gopro lcd touch screen review for sale

I do like being able to view what you are shooting. I have not been much in favor of the touch screen just because of it"s small size. I guess one could use a rubber tip pen, but haven"t used or tried that. At least they made it, with forethought, to use with all 3"s and 4"s.

I do like being able to view what you are shooting. I have not been much in favor of the touch screen just because of it"s small size. I guess one could use a rubber tip pen, but haven"t used or tried that. At least they made it, with forethought, to use with all 3"s and 4"s.

²Applies only to purchases made on GoPro.com. Some accessories excluded. Learn more. Limited to a maximum of 10 items per subscription anniversary year.

Our comprehensive GoPro HERO 9 review, complete with all the new features, comparisons with old cameras, and an honest opinion on whether you should upgrade or not.

After years of being the world’s number one action sports camera, GoPro managed to deliver another stellar product in 2020 as an upgrade to the wildly popular 8 series.

From travel to snowboarding, scuba diving to mountain biking and just about everything in between, we’ve put our GoPros through some tortuous environments.

SPECIAL DEAL: GoPro are having an incredible sale right now! If you purchase the latest camera using our link below, you’ll save $150 plus they’ll throw in a dual battery charger and a spare battery completely free! The deal is on for this week only though, so don’t miss out.

According to us, this is one of the biggest ‘game-changing’ upgrades this year. We’ve tested out the sensor alongside our high-end professional cameras, and are amazed at the photo quality the GoPro HERO9 produces.

The main difference is that now the GoPro HERO 9 Black has horizon levelling built directly into the camera, which automatically adjusts the crop to ensure your horizon is as close to level as possible.

Previously you would have to do this through the GoPro app or in post-production. So this feature saves you time in the future when editing your videos.

First introduced in the HERO7, TimeWarp got an upgrade on the HERO8 to allow the user to tap on the screen to toggle between quick-time and real-time.

TimeWarp 3.0 goes two steps further, and now with a simple tap of the larger rear screen you can not only set the hyperlapse to real-time, you can then drop it to slo-mo!

The most obvious upgrade straight out of the box, and something we can’t fail to mention in this GoPro HERO 9 Black review, is the inclusion of the colour front display LCD screen.

That’s not a problem anymore though, because with the GoPro HERO 9 Black, you can now set the exact time you want to start recording at, put your camera in place then walk away.

Perhaps one of the best things about GoPros isn’t necessarily the action cameras themselves, but all the incredible accessories you can get along with them!

The GoPro Media Mod is a housing that your HERO9 slides into that features a bi-directional microphone, cold shoe mounts, USB-C input/output and a 3.5mm microphone jack.

The latest and greatest modular accessory is the Max Lens Mod. Leaning on the ultra-wide capabilities of its bigger 360-degree sibling, the Max Lens Mod replaces the original lens cover on the GoPro Hero 9 Black to give it a super-wide perspective with excellent field of view.

In fact if we’re going out with friends or heading out on any adventure, we’ll have the GoPro HERO 9 Black in our bag and leave the big cameras at home.

And the last thing that we’re not completely happy about with the GoPro HERO 9 Black is that it isn’t compatible with older GoPro HERO batteries or the HERO 8 Black media mod.

Now that we’ve run through all the major new features in this GoPro HERO 9 Black review, you’re probably wondering what sets this action camera apart from its predecessors.

If you don’t currently own a GoPro, and are looking for a camera that you can use in a range of environments, then the HERO9 is absolutely worth buying.

Whether you want a durable, waterproof camera, something for vlogging or just an all-round travel camera, the GoPro HERO 9 Black is one of the best action cameras on the market.

While, in our opinion, the HERO7 to HERO8 was a minor upgrade, the HERO8 to HERO9 is a fairly major one with the inclusion of the front-facing screen, 5k, new camera sensor, etc.

On the other hand, if you’re the kind of person who would use their smartphone 90% of the time and only pick up the GoPro now and then, we’d say save your money and perhaps buy a couple of awesome accessories instead.

Wait what? When is the GoPro HERO 10 being released? If historical dates are any indication, you can expect to see the GoPro HERO10 in September 2021. HOWEVER with the current chip manufacturing shortage in Taiwan and the fact that zero rumours have come out about any new camera, there’s a high likelihood that there isn’t going to be a release this year. If you need a camera now, don’t wait. Just get this current model.

DISCLAIMER:Some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which means if you book accommodation, tours or buy a product, we will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These commissions help us keep creating more free travel content to help people plan their holidays and adventures. We only recommend the best accommodations, tours and products, and regularly review these. Thanks for your support, kind friend!

We"ve put the new camera to the test in this comprehensive GoPro HERO 9 review. Dive into the new features, how it performs and whether it"s worth upgrading.

One of the key differentiating factors between the GoPro Hero 3+ and its direct competitors (particularly the JVC Adixxon 2 and the Drift Innovation Ghost S) is the GoPro’s lack of a built-in screen. While you can use wifi and the GoPro app to see live footage and review previously shot videos on a smartphone, this doesn’t really allow the GoPro to be used like a “normal” video camera, with the user continually viewing the image as it is captured and making adjustments. While this might not matter much or at all where the GoPro is to be mounted in a fixed position (and where you couldn’t see a screen anyway), it is more important where the intention is to use the GoPro like a more traditional camera and to control where it is pointed – as one might when scuba diving for example.

