removable lcd touch screen for your gopro free sample

For those wondering what gopro cameras THIS specific kit is for, it"s for the hero 3+/hero 4. It mounts to the back of the 3+/4 as pictured and comes with 3 back doors for the hero 3+/4 housing. 3 doors included; 1 skeleton(open to touch the screen directly), 1 waterproof touch case(has a thin plastic membrane in the back to touch the screen with but is only waterproof to 3m/10"), and the full waterproof back(functions as normal waterproof back. screen not touchable but is view-able). the extra side button is for turning the display on, playback mode, and off. overall it"s very easy to use and go through menus to change settings.

I like that I can now frame my shots better and see what I"ve recorded. it adds some thickness to the camera but i"m not concerned about it. I"d only use to it line up shots and see how they came out. it doesn"t need to be on all the time... to conserve battery life. I don"t know how it effects battery life yet, but i"m not too worried about that. I use a telesin 1300mAh/4.81Wh aftermarket battery with the gopro hero 3+ factory(1180mAh/3.885Wh) battery as backup with my 3+ silver.

"The LCD Touch BacPac backdoor has a thin plastic film across the back that lets you use the BacPac"s touch functionality even while in the housing. The backdoor"s thin plastic film can however be damaged if there is a big difference in air pressure between the inside and outside of the waterproof housing. It"s important that you are aware of the conditions that can cause this, so that you take the necessary precautions to prevent damage to the film.

If you plan to use the camera in any such scenarios, we recommend that you do not use the LCD touch door, but rather the fully sealed waterproof door or skeleton back door.

To avoid damaging the plastic film during travel, be sure to either detach the backdoor from the housing or leave the housing open. You should also be sure to seal the housing in a warm environment and power on the camera to let the air in the housing warm up before taking it out into cold weather."

Kit comes with a short mount extension. Out of the box gopros come with a 90 degree turned extension. This one is straight. Also, double-tapping the screen goes between live view and playback. Holding the side display button for 3 seconds turns it off.

The LCD Touch BacPac is a removable LCD touch screen for GoPro cameras*. As a removable accessory, the LCD BacPac keeps your camera as small and light as possible, yet provides the convenience of an LCD screen when attached.

The LCD Touch BacPac™ is a removable touch display that seamlessly attaches to the back of your GoPro for added convenience and control. It’s perfect for playing back videos and photos directly from your camera, including audio and instant slow-motion playback. See what your camera sees to frame your shots with confidence. Adjusting camera settings is easier than ever—just tap and touch the screen. Plus, when used with HERO4 cameras, you can select modes and navigate menus with a simple swipe. Includes Standard, Skeleton and Touch BacPac™ Backdoors.

Early last month GoPro completed their annual October ritual of releasing a suite of new units.  Like past years, GoPro doesn’t tend to make massive upgrades in their units, but rather works to add incremental features and performance bumps.

It’s somewhat rare that I group this many products into a single review.  Sometimes I’ll do two minor variations of the same product in a single post, but I think this is the first threesome I’ve had around these parts.  When it comes to the GoPro packaging though, all three units are pretty similar actually. They all include the following:

– The camera itself (duh) – The battery for the camera – A mini-USB cable – An underwater case rated to 40m/131ft – An alternate/secondary door for the case that allows for better audio – A small stack of GoPro stickers – A small quick-start guide and other paper junk – A flat adhesive mount – A curved adhesive mount – A loss prevention rubber stopper

In addition, the Hero4 Black and Silver also include a little adapter arm for the mounting system to change the direction a bit.  Of course, because everyone wants to see exactly what comes in each package, I’ve included the unboxing for each of them below.  I’ve abbreviated it a little bit though on the Silver/Base just to keep things non-redundant.  Sound good?  Let’s tear apart some boxes…

Next, the standard mini-USB plug that can be used to both charge the unit as well as download photos.  Note that this USB cable (and your attached GoPro) can be plugged into any USB outlet on the planet.

Both the Black and Silver come with the same set of mounts.  You have two adhesive mounts, one being pancake flat, while the other is slightly curved (such as for a helmet).  Behind it are two different mount pieces, one that holds the camera a little further back, while the other has less extension (it’s attached to the baseplate to begin).  Meanwhile they also include a few extenders and direction changers seen to the right.

The bottom opens up identically on the Black and Silver, which is where you’ll place the battery.  There’s a small little button you’ll press that’ll then pop open the door.  It’s a much better design than the annoying battery cover found on previous GoPro units.

The only difference in the box is the case doors.  The Silver edition includes three doors (instead of two), and two of these doors are designed to allow you to operate the touch screen. In the below photo, the two lower doors allow touch screen operation.  The left one is completely open, while the right one has a thin flexible plastic.

Here’s the front of the camera, as you can see, it’s virtually identical to the Hero4 Black.  Though, strangely in my case it actually has a small manufacturing defect on the front of the LCD screen.  It hasn’t bothered me though, and I’m too lazy to deal with returning it.

The 2014 GoPro Hero base unit is packaged slightly differently.  For example it lacks the top plastic ‘dome’ found on the other/past units, as well as the plastic baseplate.  Obviously at a fraction of the price they were looking to cut costs that were unnecessary, which, is completely reasonable.

Below are the components within the box.  You’ll find the two adhesive mounts (flat/curved), but only one mounting attachment piece between the GoPro and the adhesive mounts.  Don’t worry, you still get stickers.

This is an obvious departure from the past.  Though, in using it – there’s actually very little issue there in most situations for action cams.  The main reason some people remove the camera from the case is to get it a bit smaller for various placement locations, or, to get rid of the glass off the front of the case (using the skeleton mount).  But, for most people – heck, even kids – this makes it much harder to kill the camera.

When it comes to size, the Hero4 is identical to that of the Hero3, so there’s no changes there.  It’ll fit into all the same mounts, cases and locations that the Hero3 did.  This is particularly interesting even in the case of the touch-screen display included on the Hero4 Silver.  Of course, if you add a touch/display screen to the Hero4 Black then it’ll increase the size accordingly.

Case included the solid-door backing, and the semi-flexible backing for the Silver case. It includes a single Micro-SD card, as well as the default battery.  You can see that the Hero Base is actually a fair bit lighter, interestingly enough.

