GoPro Hero4 Silver Review

These days, GoPro is known as a synonym for action cameras. There is a damn good reason for that, especially with the release of the GoPro Hero4 Silver and Black versions.

The real question is, which one of them is really the best bang for buck model?

GoPro Hero4 Silver

Video Quality: 4k 15fps / 2.7K 30fps / 1440p 48fps / 1080p 60fps / 960p 100fps / 720p 120fps

170º Lens

Photo: 12MP, with Burst mode (up to 30 photos per second)

WiFi & Bluetooth, contolled via App

Night Photo & Night Lapse mode

Auto Low Light mode

Protune

Built-in touch display

Weight: 84g

Price: $400

In The Box

GoPro Hero4 Silver camera

Waterproof housing (40m / 131ft)

Skeleton door

Flat and curved adhesive mounts

Horizontal and vertical quick-release buckles

Three-way pivot arm

MiniUSB cable

Battery

Design and Accessories

Design wise the Silver version looks exactly the same as the previous GoPro models and the Hero4 Black. The only difference is that the Hero4 Silver has a built-in touch screen.

The GoPro Hero4 Silver also fits into the same waterproof housings and mounts. Despite having a built-in touch screen, the thickness of the camera is exactly the same as the Black version.

The built-in touch screen is an amazing addition to the camera. It allows you to easily change all of the camera settings and view photos or videos.

Like the Black version, the camera status and WiFi lights are now two small slits on the left of the LED screen, infront of the camera.

Both of the Hero4 versions have a new battery design. It is no longer accessible from the back but instead from the bottom. Eventough this makes swapping the batteries easier, the new design means that you can’t use batteries from previous models.

Video Quality

The video quality on the GoPro Hero4 Silver is amazing. Video resolution is the same as on the 3+ Black (1080p 60fps / 720p 120fps), however the Silver uses a newer sensor.

Silvers processor is abit slower than the Black and that’s why it can’t handle as high frame rates. Hero4 Silver has 4K 15fps and 1080p 60fps, compared to the Blacks 4K 30fps and 1080p 120fps. To be honest tough, at the same frame rates, both of the cameras image quality is the same.

You also get a Superview mode option on the 1080p and 720p resolutions. This dynamically stretches the default 4:3 aspect ratio to 16:9.

The 4K on GoPro Hero4 Silver is crap due to the 15fps. If you really want to shoot at 4K quality then you are better off at getting the Black version or Sony FDR-X1000V. But even then be prepared of some serious work. Even the best pro-grade applications are struggling with editing 4K footage and 120 frame rates. Editing anything under 1080p 60fps is fine.

The low-light capabilities have also improved alot. Taking photos can also be taken in Night Photo and Night Lapse mode. You can also adjust to Auto Low Light mode which makes the camera automatically adjust the frame rates according to the lightning conditions.

WiFi, Bluetooth and App

WiFi works on the GoPro Hero4 Silver really well, just like on all of the other GoPro models. New for the Hero4 is also the bluetooth connectivity (only on iOS currently). On the smartphone app the view is bigger than on the rear LCD screen. It’s also useful for when you need to change settings and can’t get near the screen.

Battery

Oh GoPro battery life. To be honest, the battery life on Silver is amazing compared to the rest of the models. It managed 1 hour and 40 minutes on the 1080p 60fps.

Luckily the Hero4 batteries don’t cost that much, $18.

Conclusion

If we just look at the specs, then the Hero4 Black version is still the best GoPro action camera you can buy.

That being said, for most consumers, GoPro Hero4 Silver is probably a better pick. You are most probably not going to need the 4K 30fps, 1080p 120fps video resolutions. Of course they are awesome, but do you really need that high speed? For a little compromise you’ll save $100 and gain a built-in touchscreen.