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I have no interest in technical photography, I'm a point and click guy. Expensive digital SLR's and bodies and lenses just aren't my thing. Thankfully with the quality of cameras these days and 4k imagery, I don't need these things. It was for this reason that the GoPro interested me as an option for underwater photography. I'd played around with some underwater cameras before with some pretty terrible results, and I was interested to see if tech had improved much recently. I can say it has. I took my brand new GoPro Hero5 Black for a week on Lipe Island in the south of Thailand and put it through its paces under the sea.

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GOPRO HERO5 BLACK

Advertised as the best GoPro ever, this little device has a 2inch screen, shoots photo and video in 4k, and is waterproof to 10 metres without a housing. The black also includes advanced video stabilization. All for about $400. I would only be using it snorkelling so 10 metres was more than enough for me. I was also more interest in still images than video, but I'm sure the stabilization will serve a purpose.

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PERFORMANCE

NEGATIVES

Let's start with the weaknesses. As this was my first GoPro I was still learning how to use it. This meant the first day I was playing with it in the water, it was constantly changing modes underwater from the water activating the touchscreen. The result of this was a day of weird burst,video and generally wasted results. I cursed it for a bit then when I got home I learned that you could lock the touchscreen, leaving only the on/off switch and the shutter active. This is a must when using it in the water, and this was more my fault than a fault of the camera.

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Next, the 2 inch screen is still pretty useless under water. You are looking through goggles and water and trying to focus on the small screen. I found myself just pointing and clicking, and then checking the results later. Not sure what can be done about this without increasing the camera size, so its a trade-off.

Last but certainly not least, the battery! If you plan on leaving it on while snorkelling and taking lots of photos, then expect to only get about an hour from the battery. We kept 2 spare charged batteries on the boat. But this is a little annoying. Not sure if there is a way to preserve the battery life for longer, but as I play I hope I find some.

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POSITIVES

There is a lot to like about this camera in the water. I think you will see from the pics the quality that I was able to get. The best images were shot in fairly shallow water (less than 2 metres) with direct sun and as close as possible to the subject. The pictures did tend to green out a bit in deeper water, but I believe I could fit a lense to counteract this. Have a look at some of my pics and make up your own mind.

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MY PICS WITH THE GOPRO HERO 5 BLACK

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THE RESULT

Fish are notoriously difficult to photograph. For one thing, they never stay still, and they always seem to be on the wrong angle, add to that many of them appear to be camera shy and will quickly disappear beneath a rock before you get close enough to shoot them. I guess this is where a bigger lense/zoom could be useful. Overall, I am very happy with my new GoPro and it will fulfill all my requirements. I hope with a bit more practice I will learn a few more tricks to using it. If nay pros read this, please feel free to share your knowledge.

GOPRO HERO5 BLACK - 4.5/5

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