GoPro has launched their Hero 4 camera line, bringing usable 4K video to the masses and a wide range of other expanded camera capabilities in one of the most economical packages available.
While GoPro is no stranger to 4K “Ultra HD” video, the Hero 3+ only shot at 15 frames per second, making it tough to use. The Hero 4 has doubled that to 30 frames per second, making the footage much more usable. The Hero 4 is available in the Black and Silver models.
Just to name a few of the many new features, the Hero 4 Black has doubled the processor speeds, image quality, and capabilities. For those end users even slightly advanced in their editing capabilities, one of the very exciting new features is standard 1080p HD video at 120 frames per second, adding a rich, slow-motion capability to your production-quality menu. It still includes the wide variety of time-lapse capture settings but at a 12 megapixel resolution.  While GoPro has bumped up the retail price to $499.99, the added capabilities more than justify it.
The Hero 4 Silver incorporates a touch screen LCD into the footprint of the standalone camera body while still delivering the new 12 megapixel still image resolution, but does not provide the 4K video capabilities. For the end user that is quite happy with standard HD, meaning many of you, the Silver is a lot of bang for the buck with a retail price of $399.99. You do not see the high frame rate at a resolution of 1080p, but it is available at 720p making the silver a complete all-in-one package for most.
Brand new at DEMA is the long awaited dive filters. GoPro is not new to the concept, just left them unreleased for years. It seems they have worked out the technicalities around the issue and now have branded filters in red and magenta for blue and not so blue water. The filters retail at $69.99 each.
GoPro continues to bring new and expanded capabilities at a price point that begs for owning more than one, if not many of their cameras. Their wide accessory line continues to expand as well.
For more information on the Black and Silver models, check out GoPro’s website.
— Grant W Graves