Looking at other units on the market, the GoPro remains the smallest unit with the highest quality video.  No doubt you can look at something smaller like the new Polaroid cube, but with that comes incredibly rough video (stabilization-wise).  While the baseline Polaroid 1080p video isn’t horrible when just sitting still, it’s not at all awesome with any movement at all.  And given the point of an action cam is…action, that’s sorta limiting:

Meanwhile, if you compare it to something like the Sony series of action cams, it’s sorta a wash.  The Sony cams are longer, but thinner.  While the GoPro’s appear a bit chubbier.  Both can go sans-case, though neither should be taken underwater without their respective cases.

Turning to something like the VIRB series, the GoPro is much smaller without the case, though only somewhat smaller with the case.  The VIRB doesn’t require a case unless going deeper underwater (splashing around in a pool is fine).  But, the GoPro is also roughly the size of a Twinkie compared to that of a kiwi fruit (not the bird, nor the New Zealander’s) with the Garmin VIRB.  Note that both the VIRB and VIRB Elite share the same outer shell.

Of course, to some degree comparing sizes with the GoPro is somewhat academic.  It’s well established as a completely acceptable sized unit within the marketplace – with the case.  And without the case the options are pretty much unlimited.

Let’s start off with establishing some of the basics, things that are largely common to all units.  To begin, you’ll turn on the unit by holding down the front-facing button (Mode).  This will get the GoPro ready to record, but won’t start recording:

Each of the units will require a MicroSD card to record to.  These are super-cheap though and can be found starting at about $12 for quality 16GB ones.  The Hero4 Black and Silver support card sizes up to 64GB, whereas the Hero base only supports 32GB. Note that when it comes to speed of cards, it’ll depend a little bit on how you plan to use the units.  For generic 720p/1080p content in the 24-30FPS mode, it’s frankly not going to matter too much how fast of a card you have.  But if you start recording 2.7K/4K footage at full frame rates you’re going to want fast cards to be able to keep up.

For those curious, in the Black/Silver I’ve been using the SanDisk U1 64GB Extreme Plus cards, without any recording issues.  Again, for the Hero base, this would be beyond overkill (it couldn’t use it if it tried).

With the camera powered on, all units have a front-facing LCD screen.  This screen will show you which mode you’re in, for example, video, photo, time lapse, etc…  You can simply tap the front mode button to iterate to the next mode.

New to the Hero4 lineup though on the Black/Silver models is a direct settings button found on the side.  While the button has always been there, it’s been for enabling WiFi.  Now, it’ll do both.  If you short-tap it, it’ll open up the settings menu for just that particular mode.  If you long-hold it, it’ll enable/disable WiFi.  It’s a beautifully elegant solution.

By short-tapping it you’ll get the video/photo resolution settings for just the mode you’re in.  So if you’re in Video mode, it’ll show you the resolution settings which you can quickly change.

For example, this is where you would change the orientation of the camera (Black/Silver/Hero), as well as change which mode the camera starts off in, for example, photo instead of video (Black/Silver).

And, you can enable the ability to automatically shut off after a preset time.  I like 5 minutes, because that’s typically longer than I’d wait around for any action sequence to happen – and usually means that I’ve forgotten about the camera.  Since the GoPro doesn’t save too much battery sitting in standby versus recording – I prefer to keep it off as much as I can.

Now, note that on the Hero base, you’ll have considerably less options.  For example, there is no option to change which mode it starts in, nor the option to automatically shut off.  Though, those are hardly deal killers.

Also note that unlike the Black/Silver, the Hero base can’t have settings changed via the phone apps, but more on that later. Next, when it comes to actually record something, you’ll start/stop the recording (or photos) by pressing the top button on the GoPro (with the red circle).

And again, to stop it, you’ll just press the same button.  By default the unit will chirp/beep and then the red recording light will blink.  You can change the volume of the chirps.  I do that if I plan to use the unit indoors where the chirps can get a bit annoying (Side Note: I fail to understand why there is a 100% volume, 75% volume, and 0% volume level…but no 25% or 50% level).Outside of course, it’s handy to have the chirps though if mounted on a helmet. With those basics covered, let’s get onto the Silver-only touch screen, and then I’ll cover many of the features individually.

The GoPro Hero4 Silver sports a new addition to the Hero lineup, a touch screen.  While you could in the past attach a LCD screen to the back of units, it always came at the cost of increased space as well as just being sorta clunky.  With the Hero4 Silver though, it’s embedded into the back of the unit while remaining exactly the same size as previous models.

The screen is both there to display what the camera is shooting, but also to act as a touch screen to change settings.  To do so, you’ll press the little red dot and then slide down and hold a few seconds.  This ensures that you can’t accidentally bump it on, like butt dialing, but for action cameras (which, upon reflection could be really awkward).

Once you have it unlocked, it’ll show you a touch menu that you can go into and modify settings for each of the modes.  You effectively get all of the modification capabilities of the front LCD + buttons, with the back screen:

Now of course while recording, you can use this to frame your shots ahead of time and then keep an eye on things while recording.  By default it’ll shut off the screen shortly after recording to save battery. I’ve gotta say, when I first saw the marketing images of the screen I figured it’d be like the Garmin VIRB screen.  In that while the VIRB screen was marketed to look like a orgasmicly colorful experience, in reality it was like 1930’s black and white silent film.

Thankfully, the Hero4 Silver is legit color.  Brilliantly colorful and just as crisp and pretty as the marketing shots look.  It’s a bit tricky to take photos of because of the light differential between foreground and the LCD screen, but, you can get a little bit of a feel for it in some of the below:

And on top of that, it will playback sound as well.  When it comes to a screen on an action camera, this is perfect for me.  Or rather, for my wife.  I actually didn’t use it nearly as much as her – who loved being able to see exactly what she was shooting and play it back without a phone (as was the case with her cannonballs seen later).

Now with all that praise, do keep in mind one thing: For most folks, the screen is merely used for framing a shot.  So while the color is much appreciated, I wouldn’t say it’s a complete deal-breaker.  I’m able to frame shots on the 1930’s style black and white screen VIRB just as easily as the Hero4 Silver.

