GoPro 4: Silver or Black?

GoPro 4: Silver or Black?

We have just received our new GoPro 4 Silver courtesy of our friends back in the UK at Surface to Air Sports, a watersports shop based in Poole.

Everyone knows that GoPro is the go to action cam for any adventurous activity enthusiast, particularly those that like to get wet. The new GoPro 4 comes in three different options and those looking to take the leap and purchase one for the first time may find themselves a little lost in deciding what option is best for them.

This weeks blog is designed to give a little advice on which one may suit you and why we decided silver was the better option for us. Being the tech geek that I am, I troll the internet for days when it comes to buying a new gadget so I made our decision based on the information that was available to me. YouTube is a great source for this information and there are literally hours of reviews and opinions on which GoPro is best.

For us the decision to purchase the GoPro 4 Silver ($399) model was easy. We use our GoPro for taking pictures more than anything else and between the silver and the black there is no noticeable difference in picture quality and settings. However the additional touch screen that is built into the back of the GoPro 4 Silver which is not included with the black model certainly makes a difference. This feature works so well as you can now see what you are shooting and means you take less shots overall and are also able to change settings a lot more effectively. The reviews we had seen also reported better battery life in the silver model which meant  it ticked all the boxes for us. We do use the GoPro for videos but being based in Kenya with slow internet connections, the super performance of the 4K at 30fps that you get with the Black model just isn’t worth our time. Such high quality would take forever to stream as well as taking ages to upload for the viewer. Added to the fact that not many devices support 4k video yet we didn’t really see the need for this high quality. The silver does come with 4k and 2 K options (with lower frame rates) but we find ourselves using the 1080p setting more than anything else.  The other massive benefit to us is the silver is a full $100 cheaper than the black model.

 

 

 

So who would benefit from buying the GoPro 4 Black ($499). This camera is best suited for professionals who may use their footage for professional production purposes. The 4k footage that we have seen from these black models is spectacular and makes them a great sidekick to any DSLR that a filmographer would use. The lack of the built in screen is not the end of the world, as all the GoPros have built in wifi which means you can stream your GoPro to any smart phone or tablet with GoPro’s App (available on Android and iTunes).

The great new feature that both cameras benefit from is their ability to shoot in the dark. We have been very impressed with the pictures and video that we have shot in the dark with no light and they come out amazingly. Having moved on from the GoPro 3 we have to say the battery life is much better in the GoPro 4 silver that we are using. That said the reviews I watched when making the decision on which camera to purchase said the battery life was not as good in the GroPro 4s as the GoPro 3+ by about 15 mins difference. Both cameras now take 12mp stills which is also an improvement from previous versions and I have found this helps when cropping pictures down maintain the quality.  My only bug that annoyed me with the GoPro 4 in comparison to the GoPro 3 and 3+ is that it does not come with a wireless remote, which although ours only lasted a few sessions before it packed up with our previous GoPro 3 it was a nice addition to the product.

As I mention originally there are now three options for you when looking at the new GoPro 4. The final option is the standard GoPro Hero. This option comes with very basic features which include 1080p video and 5mp stills. It is also not removable from its case with all charging ports and sd card slots available to you when you open the back door of the case. This option of camera is a bargain price at $129 making this the perfect option for young kids wanting to get in to shooting their activities or for families looking for a cheap rugged waterproof camera for their holidays without busting the bank.

Here at Tribe Watersports our GoPro is available to rent so if you want to capture your day out on the water, whether you are kitesurfing or taking a visit to the coral gardens snorkeling, please get in touch for our rates. We have a range of mounts that you can use on your kites and boards as well as the all important selfie pole. All the shots in this blog post were taken from our recently purchased GoPro 4 Silver .

Happy Snapping!!!!