The GoPro Hero5 keeps many of the same video and photo specs as the previous generation, but it also adds some new features. None of them alone is groundbreaking, but together they make a noticeable improvement over the Hero4 Black. This section highlights the key updates, while the following sections explore the camera’s core functions and these new features in more detail.
Fully Waterproof: The Hero5 Black can now handle water without an extra case, just like the Hero4 Session. Its exterior is coated in a durable, rubber-like material, giving it extra protection while you’re out shooting in wet conditions.
One thing to watch out for is the USB-C/HDMI port door. It easily pops off when you need to attach the camera to the Karma gimbal or drone, or simply for charging.
Deals
The port door itself won’t pop off easily—you need to press a button and slide it to open. The real challenge is keeping track of it after charging or while the cable is attached. GoPro sells replacement doors, though they’re a bit pricey. My plan? Grab an extra and stash it safely in a backpack or suitcase when traveling. Trust me, it’s easy to lose at the worst possible moment, like when trying to capture the perfect underwater shot.
While we’re on the topic of doors, there’s also the battery compartment at the bottom. It houses both the battery and the micro-SD card, so you’ll want to make sure it’s securely closed before heading out.
GoPro Touch Controls
The Hero5 builds on the touch display introduced with the Hero4 Silver. Unlike the Hero4 Black, which didn’t have a display, the Silver model was easier to use day-to-day—something the Hero5 improves even further.
That said, the Hero5’s touch display feels noticeably different from the Hero4 Silver, both in responsiveness and overall interaction.
The menu system has been completely redesigned to make finding settings easier. Along the bottom, you’ll see the essentials for the current mode—for instance, in video mode it displays resolution and frame rate.
You can tap the display to adjust these settings, and it only shows frame rates available for the chosen resolution. In theory, it looks great, but in practice it can be tricky—there are so many resolutions packed closely together that it’s easy to miss the one you want with a normal-sized finger.
On the right side of the display, you can access advanced settings for the current mode, like ProTune, Image Stabilization, and Audio Control.
From the top of the display, you can access general camera settings like WiFi and voice control. On the left, you can open the playback pages to review your photos and videos. I go over all of this in detail in the video below.
On a related note, the touchscreen doesn’t respond well when wet. If your fingers are damp, it can become unresponsive, making it tricky to navigate.
Like I mentioned earlier, the Hero5 Black’s touch display layout looks great on paper, but in practice it could use some refinement. The slight lag and small option buttons often made it tricky to change modes without missing my selection.
Voice Control:
Similar to the VIRB Ultra 30, GoPro added Voice Control this fall. You can simply say “GoPro, Start Recording,” and it will start recording. The same works for taking photos or switching modes. Fun bonus: you can even shout a certain expletive that rhymes with “hit,” and the camera will mark a highlight—pretty neat.
You can toggle Voice Control on or off, and it works in seven languages. If you have the Remo accessory remote, it will also accept voice commands when the camera is out of range.
That said, it’s not perfect. I found Voice Control works reliably when you’re standing still, but performance drops once you’re moving. Around 10 MPH (15 KPH), commands often fail no matter which way the camera is facing. By comparison, Garmin’s system keeps working above that speed
So you’ll see that GoPro has more functionality (commands) than Garmin does. And earlier leaked manuals in August even showed GoPro being able to learn new commands you assign it (that hasn’t happened yet…but that’d be super cool). But in usage, the Garmin actually works better when you start moving, and there’s fewer failed commands.
GPS & Sensors:
The Hero5 Black does have GPS, but it’s pretty limited. It’s mainly used to geotag your photos and videos—basically like Instagram or Facebook tagging your location. It doesn’t track your routes, record speed, or provide any other performance data. In short, it mostly just tells you, “This was taken in NYC.”
For sports enthusiasts hoping to overlay speed or distance data directly onto their videos, this is a letdown. Even though GoPro owns Dashware—the top app for adding such metrics—there’s currently no native support for it. The GPS tagging icon does appear at the top left of the display, but that’s about it.
I’m grouping Electronic Image Stabilization, RAW Photos, and Advanced Audio Tracks together—not because they’re the same, but to highlight key differences between the Hero5 Black and the Hero5 Session. The Session does offer stabilization, but it lacks the new RAW photo mode and the Advanced Audio Track feature.
Now, let’s dive into the audio and video modes.
