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btrach144

macrumors demi-god
Original poster
Aug 28, 2015
2,851
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Indiana
What are your thoughts on the GoPro Hero 5?

I'm thinking about getting one for an upcoming trip to Hawaii in which I'd like to capture snorkeling. Not sure if I should try and rent one or just buy it outright.

I'm thinking:

How fast can the GoPro Cameras write data? I'm assuming 4k 30 FPS would have the highest data output. Would the 90 MB/s on the mentioned SD card be enough to feed the camera's appetite? I'm not worded about read speed.

What about overall impressions? Is GoPro dead, is this camera overpriced? I own a Canon 6D but largely for stills. This would be my first attempt at videography.
 

ColdCase

macrumors 68040
Feb 10, 2008
3,358
276
NH
I dunno, I have a Hero 4 silver and use Samsung Pro+, Sandisk Ultra, PNy Turbo, and Lexar 633s without issues. It records up to 2.7k video however.

Its a nice rugged camera, small lens wide angle, no zoom. Its great for what it does, but doesn't come near the video quality of the HF G40... then the VIXIA wouldn't get close to water :)

Expensive, yes. Lots of accessories available.
 
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ObsidianIce

macrumors 6502
Jun 1, 2004
308
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Seventh Circle of Hell
I like it, especially with the waterproof housing now...no additional casing needed, better sound,,,and a lower price. No real improvement in the vid quality, but it was really good already. I for one am getting one.
 

btrach144

macrumors demi-god
Original poster
Aug 28, 2015
2,851
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Indiana
I like it, especially with the waterproof housing now...no additional casing needed, better sound,,,and a lower price. No real improvement in the vid quality, but it was really good already. I for one am getting one.
My issue is that I live a rather boring life. I typically get to go snorkeling once a year though. In order to out right buy a gopro, I'd have to use it in other areas of life.

What do you use your gopro for?
 

ColdCase

macrumors 68040
Feb 10, 2008
3,358
276
NH
I received one as a Holiday present, so I've been trying to find some use for it. So far I mounted it to my bike when I go trail riding. The kids get a kick out of it when strapped to their dogs. Parents get a kick out of it when strapped to their toddler. You can use it for surveillance to find out how squirrels are robbing you bird feeder. I've used it as a dash cam when I take scenic drives.

There are a bunch of stuff on youtube recorded with a gopro. Once you recorded all that video, you can spend days and weeks of your spare time making up the best clips.....

One thing I noticed is that sun can degrade the video, and a sun shade does wonders.
 

handsome pete

macrumors 68000
Aug 15, 2008
1,725
259
My issue is that I live a rather boring life. I typically get to go snorkeling once a year though. In order to out right buy a gopro, I'd have to use it in other areas of life.

What do you use your gopro for?

That's kind of why I got rid of my Hero 3 Black a while back. I'd like to think my life isn't exactly "boring" but I just didn't use it all that much considering my phone fulfills pretty much all of my video needs.

Now for snorkeling, it would be excellent. But since you have doubts about your usage outside of the trip, I'd probably recommend just renting if you can find a good rental price. I used to own a selection of really nice lenses for my DSLR, but again realized I just didn't use them as much as I once had. So I sold them and now just rent if I'm going on a trip or somewhere else I'd like to use them.

If you can't find a decent rental, maybe look at a used Hero 3 (if you don't need 4K) or Hero 4. Probably could save some good money there.
 

ObsidianIce

macrumors 6502
Jun 1, 2004
308
37
Seventh Circle of Hell
My issue is that I live a rather boring life. I typically get to go snorkeling once a year though. In order to out right buy a gopro, I'd have to use it in other areas of life.

What do you use your gopro for?
Nothing yet because I don't have one lol. But I'll be using it to capture video and pics for my DJ and Bartending business, Also I'm a car guy to I'll be using it for that, and then just for kind of whatever comes up.
 
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btrach144

macrumors demi-god
Original poster
Aug 28, 2015
2,851
6,942
Indiana
I rented the GoPro Hero 5. It was great on vacation but I have an office job outside of vacation. I would never use it outside of vacation. It was great but I'm very happy with my choice to rent it vs buying it.
 

hitek79

macrumors member
Feb 11, 2011
90
0
I bought the Hero 5 to replace my Hero 4. I thought the Hero 4 was junk. Had multiple issues with SD cards, and overall the battery life was bad. Hero 5 is a major improvement in those areas. I just used it on vacation and was very happy with it. Will be using it for snowboard season this winter too. Overall, I would recommend it. The voice feature is excellent too.
 

Ifti

macrumors 68040
Dec 14, 2010
3,901
2,396
UK
I have quite a few GoPros.
I generally stick to either Sandisk Extreme or Lexar 600x cards - both work perfectly fine with the GoPro at its highest possible settings with Protune enabled.

Ive just taken delivery of a 200GB Lexar 633x card, so will test whether it works OK on the GoPro ;)

Heres my take on the Hero 5:

 

3568378

Suspended
Dec 30, 2015
129
138
Orlando, FL
Thoughts? Don't buy it! Had it, returned it, went with Sony X3000. Night and day difference in video quality, stabilization and even sound. Touch screen is nice but not necessary and the Sony PlayMemories app turns your phone into a full control remote and monitor. Balanced Optical Stabilization on the X3000 blows the GoPro's digital (and 1080 only, not 4K) stab. away, hands down. You can see samples and unboxing on my channel at YouTube.com/jeffamclaughlin/
 
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