gopro hero 3 lcd touch screen bacpac free sample

The LCD Touch BacPac™ is a removable touch display that seamlessly attaches to the back of your GoPro for added convenience and control. It’s perfect for playing back videos and photos directly from your camera, including audio and instant slow-motion playback. See what your camera sees to frame your shots with confidence. Adjusting camera settings is easier than ever—just tap and touch the screen. Plus, when used with HERO4 cameras, you can select modes and navigate menus with a simple swipe. Includes Standard, Skeleton and Touch BacPac™ Backdoors.

Welcome to our GoPro LCD Touch BacPac for Hero 3/Hero 3 Plus/Hero 4 special deal. At xtremeinn, not only can consumers find the best price for their extreme sports equipment, but also expert information on extreme sports products they are looking to buy. Product prices are up-to-date and all the necessary filters are available, enabling you to compare similar products from top categories like Accessories head-to-head.

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.

FeaTUres 1. Seamlessly attaches to back of GoPro cameras. 2. LCD Touch BacPac screen allows for easy visual control of camera and settings. 3. Preview and playback videos and photos including instant slow motion playback. 4. PLAYBACK button 5. Integrated speaker with audio control...

YOUr lCD TOUCH BaCPaC ATTACHING THE LCD TOUCH BACPAC TO YOUR GOPRO CAmERA TO ATTACH: 1. The LCD Touch BacPac can be attached to the HERO3, the HD HERO2 and original HD HERO. 2. Slide hooked end of the LCD Touch BacPac (A) into groove on right side of the camera body (B).

TO REmOvE: 1. Pull back on left side of the LCD Touch BacPac marked with the arrow to disconnect from the HERO Port. 2. Slide hooked end of the LCD Touch BacPac (A) out of the camera groove (B).

SWAPPING HOUSING DOORS A deeper housing backdoor is required when using the HERO3 with the LCD Touch BacPac attached. There are three backdoor options to choose from: Waterproof, Touch (enables touch functionality when in the housing) and Skeleton (non-waterproof backdoor for better sound quality by allowing more sound to reach the camera’s microphone.

TO SWAP OUT THE BACkDOOR: 1. Open the backdoor of the housing so it hangs downward. 2. Gently pull downward on the backdoor until it snaps free from the hinge. 3. Line up the replacement backdoor to the hinge opening. 4.

UsInG THe lCD TOUCH BaCPaC You can operate your GoPro camera via touch using the LCD Touch BacPac screen, via control button using buttons on your GoPro camera or using a combination of both methods. When touch functionality is not available, for example when using the camera underwater, follow the button control instructions.

CAPTURING PHOTO/BURST/TImE LAPSE/ CONTINUOUS PHOTO* When capturing a Photo, the following icons appear on the LCD Touch BacPac screen: 1. Camera Mode 2. Resolution/FOV 3. Advanced Settings Modes 4. Interval Setting (Time Lapse, Photo Burst) 5. Wi-Fi Mode 6. Battery Level 7.

SETTINGS mENU (CONTINUED) via Button Controls 1. Use to locate 2. Press to enter the Settings menu. to cycle through the Settings menu 3. Use options. Press to select a desired Setting. to cycle through the Settings sub-menus. 4. Use Press to select desired selection.

PLAYBACk videos and Photos can be viewed directly on the LCD Touch BacPac screen. To PLAYBACk—press on the side of the LCD Touch BacPac or access via touch on the LCD screen—in the mode menu tap the video and Photo files saved on your memory card will appear as thumbnail images on the LCD screen.

via Button Controls 1. Use to cycle through the thumb- nails and control buttons. 2. Press to select a thumbnail. 3. Use to navigate through mode control options or return to thumbnails view.

PLAYBACk vIDEO (CONTINUED) via Touch Screen 1. From the full screen view on your LCD, tap play button. 2. To see additional files, press 3. To exit and return to the thumbnails screen, tap via Button Controls 1. Use to toggle to and highlight the playback button. Press on your camera to select.

PLAYBACk PHOTO Using the LCD Touch BacPac screen, you can view and delete (touch screen only) your Photo, Photo Burst, Time Lapse and Continuous Photo files. 1. Previous file/Next file 2. Return to thumbnails 3. Delete file via Touch Screen 1.