Video & Audio details
Time to talk video. The Hero5’s video modes are quite similar to the Hero4 Black, offering 4K at 30FPS and 720p at 240FPS—the two modes everyone tends to notice. The 4K footage looks stunning, no question about that.
So what’s new and worth noting? Let’s start with video stabilization. The Hero5 uses electronic image stabilization, which works by capturing a larger resolution clip (like 4K) and then smoothing it by reducing the resolution while stabilizing—up to 2.7K. Essentially, it crops the edges slightly to make the video appear smoother. Garmin’s VIRB Ultra 30 does something similar, but only up to 1440p. Sony’s new X3000R, on the other hand, uses optical image stabilization, which is technically better since it doesn’t crop the image at all.
Image stabilization is great for smoothing out light bumps on the road or when holding the camera by hand. Keep in mind, though, it slightly reduces resolution. If your final video is 1080p, this trade-off is usually worth it. It works best when the scene mostly faces one direction, but on dynamic mounts like a helmet, constant movement can make stabilization less effective.
An interesting feature is that the Hero5 Black can record each microphone’s audio separately. By enabling ProTune, a new setting appears that lets you choose from three levels of separate audio recording, giving much more control over sound capture in post-production.
Here are some basic tests I ran to check how long the camera can record continuously under different settings:
1080p 30FPS (Wide): 2:07:41 (no WiFi/GPS), 1:50:52 (WiFi/GPS enabled)
2.7K 30FPS (Wide): 1:45:05 (with WiFi Enabled)
4K 30FPS (Wide): 1:31:10 (with WiFi enabled)
These recordings were all done at room temperature. Keep in mind that extreme heat or cold, higher frame rates, or other shooting modes can significantly affect battery life. Still, they provide a general idea of what to expect.
Photo mode:
Although the Hero5 Black maintains the same 12MP resolution as the Hero4 Black, it adds several useful photo-focused features. To enter photo mode, simply tap the mode button until “Photo” appears, or use voice commands to snap a picture hands-free.
The Hero5 Black offers multiple photo modes: burst mode for rapid shots, a timelapse mode that captures a series of photos over time, and a night mode for low-light settings. Keep in mind, the photo timelapse creates many individual image files, unlike the video timelapse, which produces a single compiled video.
In photo mode, you can adjust both resolution and perspective. The camera captures at 12MP, and perspective options include Wide, Linear, Medium, and Narrow. The Linear mode is particularly useful, as it minimizes the fisheye distortion common in action cameras, giving a straighter, more natural look to your shots.
Burst mode lets you capture fast action by taking up to 30 photos per second. You can also adjust it so those shots are spaced out over a few seconds, which helps capture movement more gradually rather than all at once.
HERO5 BLACK VS HERO5 SESSION:
If you’re deciding between the Hero5 Black and the Hero5 Session, both are solid picks. Let me give you a few things to think about. I’m talking about the $299 Hero5 Session — not the cheaper $199 Hero Session (which lacks many of the features the Session offers). The difference is obvious: the older Hero Session doesn’t have the “5” in its name.
At a glance, these are the features the Hero5 Black offers that the Hero5 Session doesn’t:
- 12MP instead of 10MP pictures on Session
- GPS for location stamping
- Inability to swap out battery (it’s not removable)
- RAW photo option
- WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) photo option
- Higher slow-mo specs (240fps on Black vs 120fps on Session)
- A handful less frame-rate options
- Touch display on the back (no display at all)
- Three mics vs two mics on Hero5 Session
- Ability to record individual audio streams
- HDMI port for direct viewing/connection options
You’ll still get all this stuff on the Hero5 Session though:
- – Voice control
- – Electronic Image Stabilization
- – WiFi Uploads to GoPro Plus
- – 4K Video options
- – Karma Drone and Karma Grip Compatibility ($29 accessory required)
- – Waterproofing to 10m/33ft
- – USB-C
Those are the main differences. Both cameras are solid, and you really can’t go wrong with either. Personally, I prefer the Hero5 Black because I like being able to see and frame my shots. With the Hero5 Session, it’s more of a “shoot and hope it’s lined up” approach. You could use your phone for framing, but most people won’t bother.
Because of the square body and included accessories it was also the easiest to mount right-side up while still keeping a low profile. However, because of its size and waterproofing, the battery and, with just a sliver of a screen and two buttons, changing its settings without connecting to a phone or wireless remote requires a lot of patience.