Hiking/Rafting Specific Question for GoPro4 Hero

[Luke Schmidt]

I'm looking to upgrade to a GoPro Hero4 Black or Hero4 Silver. Price aside the main differences seem to be that the Black shoots higher res. video (with more options) and the Silver has a touch screen. My requirements will be fairly simple, I just want to video hikes and rafting trips. So I probably won't be changing settings a lot (correct me if I'm wrong). That makes me lean towards the Black with its higher resolution. On the other hand the touch screen might still be nice. Any thoughts?

I know there are lots of reviews out already, I'm more interested in hearing what features people use on an actual wilderness trip.

[chris smead]

Personally I'd opt for the higher res black edition. I own the hero 2 and 3+ and never missed the screen….then again I'm far from a real photographer.
I just like that it's a magic little box that takes pictures. Very little interaction between me and the device, so I feel like it doesn'tt take away from the outdoors experience.

[Luke Schmidt]

Thanks Christopher, that is what I was thinking. I also haven't been able to figure out if the touch screen works with a water proof housing, none of the reviews seem to have mentioned that.

[Philip Tschersich]

I haven't looked closely at the specs, but I assume the higher res mostly comes into play shooting video. Both cameras probably offer similar resolutions for still photos. I don't know your needs or computer capabilities, but shooting video higher than 1080p seems a little nuts. Only professional video editing software can deal with higher resolutions, and most TVs, computers and the Internet can't really display it easily. The Black seems like a camera for professionals that you won't be able to take full advantage of as a somewhat novice shooter (correct me if I'm wrong here). For a first time gopro user, I suggest you go for the Silver with the screen. It will take a lot of the guess work out of understanding what footage the camera will produce.

Just my $0.02

Edit: I just looked through the specs and confirmed my suspicions. I'd go for the silver with the screen. The touchscreen is useable underwater (though the touch capability only works just under the surface even though the screen is rated to 9') so you don't have to open the case to use the touch screen menus. The menu navigation via gestures on the touch screen look to be well executed, though as you mentioned, once you get the settings dialed in, you are unlikely to change them, and the screen itself can seriously reduce battery life (unless it has its own internal battery). I think it might be an accessory backpack, which adds weight, but can be removed for stripped down use. Hard to say until I get one in my hands.

[Brendan Yeager]

I just got a Silver for Christmas. I haven't had a chance to use it yet other than playing around in my house but I can weigh in on a few things. I agree with Phillip that you will probably never need the 4K video, chances are you don't have anything to watch video over 1080 on anyways. The touchscreen is nice but the real advantage is not the access to controls but having something to use as a viewfinder. This is particularly important if you are going to be taking stills, as it lets you frame your shots. With the Black you never know what you have until you get back and can plug it into a computer.

The silver comes with 2 backs, one is waterproof to 10 feet and allows use of the touchscreen (which you would want to use for hiking), the other is good to 130 feet but does not allow touchscreen controls (for rafting). With the non-touch back you can still use the screen as a viewfinder.

You can turn the screen off to save power, which could be a concern on longer trips. One place that I feel GoPro missed the mark with the Silver is that you need to open the housing to turn the screen off. Not a huge deal but it would be nice to be able to turn it on/off on the fly.

[Bob Gross]

Real video photographers would strive for higher and higher resolution and higher frame rate. If properly handled, that might make the end result more professional-looking. However, as was noted, you have to have the back end stuff to squeeze all of that performance out of the video file.

The good news about a more modest resolution and frame rate is that it makes the video file smaller and more compact, so it makes it more portable for transfer around the Internet.

One thing about the video files is that there are different degrees of video compression. Some are better for slow action, and some are better for fast action. You just have to decide what you want to end up with. Also, some video file formats are easily editable, and some are not. I have some utilities to convert files out of the native format of the camera and into something that is more friendly for the editor. Of course, some people never edit a video file. There's no fun in that.

Additionally, you want to decide how you feel about audio. With some cameras, you can record audio right along with the video, all right in the same file. With some cameras, the microphone isn't worth a damn, so you end up with a lot of muddy and scratchy audio. You can add on serious microphones if you want. You can also add on an audio field recorder and record your own audio independently from the video. Or, you can simply graft on a music track when you have the bare video in the editor.

Too many choices.

–B.G.–

[Luke Schmidt]

Wow thanks for the help guys, sorry I didn't keep up with the thread better, Christmas was crazy (I spent a good part of it stranded by an ice storm with no internet).

To answer questions about us I'm just filming personal trips, so microphones aren't a big deal, still shots aren't a huge deal because I have a nice camera for that. Mostly I just want crisp mountain videos and videos of rafting fun.

So the consensus seams to be go for the Silver. One final question, even if I don't use the 4K resolution on my computer won't the images be a bit sharper when compressed back down to 1080?

[Luke Schmidt]

After looking at everyone's input (and my bank account) I got a Hero 4 Silver today. Unfortunately none of the batteries are charged so I can't play with it yet! Anyway I'm hoping to get it out to Big Bend this weekend so I'll report back on how it does.

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