When it comes to video quality in an action cam, nobody has higher resolutions than the GoPro.  Period, end of story.  Well, at least today. So what does that mean from a practical standpoint?  Well with the Hero3+ Black, GoPro offered 2.7K at full frame rates.  In this case, full frame rates are anything above 24FPS.  Below that and you’ll start to get degradation viewable to the human eye in most situations.  So in the case of the Hero3+ Black, it had 4K footage…but at 15FPS. With the Hero4, things simply shifted.  The Hero4 Black got full 4K at 24/25/30FPS, while the Hero4 Silver got 2.7K at 24/25/30FPS, and 4K at 12.5/15FPS.  So basically, the following happened:

Here, let this short video clip explain things a bit.  In this case I wanted to shoot just the cycling head unit and have it be super-crisp and readable for another post I was doing.  It’s tough to do that though while riding and just hand-holding it.  But with Premier afterwards I was able to crop down and stabilize just that portion of footage, and still get 1080p detail.

Can you tell the difference?  For most on smaller screens – probably not.  But that’s likely just because you’re viewing it on a device too small to notice the differences.  But, this is a key point in deciding whether or not it’s worth the money to pay extra for what is 4K/2.7K over just 1080p resolution found on every other device out there.

Of course, you’re not just paying for resolution – you’re also paying for low light performance.  Take for example this video shot in a night market in Thailand.  It’s a simple compilation of various food stalls shot at 4K.  Despite the low light conditions things came out quite nicely, and I was just hand-holding everything:

Now when it comes to resolutions, keep in mind that while GoPro has action cam dominance today, tomorrow that might change (hence why it’s always good to check out the Product Comparison Tool).  In general, I wouldn’t expect any changes between now and the end of 2014.  But I fully expect that to change starting with CES the first week of January.  CES is the annual and massive Consumer Electronics Show, where everyone in the gadget world comes out with their new stuff.

In addition to high resolution video, the GoPro series can also do high speed video.  High speed video refers to the idea of increasing the frame rate (frames per second) recorded in order to then play it back at ‘regular’ speed and achieve a slow-motion effect.  Take for example 120FPS footage.  It’s captured (wait for it) at 120 frames per second.  But, when it comes to playback, it might be played back at 30FPS, which then results in that one-second moment of action taking 4 seconds to play back.  Thus achieving gloriously smooth slow-motion.  You can see this below with a Hero4 Black and a touchscreen attached.

Smooth slow motion is a factor of how many FPS you can capture at, combined with the resolution you can capture.  In general, each year the bar gets moved higher and higher for capture rates. So like past years, once again we saw a bump in resolution.  This becomes important when trying to incorporate slow-motion video into normal HD programs.

With these higher frame rates at higher resolutions, you’re no longer having to make sacrifices in quality or frame rates for slow-motion footage. Like other settings, on the GoPro you can modify these within the app, or within the camera itself.  In the case of base GoPro Hero, you’re only getting 1080P-30FPS, or 720P-60FPS. The exact frame rates offered for each resolution I’ve included within the comparison table at the bottom of the review.

So what does this look like?  Well, no better way to test this than a canon ball into a swimming pool.  The perfect way to illustrate slow-motion, in this case with a common 120FPS 720p clip (from the GoPro Hero4 Silver):

Now I could have gone to 240FPS on the Hero4 Black, but that reduces the resolution.  Previous to February 2015 it was WVGA, but now it’s 720 – which makes it potentially a fair tradeoff.  Still, for those wanting to keep it 1080p or higher, you could instead look to slow it down further with the GoPro studio and take the hit on frame rates instead of resolution.  In this case, I went with 20% speed playback.

Note that the GoPro Studio offers the ability specify the exact moment in time that you switch from regular playback to slow-motion playback by simply splitting the clips.  This allows you to keep at normal speed until just the moment of action, such as this where I kept it regular rates for the first few seconds, then slowed it down when she was mid-air, and then let it get back to half-speed towards the last few seconds.

Further, GoPro has also introduced what they call ‘Flux’.  The idea behind it is a bit smarter interpolation of the frames when slowing down video, allowing you to get cleaner video.  In the above case I used Flux for the middle section of slow-mo, though, it’s not really required since I shot at 120FPS already and there was plenty of slow motion as-is. But it’s more noticeable if you really wanted to slow things down even further than that.

For example, if you wanted to turn what would have been 4-5 seconds at playback speed into 8-10 seconds.  In that case you’d lose so many frames that it might be tough to get smooth video. Note that Flux is all done after the fact within GoPro Studio, and is not something done on the camera itself.  It does not require you do anything on the unit itself.

The Hero4 introduced a new night capture mode to the lineup, which aims to compliment the other photo modes found within the unit.  Before we dive into the night mode, it’s probably good to start with a quick overview of all the major modes found on the Hero lineup:

Single Shot Mode: This is the most basic, you press a button, and a single photo is taken.  I find this best when you know exactly what you’re taking the photo of, without any action-sport ambiguity.  For example, you might use this in a marketplace or other non-action setting.

Continuous: In this mode it’ll keep taking photos until you stop holding the button – or until 30 photos is taken.  You can define how often it should take photos, but this is handy when you may have a chunk of time where you want to capture a range of activities that aren’t going to occur super fast (for that, you’d want burst).

Burst: This is is for capturing up to 30 photos in one second.  Or basically, a burst of photos, as the name implies.  This is best when you’re capturing a quick moment of action and you don’t know exactly what might make the perfect shot for later.  You can tweak the capture rate a little bit over the course of upwards of 3 seconds.  So you could do 10 photos/second for 3 seconds, for example.  Or, with the February 2015 update you can do 30/6 as well (30 photos in 6 seconds, or as few as 2 seconds).

Ok, with those basics out of the way, let’s get to some shots and how I use it.  In most cases, when I’m using the GoPro as a camera, I’m shooting in the highest possible megapixel arrangement with the wide option.  This is because the way the GoPro works is that even if you were to select a medium crop image, it’s simply taking the 12MP wide image and cropping that automatically.  Thus it’s much better to take the higher resolution and do the cropping yourself. For example, below if I wanted just the fish from this GoPro image, I could crop to just the fish and the sea anemone.

