Go Pro is back with a brand new take on a classic camera. The Hero series has been the go-to action camera for a few years now and, while it looks the same as last year, the Hero 6 Black packs a serious punch. It takes better photos, shoots better video and is what the company calls an "intelligent camera" thanks to its custom GP1 chip.
GoPro Hero 6 Black: Design
The short version of the design story: it looks just like the Hero 5. Very little, if anything, has changed on the outside. It's the same, small, square-ish rugged camera with waterproofing.
There's a small monochrome screen on the front, next to the camera, and a larger, colour touchscreen on the back to use as a viewfinder. This also acts as the window to the touch-based user interface that lets you quickly change shooting modes, access settings etc. It's still small enough to fit in the tiniest of pockets.
Having the same design as the previous model does offer some serious upsides. It means you can carry on using your existing mounts and accessories, which includes the Karma Drone. What's more, waterproofing up to 10 metres means you can take it underwater with you and shoot some great diving/swimming shots.
GoPro Hero 6 Black: GP1 processor, Photo and Video
While the design hasn't changed much since last year's model, the Hero 6's case is hiding a new kind of magic inside. It's called the GP1 processor. It's custom designed, and enables features that weren't previously available.
Perhaps the most important is that this new action camera can now record both 4K at 60 frames-per-second, and 1080p at 240 frames-per-second. This means you can get stunning slow motion footage at full HD, and a much smoother ultra HD image.
In tandem with that, the Hero 6 captures HEVC codec video, which means the camera benefits also from not seeing excessive power consumption, or overheating, while still having fantastic image quality at a low bitrate.
The GP1 also enables a new stabilisation algorithm. So, while the camera doesn't have mechanical/optical stabilisation, this new algorithm should produce end results that look like they've been shot using a gimbal. Or at least, that's what GoPro promises.
Last but not least, the GoPro Hero 6 also now shoots some great-looking HDR still photos with vibrant colour, and impressive detailing. More vitally to photography enthusiasts; the camera has more natural tone-mapping and can shoot RAW, so photos in general look closer to what the eye sees than previously.
As a bonus, there's now also a digital zoom option that you access just by touching the screen on the back.
GoPro Hero 6 Black: QuikStories
One new feature launched earlier in the year for GoPro users was QuikStories. In essence, it was the ability to automatically transfer footage to your smartphone, and then have your phone magically create a video edit, cut to music, with you not having to lift a finger.
It showed a lot of promise and is massively convenient, although not perfect. In the Hero 6, thanks to the GP1 chip, it's getting a lot better.
Firstly, footage can offload to your phone three times faster than with the Hero 5, so there's less delay. Secondly, the Hero 6 - using its processor - can use audio and telemetry cues, as well as facial recognition to better choose shots where the action is happening.
This - in the end - means less time waiting for a QuikStory to be created, and less time having to fine tune it manually to get the shots that you want. It should get close to choosing those for you.
GoPro Hero 6 Black: GPS, voice control and other features
As you'd expect, the new GoPro has several sensors and connectivity options. This now includes 5GHz Wi-Fi to help get those large file transfers to your phone much faster than before.
Similar to the Hero 5, you'll be able to shout commands at it to get it to take photos and shoot video. This supports 10 languages.