Hero 12 Blackvs D6
GoPro
Hero 12 Black (2023)
Starting from £300 new
Best for Adventure, sports & travel video
View Hero 12 Black
Nikon
D6 (2020)
Starting from £3200 new
Best for Professional Sports, Press & Wildlife Photography
View D6
GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?
Adventure, Sports & Travel Video — Hero 12 Black (2023): GoPro's best all-round action camera — better battery, 10-bit colour, and HyperSmooth 6.0 make it a genuine step forward.
Professional Sports, Press & Wildlife Photography — D6 (2020): Nikon's final and finest DSLR — the D6 brought 105 all-cross-type AF points, 14fps, and built-in LAN to the F mount. The last word in optical viewfinder photography.
Who should buy what
Hero 12 Black (2023)
- Action and sports photographers who want the best stabilisation available
- Travellers who need a rugged waterproof camera for any conditions
- Cyclists, surfers, and skiers wanting helmet or handlebar footage
- Hero 11 owners considering an upgrade — notably better battery life
D6 (2020)
- Sports, wildlife, and press photographers who prefer an optical viewfinder
- Professional Nikon shooters with a substantial F-mount lens collection
- Photojournalists who need built-in LAN for wire transmission
- Nikon system professionals seeking a used flagship at under-new-price value
Quick take: The hero 12 black has the highest resolution at 27mp; the hero 12 black is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Hero 12 Black (2023) | D6 (2020) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £300 | £3,200 |
| Sensor | 1/1.9-inch CMOS | 20.8MP full-frame BSI CMOS |
| Resolution | 27.0MP | 20.8MP |
| Video | 5.3K/60p, 4K/120p, 2.7K/240p slow-mo | 4K UHD 30fps |
| Autofocus | Fixed focus (wide) | Multi-CAM 3500FX III — 105 AF points, all cross-type |
| Stabilisation | HyperSmooth 6.0 (in-camera EIS) | — |
| Burst Rate | 27MP RAW burst | 14fps mechanical |
| Battery Life | ~70 min at 5.3K/30p (Enduro battery) | ~3580 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 154g | 1450g (body only) |
| Dimensions | 71.8 × 50.8 × 33.6mm | 160 × 163.5 × 92mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | Yes |
| Viewfinder | 2.27" rear touchscreen + 1.4" front display | OVF 0.72× magnification, 100% coverage |
| Screen | 2.27" rear touchscreen; 1.4" front colour display | 3.2" fixed touchscreen, 2.36M dots |
| Mount | GoPro mounting ecosystem (fingers, adhesive, magnetic) | Nikon F mount |
| Memory Cards | microSD up to 1TB (V30 minimum) | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD slots |
| Connectivity | USB-C, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, Ethernet (built-in), USB 3.1 |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Hero 12 Black | D6 |
|---|---|---|
| Adventure & Sports | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — | |
| Travel | — | |
| Underwater | — | |
| Cycling & Hiking | — | |
| Everyday | — | |
| Sports & Action | — | |
| Wildlife | — | |
| Wedding & Events | — | |
| Street | — | |
| Portrait | — | |
| Landscape | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
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