Yes, I the Action 6 has a few upgrades from the Hero 11:
* Depth rating of 20m without a case - Perfect for light swimming and snorkeling
* GoPro footage often looks green underwater, the Action 6 has a sensor that delivers a more natural skin tone underwater.
* Better heat management - My GoPros get hot. The Action 6 is more power efficient and doesn't have this problem.
* That power efficiency results in a better battery life than the Hero 11
* Better Low-Light if you are visiting the caves of a Cenote, which I highly recommend!
Have you considered the Hero 13? It does shoot in 5.3k, but only has a depth rating of 10m, half that of the Action 6. The Action 6 still beats the Hero 13 in battery life and low light performance.
* [The Action 6 is $369 on Amazon](https://amzn.to/4a3kFNX)
* [The GoPro Hero 13 is $399 on Amazon](https://amzn.to/4kjMhBP)
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualified purchases, and personally, I like the DJI products better overall. I really like the quick release magnetic system. The GoPros might have better lenses, but the ability to quickly attach and detach and superior battery life is a plus for me.
The real answer you are looking for is the GoPro Hero 2024 (maybe it’s called the LIT Hero now) it’s super simple, cheap (compared to normal GoPro) shoots video, exports to phone/pc and is much lighter/smaller than the others.
Edit: MAX2 is the best camera. Not best bang for buck.
Diving or snorkelling?
Absolutely do NOT trust it without a dive housing for either. I see a load of cameras of all brands "waterproof" to 10m or whatever used without a case and flood. Dont trust it. Get a case.
Those ratings are static not dynamic pressure which matters a lot.
the 2024 is solid for a beginner especially at that price point. just make sure she gets comfortable with the basic controls on land first before taking it underwater since the buttons can be tricky when wet. might want to grab a floating hand grip too in case she drops it
Mission 1, can simultaneously record BT higher quality mode now, Internal mics, and UHQ wireless into the USB (or wired mic(s). At the same time. Can DJ-Insta? And the new Media Mod, can do the beamforming like the last 8 years of Mac laptops or the recent Insta mic pro that was lauded on 50+ YT channels recently.
You don't need > 16kz for voice, really. GoPro is just fine on sound. Heck their baseline in Hero 13 and prior is better than any of DJI's internal mics. Maybe DJI crippled them on purpose? For stereo wireless, you just go in thru USB.
And then there are the mandatory HDR and color issues with the DJ-Insta Twins
Thermals depends use-case. If you have airflow and sensible camera settings, you'll be fine. Keep camera shaded too, I might throw a ball cap over one sitting in direct sun before a track run. Can also help heat by using external power and no battery inside. Even Mission can overheat (slower than any other action camera tho),,,if inappropriate settings are used and inattentive install. So if you thermal out a Mission in say 40 mins....a brand D/I would have shut down in 1/2 or 1/3 the time often. Personally I don't "just run it for hours , pick up a couple 20s clips later after uploading hours to the cloud". Instead I capture with intent...and somehow that tends to come out better who'd-a-thunk that? 😉. Things like Quikcapture...highlight tags etc really help. And many great clips you say were not one-take on random settings pulled from one 2 hours long capture. Shorter captures, sometimes retakes as you try settings...such as surfing or skateboarding.
So, what is your use case?
Action 4 has way less thermal capacity than a Hero 13, tested. I've never lost footage to heat on either tho. Action 4 retains a more cinematic / realistic / non-beginner look than the Action 5/6. Those bake in HDR and color tweaks in the non-Dlog-M modes.
Top Action Cameras on Reddit
1
DJI
Osmo Action 5 Pro
79% positive of 538 users
Great low-light, mic integration; watch out for lens flare.
ragingduck
