GoPro - HERO4 Black

I have been using a GoPro 3 Black, 4 Black and now a 12 Black. I am using Solo Storm and its controls the camera we are using. The biggest challenge of any camera is mounting to get the view or perspective you are after.

I think the way to look at it, is that GoPro was so far ahead for so long, there was no real competition for them for over a decade. Even DJI had GoPro mounts built in when the Phantom 1 came along. Historically, GoPro perfected their 1080P then moved to 2.7k on the Hero 3 Black. They had the best 4k on the Hero 4 Black. Then they made the whole camera waterproof and added the built in touchscreen on the Hero 5 Black, then they went 4k 60 with moderate stabilization on the Hero 6 black, built a tiny camera on the Session 4 and 5. With the Hero 7 black, they finally got stabilization in camera that started to compete with 3 axis gimbals. On the 8 they had the mount built in so you didn't have to have a frame and changed to a larger form factor with the Hero 9 black and got resolution to 5.3k. They perfected features like Timewarp and Hyperlapse where all the work was done in camera instead of post. They made GoPro labs available for most of their cameras and gave amazing levels of customization that no other cameras have even to this day. Then they really started to stagnate and features were more incremental and evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Sure they had the 8:7 sensor and got video resolution up to 24.7 megapixels, but they still use a tiny sensor and low light performance is still very bad. They also had to deal with the rise of DJI and Insta360 who started to release competing products. Dji matched 10 bit the same year as GoPro, The Action 5 and Ace Pro 2 use much larger sensors and do much better in low light. GoPro was late to the party with magnetic mounting systems and Insta360 even put 8k into their Ace Pro versions. Insta360 has the Ace Pro Line, their Go series mini camera and even had the modular R series which could be an action cam or a 360 camera. In the time since GoPro released the Max, Insta360 has released 5 consumer grade 360 cameras that get better each year and now do 8k. We have no idea when the Max 2 will be released. GoPro stock is hovering around 50 cents a share and the market cap of the entire company is only 75 million dollars. It used to be almost 11 billion dollars, so it is 145 times smaller than it was shortly after the company went public. They have had to lay off staff and that has a huge impact on R&D. They are clearly falling behind competitors with no real path forward. Depending on which site you listen to, they rate the probability of bankruptcy at 33 to 62% in the next 24 months. That is not the sign of a healthy company. They botched the launch of their Karma drone and ceded that potential marketplace to DJI in the process. The reality is that the DJI and Insta360 cameras do a lot of things better and much easier. Low light is a real thing for a lot of people and the Action 5 and Ace Pro do a very good job in the space and GoPro isn't on the same playing field. I love the new GoPro lens system, but I am an advanced user and have been using ND filters, Anamorphic lenses, and macro lenses for years with the GoPro. The new anamorphic lens is great because it does the desqueeze of your footage automatically in camera. What is annoying is that they announced the lens in September of 2024 and I was finally able to get it 7 months later. GoPro is a great camera, but for many people who never touch labs, don't care about 10 bit or color grading, never do reframing 8:7, like to shoot in lower light conditions, or won't spend the $129 on an anamorphic lens, the GoPro is not really the camera for them. Insta360 are releasing much better cameras each year and GoPro is falling further behind. I really want GoPro to come back strong, but I fear they don't have the finances to compete unless they have an absolutely amazing technical breakthrough in the action camera space.

I use a GoPro Hero 4 Black as my webcam. I use it because I already had it and didn’t want to spend extra money on a webcam. The video quality it gives is decent though, I don’t get any complaints/comments about my webcam footage. I also throw on a bit of color correction in my streaming software which I think makes it look a little nicer. However, I wouldn’t recommend going out and purchasing one solely to use as a webcam. If you already have one then I would say it’s considerable. GoPros aren’t really meant to be on for long periods of time (at least that generation, I’m not too familiar with the newer ones). I had to remove the battery and find a dummy battery cable that would work for it. The GoPro runs extremely hot to the point where with the battery it would overheat and shut off. Using that dummy cable it still gets really hot but it’s able to stay on. I would also recommend looking into good lighting for your setup. Lighting is very important when trying to video something. Good lighting can make a cheap camera look okay. While bad lighting can make even an expensive camera look bad.

I've had almost every GoPro since the GP4. Just got the Max2, but in all honesty, I think my favorite is the 13 black.

Gopro hero 4k. The cheapest no nonsense go pto

From personal experience I can say the following. Any normal version of GoPro will do as a basic camera for selfie shooting. Cameras like GoPro Hero 4K or Hero 11 mini. Great for shooting from a helmet (on the helmet, under the visor or on the side). Regarding the microphone, it is better to use a special helmet-headset with an adapter for internal mounting, for motocross helmets.When you have a microphone in your helmet, you can be heard better and there is less wind noise.

I used gopros mounted to my handlebars on my bike. They were ok while they worked, which wasn't for long. I had 2 mini 11s and both ate memory cards corrupting them seconds after starting recording. Tried everything. Hard reset, different firmwares. Both devices would get warm and be unresponsive until the battery ran out. Lastly I tried the new hero 4k. Absolutely shocking image quality and no stabilisation. Don't get me started on the subscription and returns service where you pay about 80 percent of the price you already paid for a replacement. Will be avoiding GoPro in the future.

I’d just use the GoPro in 4K and then pull stills from it with a video editing program

Agreed. But for someone looking for a budget option that produces decent results it’s hard to beat the GoPro

I use a GoPro 4 I bought used and cheap on eBay, I switch the battery every time I ride. Good quality footage, many successful “positive action taken” responses from OpSnap. But I’m intrigued by the Redditor above using an Insta360, their case is compelling. Most important thing is that the camera is visible to motorists, I can clearly see improved behaviour whenever the red light is flashing. It’s

Due to the quality of the products. I am now on my third GoPro 10, as the previous two failed for mostly the same reasons. But give GoPro some credit, as they replaced them without much issue. On the other hand, I still have my GoPro 4, which is over 10 years old and works perfectly—used it recently whilst waiting for the second replacement GoPro 10.