GoPro Hero4 Silver

This is my favorite action camera so far. I purchased the Silver rather than the higher definition Black because of the increased battery life. The Silver has an LCD touch screen on the back while the Black doesn’t, but I don’t really consider that a major discriminator between the two models since I use the GoPro app on my iPhone to preview and control the camera. The battery life, though, is important to me. The Silver gives runs about 2 hours on the standard battery and about 3.0 hours with the BacPac. The Black runs about 30 minutes less. I don’t really have any use for the 4K resolution provided by the Black since it can’t be played back at that resolution on most displays. The 2.4K resolution of the Silver is more than enough for my needs. I use 1080p at 60fps in narrow field of view mode for most of my videos and the Silver does an outstanding job. There are a ton of accessories for both models.

The only disappointment so far is that the Sportsman Mount is not compatible with the battery BacPac on either camera. I would like to see GoPro beef up the mount on the standard waterproof case that comes with both models. They did this on the Sportsman Mount to withstand rifle and shotgun recoil by moving the mounting flange to the back door and making it out of more rugged plastic.The clear plastic mounting fingers on the standard waterproof case look like an accident waiting to happen that will lose my expensive camera unless a tether is also used. A perfect case solution would be an outer carbon fiber frame with molded-in carbon fiber mounting fingers and clear plastic front and back doors with latches and waterproof seals.

As far as the camera itself, the clarity (mostly resolution), automatic exposure capability and image stabilization are excellent. I am not a fan of the wide angle curved distortion at medium or wide field of view settings but I love the narrow field of view setting. Unfortunately, it’s only available at 1080p resolution. I wish that it was available at 2.4K resolution. That has got to be a limitation of the camera lens when married up with the 12Mp image sensor since the same sensor is used in many point-and-shoot cameras with better lenses without edge distortion.

The audio recorded with the built-in microphone is surprisingly good. To get the best quality and sensitivity with the internal mic, you have to use an enclosure that doesn’t block the microphone hole and is therefore not waterproof. I use GoPro’s “The Frame” but this would not be a good solution if you are skiing or snowboarding with the camera on your helmet or anywhere with a lot of moisture or wind noise. Fortunately, the camera provides an external microphone input with the USB mini port on the side.

Hero 3 cameras had trouble with the stability of the wi-fi connection to a smart phone or tablet, but I haven’t had any problems with the GoPro app on my iPhone 6 or iPad 3. Preview and control of the camera is even reliable in a metal-skinned aircraft using the iPhone or iPad.

Editing the videos from the camera with the GoPro Studio app on my Mac works well, for the most part. I had it hang up trying to load a large video but I’ve had no difficulty with normal size videos. It’s not as powerful as Final Cut but it’s not as expensive, either.

The camera provides USB mini and HDMI ports on the side but you need an enclosure that doesn’t block the ports to get at them. There’s no way to do it with the waterproof case without compromising the waterproofing. The reason that you might use the USB mini port while recording is to get longer recording time than the internal battery or BacPac can provide. I put a 64GB SDHC card in my Silver but the battery is the limiting factor. Some of my camera operations do not require a waterproof case, so I use GoPro’s “The Frame” mount that allows you to get at the USB port on the side. I can power the camera from an external battery pack in this configuration and run much longer even than the battery BacPac.

The one configuration that I cannot use is recording with an external battery pack and connecting to intercom audio in an aircraft. The reason that this doesn’t work in the Hero 4 cameras is that the single USB micro port on the camera is used both to supply external power and external microphone audio. You can choose one or the other by plugging in different cables but there is no cable that allows both. GoPro offers a composite USB cable that also has A/V video connections but it cuts off the preview when you connect it. Others have complained that it introduces a lot of noise in the audio as well. I know that this is a specialized configuration that most people who are not pilots would never use but it would be nice to have. I do a lot of cockpit video recording and it makes the videos much less work to edit when you can record real-time audio from your headset with the video instead of having to add it later during editing.

Overall, this is a great camera and a better deal for most people than the Black model which costs $100 more. Battery life is the weak point of both the Silver and Black models with the Silver providing about 30 minutes more as long as the LCD touch screen is turned off. I would like to see the Narrow FOV setting available in 2.4K resolution, which minimizes the curved edge distortion.

