GoPro brings telemetry data on speed, distance, and elevation to the Hero5 Black

By Daven Mathies November 17, 2016

gopro hero5 black telemetry 2

Well, color us intrigued — GoPro announced support for telemetry data logging and display on the new Hero5 Black camera on Thursday. As with Garmin’s Virb line of action cams, the Hero5 Black gathers data about speed, distance, and elevation from its built-in GPS. With the latest version of the Quik editing app for desktop, users can now toggle on a variety of telemetry overlays on their videos, adding a new element of information and excitement. No longer will you have to guess about how high you jumped or how fast you rode.

gopro-telemetry-1

The available data points include altitude and elevation gain, speed and G-force, distance in kilometers or miles, direction, and course position. Each data point can be toggled on individually, and gauges can be resized or moved so users can customize the video overlays to their liking. For example, a rock climber could turn on altitude and elevation gain, while a race car driver could go with speed, g-force, and path position.

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At this time, it appears that telemetry data can only be accessed through the desktop version of the Quik app. GoPro has not said whether the feature would also be unlocked within the mobile app in the future.

GoPro released the Hero5 Black this fall to much anticipation. It had been some two years since the company’s last major product update and GoPro knew it needed to hit it out of the park with the Hero5. While an integrated touchscreen and waterproof design were novel additions, no mention was made about the possibility of telemetry data at the time, a feature competitors Garmin and Sony have offered for some time. That is why the announcement is all the more surprising and it is definitely good news for GoPro fans. Telemetry was one of the few remaining advantages other brands had over GoPro.

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Daven is a contributing writer to the photography section. He has been with Digital Trends since 2016 and has been writing…

Mobile

GoPro Hero 10 Black leak reveals images and specs

GoPro Hero 10 Black.

Images of the GoPro Hero 10 Black leaked yesterday, giving us our first look at images of the device along with specs. WinFuture, a German publication that previously leaked information about the redesigned Hero 9 Black in August last year was also the source of the latest leak. A report on the website suggests the Hero 10 Black looks similar to its predecessor (Hero 9 Black) in terms of size, design, and external accessibility features. The only design difference so far can be seen in blue accents that spell out "10 Black."
The major hardware changes we're seeing are improvements to processing power with the new GP2 processor and an improved image sensor that beefs up from 20-megapixels to 23-megapixels The Hero 10 Black is also expected to support 5.3K video recording at a smooth 60 frames per second (fps), 4K videos at 120 fps, and 2.7K videos at 240 fps. The last one can help you create high-resolution slow-motion clips. This is a considerable improvement over previous models that only supported 5K recording at 30 fps and 4K recording at 60 fps.

Marketing materials seen by WinFuture hint that Hero 10 Black’s in-camera software stabilization will see an improvement to offer "gimbal-like stabilization", after being upgraded to HyperSmooth 4.0 and TimeWarp 3.0 for time-lapse videos. Users can also enjoy an auto-upload function to transfer files online at a much quicker speed. The Hero 10 Black also supports 1080p live streaming, the same as previous models. Finally, the Hero 10 Black is said to offer 10 meters deep housing, touchscreen controls, and voice accessibility. Users can also access the webcam mode along with SuperPhoto and HDR options. These features combined with the improved recording capability have the potential to be a gamechanger for streamers and on-the-scene photographers.
The company hasn’t made a formal announcement so we don’t know how much the Hero 10 Black would cost. The previous edition, Hero 9 Black was released at $450 and is currently priced at $400 (excluding the subscription), so we can expect a number around this range, perhaps a bit higher. Given the scale of the recent leaks, the launch of the Hero 10 Black is likely to be imminent.

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