PLAYBACk PHOTO (CONTINUED) via Button Control From the thumbnails menu on your LCD screen, use to toggle to a Photo file. Press to make selection. 1. To exit use to highlight . Press to select.

vIEWING PHOTO BURST, TImE LAPSE, CONTINUOUS PHOTO 1. View Button/Playback 2. View previous photo 3. View next file 4. Return to thumbnails When viewing Burst, Time Lapse or Continuous Photos, the first saved Photo in the series will be displayed in the thumbnail profile.

via Button Controls 1. To view all Photos automatically, use to highlight . Press to select. 2. Press to select 1. To view Photos one at a time, use to highlight . Press select. 2. Then use to highlight . Press 3.

ACCEPTABLE TEmPERATURE RANGE FOR LCD TOUCH BACPAC Low or high temperature conditions may temporarily shorten the battery life or cause the LCD Touch BacPac to temporarily stop working properly. Avoid dramatic changes in temperature or humidity when using the LCD Touch BacPac, as condensation may form on or within LCD Touch BacPac.

The GoPro LCD Touch BacPac is a removable LCD touch screen that is compatible with your GoPro camera. It attaches quickly and easily to the back of your camera, which allows you to preview and instantly playback photos and video. Plus, the touch screen allows you to visually control the camera functions and settings. For added convenience, there is also an integrated speaker with volume control, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack.

When GoPro announced its Hero3 and we learned about its 4K cinematic capabilities, it inspired awe and enthusiasm. Even when we learned the 4K capability of the device was only like 15fps, it still was an enormous accomplishment to see this high resolution included in such a tiny package that also included WiFi out of the box.

Now that the dust has settled and the hype has faded, what’s left of the GoPro Hero3? Does it deliver on its promises? I tested the Hero3 Black Edition with the new LCD Touch BacPac and the new minimal-design housing, The Frame. The Black version is the most powerful of the three versions GoPro has of this action camera. It can do all the nice tricks that you can see in the marketing communications of the company.

The LCD Touch BacPac is a new LCD screen that not only allows you to frame your shots properly, but also command the unit from the live screen. There’s even a special housing that transfers your touch to the actual screen. You can also play movies from this screen. Of course, your battery life will decrease when using the screen, but not as fast or as much as I initially thought it would — it might surprise you as well.

The Hero3 Black can shoot video and photos (12MP), and allows for burst photography and time lapse. If you have a LCD Touch BacPac or if you connect to a TV set, there’s also a Play mode. You can switch on the unit’s built-in WiFi feature and then operate it with the included Remote Control or with any iOS/Android device that has the GoPro remote control app running.

Contrary to its predecessor, the Hero3 writes to MicroSD cards. There’s no MicroSD card in the box when you buy the Hero3, so you’ll have to buy one yourself. A 16GB card is good for approx. 45 minutes of 1080p/60fps video or 2200 highest resolution photos.

The Hero3 can shoot video at 4K/15fps, 2.7K/30fps, 1440p/48fps, 1080p/60fps, 960p/100fps, 720p/120fps, and WVGA/240fps. There are more fields of view (FOV) to choose from with Medium and Narrow FOV at 1080p and Narrow FOV at 720p.

The 4K capability, while still very impressive, was what got the most attention in the press when the unit was first announced, but there’s plenty more to be amazed by when you go through the Hero3’s menu structure. I would even be inclined to call the 4K capability the least important from a user’s point of view.

Impressive resolution and frame rates don’t always translate into high quality output, but with every clip I created and every picture I took, I was surprised about sharpness, detail and noise-free image quality. In low light environments, there still is noise, but it’s a far cry from what the GoPro HD Hero generated and I would even dare to say it’s better than many semi-pro video cameras.

The combination of output quality and FOV options in my opinion make the GoPro Hero3 suitable for more than just action. I wouldn’t hesitate to say this camera is an all-round video camera with the sturdiness required for action shooting — although still prominently obvious from the build and accessories — as a secondary feature.

To me, the only thing the Hero3 lacks when used as a general-purpose camera is a lens that allows for focus and aperture settings. But even without those, I can see the GoPro Hero3 being used for a lot more than just action photography/video production. I’m thinking street videography/photography here, with the user having the added benefit of having an even smaller form factor than the average smartphone.

