GoPro unveils Hero5 camera and Karma drone

Sorry: if I'd wanted a heated debate about drone technology and the risks the things pose to air traffic, I'd have signed up to a tech website. What has a drone got to do with cycling, really, apart from aerial shots of cycling landscapes? By law you wouldn't be able to use one to film a bicycle race, so why is this article even on road.cc?

People have been flying remote controlled planes for decades, and landing strips aren't uncommon areas to fly them, but stories about those don't make the front page - they're not new and no-one cares. But if you substitute remote controlled toy/plane for drone, then you have a headline.

There's only one short period of time where a fire in an engine could maybe cause real problems, and that's on part of the landing like you said at airports, takeoff isn't a problem and in flight isn't a problem. You can effectively shut down a whole engine in flight, or takeoff, and continue without accident as a plane only needs one engine and is designed to shut down an engine and fly at lower altitude in the case of failure.

Drones are what 1KG? Planes get hit with 5KG birds at far higher relative velocities 1000's of times a year. Only around 15% of those strikes cause some type of damage to the plane.

In around 1 billion flight hours there's only been one case of a human death from this type of impact.

Sure, make the analogy to close passes with cyclists, but it doesn't hold to examination, you know why too - car hits cyclist at speed - possible death to the cyclist. Drone or bird or remote control toy hits plane. Drone dies.

The situation is actually a reversal, statistically. That's why I'm not buying the scaremongering.

Bit long winded but there is a rationale behind my flippancy earlier. Rock n Roll, Google Glass etc. Just not buying the front page hysteria. 

He has a point. The 'near miss' in plane terms equates to hundreds of feet away or more. I'm literally being near missed everyday as a cyclist and as a driver.

Anyway, these drones are pretty small and probably don't even have the mass or structural strength of a seagull. I'm pretty sure the chances of a drone taking a plane down in any fashion are pretty much nil. The only place a plane should be flying as low as a drone is near an airport anyway.

Just noticed the new Hero 5 and Session now. Prices seem better than before.. considering. Nikon have a new cam too but more pricey. GroPros Hero 5 is stabilised, but maybe useless on small bumps? Good at floaty sort of movements?

Interested for sure..

the session looks good (apart from price and battery life) but not understanding the obsession in cycling circles for the standard go pro - it's as aero as strapping a brick to the front of your bike...and yes I've seen them on the front of aero bikes...

UK prices are online at the GoPro shop, £349 for the Hero 5 black and £249 for the Hero 5 Session...eek that's not cheap. and Hero 5 Session packs same battery power as the current Hero session so expect less than 2hrs battery life with those resolutions

So if I use the GoPro 5 for commuting and I encounter an angry road user who shouts "Turn off that camera" or "Stop filming me!" will it switch itself off or stop filming? 

My mate is drone made. He's spent loads on a fancy one that follows you about and has just gone to Africa with it. He also spent loads on one which is basically now dead in support terms as the company promised loads, delivery something that sort of did was it was supposed to, then ceased operation leaving him with a semi-functional product.

I think I'll wait for a bit longer until tag along drones are all figured out and produced cheaply. I do have a GoPro clone, the SJ4000 but once I'd recorded all my regular routes, jumps on MTB and crashes, I got bored of it. Something that could literally circle around you whilst you rode a climb would be awesome though.

My friend runs an aerial filming business alongside his photography, but he spent £2500 on getting fully qualified to fly drones comercially and fully insured as well. Every few days he sees other drone pilots using drones like the Karma and the DJI Phantom over populated areas, next to busy roads etc. Makes him wonder why he even bothered trying to do things properly when everyone seems to flout the law!

Hopefully the manufacturers will put in software to make the drone avoid set locations such as airports, lighthouses and military bases. Wouldn't be hard as they already have the technology.

 This combined with collision detection would make drones likethe Karma brilliant, especially for MTB work where you are away from roads.

Hero Session with 4k at 30fps looks good though. Might get one for the bike for insurance purposes as its so tiny!

Cool but still waiting for them to get much smarter with obstacle avoidance. When consumer level drones can follow you around and capture footage they'll be amazing. Just need to ban them from populated public areas and relax the laws outdoors once the tech is there. 

Oh and the scaremongering dies down. Every week we get a 'drone nearly did something' to a plane story 

Something nearly happened folks, hold the press!