Great Scott! How long have we been contemplating the release of the epic new GoPro cameras and the Karma drone. We even wrote a blog back in May 2016 with our predictions on the Karma Drone and Hero 5 cameras. With great anticipation and excitement, we (finally) introduce the Hero 5 Black, Hero 5 Session and the Karma drone.
Check out some of their key features!
HERO 5 BLACK
SO WHAT'S NEW:
Photo: 12MP/ 30 FPS BURST/ TIME LAPSE
Video: 4K30/ 1440p80/ 1080p120
Waterproof 33FT (10m)
Simple One-Button Control
Wifi + Bluetooth
Advanced wind noise reduction
Voice Control
Video Stabilization
Auto upload to cloud
Touch display
Location Capture (GPS)
RAW + WDR Photos
Check out the product page with more information & bundle options
You can also read more about the Hero 5 Black in this review written by Craig Rhodes-Harrison.
Quick GoPro Tip : Curious how the Hero 5 Black works? Like how to take off the front lens and side doors? Check out this video for some tips and tricks.
YOU CAN ALSO CHECK OUT THE LIVE ANNOUNCEMENT AND LAUNCH:
LIFESTYLE VERSUS ACTION
Seems like GoPro are changing from simply being an action camera to capture more lifestyle rich content. The slogan "Capture Different" surely indicates towards this notion.
GoPro’s and adventure are in my books synonyms and also inseparable - you can’t have the one without the other. I love adventure and I honestly thank God that my wife does too!
Her birthday was coming up and on her wish list only one thing – a Chum dive! I have previously had the privilege to do a chum dive and enjoyed the experience so much that I immediately agreed to the idea of doing it again. So it was settled – a chum dive at the Eastern coast of South Africa. For those of you who don’t know what a chum dive is, they put a big chum bucket full of dead fish in the water to attract as many sharks as possible. Umkomaas is only one of a few places in the world where you can have interaction with tiger sharks without a cage, which makes it a very popular diving spot, we were sold.
The preparation started, as did the excitement. We already had the GoPro Hero 4 Black, but now the accessories to get optimal quality. Action Gear’s website was of much help and I immediately knew what I needed. First and foremost was the GoPro 60m Dive Housing; to make sure the camera is safe and sealed. Next on the list was the red filter. As an open water diver they teach you that the first colour that disappears underwater is red, therefore a red filter will adjust the colour in the blue waters that soaks up the light. I decided on the Polar Pro Switchblade which combines the red filter and the additional glass macro filter for capturing close up shots. Both Red and macro filters slide out quick and easy depending on your need. Lastly I needed a mount for the GoPro, so the sharks don’t think I am sacrificing my hand to feed them a shiny object. I decided on the Lang-Arm 900mm, not to keep my hands as safe as possible but rather to get closer to the action! The order was sent and as usual our friends at Action Gear quickly delivered. The only thing left was for the time to pass.
The GoPro and all the accessories were packed in the DS case for GoPro, and at last the day arrived and we left Pretoria before sunrise on the Thursday morning. After a seven hour drive we arrived in Umkomaas at The Shoal and immediately went to reception to finalise our diving, after that we checked in to the hotel.
Early Friday morning as the sun rose over the ocean our dive kits were ready, the GoPro’s batteries were charged and the SD card empty, ready to capture every memory. Considering Umkomaas’s usual rough seas, the water was perfect for great diving. A twenty minute boat ride brought us to our first dive site, Cathedral, the home of seasonal Ragged Tooth Sharks. We put our gear on, and the skipper started counting down, 3, 2, 1… and we all rolled overboard. The visibility was good and we descended to about 20m. The Dive Master took us site seeing around the reef before reaching the part that looks like an actual cathedral. As we placed ourselves on the sand we saw two ragged tooth sharks swimming around on the inside - this was an excellent start to our diving trip. We sat there watching the sharks for a few minutes before we started a gradual ascend over the reef back to the top. On our way out we met with a big potato bass as well as two sea turtles. It was a perfect dive to practice my skills with the GoPro. As we surfaced we were all thrilled with seeing two sharks on our first dive already. We were eager to see what the footage looked like, but there was only time to switch batteries before meeting with another boat that took us to the chum dive location.
We were only four divers on the chum boat and at this stage I didn’t know if it was the smell of fish or the stronger currents at the end of the last dive or the idea of diving around too many sharks, but my wife was pale as a ghost. After assuring me she was fine, the boat took us to the open waters of the ocean. We were quickly briefed on the do’s and don’ts of diving with feeding sharks. The chum bucket was lowered to hang at about 10m under the water surface, while we prepared. This was it: the moment we have been waiting for. Again the skipper counted, 3, 2, 1….splash! Surrounded by the big blue, we hovered in the water for about 10minutes, with no sign of any live fish. Then out of nowhere we saw a cautious Bull Shark approaching. He swam around underneath us, curious of what we were up to. The next moment, as if a door had opened up, about 5 Black Tip Reef Sharks appeared.