Documentary makers should consider GoPro Hero3 cameras as their B-cams as far as I’m concerned, especially when they’re thinking of shooting in dangerous areas, or if they want to capture video without others knowing.

New for the Hero3 and a great addition in my opinion is the capability to shoot continuously. Continuous Photo takes a series of photos for as long as you hold down the recording button. You can set the Hero3 to take three, five or ten photos every one second.

The Photo Burst default stands at 30 photos per second. You can set this to a lower figure, both in terms of photos shot in one second as well as number of seconds the shutter will stay open. The camera does take some eight seconds before it’s ready to take the next burst, though.

On the video front, Protune was the big announcement for the GoPro HD Hero2. Log curves like Protune have an advantage over gamma curves when your goal is to preserve as much of the source dynamic range for later colour correction. In addition, Protune records at 35Mbit/sec, which reduces compression artefacts and increases picture quality.

In the Hero3, the Protune log curve recording capability is more professionally implemented, with customisable white balance and even a Camera RAW setting, which saves the image almost pure from the sensor. I personally consider the latter another more important feature than the camera’s 4K capability, because again it allows for greater creative freedom. With a bitrate of 35Mbit/sec, the GoPro Hero3 isn’t yet within the 50Mbit/sec bitrate required by the BBC for A-cameras, but nevertheless is a truly professional device.

It’s no coincidence GoPros were omnipresent in London last year at the Diamond Jubilee Pageant — and those were still the less well performing HD Hero 2’s. With Protune turned on, expect to see Hero3’s used far more often for this sort of high profile video production.

The simultaneous photo/video feature takes a photo every five, ten, 30 or 60 seconds in one of the four supported video resolutions. For example, shooting a 720p video with this feature turned on is best done with a photo resolution set to 8MP, the megapixel dimension GoPro advises.

The Frame is an option, as is the LCD Touch BacPac. The Frame is a nice, minimalist housing. It’s a frame (now there’s a surprise!) that you need to open wide in order for the Hero3 to fit in. It’s a bit scary the first time you do this, because you expect the plastic to break, but apparently it’s a special kind of plastic that can withstand the considerable force you apply.

The Frame allows you to mount the Hero3 with the lens exposed — perhaps on a tripod — just like any other camera would be. There are areas in the Frame that allow for cables to run through and less thick plastics to keep the microphone and loudspeaker working well. The Hero3 buttons are easily operated as well.

The LCD Touch BacPac was a real revelation to me. It helps you frame your shot or recording and mounted on a Hero3 you can also customise settings much quicker than you can from the menu displayed on the front of the camera. You can use the LCD Touch BacPac on a Hero2 as well, but then you lose the Touch screen capability.

It won’t come as a surprise that I like the GoPro Hero3 Black Edition very much. Its 6-element aspherical lens, 48kHz, AAC compression with Automatic Gain Control, support for a 3.5mm stereo mic adapter, frame rates, FOVs, Protune log curve, and resolution power… And all that in a cigarette lighter compact camera; they all contribute to a magnificent user experience.

Regardless of whether you want to use the Hero3 for action only — at the earth’s surface or under water — or as a very capable B-camera, you end up with professional results. The Black Edition can compete with more expensive, bulkier videocameras except for the focus/aperture setting. The Hero3 Black Edition will cost you €449.00.

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

In addition, the Hero4 Black and Silver also include a little adapter arm for the mounting system to change the direction a bit.  Of course, because everyone wants to see exactly what comes in each package, I’ve included the unboxing for each of them below.  I’ve abbreviated it a little bit though on the Silver/Base just to keep things non-redundant.  Sound good?  Let’s tear apart some boxes…

To begin you’ll find the boxes of the Black and Silver fairly similarly designed, with only the Base Hero slightly different with cheaper packaging materials to save weight and cost.

Here’s what you’ll get inside the Hero4 Black box.  It’s all the items noted above, but one little piece that many people accidentally miss – which is the flat black baseplate that the Hero comes on.  It can in effect act as a handy little tripod, yet many folks simply throw it away.

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.

Now – and this next piece is really important to understand – the Hero base unit does NOT detach from the case.  It’s molded into the outer plastic shell.  Said a third way, you cannot remove the grey camera from the outer clear plastic case.

