Gopro launch event - Hero5, Karma Drone

I lost my Hero 4 Black in a lake just a week ago. I think I paid around £300+ for it. The new Hero 5 Black is £350 so not a bad price especially considering the drop in the exchange rate too.

I haven't seen a UK price for the complete drone plus camera package.

One thing I noticed is that the launch didn't go into any detail about the specs such as how the stabilisation is done, maximum bit rate etc... I don't even think flight time of the drone was mentioned, though I can see on the site it's a max of 20 mins.
 
Last edited:
That's a great video! Would be a nice upgrade but my 3+ Black is still going strong and still very capable for my needs. The addition of the stabilisation would be an awesome bonus though. :D

Edit: Just read on the website that it's electronic stabilisation, not optical. :(
 
Last edited:
I'm confused is the Karma an addon to the Hero 5 or a separate thing.

I've been wanting a GoPro for a while and also I DJI Phantom so maybe this is a solution ?
 
Disappointed by the Hero 5. Was really expecting bigger improvements, and 4K/60. Seems to me its mostly gimmicky additions. Useful I suppose, but I dont think we have ever had a new release that hasn't had better resolution/fps modes before now. RAW photos will be nice for those that use it as a stills camera. The stabilization seems a waste of time to me as theyre releasing it alongside a gimbal, and you can just warp in premiere anyway, which will probably still be a more powerful stabilizing tool that the gopro offering. We'll see. Also whats the point in it being a "black" anymore if its the sole offering in its format? Surprised they have gone deeper down the session rabbit hole despite its failure as part of the Hero 4 line.

The Karma/gimbal package does look great though, especially at the price, and this is obviously where the last couple of years R&D money got invested! Will seriously be thinking of retiring my Phantom 2 once it starts shipping, and pending some real world reviews. Wish it had a better range though. 1km is fine if it actually does that, but if its anything like the phantom it wont get anywhere near that unless you're in the middle of nowhere.
 
Last edited:
How is stabilisation a waste of time? Gimbals are generally only good at stabilising larger movements like when hand held. Put one and a motorcycle and you still get a ton of shake. Additionally the gimbal costs over £200 if you want to buy. But yeah optical stabilisation would have been a nice touch. Still if it's anything like digital stabilisation that sony have in their Z5C phone it will pretty good. Shame that one only works in 1080p.

I was hoping the karma was more of a follow me drone like Hexo+ and Airdog, just with the addition of the remote for manual flyers who want it. It's not going to be easy to film yourself kayaking, biking, or anything else that requires two hands if you have to have a big remote control with you.

I would have also like to have seen the gimbal handle being part of the drone rather than something else to carry around. If they could have made it so the whole gimbal inc handle slotted into the front of the drone, that would have been cool. Range is neither here nor there. Gopro's are generally used for filming yourself as oppose to large sweeping cinematic scenes.
 
Chat i had with a chap at gopro. might be of interest to someone.

Brandon (21/09/2016, 19:23:51): My name is Brandon. How can I help you?
Me (21/09/2016, 19:24:07): hey bradon, i live in the uk and am interested in karma
Me (21/09/2016, 19:24:15): could you answer a couple of questions
Brandon (21/09/2016, 19:24:53): Sure, I'd be happy to.
Me (21/09/2016, 19:25:14): So its released on Oct 23, would it be shipped on that date? or arrive on that date?
Brandon (21/09/2016, 19:25:43): It will ship on that date.
Me (21/09/2016, 19:26:05): could you estimate delivery time to the uk? or would it ship from UK storage?
Brandon (21/09/2016, 19:27:11): I can't say exactly since it's outside the US but it comes from our facility in the Netherlands. Usually between 3-7 business days.
Me (21/09/2016, 19:27:25): does the cost include shipping and any customs fees?
Brandon (21/09/2016, 19:27:43): No, that will be applied at checkout.
Me (21/09/2016, 19:28:02): ok great. Does the karma have any kind of follow me mode?
Brandon (21/09/2016, 19:28:25): It does not currently but it does have way points you can set.
Me (21/09/2016, 19:28:40): plans to bring it out with software patches?
Brandon (21/09/2016, 19:28:51): Possibly but there's no news on that yet.
Me (21/09/2016, 19:29:40): will there be any kind of offer available to the UK that sells the karm and the hero 5 together in a package?
Brandon (21/09/2016, 19:30:14): We will be selling a bundle but I'm not sure about other local retailers as you will have to check them and their stock.
Me (21/09/2016, 19:30:41): right, thanks fella :)
Brandon (21/09/2016, 19:31:01): You're welcome. Let us know if you have any further questions. Thanks for chatting in today and have a great day!
 
Yep Mavic looks like it owns this. I wonder if users will hack it to replace the camera (that already seems decent).

Saw the DigitalRev review and the launch presentation.

Can't bear to watch Casey Neistat, seems like a prize **** ;)
 
englishpremier said:
Yep Mavic looks like it owns this. I wonder if users will hack it to replace the camera (that already seems decent).

Saw the DigitalRev review and the launch presentation.

Can't bear to watch Casey Neistat, seems like a prize **** ;)
Click to expand...

Hes not to bad actually, I used to think this but been following his stuff on the mavic and hes kinda alright.
 
englishpremier said:
Yep Mavic looks like it owns this. I wonder if users will hack it to replace the camera (that already seems decent).

Can't bear to watch Casey Neistat, seems like a prize **** ;)
Click to expand...

With a billion views on his channel he must be doing something right,i personally like him and have watched pretty much every single video,he can be a bit marmite also.

I agree on the mavic,i was not going to get a drone but that has made me rethink my purchase :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom