In the world of adventure sports, GoPro cameras are probably the most popular tools used for capturing all the action. In fact, you'll often find them used for film and television production too thanks to their diminutive size and strong video capabilities. You don't even have to be an adventure junkie or a professional to appreciate the benefits of an action camera. With the right mounts and accessories, you could make even simple activities more fun.
GoPro cameras have been around in India for a while now; however the company has recently entered into a
partnership with Reliance Digital to officially expand its reach in the retail market too. GoPro is bringing its latest Hero 4 series and Session action cameras to the Indian market.
Design and build
Both cameras are part of the company's flagship tier and differ only slightly in terms of features and pricing. They have identical dimensions and are each about the size of a matchbox, which makes them relatively inconspicuous. The Hero 4 Black is a tad heavier than the Silver but it's a negligible difference when you actually hold them both.
Both models have a few features in common: a front-facing, non-backlit display with by a power/ mode button just below it; a shutter button on the top; a settings button on the left; and a Micro-HDMI port, a Mini-USB port, and a microSD card slot covered by a rubber flap on the right. Both also have removable batteries, which can be accessed from the bottom. There are three LED status lights placed along sides of the camera, so you can tell when it is recording even if the camera is placed at an obscure angle. You also get Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth and recording status LEDs just next to the display on the front.
The cameras are extremely well built and feel like premium products. The rubber-clad bodies offer good grip too, in case you plan on using either of them without a waterproof housing. The big physical difference between the Black and the Silver is that the latter has a built-in touch display, which makes navigating menus a lot simpler. You can also use this display to frame shots and do basic video editing on the camera itself. However, both cameras still have a docking port on the back for attaching GoPro's external Touch BacPac display.
The Hero 4 Silver and Black both come in fancy packaging. In each box, you get the standard waterproof housing, curved and flat adhesive mounts, quick release buckles, 3-way pivot arm, USB cable, and a skeleton backdoor for the housing. The Silver also comes with one additional backdoor which lets you use the touchscreen through the housing.
The GoPros cannot be mounted on a tripod or anything for that matter without the housing, which is a bit unfortunate.
Specifications and features
The Hero 4 Silver and Black both sport 12-megapixel sensors with wide-angle lenses. Both support 4K video recording. However, the Black packs in a more powerful image processor which is how it's able to handle higher bit-rate video like 4K at 30fps, 4K SuperView (GoPro's version of dynamically stretching a 4:3 aspect video to 16:9 ratio), 1080p at 120fps, and 720p at 240fps. The Silver forgoes some SuperView resolutions above 1080p. Both cameras support microSD cards of up to 64GB in capacity.
Photo capabilities are identical for both cameras, with a variable burst mode that can go as high as 30 frames per second, and timelapse intervals of 0.5 to 60 seconds. The cameras also feature Protune settings for both video and stills, which is like a manual mode for your GoPro, letting you adjust the white balance, colour, ISO range, sharpness and exposure compensation.
You can control both cameras through the GoPro app on your phone, and also download and edit clips directly to your phone or another portable device for instant sharing. The app lets you control all settings, switch modes, and power the camera on or off. The main advantage is using it as a remote viewfinder for framing your shots.
Performance
Setting up a GoPro Hero 4 with your phone is a simple process. Once paired, you can specify unique names for all your cameras in the app, which makes it easier to switch between them. Wi-Fi can be left on even when the camera is off so you can trigger it remotely and start shooting. A fair warning though: leaving the Wi-Fi on will drain the camera's battery a lot faster. Thankfully, you can quickly toggle this by holding the Settings button for a few seconds.
