GoPro Hero4 Black Brings Pro-Quality 4K Video At 30 FPS

Daredevils, adrenaline junkies, and drone pilots, rejoice! The new GoPros are here.  And the star of the show, the GoPro Hero4 Black, boasts some serious features upgrade from its best-selling action cam predecessor.

Fans of 4K video, double rejoice!  The new flagship camera doubles the frame rate of the outgoing model’s ultra-HD video captures, allowing you to record up to 30 fps, making it a compelling option for professional-quality 4K recordings, with 2.7K video maxing out a 50 fps and 1080p at 120 fps.  More impressively, it does that while retaining the same battery life of its predecessor, so you can enjoy smoother high-res videos without sapping your ever-precious stash of juice.

The GoPro Hero4 Black comes with both Bluetooth and WiFi, giving you double the options in connectivity, with a processor that runs at twice the speed of the previous flagship model.  Oddly enough, the Black doesn’t get a touchscreen display – a feature they actually put on the cheaper Hero4 Silver model.  Yes, we don’t get it, either.  We’re guessing a touchscreen plus 4K at 30 fps sapped the battery or taxed the processor too much, but we don’t really know for sure.  All we know is, it’s kind of a bummer.

One big change is the battery design, which now slips in via an easy-to-open spring-loaded trap door.  The catch?  It uses an entirely different battery from previous models, so if you’ve built up a healthy collection of spares, you’re going to have to get rid of that the same time you sell the old GoPro, in case you’re planning to upgrade.  Other changes include a new context-sensitive menu, an improved ProTune feature, and new modes for low-light stills and time lapses.

Available starting October 5th, the GoPro Hero4 Black will retail for $499.99.  The Hero4 Silver will sell for $399.99, while the entry-level Hero will go for $129.99.

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