The ‘Touch’ back door allows the capacitive touch inputs to be transferred to the screen through the door. However, the touch backdoor is only waterproof to a depth of 3m, and when used underwater the touch input will not work. As such, while it is ideal for protecting the GoPro from rain, snow and puddles when on dry land, and potentially use on the surface of the water (where you’re sure you won’t drop it!), it’s not really ideal for prolonged submersion, and obviously not at all for scuba diving.

The ‘Standard’ backdoor, which is of a stronger construction and is waterproof to 131 feet (40m)  like the standard GoPro case.  The touch functionality of the BacPac does not work at all through this case, but it is still possible to access the various menu options through the use of the additional button mounted on the side of the BacPac in conjunction with the existing 2 buttons on the GoPro.

The ‘Skeleton’ backdoor – like the original skeleton backdoor, this leaves the rear of the case effectively open, in order to improve the audio quality of the sound captured. However, since audio is not the GoPro’s strongest point in any event, in general it is arguably sensible to use one of the other two backdoors in order to project the camera unit against any moisture or dirt.

Downsides? Clearly, the Touch BacPac increases the size of the GoPro housing, and as such can interfere with the mounting of the camera (for example, when used on a helmet front mount or ‘Chesty’ chest mount). However, as discussed above, since it’s unlikely that you would want to use the BacPac when the camera is mounted this way, this is isn’t a major issue.

The far bigger issue is that of battery life. The GoPro Hero 3+ cameras already have a relatively short battery life, with the most powerful Black model being the worst in this regard. As can be seen from the table below, the addition and use of the BacPac Touch screen tends to reduce the battery life by around 30 – 40%. It is however possible to turn the screen off so that it is only used where necessary. And, given that spare battery packs and charger units are now very affordable, it is not too big an issue to simply swap out an expired battery pack and continue your day’s shooting.

Overall, the GoPro Touch BacPac is a great accessory. It allows the GoPro to be much more than just a mounted action cam, and instead to become a properly usable lightweight, waterproof video camera. It also significantly improves the functionality of the camera and the speed with which the  settings can be altered. If you ever use (or might plan to use) your GoPro while not in a fixed mount, and can cope with the reduced battery life, then in our view the Touch BacPac is well worth a purchase.

At its best, the GoPro is a fantastic piece of kit. These small and incredibly rugged little action cameras offer class-leading video and audio, a wealth of creative modes and can often be picked up for a very reasonable price. And, while GoPro has built its reputation off of documenting some of the most extreme activities going, its easy-to-use, versatile line of cameras are just as at home with vloggers, commuters and holidaymakers.

If you"re new to GoPro action cameras, you"re probably taken aback by the variety of similar-looking models available, but don"t panic: we"re here to help you choose the best GoPro for you.

If you"re a seasoned action camera veteran looking for a comprehensive list of the best GoPro action cameras on the market, feel free to scroll further down the page, where you"ll find our top picks. Newcomers, however, should start with our brief guide that explains how to find the best GoPro for you.

Offering incredible video stabilisation and superb image quality, the GoPro Hero 11 Black is the best action we"ve reviewed yet. Originally launched for £450, GoPro subscribers have been able to pick one up for £400 since day one. This Boxing Dau, however, it"s cheaper still. With a 15% site-wide sale, you can currently bag yourself a brand-new Hero 11 Black bundled with a 12-month GoPro subscription for just £348. Simply add the camera to your cart to unlock the savings at checkout.

GoPro is also offering a discounted GoPro Hero 11 Black + Accessories bundle. It includes the new Hero 11 Black, a Handler floating hand grip, GoPro Head Strap and Quick Clip, a spare Enduro battery, a 32GB microSD card and a 12-month GoPro subscription. Bought separately these accessories would set you back in excess of £100 so being able to pick them up just £40 more than the standalone Hero 11 Black makes this a great value package.

GoPro"s current lineup consists of the flagship Hero 11 Black, mid-range Hero 10 Black, budget Hero 9 Black and the dual-lens GoPro Max 360 camera. GoPro has also recently introduced a compact, stripped-back Hero 11 Black Mini and, if you shop around, you may still find stock of the older Hero 8 Black.

When shopping for your ideal camera it can be worth bearing in mind that the best GoPro for you may not be the most expensive model or the one capable of recording at the highest resolutions or frame rates. The ability to film high bit-rate, high refresh-rate 4K and 5K footage might sound appealing but remember you have to have plenty of disk space to store the files and your laptop or PC needs plenty of power to process and edit the footage once you"re back at base.

Indeed, for many, good-quality 1080p or 1440p footage still holds up well for sharing to social media and it"s a lot easier to edit, move around and upload than 4K or 5K. The good news is that even the cheapest GoPro cameras can do that, with even the old budget Hero 7 Silver models capable of recording all the way up to 4K30.