But what situations would you want medium over wide?  Well, for those where you didn’t want to deal with cropping.  For example, The Girl (aka, my wife), borrowed the GoPro Hero4 Silver for the day while snorkeling.  She didn’t want the super-wide shots that were coming in on wide mode, and instead preferred the zoomed in aspect of the medium mode.  For her, she’s not going to want to deal with cropping the photos afterwards on the computer or her phone.  She just wants to be able to take them and post them to whatever platform she wants – no editing.

The good piece is that both options are there (see table later in review for exact options per model), so you can do whatever you’d like. Next, when it comes to how many photos to shoot for each button press, I tend to go with three photos.  That allows me a bit of flexibility in case I fudge the shot, and since sometimes they might be slightly-action based (riding or running), I can pick the best out of the three.

And while I could simply shoot more photos at once, I find that a bit of a pain in the butt later on trying to sift through photos after my activity. Next, you’ve got burst mode.  As I noted earlier, this is ideal when you just want to capture a single action-filled moment.  For example, jumping off something, where you don’t know if you’d have the precise timing to get the exact photo in just one still.  Take the below sequence which I shot of a person jumping off the boat, as an example:

The GoPro series includes a time lapse mode.  In this mode the unit will take a series of photos at a preset interval, such as every half a second.  You can then take those photos and compile them together to make a video time-lapse. Alternatively, this mode is ideal when you want to simply have photos of/during an event, but don’t know when the moment of action will come (or won’t be in a position to press record).

For example, you might be mountain biking downhill and want to easily capture photos along the way (instead of video).  Just plop it in time lapse mode and it’ll capture photos at the defined interval. Why use this instead of video (and then take a screenshot)?  Well, the resolution is substantially higher with photos over video.  Further, you tend to get crisper photos this way. The GoPro series supports different intervals depending on the model.  Here’s the run-down for the 2014 series:

Next, you’ll need some software to turn these all into a pretty video.  Of course, if you don’t want a video, then you’re just done as-is. For the video, GoPro Studio enables you to drag the photos into the software and it’ll compile it into a video.

There’s two ways of doing this.  The first is to just drag the first photo in the series into GoPro studio (and it’ll do the rest automatically).  Or, you can manually put them all in a folder and then drag the folder in.  Whatever floats your boat:

Now some of this you’ll want to think through before you even start shooting, adjusted on the camera itself.  By default the unit will shoot at .5sec increments.  You’ll need to figure out how long you want your completed time-lapse for to determine which settings you’ll use.

Now, while this is quite functional – it can be a bit complex for the beginner.  This is one area that I’ve previously preferred Garmin’s method with the VIRB.  In their case they just build the video for you on the device itself.  So as it records each image it automatically compiles it.  You can see examples of this in my review within the VIRB In-Depth Review time lapse section. Of course, there are pros and cons to each option.

However, with the February 2015 update for the GoPro Hero4 Black and Silver, it’ll now create that same video for you within the GoPro unit itself.  I’ll discuss that in the next section.

Which isn’t to say there’s no reason to do the previous photo method.  The photo-driven method means you can take these super-high resolution time lapses and then crop portions for more advanced video editing, such as panning or zooming.

In February 2015, GoPro introduced a new time lapse mode that automatically exports out a video file when you end the recording of the time lapse.  This means that when you hit finish on the time lapse on the camera, you immediately have a video file – instead of a huge pile of photos that need additional processing.  This option was made available to only the Hero4 Black and Silver models, via a free firmware update.

When you look at the configuration options, they’re identical across both the Black and Silver units.  You’ll select ‘Time Lapse’ as an option under the Video settings.  Then within that you can select the interval for how often to take a photo to add to the video.

With that, you go ahead and start the camera.  For fun, I mounted two units last night outside – one on the roof and one on a window and let it run for about 6-7 hours.  I triggered one manually, and one via WiFi.  One was set at a lower frame rate, one at a slightly higher frame rate.

The Hero4 Black and Silver carry through the capability of being able to control and transfer data from the camera to the phone.  This allows you to use your phone as a secondary display for the camera, or, just a quick way to get photos up to share with friends via social media.  Note, this is not compatible with the 2014 GoPro Hero base unit.

To begin, you’ll need to enable WiFi on your Hero4.  Just hold down the left side button until the blue light blinks on the front of the GoPro.  Then, on your mobile device connect to the WiFi network.

You’ll need to go through a setup of pairing steps before moving forward.  They’re fairly straight forward and ensure that you have a unique name for each unit, and unique password. Once that’s done you can go ahead and open up the GoPro app and then click “Connect & Control” to start the connectivity to the GoPro.

It’ll start on the preview screen, which shows you the exact same view as that of the camera.  You can rotate the phone as well to get a cleaner view.

If you click the little tool icon, you can go into the settings and tweak every camera mode and overall camera settings quickly and easily.  This is great when you are taking iterative shots at different resolutions or frame rates and don’t want to mess with the camera or touch it physically.

Next, you can transfer both photos and videos.  To do this within the GoPro app you’ll tell it to enumerate the files.  It may take a few seconds.  Or, in the event you have a time lapse pile of photos – it may never actually complete at all (as I learned).  Thus, I wouldn’t recommend trying to enumerate it if you just took a few thousand photos.

Overall, while seemingly straight forward and potentially simple, the phone app capability on the GoPro app is actually exactly one of the best (if not the best) out there from an action cam perspective.  Some other action cams don’t allow live preview while recording, for example.  Or, they don’t permit you to transfer files.  Or, the apps are just poorly coded.

The same week that GoPro announced the Hero4 lineup, they in conjunction with Livestream announced the ability to stream your GoPro recordings live to the internet via the Livestream service.  This requires the use of your mobile phone, which connected to the GoPro via the GoPro WiFi network, and then streamed the data out via your cellular data connection.

But, instead of trying to cram it all into this post, I’ve written up a HUGE post on live streaming options for action cams.  I cover the GoPro in super-detail, along with numerous other options and apps.

The first port you’ll find is the mini-USB port.  The primary use for most people will be charging the GoPro as well as transferring photos/videos to a computer.  Those are both fairly straight forward scenarios in that the GoPro will simply show up now as an imaging device on your computer (this is actually a change from previous lines, where it enumerated as a standard USB device):

But the mini-USB port is also capable of transmitting and consuming non-digital audio and video to other devices.  For example, you can connect the 3.5mm stereo audio connector cable to it, and then plug a microphone to it. Note on the audio connector, that this is only supported on the Hero4 Black/Silver (and older Hero3/3+ units).

