Is it just me or does the fisheye seem reduced on this generation of GoPros? None of the Karma videos have that look that screams GoPro, but no one is talking about it so maybe I am nuts?

@mpgxsvcd You said "Honestly, I don’t see what the attraction is for the Sony camera."

For your very special (odd) needs, the Sony is clearly not the right choice. You should have stopped there.

But being able to shoot video handheld without an external gimbal in 4K is amazing. The point of these cameras in very "large" part is that they are tiny - if you have to use a gimbal, you might as well get a real video camera. Stabilized, tiny, and great 4K IQ - wow!

Many people hate the fisheye effect of the former Sony's and the current GoPros. The new Sony has much less. So the 17mm is a plus for most people, and happens, for your unique sole use, to not be useful.

You can get the lvr2 liveview lcd remote screen for $79, or you can just use your cellphone, or you can do without any lcd (as most using GoPros did for years, given the wide view). Having a remote lcd is better than having one fixed to the camera, for many reasons. More flexibility, more uses, more creativity.

Honestly, I don't see what the attraction is of rock climbing, or of rock climbing videos. :)

@Vitaliy_Kiselev

I checked out the Sony Action Cam. While its image stabilization is quite good I honestly can’t use it for what I am doing.

The Sony camera actually costs $550 with the LCD screen which I would need. That is way over my budget.

Also the Sony cam doesn’t include the 4:3 video format mode with a very tall aspect ratio. I need that mode for sport climbing where the video is taller than it is wide.

It appears that the maximum angle of view that the Sony camera can get is 17mm equivalent. That isn’t wide at all. Basically that camera would be useless for my needs.

I could get the new stabilizer for the GoPro and do a lot better job than the Sony camera. Honestly, I don’t see what the attraction is for the Sony camera.

Well, the GoPro Hero 5 Black does have a full color touch screen and is waterproof (to 10m/33ft) without a housing. And it has voice control (if you care about that sort of thing). But overall, this seemed to be more of a usability focused release rather than going for strict image quality improvements (notably still 4K @ 30fps and 60 Mbps). Will it be enough to get people to upgrade?

The Sony FDR-X3000 certainly does exceed the GoPro Hero 5 in some areas (optical image stabilization, 100 Mbps in 4K 30p).

The amazing thing to me is that it took Sony so long to make a decent action camera that was competitive with a GoPro. Considering how much camera technology and experience they have at Sony, you'd think this would have been relatively straightforward for them. This is just the kind of consumer product that Sony used to crank out and sell by the truckload. But instead Sony went though a couple generations of action cameras that couldn't compete with an upstart camera maker like GoPro, allowing GoPro to build up a significant brand in the process.

And now GoPro is synonymous with action cam, much like Xerox is to copy machine. Now whether or not that brand alone will be enough to ensure the survival of the company remains to be seen.

What about the new GoPro is better?

GoPro brand? :-)

@mpgxsvcd

Suggest to talk more to @markr041 and look closely to this Sony cam.

I know most people are disappointed with the GoPro 5. However, I am actually really excited about it. It has all of the video modes I really need and its price($399) is less than I was expecting.

If I had a Hero4 Black then I wouldn’t be as excited. However, I really think it will be a great replacement for my broken hero 3 Black.

Added official info to first post.

I really need a 4k @ 30 fps camera or a 2.8k @ 60 fps that is ultra ultra wide angle.

It needs to be small, easily mountable, have great wireless support including real time live view, and it has to be able to record continuously for at least 8 hours with USB power input.

Also it needs to have easily accessible memory card slots. It should not need to beat taken off the mount to remove the memory card.

I don't have to have water proofing and I don't need good sound. However, it is fine if it has those things with an optional case.

Is there anything besides the GoPro that can do that?

Someone really big who can solve legal issues.

Actually HEVC legal issues can stand behind Samsung NX demise.

Or actually upgrade in useful features (better audio, better (any!) stabilization in 4K, higher resolution in 4K) and get the Sony FDR X3000.