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.

Case included the solid-door backing, and the semi-flexible backing for the Silver case. It includes a single Micro-SD card, as well as the default battery.  You can see that the Hero Base is actually a fair bit lighter, interestingly enough.

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:

Each of the units will require a MicroSD card to record to.  These are super-cheap though and can be found starting at about $12 for quality 16GB ones.  The Hero4 Black and Silver support card sizes up to 64GB, whereas the Hero base only supports 32GB. Note that when it comes to speed of cards, it’ll depend a little bit on how you plan to use the units.  For generic 720p/1080p content in the 24-30FPS mode, it’s frankly not going to matter too much how fast of a card you have.  But if you start recording 2.7K/4K footage at full frame rates you’re going to want fast cards to be able to keep up.

For those curious, in the Black/Silver I’ve been using the SanDisk U1 64GB Extreme Plus cards, without any recording issues.  Again, for the Hero base, this would be beyond overkill (it couldn’t use it if it tried).

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.

New to the Hero4 lineup though on the Black/Silver models is a direct settings button found on the side.  While the button has always been there, it’s been for enabling WiFi.  Now, it’ll do both.  If you short-tap it, it’ll open up the settings menu for just that particular mode.  If you long-hold it, it’ll enable/disable WiFi.  It’s a beautifully elegant solution.

The same is true of photo modes, allowing you to then change how many shots it might take, and the resolutions of those.  It’s without question one of my favorite features of the Hero4 lineup. Of course, you can still dive into the traditional settings menu using the mode button, but now those options on the Black/Silver pertain more to whole-camera options.

For example, this is where you would change the orientation of the camera (Black/Silver/Hero), as well as change which mode the camera starts off in, for example, photo instead of video (Black/Silver).

In the February 2015 update, they also enabled the ability to do automatic orientation.  This means that the Hero4 Silver and Black can now automatically be oriented based on whichever way is determined as ‘up’.  You can also just leave it manually as well.

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.

Now, note that on the Hero base, you’ll have considerably less options.  For example, there is no option to change which mode it starts in, nor the option to automatically shut off.  Though, those are hardly deal killers.

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:

As you can see, I took the 4K video, but then cropped down just a chunk of it to 1080p.  Note that cropping is different than downscaling.  Cropping means you cut some of the image away.  Whereas with downscaling (aka ‘to downres’), you simply convert the entire video down to a lower resolution.  You don’t lose any of the picture, but you just lose quality. To explain some of the differences between the two resolutions, here’s a segment where I had all three cameras mounted side by side.  Here’s the Hero4 Black (be sure to set the resolution to 4K):

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.

Ultimately, the Hero4 lineup offers the most diverse options in the marketplace today when it comes to high speed frame rate offerings as well as higher resolutions at those frame rates.

The Hero4 introduced a new night capture mode to the lineup, which aims to compliment the other photo modes found within the unit.  Before we dive into the night mode, it’s probably good to start with a quick overview of all the major modes found on the Hero lineup:

Continuous: In this mode it’ll keep taking photos until you stop holding the button – or until 30 photos is taken.  You can define how often it should take photos, but this is handy when you may have a chunk of time where you want to capture a range of activities that aren’t going to occur super fast (for that, you’d want burst).

Burst: This is is for capturing up to 30 photos in one second.  Or basically, a burst of photos, as the name implies.  This is best when you’re capturing a quick moment of action and you don’t know exactly what might make the perfect shot for later.  You can tweak the capture rate a little bit over the course of upwards of 3 seconds.  So you could do 10 photos/second for 3 seconds, for example.  Or, with the February 2015 update you can do 30/6 as well (30 photos in 6 seconds, or as few as 2 seconds).

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.

Finally, let’s look at some night shots.  In this case, I used the Night Mode to get a longer exposure with the unit.  I toyed around with a few different exposures (aside from Automatic), but decided that a 2 second exposure worked out the best.  Here’s the un-edited shot from the Hero4 Black:

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:

With that, you can then adjust how fast playback will be.  At this point you’ll need to do a bit of mental math on how long you want the video to be.  In general, most times you’ll playback video at 24 or 30FPS.  In my case, I sped it up 5 times, as the original length was going to be 2 minutes and 20 seconds, which is an eternity sitting watching a single view out my hotel window.  So, 1/5th of that seemed appropriate.