What the more expensive models do offer, however, is GoPro"s impressively effective HyperSmooth stabilisation. While older models still offer basic stabilisation, they"re unable to match the impressively steady results of the HyperSmooth stabilisation found in the newer Hero Black models. The latest flagship models even pack a nifty "Horizon Leveling" feature, ensuring that your footage remains both smooth and level.

These days all of GoPro"s cameras are natively waterproof right out of the box and come with built-in mounting prongs for quick and easy set-up with GoPro"s near endless range of compatible mods, mounts and accessories.

With an all-new sensor, class-leading video stabilisation and a wealth of high-resolution recording options, the Hero 11 Black is GoPro"s best action camera to date.

Breaking from GoPro"s 4:3 sensor tradition, the Hero 11 Black features a brand new 27-megapixel chip with a near-square 8:7 native aspect ratio. Recording 8:7 videos enables creators to crop landscape and portrait orientation clips from the same take, changing the game for those who want to publish to both YouTube and TikTok. A new HyperView mode is also available which compresses the full 8:7 image into a standard 16:9 frame for a stretched super-wide effect, ideal for exaggerating fast-paced action.

The Hero 11 Black packs everything you"d expect from flagship action cam. Spec-wise it supports 5.3K video recording at up to 60fps, 4K at up to 120fps and both 2.7K and Full HD clips can be recorded at up to 240fps. The Hero 11 also features GoPro"s most effective video stabilisation yet, HyperSmooth 5.0. When enabled the camera is able to smooth out the wildest of camera movements, resulting in cinematically-smooth clips. There"s even a Horizon Lock function which is able to correct a full 360-degrees of tilt, ensuring you"re always able to maintain a perfectly level shot. Overall, the Hero 11 Black"s image quality is the best we"ve encountered from an action camera.

Like GoPro"s other modern Hero Black cameras, the 11 is waterproof to 10m without the need for an additional housing, has built-in mounting prongs and is compatible with GoPro"s full range of accessories and Mods.

The Hero 11 retails for around £450 at online retailers such as Amazon and Argos, but if you buy direct from GoPro you can pick up a new Hero 11 Black bundled with a 12-month GoPro subscription for £400.

Competitively priced and well appointed, the Hero 9 Black is the ideal entry-level GoPro. In fact, while it can"t match the blistering frame rates of the latest Hero 11, it will likely tick all the right boxes for most users.

The Hero 9 Black was the first Hero to benefit from GoPro"s latest redesign, which means it packs both front- and rear-facing colour LCD displays, built-in mounting prongs and native 10m water resistance straight out of the box. It"s also compatible with GoPro"s latest accessories, including the firm"s range of Mods for external microphones, lights and displays, along with the new Enduro battery.

As for performance, the Hero 9 Black supports high resolution video recording at up to 30fps at 5.3K or 60fps in 4K. GoPro"s HyperSmooth 3.0 stabilisation is on hand to keep your shots nice and steady and there"s even up to 27-degrees of horizon levelling to keep your clips level too.

The GoPro Max is an action camera but not as you know it. With fisheye lenses mounted on the front and the back, it can shoot in all directions at once, including up and down.

While we"ve seen 360-degree cameras before, the GoPro Max takes things to another level, capturing superb-quality video and making the viewing and sharing the footage easier than ever. 360 videos are stitched automatically in-camera, you can then opt to upload the files to YouTube as interactive videos that users can pan and zoom around in, or "reframe" the footage using GoPro"s smartphone or desktop app. Reframing allows you to take your favourite angles from within the 360 clip and export them as standard video files - essentially, it"s like filming with multiple cameras at once.

For more traditional videos, you also have the option of using a single lens and engaging GoPro"s incredible Max HyperSmooth stabilisation. Max HyperSmooth is not only capable of keeping your footage incredibly stable but it also offers a full 360 degrees of Horizon Leveling correction, ensuring your videos remain perfectly level too.

Utilising GoPro"s latest GP2 processor, the Hero 10 is able to offer double the frame rates of the older Hero 9 Black, supporting 5.3K video recording at up to 60fps and 4K video at up to 120fps. GoPro"s HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilisation tech is on-hand to keep your recordings exceptionally stable and there"s 45-degrees of horizon levelling available too.

The camera sports both front and rear-facing colour LCD displays, is waterproof to 10m without the need for an additional housing and is compatible with GoPro"s latest Mod accessories, including the Max Lens Mod.

Although no longer listed among GoPro"s current lineup of action cams, if you shop around you can still find older Hero 8 Black cameras in stock. Compared to GoPro"s latest offerings it is starting to show its age a little now. Its video recording options top out at 4K60, it lacks a front-facing display and it can"t be used with GoPro"s latest Mod accessories.

The LCD Touch BacPac is a removable LCD touch screen that seamlessly attaches to the back of your GoPro. As a removable accessory, it keeps your camera as small and light as possible, yet provides the convenience of an LCD touch screen when attached. The LCD Touch BacPac makes it easy to frame your shots and play back content, and delivers convenient touch-screen control of all camera settings.

