A lot of people have
been asking me about the camera that I recently bought - what it is, what it
does, how much it costs, why I bought it, and how I would compare it to a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera.
As an answer to a lot of those inquiries, I'd like to share with you this article
so you can be more enlightened.
Why I had to get a
new camera
I love photography.
I am the type of person who does not want to miss an important event of my life
whether it be just my first time on something or a fun outing with my family. I
have a DSLR camera. It was given to me by my dad
as a present for winning first place in a photojournalism competition. I called
it Anabelle. I was so attached to it and I always took it with me when I had
special events at school and most especially when I travel. I love it because
of the high quality and the depth that it provides in a photograph. It can show
a person a different angle and perspective versus taking the same photograph on
an iPhone or a digital camera. I even invested in an external flash and a huge
reflector because I was ready to take my skills to the next level and perhaps
even make a living out of it. But I just didn't have the resources and time to
do it. So I gave up on my ambition to become a professional photographer and
just settled on simply being an adventurous person who loves documenting my
every step (not literally). Despite the many advantages of owning a DSLR
camera, there's only two major drawbacks that put me off - the size and weight.
If you're like me who wants to be able to capture every moment of your life but
don't want to deal with the heavy and huge
size of your bag or purse, I suggest getting an action camera. I found
many appealing ones but the one that I was most attracted to was GoPro.
Buying my GoPro Hero
4 Silver
 |
| Packaging |
I've been eyeing the
GoPro Hero 3+ last year and I was almost ready to buy it, thank goodness I
didn't. A recent news on the launching of Hero 4 made me wait for a few more months.
I was able to save up for some time and just two days before the Pope came to Tacloban,
I decided to buy one when I saw it at a local outdoor shop downtown called
Goods r US (Burgos Street). Apparently, my boyfriend had some sort of family
relationship with the owner and I was able to get a discount. I got my GoPro
Hero 4 Silver for PhP 19,000. It's much cheaper now at Lazada at about PhP
17,499. I
was so happy that I bought it and never regret buying it to this day. After so
much time and effort in research, I finally had my own action camera.
 |
| Front; with housing |
 |
| Back; with housing |
When buying
something that's quite pricey, it is important to really do your research. You
have to know what your needs and priorities are. For example, I wanted a
lightweight camera that's still able to capture high quality photos and videos
even underwater so I bought a GoPro. Also, don't buy impulsively and don't
settle for a single choice. Explore your options and look out for
announcements. Who knows, there might be a better model coming out?
 |
| Tiny naked camera on Charles' hand |
GoPro Hero 4 Silver
Basic Specs and Features
I won't be getting
into all the specs but I'll share with you the basic ones. Here are Silver's
specs according to GoPro's website and manual:
- Weight
- Without housing: 2.9oz (84g)
- With housing 5.2oz (147g)
- Highest video resolution/screen resolution: 4K @ 3840x2160
- Highest photo resolution/screen resolution: 12MP @ 4000 x 3000
- Time lapse video intervals: 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 30 and 60 seconds (available only in 4K and 2.7K 4:3 resolutions)
- Video + Photo: Capture photos while on video mode at 5, 10, 30 and 60 second intervals.
- Burst photos at different shutter speeds per second
- Protune
- Maximum battery life: 2 hours
- Photo and video playback and live screen
- Controllability with built-in Wi-Fi + Bluetooth plus free app and software
- Comes with three different backdoors: waterproof up to 40m but screen cannot be touched, touch backdoor which is only waterproof up to 3m, and a skeleton backdoor which leaves the screen open but makes audio better.
- Comes with free adhesive and mounts (other mounts are bought separately) for the ability to stick/mount the camera onto a pole, helmet, or practically anything!
 |
| Shutter and settings buttons |
 |
 |
| (U-D,L-R): Camera, waterproof housing, skeleton backdoor, touch backdoor, waterproof backdoor |
 |
| Other accessories that came with the camera |
Why Silver and not
Black, My Personal Opinion
The main differences
I think between Black and Silver are the speed, screen and resolutions. Black can film
videos up to 30 frames per second (fps) while silver can only take up to 15 fps
at 4K and up to 60 fps versus 30 fps at 2.7K. The former also has the ability
to take videos of 24 fps at 4K Superview and 30 and 25 fps at 2.7K Superview.
