The market of action cameras has been blooming in past few years. Shortly after the GoPro’s last instalment, Hero3+, the new updated version appeared, Hero 4.
As we all know, GoPro’s cameras are meant for adventurous people who indulge in dangerous and adrenaline filled situations where you cannot really use hands or worry about your camera’s safety while filming. They are compact, light and made out of sturdy materials that won’t break when you accidentally hit a rock with it. All cameras are mountable on your gear and vehicles. You can even mount them on your head with a head strap if you are planning to do something where your hands are not quite available ( which is why you have bought this camera in the first place, duh).
Let the battle begin
Now to get onto the point. Only a year after GoPro released their HERO3+ line they announced they HERO4 version that will likely replace the Hero3+ completely. As Hero3+, Hero 4 was released in 2 versions, black and silver, where silver stands for a lower level one. The main selling point of Hero 4 is that its silver version offers all of the specifications version Hero3+ black offers, with one main addition-touch screen.
Design
Design wise,Hero4 l ooks almost the same as Hero3+ aside from already mentioned 1.5’’ touch screen, placed where the battery used to be in Hero3+. Sadly, the touch screen is only included in the Silver version of Hero4, but for some of you, this won’t be such disadvantage, since you probably don’t want action HD( or 4K) camera with a touchscreen.
Features
We have already covered the first change that owners of the silver model will notice. The touchscreen is small and has abysmal QVGA resolution, but since it offers a quick menu navigation and video replay, it is not that bad. Lenses stayed the same but the recording resolution is greatly improved in the Hero 4 black edition, offering you smooth slow motion recording even at 1080p (120 fps), 4K recording at black edition is at 30fps, which is still double the size of the Hero 3+ black or Hero 4 silver. Aside from greater resolutions, black Hero4 offers higher bit rate of 60Mb/s. In addition to it, Hero 4 can now take stills in 12mp resolutions and has Bluetooth.
Battery
As well as all other action cam solutions, GoPro has short battery life, that is further reduced with this version. Hero4 has 1160 mAh where the Hero3+ has 1180 mAh. The difference is not too prominent, but it’s there. Silver model’s touchscreen is additionally degrading its battery life, so it is advisable to keep it off. Which you can do by pressing button on the side.
Price
As it is prominent, the black version of Hero4 is the most expensive taking into account its specification. It costs $500 and the silver version costs 400$. Taking into account that last year’s Hero3+ went onto discount it will be hard choice whether to take Hero4 silver or the Hero3+ Black edition, considering they have more or less the same functions.
The battle concludes
Choosing between these cameras will pretty much go on your personal preferences and mostly on your budget. If you want a solid camera that is affordable, you can still take Hero3+ Black and be perfectly satisfied with it, but if you want something more professional, you will go for Hero4 Black model knowing that it is currently the best GoPro camera on the market.
Related ItemsGoPro Hero 3+GoPro Hero 4
