GoPro Hero 5 release details: simply better

By Chris Burns/Sept. 19, 2016 12:24 pm EST

This week the folks at GoPro have revealed the GoPro Hero 5 (or Hero5), the most advanced in a line of action cameras that've all but dominated the market for the past several years. This newest version of the GoPro works with voice commands, too. Just in case GoPro users wanted to yell at their devices. This newest in the top-level line of action cameras comes around a year and a half after its predecessor – an eternity in tech device refresh time.

The Hero 5 takes all of the best features from its predecessors and makes a camera that's a leap above anything the company has made before. This device is able to capture 4K-sized video at up to 30-frames per second. At 2K-sized video, the user will be able to capture at up to 60-frames per second.

At 1080p, the user of this Hero 5 camera can capture 120fps – slow motion if the user prefers.

Inside is full image stabilization to help make sense of videos captured on-the-go – and this camera can be immersed in water, too. Unlike previous models that needed their own outer-shell, this GoPro is fully water-ready. This model can be dunked down to 30 feet of water before it starts to feel the pressure.

The Hero 5 can connect to its user's smartphone to frame photos – but is also able to snap photos on its own with its own touchscreen. This GoPro camera works with voice commands that do a variety of actions with relative ease.

Users will be able to command the GoPro Hero 5 to do the following:

• Snap a still photo

• Begin recording video

• Snap a photo while a video recording is taking place

• Turn on

• Turn off

• Possibly more in the future

GoPro Plus – a cloud storage system – has been released with this model, making it easy to upload to the web – automatically – once the camera is plugged into a power source and connected to Wi-fi. GoPro Plus connects to all of GoPro's editing apps right out the gate, and GoPro Plus will cost users $5 a month.

The GoPro Hero 5 will be released immediately if not soon for $399 USD. That's a big drop in the pricing structure GoPro has used in the past, and may very well bring the camera company back into vogue as the top-notch device for the price.