GoPro - HERO5 Black

I think the way to look at it, is that GoPro was so far ahead for so long, there was no real competition for them for over a decade. Even DJI had GoPro mounts built in when the Phantom 1 came along. Historically, GoPro perfected their 1080P then moved to 2.7k on the Hero 3 Black. They had the best 4k on the Hero 4 Black. Then they made the whole camera waterproof and added the built in touchscreen on the Hero 5 Black, then they went 4k 60 with moderate stabilization on the Hero 6 black, built a tiny camera on the Session 4 and 5. With the Hero 7 black, they finally got stabilization in camera that started to compete with 3 axis gimbals. On the 8 they had the mount built in so you didn't have to have a frame and changed to a larger form factor with the Hero 9 black and got resolution to 5.3k. They perfected features like Timewarp and Hyperlapse where all the work was done in camera instead of post. They made GoPro labs available for most of their cameras and gave amazing levels of customization that no other cameras have even to this day. Then they really started to stagnate and features were more incremental and evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Sure they had the 8:7 sensor and got video resolution up to 24.7 megapixels, but they still use a tiny sensor and low light performance is still very bad. They also had to deal with the rise of DJI and Insta360 who started to release competing products. Dji matched 10 bit the same year as GoPro, The Action 5 and Ace Pro 2 use much larger sensors and do much better in low light. GoPro was late to the party with magnetic mounting systems and Insta360 even put 8k into their Ace Pro versions. Insta360 has the Ace Pro Line, their Go series mini camera and even had the modular R series which could be an action cam or a 360 camera. In the time since GoPro released the Max, Insta360 has released 5 consumer grade 360 cameras that get better each year and now do 8k. We have no idea when the Max 2 will be released. GoPro stock is hovering around 50 cents a share and the market cap of the entire company is only 75 million dollars. It used to be almost 11 billion dollars, so it is 145 times smaller than it was shortly after the company went public. They have had to lay off staff and that has a huge impact on R&D. They are clearly falling behind competitors with no real path forward. Depending on which site you listen to, they rate the probability of bankruptcy at 33 to 62% in the next 24 months. That is not the sign of a healthy company. They botched the launch of their Karma drone and ceded that potential marketplace to DJI in the process. The reality is that the DJI and Insta360 cameras do a lot of things better and much easier. Low light is a real thing for a lot of people and the Action 5 and Ace Pro do a very good job in the space and GoPro isn't on the same playing field. I love the new GoPro lens system, but I am an advanced user and have been using ND filters, Anamorphic lenses, and macro lenses for years with the GoPro. The new anamorphic lens is great because it does the desqueeze of your footage automatically in camera. What is annoying is that they announced the lens in September of 2024 and I was finally able to get it 7 months later. GoPro is a great camera, but for many people who never touch labs, don't care about 10 bit or color grading, never do reframing 8:7, like to shoot in lower light conditions, or won't spend the $129 on an anamorphic lens, the GoPro is not really the camera for them. Insta360 are releasing much better cameras each year and GoPro is falling further behind. I really want GoPro to come back strong, but I fear they don't have the finances to compete unless they have an absolutely amazing technical breakthrough in the action camera space.

I have a 4 Silver, 5 Black and a 12. Really only ever use the 12 since getting it. But if I had waited for the Action 5 to come out I definitely would have gone for that one instead. The full Adventure combo comes in at the same price as just the Hero 12 here, if not even a little bit cheaper. So yeah there's a bit of buyers remorse over that one.

I would get at least a Hero 5 black if you use an external software for stabilization, and at least a 7 black to rely on the base stabilization.

I have bought the 3+, 5 black, 8 black, and 11 black over the years. They’ve done me well, but I won’t be buying another one. DJI has surpassed them everywhere. I understand there is a lot of brand riders here because I get downvoted anytime I bring up DJI being better. I’m going with the Osmo Pocket line in the future.

I have a 5 black, I can’t get the firmware to update, even when doing it manually with the SD card. App says there is no update but it’s on firmware 1.xx and 2.70 is the final firmware. Without an update I can’t run protune which is needed to increase low light performance.

I’ve been seeing it too since looking to buy one. I got a used hero 5 black and it works perfect for what I need. The battery length is a little annoying but I get a little more than a hour at 2.7k 60fps

I got this bundle for $379 which I thought was a good deal. I've been out of the loop when it comes to cameras the past couple years. I've had a GoPro 5 black which was great then it got water damaged and I got a 8 Black as replacement. Didn't use the 8 much until I took it down to 30ft free diving and forgot it needed a case to go down that depth and it got destroyed. Nevertheless, was really great videos I got before it died. I remember GoPro being the leader In action cams so i decided to get the 13 black without much research. I assumed it's still the go to for action cams. Started looking at some videos before it arrives but It seems like almost every YouTuber says it's not good and DJI action 5 is better. Seems like everyone is praising the DJI and completely throwing negative reviews on the GoPro. What happened ?

I do think the last few newest ones have far far better stabilization and image quality and I might actually use it more (if I had one). I think I have a hero 5 black and it is a functional camera, but on a chest mount it's pretty unwatchable cause it shakes too much.

If you're just looking for crash recording, you can buy old gopros off ebay for $50-80 with 4k capability and new batteries on Amazon for less than $40. Had a Hero 5 black for like 6 years and recorded some interesting crap. 720p is like 1.5 hour battery I think?? No need for 4k or 8k if its just insurance record. You may have to update the software to work with newer batteries.

i just bought a hero 5 black with ton of accesories for 90. I guess you could get an 8 or 7 for this price but you then must invest in buying extra gear