Skip to main content

GoPro HERO4 Silver action camera


AS THE FIRST GoPro with a built-in touchscreen, the HERO4 Silver was hotly anticipated. Does it live up to the hype?

Like GoPro’s other cameras, the HERO4 Silver comes with curved and flat sticky mounts. It also sports their trademark clear plastic housing, but with a new‘back door’ that lets you use the touchscreen without removing the camera from its protective case.

When you power the HERO4 Silver on you still get the same, recognisable GoPro beeps and, as before, you can view the camera setting, mode and the number of clips shot on the small LCD on the front. This has been improved hugely, and is now much easier to understand.

The rear screen is where the fun really starts though.The image quality is great – clear and bright. Swipe down and hold your finger on the screen to unlock it and you have full access to all the settings menus, which are really intuitive to use even if you have little action cam experience. Once you’re set, there’s a small button to turn the screen off to save battery life.


We did most of our filming in 720-pixel HD resolution at 60 frames per second, which worked a treat, with the footage playing back nice and smoothly on our not-so-powerful laptop (other modes include 720p at 120fps, 1,080p Full HD at 60fps and super-high 4k resolution at 15fps, but these all create larger files, which can lead to choppy playback).

Video quality doesn’t look hugely different to the HERO3 at first glance, but spend a bit more time with the new camera and it becomes clear that it’s noticeably better at dealing with rapid changes of light. It’s also much easier to experiment with the different settings, thanks to the easier-to-navigate menus, which helps you get the best possible results.

It’s easy to export videos and photos to your phone with the GoPro app, and battery life doesn’t seem to be affected unduly by the addition of the screen – ours easily lasted a full day while filming back-to-back downhill runs.

The GoPro we’ve been waiting for – it’s easy to use and produces great quality footage even in tricky light

Price 495$


Labels

Popular posts from this blog

Merida Big Nine 100

Wit the bikes swapped over, we head out on the same loop again, this time on the 29in Big Nine 100. Whereas the Big Seven was snappy off the line, the 29er takes a couple more pedal strokes to get up to speed. That said, once it's up there, it's easy to keep the big wheels rolling, allowing us to cover ground with ease. The fire road is at times a little rough, and the bigger wheels roll over the imperfections so we barely notice them.

READ MORE >>

Chromag HiFi 35 (50mm) stem

This is a seriously solid stem. Chromag use 5mm Allen bolts throughout, which makes it that bit easier to fit because you don’t have to swap tools. Once torqued up to the recommended 6-8Nm, it clamps both steerer and bar solidly, with no appreciable flex. We couldn’t get it to twist on the steerer, either in our static test or when riding. It’s also available in a 35mm length and three other colours. At 204g the HiFi is the heaviest stem on test by some margin, despite being one of the more expensive offerings here. Price $112

READ MORE >>

KONA SHRED

With a reputation for no-nonsense ruggedness and a background in the always progressive and punishing riding of Canada, Kona have been building hardcore hardtails for longer than almost anyone else. The Shred is the most expensive bike on test but it’s a proper trail tank.

READ MORE >>

COMMENCAL EL CAMINO 3

Commencal are going from strength to strength at the moment and they’ve taken their tough trail hardtail bang up to date with 650b wheels. With its skinny rims, crankset and fork, the El Camino certainly isn’t perfect and it’s the least hardcore bike here. The handling, smoothness, speed and all-round agility of the basic bike still make it a real blast for technical trail riding though, and it’s a great base for upgrading over time.

READ MORE >>

CANYON NERVE AL 8.0

  S ince their entry into the UK market a few years ago, Canyon have made a name for themselves as purveyors of well-made bikes that exhibit often extraordinary value. The secret (or catch, depending on your point of view) is that the brand don’t have dealers – they ship bikes directly to your door.

READ MORE >>