Gizmodo got an exclusive look at the new firmware for the GoPro Hero 4 Black that adds new features including the coveted 240fps at 720p mode. From the sample video they posted it looks like a very good quality upgrade to an already good camera. It is great that GoPro is letting the inner power of the camera surface and show it’s full potential. It will also shoot 2.7k Video at 60fps a consumer first!
What had been just a rumor just a few months ago before the release of the Hero 4 Black now its a reality. The camera will regain the feature of 240fps at 720p which it was rumored and lost at launch. All rumors speculated that this frame rate would be included but was scrapped at the last minute. Be it stability or heat concerns, the extra slow motion spec is now going to be brought to life by a firmware update.
Full Firmware Specs:
NAB 2014 has already started to look like a 4k camera and UHD workflow oriented show from all angles. Manufacturers seem determined to push 4k at all costs and it seems looking at the product ranges that it will probably be adopted fully by the production crews of major TV Shows and News outfits. There are definite advantages to shooting 4k as opposed to 3D which is really a specialty format for limited uses. 4k can be used to create incredible looking crisp FHD 1080p that far out-resolves any 1080 camera to date, plus use footage as a canvas for re-framing and stabilization from wobbly shots.
What this means for slow motion cameras is that, as hardware has become 4x as powerful in order to capture and encode four times as many pixels as FHD 1080p, we get to reap the benefits in lower resolution modes. 4k capture permits lower resolution modes to jump as a side effect of more camera power as follows:
Looking at the current crop of portable devices that offer slow motion is hard and it’s pretty much a mine field. Lenses differ, sensor sizes are varied and distortion can creep up.
On the one hand we have the smartphones with the Galaxy S4, S5, Note 3 and then the iPhone 5s. On the other we have the portable Gopro Hero 3, 3+ and the Sony action cam.