GoPro HERO4 SILVER

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I just purchased the Hero 3+ Black Edition one month ago. When the Hero 4 came out I had to try it and I ended up returning my Hero 3+. Why did I get the Hero 4 Silver over the Hero 4 Black and the Hero 3+ Black?



Three Reasons:



1. The Hero 4 Black is $499 and does not come with an LCD (because of heat issues from 4K they could not put on an LCD).

So really if you bought an LCD BacPac for the Black edition, it would cost you a total of $579 compared to the $399 of the Silver. This is a $180 difference!



2. The two models BOTH have improved sharpness compared to the Hero 3+ Black.

Watch this video to compare the Hero 4 Black to the Hero 3+ Black: http://ift.tt/1qmKBn7

Then watch this video to compare the Hero 4 Black to the Hero 4 Silver: http://ift.tt/1ptz6Lb



As you can see the sharpness between the Hero 4 Black and the Silver is the SAME. They both have the same lens and it's definitely improved over the 3+ Black. Yes, the 4 Black can do 4K at 30 FPS while the 4 Silver can only do 2.7k at 30 FPS (it can do 4K 15 FPS but that is not really usable for most purposes). But to be honest, that is the only improvement and it is a $180 difference! At this moment I cannot justify 4K for that much of an additional increase. I am happy with what the 4 Silver offers AND I get an LCD which is extremely convenient.



3. Compare the battery life of the Hero 4 Black vs the Hero 4 Silver here: http://ift.tt/1CdpBpz

At 2.7k 30 FPS, the Black only lasts 1 hour and 10 minutes while the Silver lasts 1 hour and 50 minutes!! This is the SAME resolution. Why? Because the Black has a more powerful processor to handle the 4K, and this causes it to eat up more battery regardless of the frame rate.



Given these three reasons, I do not believe the Hero 4 Black is worth the cost. But the Hero 4 Silver is definitely a bargain and worthy of an upgrade from the 3+ Black edition. Don't forget in addition to the cost, the Hero 4 Silver has identical specs as the Hero 4 Black (except for 4K). This means you will also get (compared to the 3+ Black):



- 2x the WiFi Speed

- 2x the Dynamic Range for Audio Quality

- Bluetooth Capability

- Night Photo Mode

- Night Time Lapse Mode

- Quick Capture Mode

- Protune for Photos

- Simultaneous Video and Photo



All of these are the same upgrades on the Hero 4, so really you're trading $180 and the LCD screen on the Silver for 4K 30 FPS and decreased battery life on the Black edition. Each person may have their own opinion but I think this is a big problem for most users because the cost does not justify the upgrade.



I haven't had too much of a chance to test it out, but quick photos and videos showed it truly is sharper than the Hero 3+ Black edition. And given the video links I posted above, it is the same sharpness as the Hero 4 Black (unless you shoot in 4K of course). The touch screen is a GREAT addition and very responsive. It works like I would want it to so I am happy with that.



There are two minor bugs to mention but they will probably be fixed in an update coming very soon to the firmware.



1. The WiFi connectivity to the app is problematic. Some people have reports of not being able to hold a connection to the app for longer than 3 minutes. I myself could not even get the GoPro to connect at all. This is mostly a software issue so hopefully it is quickly addressed.



2. The Night Photo mode should allow control of the shutter speed, but currently a lot of users including myself can only access the shutter speed mode when we turn on Protune. The problem is you should be able to access it outside of Protune since not everyone wants Protune for Night Photo. Hopefully this is fixed quickly with a firmware update but it seems to only be affecting some cameras and not all.



I also recently tested out the battery life with the LCD screen always on. The Hero 4 Silver comes with an auto-off of 1 minute and can be set at either 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, or always on. The LCD brightness can also be set at high, medium, and low.



For scuba diving, you will need the screen always on as you cannot activate it again once it turns off under water (unless you stop recording and record again but that can be annoying). My first test was with the LCD always on, brightness set to high, recording 2.7k 30 FPS. I was able to get 1 hour and 26 minutes out of the battery! That is pretty amazing as I did not expect that with the high brightness setting. I did the test again at 2.7k 30 FPS with brightness set to low and got 1 hour and 32 minutes. So it's up to you how important those 6 minutes are, but for me I'd rather have the full brightness.



Interestingly, I did the test with the LCD off with the same frame rate and got 1 hour and 35 minutes (I did this 3 times with the same result). This means the LCD draws very little power (which is good) but I feel 1 hour and 35 minutes is on the low side of what I should be getting without the LCD given that GoPro claims 1 hour and 50 minutes.



I also tested the Hero 3+ Black in 2.7k 30 and got 1 hour and 38 minutes so the battery life between the two cameras really is the same even though the Hero 4 is 20 mAH less (1180 mAH in the Hero 3+ while 1160 in the Hero 4).



For those curious I also tested the new Battery BacPac (claims 15% increased battery life) and compared it to the older Hero 3+ Battery BacPac. I used the Hero 4 Silver and recorded at 2.7k 30 FPS with LCD off. I got 2 hours and 57 minutes with new Battery BacPac compared with 2 hours and 27 minutes with the older Battery BacPac! So improvement of about 30 minutes is not bad at all! This is more than 15% (it was 35% with my test)! GoPro claims the Hero 4 Silver should get 3 hours with the Battery BacPac with 2.7k 30 FPS so I definitely would consider that result accurate.



Overall a great improvement and hopefully the minor bugs get fixed quickly, but I would highly recommend getting this especially if you are upgrading from an older model like the Hero 2 and Hero 3. If you have the money it is worth the upgrade from the Hero 3+ especially for the LCD, the improved sharpness, night time lapse modes, and audio improvements. I think the double wifi speed and bluetooth connectivity are bonuses but I wouldn't upgrade just for those reasons alone but if you combine all the other benefits it's definitely worth the upgrade!



via Amazon Best Seller V2 copy copy http://ift.tt/1v3oTLa