The LCD Touch BacPac is a removable LCD touch screen for GoPro cameras*. As a removable accessory, the LCD BacPac keeps your camera as small and light as possible, yet provides the convenience of an LCD screen when attached. Seamlessly attaches to the back of GoPro cameras

Early last month GoPro completed their annual October ritual of releasing a suite of new units.  Like past years, GoPro doesn’t tend to make massive upgrades in their units, but rather works to add incremental features and performance bumps.

It’s somewhat rare that I group this many products into a single review.  Sometimes I’ll do two minor variations of the same product in a single post, but I think this is the first threesome I’ve had around these parts.  When it comes to the GoPro packaging though, all three units are pretty similar actually. They all include the following:

– The camera itself (duh) – The battery for the camera – A mini-USB cable – An underwater case rated to 40m/131ft – An alternate/secondary door for the case that allows for better audio – A small stack of GoPro stickers – A small quick-start guide and other paper junk – A flat adhesive mount – A curved adhesive mount – A loss prevention rubber stopper

Next, the standard mini-USB plug that can be used to both charge the unit as well as download photos.  Note that this USB cable (and your attached GoPro) can be plugged into any USB outlet on the planet.

The bottom opens up identically on the Black and Silver, which is where you’ll place the battery.  There’s a small little button you’ll press that’ll then pop open the door.  It’s a much better design than the annoying battery cover found on previous GoPro units.

The only difference in the box is the case doors.  The Silver edition includes three doors (instead of two), and two of these doors are designed to allow you to operate the touch screen. In the below photo, the two lower doors allow touch screen operation.  The left one is completely open, while the right one has a thin flexible plastic.

Here’s the front of the camera, as you can see, it’s virtually identical to the Hero4 Black.  Though, strangely in my case it actually has a small manufacturing defect on the front of the LCD screen.  It hasn’t bothered me though, and I’m too lazy to deal with returning it.

The 2014 GoPro Hero base unit is packaged slightly differently.  For example it lacks the top plastic ‘dome’ found on the other/past units, as well as the plastic baseplate.  Obviously at a fraction of the price they were looking to cut costs that were unnecessary, which, is completely reasonable.

Below are the components within the box.  You’ll find the two adhesive mounts (flat/curved), but only one mounting attachment piece between the GoPro and the adhesive mounts.  Don’t worry, you still get stickers.

When it comes to size, the Hero4 is identical to that of the Hero3, so there’s no changes there.  It’ll fit into all the same mounts, cases and locations that the Hero3 did.  This is particularly interesting even in the case of the touch-screen display included on the Hero4 Silver.  Of course, if you add a touch/display screen to the Hero4 Black then it’ll increase the size accordingly.

Looking at other units on the market, the GoPro remains the smallest unit with the highest quality video.  No doubt you can look at something smaller like the new Polaroid cube, but with that comes incredibly rough video (stabilization-wise).  While the baseline Polaroid 1080p video isn’t horrible when just sitting still, it’s not at all awesome with any movement at all.  And given the point of an action cam is…action, that’s sorta limiting:

Meanwhile, if you compare it to something like the Sony series of action cams, it’s sorta a wash.  The Sony cams are longer, but thinner.  While the GoPro’s appear a bit chubbier.  Both can go sans-case, though neither should be taken underwater without their respective cases.

Turning to something like the VIRB series, the GoPro is much smaller without the case, though only somewhat smaller with the case.  The VIRB doesn’t require a case unless going deeper underwater (splashing around in a pool is fine).  But, the GoPro is also roughly the size of a Twinkie compared to that of a kiwi fruit (not the bird, nor the New Zealander’s) with the Garmin VIRB.  Note that both the VIRB and VIRB Elite share the same outer shell.

Of course, to some degree comparing sizes with the GoPro is somewhat academic.  It’s well established as a completely acceptable sized unit within the marketplace – with the case.  And without the case the options are pretty much unlimited.

Let’s start off with establishing some of the basics, things that are largely common to all units.  To begin, you’ll turn on the unit by holding down the front-facing button (Mode).  This will get the GoPro ready to record, but won’t start recording:

With the camera powered on, all units have a front-facing LCD screen.  This screen will show you which mode you’re in, for example, video, photo, time lapse, etc…  You can simply tap the front mode button to iterate to the next mode.

And, you can enable the ability to automatically shut off after a preset time.  I like 5 minutes, because that’s typically longer than I’d wait around for any action sequence to happen – and usually means that I’ve forgotten about the camera.  Since the GoPro doesn’t save too much battery sitting in standby versus recording – I prefer to keep it off as much as I can.

Also note that unlike the Black/Silver, the Hero base can’t have settings changed via the phone apps, but more on that later. Next, when it comes to actually record something, you’ll start/stop the recording (or photos) by pressing the top button on the GoPro (with the red circle).

And again, to stop it, you’ll just press the same button.  By default the unit will chirp/beep and then the red recording light will blink.  You can change the volume of the chirps.  I do that if I plan to use the unit indoors where the chirps can get a bit annoying (Side Note: I fail to understand why there is a 100% volume, 75% volume, and 0% volume level…but no 25% or 50% level).Outside of course, it’s handy to have the chirps though if mounted on a helmet. With those basics covered, let’s get onto the Silver-only touch screen, and then I’ll cover many of the features individually.