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 Hero4 Black and Silver include ports that you can use to stream both audio and video off of the device.  The ports are standardized, which means it’s fairly easy to utilize them (in comparison to some action cameras that have funky proprietary connections).

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):

But the mini-USB port is also capable of transmitting and consuming non-digital audio and video to other devices.  For example, you can connect the 3.5mm stereo audio connector cable to it, and then plug a microphone to it. Note on the audio connector, that this is only supported on the Hero4 Black/Silver (and older Hero3/3+ units).

Additionally there are some microphones that are only supported on the Hero4 Black Edition.  So you’ll want to double-check their compatibility list if you’re using a separate mic. Alternatively, you can utilize one of two different composite video cables.  One that includes the 3.5mm mic input, and one without it.  In either case, quite frankly most people won’t be doing this as it’s pretty crazy low resolution these days.

Lastly for the mini-USB, it can actually be used by some remote viewing systems directly.  For example, on the First Person View (FPV) system I have for my DJI Phantom2 unit, it plugs straight into the mini-USB port and transmits that video, no HDMI required (Note: At the moment, with the standard Zenmuse H3-3D system, this doesn’t quite work yet due to a bug on the Hero4 and/or Zenmuse).

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.

Since the change a few years ago to the flat glass on the dive housing you’ll no longer have any issues with focus problems out of the box.  Here’s some non-edited images from the unit (Hero4 Black):

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.

When it comes to battery life, the Hero4 series took a bit of a dive at the top end unit.  In previous generations you’d get about 1hr 30 minutes of run-time at the highest recording settings.  Now however, the Black unit gets only about 65 minutes at the highest settings. Which isn’t to say that battery life went down across the board.  No, if you go to more minimal settings – such as 2.7K 30FPS on the Silver, it’s clocking in around 1hr and 50 minutes.  Yet, on the Black it still only gets 1hr 10mins at that setting, despite sharing the same battery.  The majority of settings for the Black put it in the 1hr 5min to 1hr 10min range, with only 720p 120FPS extending it up to 1hr 50min.  All of these though assume WiFi is off.  Both the Hero4 Black and Silver share the same 1106mAH battery.

Meanwhile, continuing the trend of apparently cheaper units getting better battery – the 2014 Hero base units can hit 2hr and 45 minutes at 1080p 30FPS, more the twice that of the Hero4 black at 1/4th the cost.  Go figure.

Now, about the only complaint I have about said Hero base unit is that because of the non-detachable case design I’ve found it’s easier for the unit to get turned on during travel in a bag than the Black/Silver out of their cases.  And unlike the Black/Silver, it doesn’t have the option to automatically turn off after a period of inactivity.  Thus, I’ve had more situations where the Hero base is out of juice when I go to use it.

In my testing with the battery life on the Hero4 Black, I found it got just a few minutes below the specifications.  Though, I also found that even while in standby you’re unlikely to get too much more battery if left on (but not recording), which is a bit different than other action cameras on the market that do a much better job in standby.

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.

Now, here’s a bit of a secret though: While the above charger is nice…it’s also overpriced.  So instead, I bought the below dual-charger from Wasabi Power which costs only $23 and that includes two Hero4 batteries.  Seriously.  Pure awesome.

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.

There were two H3-3D gimbal versions out there – the first gimbals require a slight modification to not bump the side settings/WiFi button on the Hero4, whereas the second generation is molded just a hair bit differently and doesn’t require any modification.  Luckily I have the second version.

Note that both the Hero4 Black/Silver work just fine in the mount, but the Hero base edition won’t because it can’t be removed from the case. While I have a first person view transmitter for the system, I don’t tend to use it too much, instead just flying within line of sight and by feel.  I flew remote control and real planes when I was younger, so I have a bit of experience there in the aviation world.

Of course, with a gimbal video is the name of the game.  While down in New Zealand over the past few weeks I was able to get a number of shots put together. Here’s one session I did just after sunrise on an isolated black sands beach with the Hero4 in 4K/24p mode:

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.