Gopro, as advertised. Plently online to know more about the pros/cons of this model. It does the job, good price compared to the newest model. Brought it on trips across country and in the Caribbean, never let me down.

This GoPro is expensive and worth every penny. I bought this camera to use as a dash cam and I’m blown away by its capabilities. The GoPro can be used for any purpose one can imagine and there are mounts for every purpose as well. Many of the excellent YouTube videos are produced by a GoPro. The mechanical engineering of this piece is exceptional and extends to the mounts included with the original purchase. There are more settings at this time than I can remember but the simple basic settings and the defaults produce excellent, sharp, clear and colorful videos of whatever the camera is aimed at. Night photos are also excellent.

I purchased the GoPro 4 Silver because it has the viewing screen at the back which makes it simple to aim the camera perfectly to get the best views of the road traveled. This rear screen is especially nice when initially setting up the camera on a permanent adhesive mount most often stuck to the front window in the center to one side of the rear view mirror. The rear screen makes it easy to mount the adhesive in the perfect position on the first try. I spent a few days getting up the courage to finally mount the GoPro PERMANENTLY ON MY FRONT WINDSHIELD using the very permanent 3M mount (supposedly easily removed by heating it up first). I’ve never mounted anything permanently to my front windshield and even had a hard time adding cup holders to a car that didn’t come with them. My fear was unfounded because the rear screen made it easy as pie to position and aim the camera and mark the exact spot that gave me the best view of the road in front, keeping in mind I’d have to remove the camera whenever I left the car. No problem here.

The GoPro 4 Black is an extra $100 for a few more setting details but then you have to buy a separate rear LCD screen for another $100 or so if you want the same capability for ease of installation if you want to use your GoPro as a Dash Cam. I picked the GoPro Silver from the beginning because I called the company and asked them which camera they recommended for use as a Dash Cam. When I called I knew NOTHING about dash cams or about GoPros.

When the GoPro arrived I was unable to “unbox” the camera until I read the instructions and watched an instructional video on YouTube, titled “unboxing your new GoPro – for beginners”. I say this to emphasize that this was my first experience with a Dash Cam. I never saw a GoPro up close until mine arrived. Without instructions I’d still have the GoPro boxed up. The attachments and means of attaching the GoPro were different from anything I was familiar with but it all makes perfect sense and ends up easier than most familiar attachments once you see it for the first time.

I decided to go with this most expensive Dash Cam (except for the GoPro Hero 4 Black) because I never saw a bad video taken with a GoPro. I’m thrilled I made this decision because everything about the GoPro is exceptional. The GoPro Hero 4 Silver camera has some of the best engineering I’ve seen on any electronics product I’ve purchased over many years, including digital cameras and computers. The quality of materials is also superior. With all the exceptional features and capabilities, this camera is easy to set up and use. It is a simple camera and it does what it claims to do and does it exceptionally well.

Once I got myself to take the step of a permanent front windshield mounting, I was set up and ready to go. All I need to do is press the button to start the video and remember to remove the camera once I’ve arrived at my destination. The quick mounts and disconnects make this simple.

The GoPro is suggested as a Dash Cam only for users who already own one because there are Dash Cams selling for $29.95, making the GoPro 10x as expensive. This is bad advice! Once a person buys a GoPro it’s only a matter of time before other uses for this camera show up. The GoPro is so exceptional it can be easily used to memorialize any activity one is accustomed to performing.

The GoPro photos and videos are so excellent a person is encouraged to find new uses for the GoPro all the time. All that’s necessary is the purchase of a specialized mount. Many mounts can be used for multiple purposes. For instance, I may want to mount my GoPro on a headrest. I found the mount used to attach a GoPro to one’s head, hat or helmet is perfect for attaching to my headrest. This is a great place to mount a camera to watch out the rear window if one wants full coverage. I’m thinking of buying a second GoPro for this, but first I have to save up many pennies. This is what happens when one has the capability to take excellent quality videos and photos with little effort.

If you are thinking of buying your first Dash Cam, I suggest going with the best. Spend the money and buy a GoPro. You will be inspired to find many other uses for this marvelous little camera once you see how easy it is to use to take perfect photos and videos.

I used the GoPro Hero4 Silver for 5 years to record music events, conferences, adventures, tourism and travel, family and vacations, work procedures and more. It’s a great product that can help you start an audiovisual project to make 1080p videos even in extreme conditions.