They were very inquisitive and not afraid at all, the complete opposite of the Bull Shark. It wasn’t long before we were surrounded by about 30-40 Black Tips. Sharks were everywhere. This was truly an amazing experience. I am so thankful for the video, because my words will never have the ability to express the moment. I filmed the whole time and tried to capture everything that I saw. The sharks were so focused on filling their bellies they bumped into us to get to their free meal. Because of their curious nature they will bite anything shiny, therefore rather dive in black scuba gear! One of them even tried the GoPro to see if something is fishy. My wife likes to compare the Black Tips to young Jack Russels; their energy never seems to run out, they are fast, playful and friendly. We had the privilege to spend a full 70 minutes with these amazing creatures. As we started to ascend they ascended with us to the surface and as we got onto the boat they kept swimming around the boat not leaving. Then I realized, unlike myself, they were not reluctant to say goodbye to us but only to the chum that was still left in the bucket. After the bucket was emptied, our ways parted - they went back to deeper waters and as we headed to the shore we promised ourselves that we will be doing this again.
Check our awesome adventure in the video below:
I was really surprised at how easy it was to film our dives with the GoPro. It is user friendly which allowed me to quickly change settings under water. One of the features I used most during our dives was the video + photo setting, and resulted in many stunning action photos. I enjoyed the filming and editing of this experience so much that I started doing it for friends and family and it resulted in my own business Kondensmelk Productions - check out my website for more videos.
Yes, I know you too would like to be the owner of a GoPro to capture all your adventures. Visit www.actiongear.co.za.
Action Gear have recently launched the extremely well price awesome little Action Camera known as the Eken.
The Eken is based off a GoPro and offers very similar function and features for a quarter of the price. Whenever I see products based of originals, I always ask myself, is it as good and can it handle the requirements needed of it.
Well, here you can find out. In the below video, I spent a few minutes having some fun using the different file formats of the Eken. I recorded a similar jump 3 times in HD, 2K and 4K so you can see the quality. Now, I know a YouTube video at 4K displayed on a HD screen will not give you the true resolution output. So, you can also download the files yourself and test them on your 4K screens at home.
Wheels squealing and blood rushing through your veins, this is the way a Saturday morning should be spent if you are taking a much deserved break from riding your bicycle. There are only a hand full of adrenaline fueled activities that could rival the feeling of racing at 60 km/ph around a racetrack with your body sitting less than 20cm from the tar. Go-Carting has always been a very fun and extremely exhilarating experience and when combined with the company of your friends this is a not to be missed activity. We headed out to the Zwartkop race track in Pretoria to go and test out their specifically designed Go- Cart racetrack. After a quick briefing by the safety marshals we started mounting our GoPro’s and getting our gear ready. What we discovered is the traditional stick-on GoPro mounts are the perfect solution to any mounting scenario and when placed on your helmet gives the perfect “race feeling” angles that makes for some superb footage. Another great mount is the Sportsman Mount available from Action Gear. This mount provided great versatility and helped us capture great footage. A very important tip to remember though is that the Go-Cart with its very lightweight frame tends to vibrate quite badly and thus “rattles” your footage when the Go-Pro is mounted directly on the Go-Cart. I hope you enjoy my vlog and as always, remember to keep the rubber side down.
I personally love an under dog. I’m not sure why, it might be the lack of commercial hype or the fact that something that no one quite expects can be incredibly good.
The Eken Action Camera is an underdog! Listen to your self , “The Eken Action Camera???” That’s right – watch out WOH.
The Eken Action Camera is ‘knock off GoPro’ that has landed in the country. A week or two ago, I was fortunate enough to get one to play around with and test it before the big shipment came in.
The facts:
Similar size but lighter than a GoPro.
4k Ultra HD Filming at15fps.
2.7k at 24fps.
Waterproof (with housing like a GoPro),
Super wide angle,
2 inch colour screen
Wi-Fi and Mobile app
My Opinion:
At first glance, I found the device to be very similar to a GoPro. Once you take a closer look you notice a few difference like the mission LCD screen on the front, different colour Led lights and an overall darker build.
The lack of a LCD front screen isn't anything to moan about because the Eken has a 2inch touch screen on the back for the user to see what’s on film, change settings and review playback.
Making your way through the menu was incredible easy, much like any other tech device. The menu is well laid out and is clear enough to see, even in direct sunlight.
When filming with the Eken I found it to work just like a GoPro would… It simply worked. I took the Eken white water rafting and got the below footage. Its nothing great, but for me, my focus was testing the slowmo as I LOVE SLOWMO!!
You can see in the video below that there are no issues at all! This was hot at 1080p with 60fps, which my Hero 3 cannot do!