Best video quality money will buy in an action cam: For those in this category, there’s simply no question it’s the Hero4 Black.  Specs alone dictate this, and thankfully the camera backs up the specs from a delivery standpoint.  There’s just no other action cameras on the market today doing 4K at full frame rates (Correction: There’s apparently this camera, but it’s pretty wonky being two separate pieces).

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).

The only area where the Hero base would be considered better is size, with being a fair bit smaller.  If you plan to put it on your head, you might notice the size increase, but if you’re more into bike/car/etc mounting, it won’t matter. As for a few other comparative thoughts to consider…

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.

Battery: While the Hero4 Silver and base have good and competitive battery life, the Hero4 Black’s battery life is just downright bad.  Only an hour?  It’s somewhat ironic as the target audience for that model is likely to shoot more video than the lower models.  Still, you can relatively easily solve that with extra spare batteries.

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.

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.

GoPro, Inc.GoPro and sometimes stylized as GoPRO) is an American technology company founded in 2002 by Nick Woodman. It manufactures action cameras and develops its own mobile apps and video-editing software. Founded as Woodman Labs, Inc, the company eventually focused on the connected sports genre, developing its line of action cameras and, later, video editing software. It is based in San Mateo, California.

On May 19, 2014, GoPro filed its Form S-1 with the SEC without specifying the number of shares or their price. The company stated that they hoped to raise at least $100 million through the sale of shares, using the money to pay off debt in full ($111 million as of March 31, 2014) and "to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, technologies or assets". They said that they planned to list on the NASDAQ stock exchange using the symbol "GPRO."

The expected price range was $21 to $24 a share; on June 25, 2014, GoPro sold 17.8 million shares to initial investors at $24 per share (totaling $427.2M).

One reason for GoPro"s decision to go public was the potential to become a media company to generate additional revenue from the content its cameras create.

Woodman worked on his first camera for two years after founding the company, eventually introducing the GoPro 35mm HERO in September 2004 at San Diego"s Action Sports Retailer trade show.

In 2014, the company was selling the HERO3+ in editions of different colors. It was capable of filming in 16:9 aspect ratio, supporting 4K UHD video and 12 MP still photographs.

On September 28, 2017, GoPro released the HERO6 Black, which claims improved stabilization over the HERO5 models and is capable of capturing 4K video in 60 FPS.

On September 20, 2018, GoPro came out with the HERO7 Black, which apart from providing improved stabilization over HERO6 models with HyperSmooth, also featured the new form of video capturing, "TimeWarp", providing a high speed effect to the videos. HERO7 also came out with capability to stream live across multiple platforms like Facebook and YouTube .

On October 15, 2019 GoPro released the Hero8 Black, which included improved in-camera stabilization by way of Hypersmooth 2.0. The Hero8 Black introduced integrated mounting "fingers" which could be folded down for use, and was also notable for not having an easily replaceable lens available from GoPro, though a third party replacement lens kit is available from a company called Camera Butter.

In 2014, GoPro entered into discussions with DJI for a private label model built with the GoPro branding. After the failure of these negotiations, GoPro entered into an agreement with 3D Robotics (3DR) for a similar partnership based on 3DR"s flight controllers. 3DR failed to meet their agreed-upon timelines. As a result, GoPro took full control of the development process in mid-2015.

Scheduled to be released early 2016, the GoPro Karma project was delayed several times before the GoPro Karma was announced with an introduction date of October 23, 2016. The Karma was released along with newer models of the HERO5 and Session cameras and features a removable handheld stabilizer (gimbal) integrated into the design. After a few customers complained about power failure during operation, GoPro recalled Karma drones and gave customers full refunds.

In November 2017, GoPro launched the Fusion camera,omnidirectional camera which is capable of recording 360-degree footage. The Fusion was the first GoPro to feature an increased maximum resolution of 5.8K.

GoPro produces various mounting accessories for its cameras including a 3-way mount, suction cup, chest harness, jaws-type flexible clamp, dog harness, surfing mount, etc.

In April 2014, GoPro was listed by Adweek as one of the "Top 10 Best Brand Channels on YouTube" based on a combination of views, shares, comments and overall engagement.

As part of its transformation to a media company in 2014, GoPro created additional channels with GoPro content on YouTube, Virgin America, a