The end of 2015 is upon us and now it is time to look back and see what the year brought us in the shape of affordable slow motion gear. While many cameras had higher frame rates, only a few really shined and delivered on the promise of offering HD quality and higher than normal frames per second in an attractive price point and one that you may already own if you have a recent mobile device.
The camera has a slow motion feature set and while it is not earth shattering it is pretty respectable for what an under $100 USD device can deliver.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The GoPro Hero 4 series has been quite successful for the company and many are thinking what can they offer next when it comes to camera specs. The Hero 4 Session showed that miniaturization and form factor change is possible at GoPro and we will not be surprised to see a change in shape and size on the Hero 5 to reduce it’s footprint. The GoPro mount has also been holding back the platform miniaturization as to remain compatible with accessories and grips of all kinds. What could happen is to remain compatible but introduce a stronger and smaller mount with some sort of adapter for backward compatibility. This transition will open the way for more portable and stealthy cameras.
Our biggest hint of where the platform is going is what the new Ambarella H1 chip provides. It is an evolutionary chip-set with a few features geared to UHD recording which suggest that 4k will be the focus going forward.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
It seems that GoPro is not quite done with camera updates this year. They just released a very small variant of the Hero 4 hardware called the GoPro Hero 4 Session. Some jokes have already come out about the name like the next Re-Session Camera to own. However this is more of an evolutionary and reductionist product than any release GoPro has ever made before.
The Hero 4 Black is a powerhouse little camera with great frame rates for slow motion and 4k video at 30p. Some have criticized the codec in 4k mode as being too lossy and we agree to a point. What interest us however is not the 4k mode for now which is absent from the GoPro Hero 4 Session altogether but the lower res Full HD and HD slow motion high frame rate modes.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
On February 4th GoPro released the firmware version 2.0 for the GoPro Hero 4 Black and Silver cameras. There has now been a large adoption of the firmware in the hands of owners and there is no indication of problems or stability issues with the update. The update includes a 240fps 720p upgrade from the previous 120fps and it looks and works very good. A 2.7k 60fps mode is also included which is a first for a camera in this price range.
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!