After a year of adventure and excitement, I have come to the conclusion that the GoPro Hero 4 Black is an incredible camera, but it is not for everyone.
Accessories are a GoPro's best friend
For the Majority - For most people, the GoPro Hero 4 Black ($499) is both overkill and not worth the increased cost over the GoPro Hero 4 Silver ($399). Though the Silver lacks the highest resolutions and frame rate capabilities of the Hero 4 Black, it creates excellent looking video and has the convenience of a built in touch screen.
After using the Hero 4 Black with my wife extensively on our honeymoon, the value of the built in touch screen on the Hero 4 Silver became instantly apparent. It may not be as much of an issue for experience video professionals who can almost frame a shot without needing to rely on a viewfinder, but most people want to see what they are recording while they shoot. You can use the GoPro app or the Touchscreen BacPac ($80) accessory to monitor what you are capturing on the Hero 4 Black, but both solutions are not convenient and add extra expense to the camera. Having that built in touch screen instantly makes a GoPro more accessible to the majority of users and was a great addition to the Hero 4 Silver.
For the Enthusiasts - For the video professional, early adopter, or resolution junkie, the GoPro Hero 4 Black is incredible. You will not find many (or any) cameras that can record with the visual quality or accuracy anywhere near this price point.
If you want a sample of what the Hero 4 Black is capable, just watch this little behind the scenes from Furious 7! If it is good enough for the Fast & Furious franchise, this camera is an excellent addition to any film maker’s bag of equipment.
In addition to the quality of the video, the Hero 4 is tough as nails. When in its housing, my camera has already survived my Honeymoon in Hawaii and San Francisco (both ocean water and pool water), tubing adventures, road trips, go-karting, Off-roading on an ATV, day and night time-lapses, and a few good crashes on my mountain bike. The mounting accessories and various cases have held up well and are not overly expensive, which encourages you to experiment with camera placement and filming techniques. The durability of the camera is primarily due to its plastic housing, which is shared with most camera’s in GoPro’s lineup of action cameras.
Summary - For most consumers, I would not recommend the Hero 4 Black, instead opting for the Hero 4 Silver. The built in LCD Touch screen on the back of the Hero 4 Silver adds a huge amount of usability and simplicity to using the GoPro. Since most people do not have a way to playback or view native 4k video content, it is not worth the extra expense.
One final note, during my first year of use I did have a minor issue with the camera, which required me to send the camera back to GoPro for service. My experience with their customer support was excellent, after basic trouble shooting that did not correct the issue; they gave me an RMA and shipping label to send the camera to them. About a week later I got my camera back all fixed. I am not sure if this is the normal, but they also included a spare battery in the box when they sent the camera back to me which was an excellent surprise. Thumbs up on GoPro customer service from Today’s Geek!
-Nate Adams