Lastly for the mini-USB, it can actually be used by some remote viewing systems directly.  For example, on the First Person View (FPV) system I have for my DJI Phantom2 unit, it plugs straight into the mini-USB port and transmits that video, no HDMI required (Note: At the moment, with the standard Zenmuse H3-3D system, this doesn’t quite work yet due to a bug on the Hero4 and/or Zenmuse).

Next, we’ve got the micro-HDMI port.  This port enables you to playback video and photos straight to a TV using an HDMI cable.  Note though that your regular HDMI cable likely won’t work here, since most HDMI cables you have around the house are standard HDMI connectors are both ends.  The micro-HDMI connector is on the GoPro end of the equation and much smaller.  You tend to see this also used in some tablets, such as the Microsoft Surface’s and some Android tablets.

The use of the HDMI cable method is commonly done to feed a live external monitor during production as well, for those doing a bit more work from a videography standpoint. When you connect the HDMI cable, you’ll see additional options on your TV as well, a bit of a user interface if you will.  This allows you to then navigate the videos/photos and more easily play them back or otherwise check that you got the shot.

There’s a fundamental reason why you see Hollywood shoot with the GoPro, and the core of that reason is ProTune and the flexibility offered within it.  ProTune is one such feature that has long been leveraged in GoPro units to offer more flexibility in editing afterwards.  It’s sorta similar (though not exactly) to the way that higher end photographers primarily shoot RAW photos for the ability to better tweak photos afterwards, people also shoot GoPro video with ProTune so they can easily tweak it afterwards.  When I talk to ‘tweaking’ I’m referring to the ability to drive change easily in things such as White Balance, ISO, Sharpness and more.

For example, virtually all of the photos you see here on the blog (not just in this post, but all posts) I shoot with higher end cameras in dual JPG/RAW formats.  This allows me to clean them up in Lightroom and make any color/lighting corrections as required.  The same applies here with GoPro cameras using ProTune with the GoPro Studio. Now this doesn’t actually just apply to video in the case of GoPro, but also to photos.  So you have that same power there too.

Now, GoPro notes there’s no downside to enabling ProTune.  It won’t make your images/video ‘require’ additional tuning.  So you might as well enable it and then decide later if you need it in post production. A better question is whether or not having (or not having) ProTune is a deciding factor.

Ultimately, the thing here to keep in mind is ask yourself whether or not you plan to pour through your videos and spend hours (many hours) editing them.  If not, then I wouldn’t let ProTune be a deciding factor in camera selection.  If you are spending time in Adobe Premier Pro or Final Cut Pro, then you’re more likely to be aligned to the group of individuals that would utilize such details.

For me personally, I sit on the border.  While I live and die by RAW photos in photography around here, I don’t spend quite as much time cleaning up videos since I’m not a terribly great video editor.

The GoPro 2014 series all include waterproof cases that protect the unit down to 40 meters (131 feet).  This is pretty much the max for what a standard openwater PADI/NAUI certified diver would go to (by a little bit).  And of course fine for snorkeling and other random pool activities. In the slim chance you’re diving deeper than that, you can get a more hardened case that goes 60m (197 feet). In my case, I didn’t have any dives on my radar for this time period, so it was just limited to snorkeling and pool time.  In both cases, I had no problems.

Now what is notable is that there’s no water protection issues using the touch screen capable case underwater at least at snorkeling/pool depths.  However, you won’t want to try and use the touch screen underwater as the pressure will make it impossible to use.  Instead, just use the regular buttons on the side/front/top to change any settings or take any photos.

Note that while I didn’t use any of the corrective color filters, you can get such filters, especially if doing diving with the GoPro, which will help correct the colors a bit.  For snorkeling and pool shots, you can easily adjust them in the GoPro Studio as well, though I find that leaving a bit of the blueish tint at shallow depths tends to make the images pop a bit more.  It’s when deeper that you lose the colors that you want to use the filters.

Finally, in the event you’re doing a lot of water sports, you may want to look at picking up the floating door accessory.  That will keep the GoPro afloat in the event it departs from your grasp.  If you’re just doing snorkeling or in a pool it’s a bit unnecessary, but if you’re constantly out on openwater it’s probably worth it.

When it comes to battery life, the Hero4 series took a bit of a dive at the top end unit.  In previous generations you’d get about 1hr 30 minutes of run-time at the highest recording settings.  Now however, the Black unit gets only about 65 minutes at the highest settings. Which isn’t to say that battery life went down across the board.  No, if you go to more minimal settings – such as 2.7K 30FPS on the Silver, it’s clocking in around 1hr and 50 minutes.  Yet, on the Black it still only gets 1hr 10mins at that setting, despite sharing the same battery.  The majority of settings for the Black put it in the 1hr 5min to 1hr 10min range, with only 720p 120FPS extending it up to 1hr 50min.  All of these though assume WiFi is off.  Both the Hero4 Black and Silver share the same 1106mAH battery.

Now, about the only complaint I have about said Hero base unit is that because of the non-detachable case design I’ve found it’s easier for the unit to get turned on during travel in a bag than the Black/Silver out of their cases.  And unlike the Black/Silver, it doesn’t have the option to automatically turn off after a period of inactivity.  Thus, I’ve had more situations where the Hero base is out of juice when I go to use it.

Now one accessory I have found handy though is the dual battery charger.  It connects via standard mini-USB cable and then will charge your GoPro batteries.  Note that it works best with a 2AMP USB port, such as those found with an iPad or other tablet.  So if you use just a regular amperage USB port you’re likely to get slow charge times. When you insert the battery in, it’ll show orange for charging, and green for completed.  Note though that it can be easy the first time to not push the battery in all the way and think it’s doing something.  The simple rule is if there’s no light, it’s not doing jack.

When it comes to accessories, there’s no greater selection than that with the GoPro lineup.  Heck, even other action cams now include GoPro adapter mounts, simply to be able to tap into the massive range of accessories and mounts found within the GoPro lineup.  The majority of mounts that most folks will use will likely be 1st party mounts made by GoPro, but there’s still a huge array of 3rd party mounts by other companies that are oftentimes far more interesting.