The GoPro Hero4 Silver sports a new addition to the Hero lineup, a touch screen.  While you could in the past attach a LCD screen to the back of units, it always came at the cost of increased space as well as just being sorta clunky.  With the Hero4 Silver though, it’s embedded into the back of the unit while remaining exactly the same size as previous models.

The screen is both there to display what the camera is shooting, but also to act as a touch screen to change settings.  To do so, you’ll press the little red dot and then slide down and hold a few seconds.  This ensures that you can’t accidentally bump it on, like butt dialing, but for action cameras (which, upon reflection could be really awkward).

Once you have it unlocked, it’ll show you a touch menu that you can go into and modify settings for each of the modes.  You effectively get all of the modification capabilities of the front LCD + buttons, with the back screen:

Now of course while recording, you can use this to frame your shots ahead of time and then keep an eye on things while recording.  By default it’ll shut off the screen shortly after recording to save battery. I’ve gotta say, when I first saw the marketing images of the screen I figured it’d be like the Garmin VIRB screen.  In that while the VIRB screen was marketed to look like a orgasmicly colorful experience, in reality it was like 1930’s black and white silent film.

Thankfully, the Hero4 Silver is legit color.  Brilliantly colorful and just as crisp and pretty as the marketing shots look.  It’s a bit tricky to take photos of because of the light differential between foreground and the LCD screen, but, you can get a little bit of a feel for it in some of the below:

And on top of that, it will playback sound as well.  When it comes to a screen on an action camera, this is perfect for me.  Or rather, for my wife.  I actually didn’t use it nearly as much as her – who loved being able to see exactly what she was shooting and play it back without a phone (as was the case with her cannonballs seen later).

Now with all that praise, do keep in mind one thing: For most folks, the screen is merely used for framing a shot.  So while the color is much appreciated, I wouldn’t say it’s a complete deal-breaker.  I’m able to frame shots on the 1930’s style black and white screen VIRB just as easily as the Hero4 Silver.

When it comes to video quality in an action cam, nobody has higher resolutions than the GoPro.  Period, end of story.  Well, at least today. So what does that mean from a practical standpoint?  Well with the Hero3+ Black, GoPro offered 2.7K at full frame rates.  In this case, full frame rates are anything above 24FPS.  Below that and you’ll start to get degradation viewable to the human eye in most situations.  So in the case of the Hero3+ Black, it had 4K footage…but at 15FPS. With the Hero4, things simply shifted.  The Hero4 Black got full 4K at 24/25/30FPS, while the Hero4 Silver got 2.7K at 24/25/30FPS, and 4K at 12.5/15FPS.  So basically, the following happened:

Can you tell the difference?  For most on smaller screens – probably not.  But that’s likely just because you’re viewing it on a device too small to notice the differences.  But, this is a key point in deciding whether or not it’s worth the money to pay extra for what is 4K/2.7K over just 1080p resolution found on every other device out there.

Now when it comes to resolutions, keep in mind that while GoPro has action cam dominance today, tomorrow that might change (hence why it’s always good to check out the Product Comparison Tool).  In general, I wouldn’t expect any changes between now and the end of 2014.  But I fully expect that to change starting with CES the first week of January.  CES is the annual and massive Consumer Electronics Show, where everyone in the gadget world comes out with their new stuff.

In addition to high resolution video, the GoPro series can also do high speed video.  High speed video refers to the idea of increasing the frame rate (frames per second) recorded in order to then play it back at ‘regular’ speed and achieve a slow-motion effect.  Take for example 120FPS footage.  It’s captured (wait for it) at 120 frames per second.  But, when it comes to playback, it might be played back at 30FPS, which then results in that one-second moment of action taking 4 seconds to play back.  Thus achieving gloriously smooth slow-motion.  You can see this below with a Hero4 Black and a touchscreen attached.

With these higher frame rates at higher resolutions, you’re no longer having to make sacrifices in quality or frame rates for slow-motion footage. Like other settings, on the GoPro you can modify these within the app, or within the camera itself.  In the case of base GoPro Hero, you’re only getting 1080P-30FPS, or 720P-60FPS. The exact frame rates offered for each resolution I’ve included within the comparison table at the bottom of the review.

So what does this look like?  Well, no better way to test this than a canon ball into a swimming pool.  The perfect way to illustrate slow-motion, in this case with a common 120FPS 720p clip (from the GoPro Hero4 Silver):

Now I could have gone to 240FPS on the Hero4 Black, but that reduces the resolution.  Previous to February 2015 it was WVGA, but now it’s 720 – which makes it potentially a fair tradeoff.  Still, for those wanting to keep it 1080p or higher, you could instead look to slow it down further with the GoPro studio and take the hit on frame rates instead of resolution.  In this case, I went with 20% speed playback.

Note that the GoPro Studio offers the ability specify the exact moment in time that you switch from regular playback to slow-motion playback by simply splitting the clips.  This allows you to keep at normal speed until just the moment of action, such as this where I kept it regular rates for the first few seconds, then slowed it down when she was mid-air, and then let it get back to half-speed towards the last few seconds.

