t still shoots 4K video at 30 frames per second听and takes听12 megapixel听stills鈥攂ut it does have some improvements that听make shooting easier. The most important of these:听the Hero5 is now completely waterproof鈥攚ithout a housing鈥攁nd sports a two-inch touchscreen display. This is the听first time a Black edition GoPro gets听a screen, which should make capturing and managing your footage easier. The Hero5 Black also has a听voice-control feature,听so you don't have to fumble around for the record button ever again. Say commands听like,听鈥淕oPro, record video鈥,听or听鈥淕oPro, take picture,鈥 then just听focus on what's in front of you.
The upgraded听three-microphone system听improves overall audio quality and can detect听whichever microphone has the least interference from wind or other background noise. We also like the linear-view setting, which zooms in and听will remove the distortion and听often dizzying, super-wide angle effect. This is听useful on a drone because it lets you keep a true horizon.
The camera听can听shoot RAW (or uncompressed)听photos for better editing. It also听has an internal video stabilization system that will help smooth听footage. When plugged in and connected to WiFi, the Hero5 auto-uploads photos and videos to GoPro Plus鈥攁 new cloud-based subscription service aimed at making your content more accessible and therefore easier to edit and share.
Finally, there's the听new Hero5 Session, which can shoot 4K at 30fps and 10 megapixel听stills鈥攊mpressive for its size鈥攁nd has voice control, video stabilization, cloud connectivity, linear-view setting, and fits in the Karma.
To summarize the launch, I'd听say this: the Karma combines听the industry鈥檚 best drone and action-cam technology into one tight, easy-to-use package. And the听Hero5 gives us even more tools to capture high-quality video. I听expect to see a winter full of听POV edits that demonstrate how these two听releases combine to improve on GoPro鈥檚 existing technology. I'm听excited to hop into the fray, too.听