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GoPro launches updated Hero4 Black and Silver video cameras

Updated Hero4 video camera offers higher quality and better ease-of-use

GoPro have today launched the Hero4 video camera which introduces a raft of updates and new features including higher video and audio quality. They're offering three versions, a new entry-level £99 Hero, Hero4 Silver costing £289.99 and the high-end Hero4 Black priced £389.99.

The top-end Hero4 Black introduces 4K video recording at 30fps and 1080p at 120fps, which the company claims is twice the performance of its previous Hero3 video camera. The audio quality has been improved as well with a redesigned audio system that is claimed to provide twice the dynamic range of the previous model. Despite all these changes battery life is claimed to be the same, though battery life was never that great with the previous GoPro.

Along with improved video quality, there are plenty of new features and modes. The novel “HiLight Tag” lets you easily tag key moments in a video record using the WiFi button. There is Time Lapse, letting you shoot 12MP photos in set time intervals from 0.5 to 60 seconds, Night Photo which should provide better performance in low light conditions and Time Lapse which lets you set long exposure times.

Providing quicker shooting potential is the QuikCapture feature. You can power the Hero4 Black straight up with a single button press and start recording instantly.

An updated user interface is aimed at making it easier to control the camera. The Protune feature allows more manual control over the settings including ISO, white balance, exposure settings and more. That’ll appeal to professional film makers increasingly the GoPro as part of suite of tools with much more advanced control.

Bluetooth connectivity has been added as well as WiFi to make it easier to share with other compatible devices.

One notch down is the Hero4 Silver. It doesn’t offer the same high quality video recording of the Black, with video quality limited to 4K video at 15fps, or 1080p at 60fps. That's the same as the old Hero3. Instead the changes on the new Hero4 Silver have focused on ease-of-use, and the biggest notable change is the new built-in touch display.

The Hero4 Silver does share many of the new features and settings that appear on the Black though, including Time Lapse, Night Photo andNight Lapse modes, HiLight Tag and Bluetooth connectivity. Protune is also a feature of the Silver camera.

Finally, GoPro have replaced the old White model with the new entry-level Hero, which will cost just £100 and shoot at 1080p at 30fps, or 720p at 60fps. The camera and waterproof case are now seamlessly integrated however and that means a built-in battery as well.

The new cameras are available on 5th October. More at http://gopro.com

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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11 comments

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tommydam | 9 years ago
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you can get the gopro4 update here: https://gopro.com/update/HERO4

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Scrufftie | 9 years ago
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It's about time I took the plunge and fitted a camera to my bike. Other than GoPro and Contour, which other cameras have a replaceable battery? A (near) two hour battery life doesn't seem very useful

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bikebot replied to Scrufftie | 9 years ago
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Scrufftie wrote:

It's about time I took the plunge and fitted a camera to my bike. Other than GoPro and Contour, which other cameras have a replaceable battery? A (near) two hour battery life doesn't seem very useful

The Sony cameras are worth a look, you can find the AS20 for below £150. That has a 2->2.5 hour battery life and replaceable batteries.

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MaxP | 9 years ago
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Isn't it the old version Gopro for £99 in the link for Jessops

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Gkam84 replied to MaxP | 9 years ago
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MaxP wrote:

Isn't it the old version Gopro for £99 in the link for Jessops

Quote:

Finally, GoPro have introduced the old White model with the new entry-level Hero, which will cost just £100

NO, it is the NEW GoPro, hence the Pre Order

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Gkam84 | 9 years ago
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bikebot | 9 years ago
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The new entry level Hero has the potential to be huge, and is obviously intended to see off the clones such as the SJ4000.

After digging through the gopro site, I found this comparison matrix -

http://shop.gopro.com/EMEA/compare?category=cameras

The internal battery size is confirmed as 1180mAh, which will hopefully translate into at least 2.5hrs recording time. One odd detail, it's the only gopro camera that doesn't support looping video, which is a near essential feature for many cyclists.

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localsurfer replied to bikebot | 9 years ago
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bikebot wrote:

The new entry level Hero has the potential to be huge, and is obviously intended to see off the clones such as the SJ4000.

Yeah, but its still twice the price of the SJ4000. And the SJ5000 is due out soon, with all the wifi gubbins...

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bikebot replied to localsurfer | 9 years ago
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localsurfer wrote:
bikebot wrote:

The new entry level Hero has the potential to be huge, and is obviously intended to see off the clones such as the SJ4000.

Yeah, but its still twice the price of the SJ4000. And the SJ5000 is due out soon, with all the wifi gubbins...

There is already a version of the SJ4000 with wifi. Both are cheaper than the gopro, £55 for standard and £65 for wifi (foxoffer). I think that price difference is small enough that many will instead prefer a gopro, and the battery life on the SJ cameras is awful.

The genuine SJ5000 (meaning a SJ4000 successor from the manufacturer) is still sometime away. The unit that has appeared on dealextreme and has had a bit of coverage is from another manufacturer that has hijacked the name.

Avatar
bikebot replied to localsurfer | 9 years ago
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localsurfer wrote:
bikebot wrote:

The new entry level Hero has the potential to be huge, and is obviously intended to see off the clones such as the SJ4000.

Yeah, but its still twice the price of the SJ4000. And the SJ5000 is due out soon, with all the wifi gubbins...

There is already a version of the SJ4000 with wifi. Both are cheaper than the gopro, £55 for standard and £65 for wifi (foxoffer). I think that price difference is small enough that many will instead prefer a gopro, and the battery life on the SJ cameras is awful.

The genuine SJ5000 (meaning a SJ4000 successor from the manufacturer) is still sometime away. The unit that has appeared on dealextreme and has had a bit of coverage is from another manufacturer that has hijacked the name.

Avatar
Gkam84 | 9 years ago
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GREAT video, my only issue with the go pro for cycling is it's shape, ok it can be a bar/bike came, but it is still being marketed as a helmet camera, time to do away with that.

It is great for anything video wise anywhere else in the world, as shown by that video.

The £100 version might be just the ticket for everyone to get a decent bike camera though. At least they have done some updates, unlike my favourite company, Contour, who released the Roam 3 with nothing new really

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