Further, GoPro has also introduced what they call ‘Flux’.  The idea behind it is a bit smarter interpolation of the frames when slowing down video, allowing you to get cleaner video.  In the above case I used Flux for the middle section of slow-mo, though, it’s not really required since I shot at 120FPS already and there was plenty of slow motion as-is. But it’s more noticeable if you really wanted to slow things down even further than that.

For example, if you wanted to turn what would have been 4-5 seconds at playback speed into 8-10 seconds.  In that case you’d lose so many frames that it might be tough to get smooth video. Note that Flux is all done after the fact within GoPro Studio, and is not something done on the camera itself.  It does not require you do anything on the unit itself.

Ok, with those basics out of the way, let’s get to some shots and how I use it.  In most cases, when I’m using the GoPro as a camera, I’m shooting in the highest possible megapixel arrangement with the wide option.  This is because the way the GoPro works is that even if you were to select a medium crop image, it’s simply taking the 12MP wide image and cropping that automatically.  Thus it’s much better to take the higher resolution and do the cropping yourself. For example, below if I wanted just the fish from this GoPro image, I could crop to just the fish and the sea anemone.

But what situations would you want medium over wide?  Well, for those where you didn’t want to deal with cropping.  For example, The Girl (aka, my wife), borrowed the GoPro Hero4 Silver for the day while snorkeling.  She didn’t want the super-wide shots that were coming in on wide mode, and instead preferred the zoomed in aspect of the medium mode.  For her, she’s not going to want to deal with cropping the photos afterwards on the computer or her phone.  She just wants to be able to take them and post them to whatever platform she wants – no editing.

The good piece is that both options are there (see table later in review for exact options per model), so you can do whatever you’d like. Next, when it comes to how many photos to shoot for each button press, I tend to go with three photos.  That allows me a bit of flexibility in case I fudge the shot, and since sometimes they might be slightly-action based (riding or running), I can pick the best out of the three.

The GoPro series includes a time lapse mode.  In this mode the unit will take a series of photos at a preset interval, such as every half a second.  You can then take those photos and compile them together to make a video time-lapse. Alternatively, this mode is ideal when you want to simply have photos of/during an event, but don’t know when the moment of action will come (or won’t be in a position to press record).

For example, you might be mountain biking downhill and want to easily capture photos along the way (instead of video).  Just plop it in time lapse mode and it’ll capture photos at the defined interval. Why use this instead of video (and then take a screenshot)?  Well, the resolution is substantially higher with photos over video.  Further, you tend to get crisper photos this way. The GoPro series supports different intervals depending on the model.  Here’s the run-down for the 2014 series:

Next, you’ll need some software to turn these all into a pretty video.  Of course, if you don’t want a video, then you’re just done as-is. For the video, GoPro Studio enables you to drag the photos into the software and it’ll compile it into a video.

There’s two ways of doing this.  The first is to just drag the first photo in the series into GoPro studio (and it’ll do the rest automatically).  Or, you can manually put them all in a folder and then drag the folder in.  Whatever floats your boat:

Now, while this is quite functional – it can be a bit complex for the beginner.  This is one area that I’ve previously preferred Garmin’s method with the VIRB.  In their case they just build the video for you on the device itself.  So as it records each image it automatically compiles it.  You can see examples of this in my review within the VIRB In-Depth Review time lapse section. Of course, there are pros and cons to each option.

However, with the February 2015 update for the GoPro Hero4 Black and Silver, it’ll now create that same video for you within the GoPro unit itself.  I’ll discuss that in the next section.

In February 2015, GoPro introduced a new time lapse mode that automatically exports out a video file when you end the recording of the time lapse.  This means that when you hit finish on the time lapse on the camera, you immediately have a video file – instead of a huge pile of photos that need additional processing.  This option was made available to only the Hero4 Black and Silver models, via a free firmware update.

The Hero4 Black and Silver carry through the capability of being able to control and transfer data from the camera to the phone.  This allows you to use your phone as a secondary display for the camera, or, just a quick way to get photos up to share with friends via social media.  Note, this is not compatible with the 2014 GoPro Hero base unit.

To begin, you’ll need to enable WiFi on your Hero4.  Just hold down the left side button until the blue light blinks on the front of the GoPro.  Then, on your mobile device connect to the WiFi network.

You’ll need to go through a setup of pairing steps before moving forward.  They’re fairly straight forward and ensure that you have a unique name for each unit, and unique password. Once that’s done you can go ahead and open up the GoPro app and then click “Connect & Control” to start the connectivity to the GoPro.

It’ll start on the preview screen, which shows you the exact same view as that of the camera.  You can rotate the phone as well to get a cleaner view.

If you click the little tool icon, you can go into the settings and tweak every camera mode and overall camera settings quickly and easily.  This is great when you are taking iterative shots at different resolutions or frame rates and don’t want to mess with the camera or touch it physically.

Next, you can transfer both photos and videos.  To do this within the GoPro app you’ll tell it to enumerate the files.  It may take a few seconds.  Or, in the event you have a time lapse pile of photos – it may never actually complete at all (as I learned).  Thus, I wouldn’t recommend trying to enumerate it if you just took a few thousand photos.