But Silver, despite having a lower quality than Black, is still superior than
the older models where quality is concerned. Because my main purpose of getting
a GoPro is really just to have a lightweight camera with the same resolution
and similar quality as my DSLR, I didn't mind getting Silver. Plus, having a screen was
also a huge deal for me since I'm quite used to the standard digital
cameras that mostly have playback features. Nevertheless, the quality is still
superb at 12 megapixels!
 |
| Sample shot at Superview (GoPro) |
 |
| Probably my favorite selfie shot yet using my GoPro |
 |
| Another shot at Superview with GoPro |
Favorite Features
(in order of value)
- Size and weight
As
I've mentioned, size and weight are big issues for me. So carrying a 41 x 59 x
30 mm and 83/147 g (w/ and w/o housing) camera is a breeze. When I was on a trip to Camarines Sur, I brought both my DSLR and
GoPro only to realize at the end of the trip that I never reached out for the
former. I always used the latter which just proves that for a person like me,
GoPro would be much convenient.
- Waterproof
I
absolutely love that with the waterproof housing, I can already use my camera
underwater for up to 40 meters using the waterproof housing and backdoor. One drawback that I
find with this is that the colors don't exactly reflect reality underwater. A
lot of people like to use filters to enhance the visual appeal of the shots.
 |
| Me underwater, looking like an absolute idiot, lol (GoPro) |
- Screen
I
love that I can see what I took using the screen. Although I can connect my
GoPro to my iPhone, it's still too much work just to do playbacks on my phone rather than just looking at the screen.
 |
| The only GoPro as of today that has a playback screen |
- Timelapse
This
is awesome! You know how you often see films of clouds or people on the street
moving fast, you can achieve that by either fast-forwarding a clip or using
timelapse! With timelapse, the camera takes shots or frames on a chosen
interval and compiles them together to make a video. iPhone has recently added
this feature to the newer models but it still does not beat GoPro.
An unedited fifteen-second timelapse video of the Kalanggaman shore, Palompon, Leyte, Philippines. This was shot with GoPro Hero 4 Silver.
- Wifi connectivity (to smart phone)
GoPro
has a free app that I downloaded (depending on the compatibility) for my smart
phone. I can then connect my camera to my phone and see the action live on my
screen. I can also do configurations, editing, etc. on my smartphone. The best
part - I can save my shots and upload them on Instagram in just a few clicks!
 |
| Screenshot of the app (iPhone 5) |
Resources
As I've mentioned,
it is important to really know what your needs are and do research before
purchasing an expensive gadget. I don't have that much resources to share
because I've only mainly watched one YouTube channel which I think was very
useful. Check out Mitch in his channel.
He's a deaf mute so don't be surprise if you don't hear him talk. He does have
subtitles and I really think that it doesn't hinder him from getting his
messages across his subscribers. Also, look for more details on GoPro's website and channel.
There are just so many websites that you can look into, ask Google if you must.
Ratings
Criteria
|
Rating (1-10; 10 being the highest)
|
Justification
|
Quality of shots
(video and/or photo)
|
9
|
Great but not as
good as a DSLR (depth, resolution, etc)
|
Size and weight
|
10
|
No words. Lol
|
Ability as a
"stand-alone" product
|
7
|
It's impractical
to use without a pole/monopod, mounts, filter, and other accessories
|
After-service and
resources
|
9
|
Their website is
great and there are so many resources on this camera (websites, YouTube
channels, etc.); I haven't tried their customer service yet that's why I gave
it a 9.
|
User-friendliness
|
9
|
I have to admit
that it took me a while before I really got used to using the camera. But
once I did, boy was it awesome! You just have to take your time and do
research so you can maximize its features.
|
Additional
features
|
8
|
There's no ability
to zoom in and out while taking a video or photo, but it has a Protune
feature which is very good for those "serious" videographers.
|
Price/Value for
Money (Sulit factor)
|
9
|
I would give it a
10 just because of the size and weight but I had to leave out a point to be
fair with the other drawbacks of this camera.
|
Average Rating
|
8.71
|
Please let me know
if you want me to do an in-depth demonstration of how I use my camera. I also
plan on doing another article for the accessories that I recently got, and tell
you how I feel about them. That's it for now! I hope you found this helpful.
Ciao!
*This is not a
sponsored post therefore I was not paid to write this article. I did not receive
the camera for free, I used my hard-earned money to buy it.
**Shots not labelled with "GoPro" were taken with Canon EOS Kiss X3/600D. A mixture of editors were used namely: Picasa 3 and Photoscape.
No comments :
Post a Comment