1) GoPro 3-way Pole: This came out last winter and instantly became my favorite accessory.  As you can see from the below animated image I put together, you can twist/mix/fold/unpack/pack it up a crapton of ways.  I can use it as a tripod, or as a selfie pole, or just to get a better angle and extend my reach.

For example, I use it all the time to get shots on a bike of bike components mid-ride, such as in this post about the automated shifting system, or this one about the radar system.  It’s simply incredibly versatile.

2) K-Edge bike mounts: If you’re mounting to a bike or similar handlebar, I use these mounts constantly.  The forged metal means it holds it tight with no play.  While at first I would have thought they were overpriced, you come to realize that the single biggest factor in smooth video while riding is ensuring the mount doesn’t flex or move.

I primarily use the out-front mounts, but also do play around with the rear facing under-seat mount.  This mount allows me to get shots facing backwards – ideal for group rides. Of course, I use all sorts of other random mounts from time to time, but the vast majority of my shooting comes from these two.

Like most photo-minded people, I’m always looking for ways to get unique shots.  Over the last few years one of the most popular methods is via remote controlled quadrocopters, such as as the DJI Phantom series.  These are more commonly known as drones.

In my case, I bought the DJI Phantom 2 last winter and have been experimenting with it to get cool shots and videos. From a setup perspective, I use the GoPro Hero4 with the DJI Phantom 2 in conjunction with the Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal.  This gimbal is really the special sauce that allows silky smooth footage.  Proof of that comes with the fact that the wind was never less than 10-15MPH during my flights in New Zealand.

Note that both the Hero4 Black/Silver work just fine in the mount, but the Hero base edition won’t because it can’t be removed from the case. While I have a first person view transmitter for the system, I don’t tend to use it too much, instead just flying within line of sight and by feel.  I flew remote control and real planes when I was younger, so I have a bit of experience there in the aviation world.

The footage was then run through Adobe Premier where a handful of segments had the Warp Stabilizer run on it to clean up some minor wind gusts.  In this case, ProTune was not enabled on the content.  Overall I’m pretty happy with the results given how it was just about 15 minutes of flying before the rain started and forced a landing.

Note: This should go without saying, but if you use a quadrocopter to capture cool stuff, please don’t be an idiot in doing so.  Seriously.  Use common sense, follow your local laws, and try and not ruin it for the rest of us.  Nuff said!

You can use the below comparison charts to see how each unit stacks up against each other.  In the below chart I’ve just set it for the three GoPro units for 2014.  However, you can easily dive into the comparison database to see how older GoPro units stack up, as well as some competitor units.  You can mix and match and create your own charts there.

I know many will be trying to compare different models of action cams and looking for some general recommendations.  As always, these recommendations will shift with the winds as soon as new models come out.  Such is technology, constantly changing.  Still, I don’t expect any new action cams between now and CES (first week of January), so – these recommendations will hold for now.

Best video quality money will buy in an action cam: For those in this category, there’s simply no question it’s the Hero4 Black.  Specs alone dictate this, and thankfully the camera backs up the specs from a delivery standpoint.  There’s just no other action cameras on the market today doing 4K at full frame rates (Correction: There’s apparently this camera, but it’s pretty wonky being two separate pieces).

Of course, the real question is – does this matter?  For most people, probably not.  You’d likely be hard pressed on today’s screens to tell the difference between 1080p and 4K, let alone 2.7K and 4K.  Still, for the reasons I outlined in the 4K section above, there’s certainly value in such a camera.

An all around action cam: For this, it’s tricky.  On one hand the GoPro Hero4 Silver is solid, but at the same time, it’s also a bit overpriced compared to other offerings.  They effectively bumped up the price to $399 from what was sub-$300 before.  At that price you’re paying double something like the VIRB Elite or Sony Action cams, but of which have more features/functionality (i.e. sensors like GPS, altimeters, etc…).  Sure, the Hero4 Silver can do 2.7K video at full frame rates, but for most people, that won’t matter.

A budget action cam:This is where things get really interesting.  GoPro dropped the bottom of the price floor with the $129US price point.  That’s an incredible price, especially for such a quality cam as the Hero base.  At the same time, Garmin more or less countered with VIRB units now at $129US, and flirting every few days with $99US.  The VIRB base unit is more functional in every possible spec category than the 2014 Hero base (or equal in those not exceeding).

The only area where the Hero base would be considered better is size, with being a fair bit smaller.  If you plan to put it on your head, you might notice the size increase, but if you’re more into bike/car/etc mounting, it won’t matter. As for a few other comparative thoughts to consider…

Mount considerations: There’s no question that GoPro has the most mounting options out there when you include 3rd party mounts.  But I wouldn’t let that be the deciding factor.  Virtually every other action cam on the market includes a GoPro mounting adapter, so that kinda becomes a wash.

Availability of accessories: When it comes to finding spare parts like a battery pack during a trip, you’ll find no wider availability than GoPro parts though.  In every airport on this planet and in just about every terminal of those airports, you’ll find GoPro parts.  I was blown away over the past month as I travelled to find that Hero4 parts and cameras were easily accessible in all sorts of random places around the globe, airport or just shopping plaza – mere weeks after launch.

Editing Tools: GoPro’s offering is good (not great, but good), and makes it relatively easy to edit videos.  On the flip side, you can edit GoPro footage in most other software video apps – many of them free.

Mobile Apps: When it comes to phone apps, GoPro’s is far and away the best.  While most allow you to change settings, not all other companies allow streaming of content or transferring of photos and videos, all quickly and easily.  This can be a major benefit when you’re trying to get content somewhere quickly and share it.  Further, the quick turning on/off of WiFi via a solid button press on the Silver/Black is awesome.  It’s just quick and painless.

Hero4 Silver Touchscreen: This is cool, no doubt, but at the same time, for my particular use cases it’s less important.  Usually if I’m mounting a camera to a bike or to my helmet, I can easily check framing via the GoPro mobile app display.  And the same goes for playback via the phone app.  On the flip side, my wife loved the screen and much preferred having that unit over the other GoPro’s, purely because of the screen.