Overall, while seemingly straight forward and potentially simple, the phone app capability on the GoPro app is actually exactly one of the best (if not the best) out there from an action cam perspective.  Some other action cams don’t allow live preview while recording, for example.  Or, they don’t permit you to transfer files.  Or, the apps are just poorly coded.

The same week that GoPro announced the Hero4 lineup, they in conjunction with Livestream announced the ability to stream your GoPro recordings live to the internet via the Livestream service.  This requires the use of your mobile phone, which connected to the GoPro via the GoPro WiFi network, and then streamed the data out via your cellular data connection.

Initially when I posted this review the functionality wasn’t yet enabled on the Hero4.  So, I did some expirements on the Hero3 instead,  which you can view here. Since then, the Hero4 support has been enabled with LiveStream.

But, instead of trying to cram it all into this post, I’ve written up a HUGE post on live streaming options for action cams.  I cover the GoPro in super-detail, along with numerous other options and apps.

The first port you’ll find is the mini-USB port.  The primary use for most people will be charging the GoPro as well as transferring photos/videos to a computer.  Those are both fairly straight forward scenarios in that the GoPro will simply show up now as an imaging device on your computer (this is actually a change from previous lines, where it enumerated as a standard USB device):

Next, we’ve got the micro-HDMI port.  This port enables you to playback video and photos straight to a TV using an HDMI cable.  Note though that your regular HDMI cable likely won’t work here, since most HDMI cables you have around the house are standard HDMI connectors are both ends.  The micro-HDMI connector is on the GoPro end of the equation and much smaller.  You tend to see this also used in some tablets, such as the Microsoft Surface’s and some Android tablets.

There’s a fundamental reason why you see Hollywood shoot with the GoPro, and the core of that reason is ProTune and the flexibility offered within it.  ProTune is one such feature that has long been leveraged in GoPro units to offer more flexibility in editing afterwards.  It’s sorta similar (though not exactly) to the way that higher end photographers primarily shoot RAW photos for the ability to better tweak photos afterwards, people also shoot GoPro video with ProTune so they can easily tweak it afterwards.  When I talk to ‘tweaking’ I’m referring to the ability to drive change easily in things such as White Balance, ISO, Sharpness and more.

For example, virtually all of the photos you see here on the blog (not just in this post, but all posts) I shoot with higher end cameras in dual JPG/RAW formats.  This allows me to clean them up in Lightroom and make any color/lighting corrections as required.  The same applies here with GoPro cameras using ProTune with the GoPro Studio. Now this doesn’t actually just apply to video in the case of GoPro, but also to photos.  So you have that same power there too.

Now, GoPro notes there’s no downside to enabling ProTune.  It won’t make your images/video ‘require’ additional tuning.  So you might as well enable it and then decide later if you need it in post production. A better question is whether or not having (or not having) ProTune is a deciding factor.

The GoPro 2014 series all include waterproof cases that protect the unit down to 40 meters (131 feet).  This is pretty much the max for what a standard openwater PADI/NAUI certified diver would go to (by a little bit).  And of course fine for snorkeling and other random pool activities. In the slim chance you’re diving deeper than that, you can get a more hardened case that goes 60m (197 feet). In my case, I didn’t have any dives on my radar for this time period, so it was just limited to snorkeling and pool time.  In both cases, I had no problems.

Now what is notable is that there’s no water protection issues using the touch screen capable case underwater at least at snorkeling/pool depths.  However, you won’t want to try and use the touch screen underwater as the pressure will make it impossible to use.  Instead, just use the regular buttons on the side/front/top to change any settings or take any photos.

Note that while I didn’t use any of the corrective color filters, you can get such filters, especially if doing diving with the GoPro, which will help correct the colors a bit.  For snorkeling and pool shots, you can easily adjust them in the GoPro Studio as well, though I find that leaving a bit of the blueish tint at shallow depths tends to make the images pop a bit more.  It’s when deeper that you lose the colors that you want to use the filters.

Finally, in the event you’re doing a lot of water sports, you may want to look at picking up the floating door accessory.  That will keep the GoPro afloat in the event it departs from your grasp.  If you’re just doing snorkeling or in a pool it’s a bit unnecessary, but if you’re constantly out on openwater it’s probably worth it.

Now one accessory I have found handy though is the dual battery charger.  It connects via standard mini-USB cable and then will charge your GoPro batteries.  Note that it works best with a 2AMP USB port, such as those found with an iPad or other tablet.  So if you use just a regular amperage USB port you’re likely to get slow charge times. When you insert the battery in, it’ll show orange for charging, and green for completed.  Note though that it can be easy the first time to not push the battery in all the way and think it’s doing something.  The simple rule is if there’s no light, it’s not doing jack.

When it comes to accessories, there’s no greater selection than that with the GoPro lineup.  Heck, even other action cams now include GoPro adapter mounts, simply to be able to tap into the massive range of accessories and mounts found within the GoPro lineup.  The majority of mounts that most folks will use will likely be 1st party mounts made by GoPro, but there’s still a huge array of 3rd party mounts by other companies that are oftentimes far more interesting.