Battery: While the Hero4 Silver and base have good and competitive battery life, the Hero4 Black’s battery life is just downright bad.  Only an hour?  It’s somewhat ironic as the target audience for that model is likely to shoot more video than the lower models.  Still, you can relatively easily solve that with extra spare batteries.

Ultimately I’d say the decision to go Black will simply pivot on whether you care about 4K video or not. Ultimately, you’ll have to balance the pros and cons of each of the components, along with price, and figure out what unit works best for you and the set of circumstances you’ll use it for.

Like previous years, GoPro has continued to raise the bar on action cameras from a specification standpoint – in particular, within the resolution and video/photo quality department.  That aspect alone will no doubt make it a must have for those wanting the best video quality money can buy in an action cam.

Meanwhile at the budget end of the spectrum, they’ve forced other companies to slash prices to compete with the new $129US GoPro Hero.  While this unit isn’t as full featured as other competitive products that are now priced the same or less, it is a rock solid option.

The next year will no doubt be interesting to watch for GoPro, especially going into CES with what will undoubtedly unleash a slew of new action cameras into the market.  With GoPro pushing prices up $100 on their two top units, I’m not fully convinced that the bulk of consumers will follow to the higher end.

I think their base model is brilliant, but selling the Silver model at $400 will be a hard push to the mid-market.  Meanwhile, at least until new competitors get out there, the Black model will likely hold (and rightfully so) the top spot for the upcoming winter.

Hopefully you found this review useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.

I’ve partnered with Clever Training to offer all DC Rainmaker readers exclusive benefits on all products purchased. You can read more about the benefits of this partnership here. You can pickup the GoPro units through Clever Training using the links below. By doing so, you not only support the site (and all the work I do here) – but you also get to enjoy the significant partnership benefits that are just for DC Rainmaker readers. And, since this item is more than $75, you get free US shipping as well.

Additionally, you can also use Amazon to purchase the GoPro units or accessories (though, no discount). Or, anything else you pickup on Amazon helps support the site as well (socks, laundry detergent, cowbells). If you’re outside the US, I’ve got links to all of the major individual country Amazon stores on the sidebar towards the top.

Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I’ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible.

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The GoPro LCD Touch BacPac is a removable LCD touch screen that is compatible with your GoPro camera. It attaches quickly and easily to the back of your camera, which allows you to preview and instantly playback photos and video. Plus, the touch screen allows you to visually control the camera functions and settings. For added convenience, there is also an integrated speaker with volume control, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Our comprehensive GoPro HERO 9 review, complete with all the new features, comparisons with old cameras, and an honest opinion on whether you should upgrade or not.

After years of being the world’s number one action sports camera, GoPro managed to deliver another stellar product in 2020 as an upgrade to the wildly popular 8 series.

From travel to snowboarding, scuba diving to mountain biking and just about everything in between, we’ve put our GoPros through some tortuous environments.

SPECIAL DEAL: GoPro are having an incredible sale right now! If you purchase the latest camera using our link below, you’ll save $150 plus they’ll throw in a dual battery charger and a spare battery completely free! The deal is on for this week only though, so don’t miss out.

Perhaps the biggest upgrade for the HERO9, especially considering it has been wanted by the community for years, is the complete overhaul of the sensor.

The dynamic range has been extended, meaning you can really push all the details out of the highlights and shadows when editing your shots, and the low-light quality has been improved yet again.

According to us, this is one of the biggest ‘game-changing’ upgrades this year. We’ve tested out the sensor alongside our high-end professional cameras, and are amazed at the photo quality the GoPro HERO9 produces.

The main difference is that now the GoPro HERO 9 Black has horizon levelling built directly into the camera, which automatically adjusts the crop to ensure your horizon is as close to level as possible.

Previously you would have to do this through the GoPro app or in post-production. So this feature saves you time in the future when editing your videos.

First introduced in the HERO7, TimeWarp got an upgrade on the HERO8 to allow the user to tap on the screen to toggle between quick-time and real-time.

TimeWarp 3.0 goes two steps further, and now with a simple tap of the larger rear screen you can not only set the hyperlapse to real-time, you can then drop it to slo-mo!

Before TimeWarp was a thing, the only way to achieve similar results was through very intensive hyperlapse editing requiring thousands of still images, or shooting for minutes (or hours, hope you gave lots of storage) and speed-ramping it up in post process.

The most obvious upgrade straight out of the box, and something we can’t fail to mention in this GoPro HERO 9 Black review, is the inclusion of the colour front display LCD screen.

That’s not a problem anymore though, because with the GoPro HERO 9 Black, you can now set the exact time you want to start recording at, put your camera in place then walk away.

But it is a very nifty feature to use if you’re trying to capture something special, but don’t know exactly when it will happen, such as someone performing a trick.

Perhaps one of the best things about GoPros isn’t necessarily the action cameras themselves, but all the incredible accessories you can get along with them!

The GoPro Media Mod is a housing that your HERO9 slides into that features a bi-directional microphone, cold shoe mounts, USB-C input/output and a 3.5mm microphone jack.

The latest and greatest modular accessory is the Max Lens Mod. Leaning on the ultra-wide capabilities of its bigger 360-degree sibling, the Max Lens Mod replaces the original lens cover on the GoPro Hero 9 Black to give it a super-wide perspective with excellent field of view.

In fact if we’re going out with friends or heading out on any adventure, we’ll have the GoPro HERO 9 Black in our bag and leave the big cameras at home.

On all of our multi-day hikes in fact, we use the HERO9 for vlogging because it’s just so damn versatile, light and easy to use (plus the footage looks great).

And the last thing that we’re not completely happy about with the GoPro HERO 9 Black is that it isn’t compatible with older GoPro HERO batteries or the HERO 8 Black media mod.

Now that we’ve run through all the major new features in this GoPro HERO 9 Black review, you’re probably wondering what sets this action camera apart from its predecessors.

If you don’t currently own a GoPro, and are looking for a camera that you can use in a range of environments, then the HERO9 is absolutely worth buying.

Whether you want a durable, waterproof camera, something for vlogging or just an all-round travel camera, the GoPro HERO 9 Black is one of the best action cameras on the market.

If you’re sitting on the HERO7, or perhaps one of the earlier models, then upgrading to the HERO9 is going to completely change your perspective on just how powerful these little action cameras can be.

The jump from the HERO6 to HERO7 was huge, from HERO7 to HERO 8 Black less so. But going from the HERO7 directly to the HERO9 is a worthy choice, especially if you’re in the market for a new product.

While, in our opinion, the HERO7 to HERO8 was a minor upgrade, the HERO8 to HERO9 is a fairly major one with the inclusion of the front-facing screen, 5k, new camera sensor, etc.

On the other hand, if you’re the kind of person who would use their smartphone 90% of the time and only pick up the GoPro now and then, we’d say save your money and perhaps buy a couple of awesome accessories instead.

Wait what? When is the GoPro HERO 10 being released? If historical dates are any indication, you can expect to see the GoPro HERO10 in September 2021. HOWEVER with the current chip manufacturing shortage in Taiwan and the fact that zero rumours have come out about any new camera, there’s a high likelihood that there isn’t going to be a release this year. If you need a camera now, don’t wait. Just get this current model.

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We"ve put the new camera to the test in this comprehensive GoPro HERO 9 review. Dive into the new features, how it performs and whether it"s worth upgrading.

January 31, 2011 — Half Moon Bay, Calif. — GoPro, the worldʼs leading wearable and gear mountable camera company, today announced the availability of the LCD BacPac, a removable LCD screen for the companyʼs HD HERO camera. The LCD BacPac represents the first in a line of expansion modules to be released for the HD HERO camera. Available for order today, subsequently shipping to retailers around the world, the LCD BacPac has an MSRP of $79.99.

The LCD BacPac attaches to the camera via the HERO Port™—a small expansion port located on the back of the camera. As a removable accessory, the LCD BacPac keeps the HD HERO camera as small and light as possible, yet provides the convenience of an LCD screen when attached.

Acclaimed by industry professionals and consumers alike for its broadcast quality HD video capture and unrivaled versatility, the HD HERO camera now benefits from the enhanced convenience of a detachable LCD screen:

“We designed the HD HERO camera to be a professional HD video capture tool, and that meant planning for expandability,” said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro CEO. “At the core, we’ve kept the HD HERO camera as small and light as possible, cutting out everythign that isn’t required for capturing incredible HD content. Our wide angle lens allows for the omission of an LCD screen for most uses, but of course there are times when an LCD screen comes in handy. We’re excited to provide this functionality to our customers via the LCD BacPac. This is the first of many expansion BacPacs to come, and one more step towards establishing the HD HERO as one of the most versatile cameras in the world.”

Included with the new LCD BacPac are four new housing backdoors that can be attached to both the existing HD HERO waterproof camera housing as well as the HD Wrist housing, which enables the HD HERO to be worn on the wrist. The new backdoors allow both housings to fully enclose the HD HERO camera plus LCD BacPac within the respective housings. Furthermore, the LCD BacPac is compatible with all existing GoPro mounts, when attached to the HD HERO camera.

Based in Half Moon Bay, California, GoPro is the world’s leading activity image capture company. GoPro’s HD HERO line of wearable and gear mountable cameras and accessories are sold in over 60 countries, in specialty sports retailers, Best Buy, and right here at GoPro’s official online store.

An articulating or vari-angle LCD – commonly called a flip screen – is a useful addition to a camera. The screen is mounted on a swivel, allowing you to flip the screen away from the camera body and rotate the LCD 360 degrees.

Flip screens have traditionally been useful for taking photos at unusual angles. For instance, framing a bug’s-eye view from ground level used to mean setting your camera down low and awkwardly trying to see through the optical viewfinder. There was usually a lot of guesswork involved.

With a vari-angle, or flip screen, you can now set the camera up at ground level and angle the articulating LCD up towards you and frame the scene in live view.

Likewise, a flip screen allows you to shoot overhead by swivelling the screen down. Street photographers might also appreciate a swivel screen because it can let you shoot more discreetly. Shooting from the hip is a lot easier with a flip screen and gives you more control. Hold the camera against your body and angle the swivel screen upwards so you can frame your shot, then shoot discreetly.

Despite all these advantages for shooting stills, it’s probably the rise of vlogging that has seen the popularity of cameras with flip screens soar. Like shooting self-portraiture, vlogging requires placing yourself on the other side of the camera, and before flip screens were a thing this required a lot of careful setup and trial and error.

But swivel LCD touchscreens mean you can now place your camera in front of you, frame your shot accordingly and simply tap the screen to take a picture or start recording. If you have even modest ambitions to post videos on YouTube, a camera with an articulating screen will undoubtedly be the best option for you. In this guide we’ll round up the best cameras with flip screens.

The Canon EOS R5 leaves little doubt that Canon is now serious about the mirrorless camera market. It has phenomenal specification with features like a 45Mp full-frame sensor, phase detection autofocusing that covers the whole frame, eye AF for humans and animals that works in video and stills mode and a class-leading viewfinder paired with a vari-angle touchscreen.

The Canon EOS R5 is built to a similar standard to the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and has a magnesium alloy construction along with weatherproof seals. Its handling is also similar, but the control arrangement has changed to accommodate the vari-angle screen.

It’s great to have a vari-angle screen on the EOS R5. It makes it much easier to shoot video from above or below head-height while keeping the kit size and weight down. Also, as the screen is touch-sensitive you can control the camera with a few taps.

While the R6’s viewfinder is the same size as the R5’s (it’s a 0.5-inch type), its resolution is lower at 3.69million dots instead of 5.76million. That’s the same as in the EOS R and on par with the electronic viewfinders in the Sony A9 and Nikon Z7. It’s a great EVF specification for a camera of this level.

If the display performance is set to ‘Power saving’ in the Shoot8 section of the menu, fast-moving subjects look a bit jerky when you shoot them. Switching to the ‘Smooth’ setting makes the movement look more natural.

There’s also a 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen with 1.62million dots. We’re a fan of vari-angle screens because they make shooting portrait or landscape format images from above or below head-height much easier than a fixed screen. And a tilting screen is only of help with landscape format images.

Both the viewfinder and the screen provide an accurate preview of the image as it will be captured. Overall, Canon’s control arrangement on the R6 and use of to