1) GoPro 3-way Pole: This came out last winter and instantly became my favorite accessory.  As you can see from the below animated image I put together, you can twist/mix/fold/unpack/pack it up a crapton of ways.  I can use it as a tripod, or as a selfie pole, or just to get a better angle and extend my reach.

In my case, I bought the DJI Phantom 2 last winter and have been experimenting with it to get cool shots and videos. From a setup perspective, I use the GoPro Hero4 with the DJI Phantom 2 in conjunction with the Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal.  This gimbal is really the special sauce that allows silky smooth footage.  Proof of that comes with the fact that the wind was never less than 10-15MPH during my flights in New Zealand.

You can use the below comparison charts to see how each unit stacks up against each other.  In the below chart I’ve just set it for the three GoPro units for 2014.  However, you can easily dive into the comparison database to see how older GoPro units stack up, as well as some competitor units.  You can mix and match and create your own charts there.

Of course, the real question is – does this matter?  For most people, probably not.  You’d likely be hard pressed on today’s screens to tell the difference between 1080p and 4K, let alone 2.7K and 4K.  Still, for the reasons I outlined in the 4K section above, there’s certainly value in such a camera.

An all around action cam: For this, it’s tricky.  On one hand the GoPro Hero4 Silver is solid, but at the same time, it’s also a bit overpriced compared to other offerings.  They effectively bumped up the price to $399 from what was sub-$300 before.  At that price you’re paying double something like the VIRB Elite or Sony Action cams, but of which have more features/functionality (i.e. sensors like GPS, altimeters, etc…).  Sure, the Hero4 Silver can do 2.7K video at full frame rates, but for most people, that won’t matter.

A budget action cam:This is where things get really interesting.  GoPro dropped the bottom of the price floor with the $129US price point.  That’s an incredible price, especially for such a quality cam as the Hero base.  At the same time, Garmin more or less countered with VIRB units now at $129US, and flirting every few days with $99US.  The VIRB base unit is more functional in every possible spec category than the 2014 Hero base (or equal in those not exceeding).

Mount considerations: There’s no question that GoPro has the most mounting options out there when you include 3rd party mounts.  But I wouldn’t let that be the deciding factor.  Virtually every other action cam on the market includes a GoPro mounting adapter, so that kinda becomes a wash.

Availability of accessories: When it comes to finding spare parts like a battery pack during a trip, you’ll find no wider availability than GoPro parts though.  In every airport on this planet and in just about every terminal of those airports, you’ll find GoPro parts.  I was blown away over the past month as I travelled to find that Hero4 parts and cameras were easily accessible in all sorts of random places around the globe, airport or just shopping plaza – mere weeks after launch.

Editing Tools: GoPro’s offering is good (not great, but good), and makes it relatively easy to edit videos.  On the flip side, you can edit GoPro footage in most other software video apps – many of them free.

Mobile Apps: When it comes to phone apps, GoPro’s is far and away the best.  While most allow you to change settings, not all other companies allow streaming of content or transferring of photos and videos, all quickly and easily.  This can be a major benefit when you’re trying to get content somewhere quickly and share it.  Further, the quick turning on/off of WiFi via a solid button press on the Silver/Black is awesome.  It’s just quick and painless.

Hero4 Silver Touchscreen: This is cool, no doubt, but at the same time, for my particular use cases it’s less important.  Usually if I’m mounting a camera to a bike or to my helmet, I can easily check framing via the GoPro mobile app display.  And the same goes for playback via the phone app.  On the flip side, my wife loved the screen and much preferred having that unit over the other GoPro’s, purely because of the screen.

Like previous years, GoPro has continued to raise the bar on action cameras from a specification standpoint – in particular, within the resolution and video/photo quality department.  That aspect alone will no doubt make it a must have for those wanting the best video quality money can buy in an action cam.

Meanwhile at the budget end of the spectrum, they’ve forced other companies to slash prices to compete with the new $129US GoPro Hero.  While this unit isn’t as full featured as other competitive products that are now priced the same or less, it is a rock solid option.

The next year will no doubt be interesting to watch for GoPro, especially going into CES with what will undoubtedly unleash a slew of new action cameras into the market.  With GoPro pushing prices up $100 on their two top units, I’m not fully convinced that the bulk of consumers will follow to the higher end.

Hopefully you found this review useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.

I’ve partnered with Clever Training to offer all DC Rainmaker readers exclusive benefits on all products purchased. You can read more about the benefits of this partnership here. You can pickup the GoPro units through Clever Training using the links below. By doing so, you not only support the site (and all the work I do here) – but you also get to enjoy the significant partnership benefits that are just for DC Rainmaker readers. And, since this item is more than $75, you get free US shipping as well.

Additionally, you can also use Amazon to purchase the GoPro units or accessories (though, no discount). Or, anything else you pickup on Amazon helps support the site as well (socks, laundry detergent, cowbells). If you’re outside the US, I’ve got links to all of the major individual country Amazon stores on the sidebar towards the top.