Customer Ratings & Reviews

i have bought previous camera's before and this one is the best!

This purchase was my second GoPro, the first being a GoPro3 Black. I had a lot of issues with the GoPro 3, some pretty well known, but I thought 2 generations later, that GoPro would be the way to go in action cams. The Subjective: 1) Some folks like the size and forward facing square of the GoPro. I always thought that was one of it's weakest features. It isn't in the least bit aerodynamic and catches wind something fierce if you use it for motorcycling as I do. I have always been a bigger fan of the bullet/tube type cameras such as the Contour or Ion, followed by cameras like the Drift, Sony, etc. (2) The menu system is terrible. The text is tiny and things are buried in menu levels. Even turning on WiFi is more difficult than it needs to be. Again, these are subjective, but they are dislikes. Cons: (1) Sound quality from the mono-mic is relatively poor. There is no good wind reduction/sound cancelling. For skiing, bicycling maybe not so much a problem. At higher speeds it isn't good. (2) Having to use a 3.5 mic adapter to Mini-USB type cable. Just another cable to come loose and have problems (3) Poor video quality for the money. It isn't that is that bad, but for a $499 camera, it should be better. Video quality of the Sony FDR-X1000V is superior. The GoPro only really captures good images in superior lighting conditions. (4) Poor battery life. Especially with WiFi enabled. Battery life isn't good on any of these action cams, but GoPro is particularly weak. Good thing the batteries are relatively inexpensive. (5) Low Light Performance. While again, not superb on any of the action cam offerings, the GoPro is particularly bad here. The BSI (Back Side Illuminated) sensor on the Sony has much better low light performance. (6) Lack of image stabilization. Maybe not everyone needs this and perhaps I should have included it in "subjective," but if you are using the camera for a sport with a lot of vibration such as motorsports, it is a great feature. I would think a lot of sports could benefit from it and kind of a glaring omission in the GoPro by Gen4. Like all reviews, it is only one persons opinion and I am sure there are plenty of folks from whom the GoPro Hero 4 does everything they could possible ask of an action cam. It simply isn't for me. I returned and exchanged it.

There's not a whole lot more I can say that others haven't - GoPro is amazing. The unit is solid, comes with some nice accessories in the box. I went ahead and bought a few other clamps so that I could have it hold on bikes, cars and in airplanes. I've taken my GoPro flying, put it on drones, attached it to cars, bikes and I've used a multitude of straps/grips - every time the GoPro performs better than I expect. A couple of "cons" - these really aren't cons for me ... it's just something to be fully aware of: - Wifi + 4k usage = 20 minuteish battery life -- I use my Phone or iPad a lot after I clamp down the GoPro somewhere, mostly, to see my shot ... and a lot of times I can't deactivate easily the Wifi radio after setting it up ... so with 4K I've seen it burn through the battery awfully fast - it makes sense, just be aware. I highly recommend pairing this with the phone/tablet app and getting the wireless remote.

After 2 uses on our beach trip, this has become unuseable. There has been fog covering the lens which i cant remove and our videos were nothing but blurry. Is there a solution for this?

Had to return 2 both did not read sd card. Returned first one bought another had to pay twice for warranty when I bought second one that did the same thing as the first.

Don't buy one till the fix the problems that come with a new product from gopro had so many issues with my hero 3 also

I am torn while writing this review... I really wanted to love this camera, but technical issues have tainted my view. To begin, the camera I originally purchased had a problem that prevented it from charging the battery. After numerous back-and-forth calls and emails with GoPro technical support, they determined there was an issue with the camera and it needed to be repaired or replaced. To accomplish this, the camera had to be shipped to GoPro. While GoPro covered the cost of the shipping, the entire process took several weeks. Luckily, I was not in a hurry or had a desperate need for my camera. I did receive a working camera back, although I have no idea if it was the same camera or a replacement one. Regardless, it appeared to work fine, so I was satisfied with the help I received and was happy with the camera. I played around with it a bit at home and it seemed to work well, so I was happy. Then I went on my family vacation and experienced several issues. The first major issue was that the camera would occasionally just stop recording on its own. There was no rhyme or reason... The camera would be recording and then it would freeze. The display would stop at the minute and second into the recording at which the camera decided it no longer wanted to work. At that point, the only way to use the camera was to reset the camera or, if that did not work, to remove the battery entirely. Unfortunately, the camera gave no indication that it stopped recording either, so I did not discover until after the event that most of it had not been captured. For instance, I was on a 30 minute long safari and was recording with my GoPro, or so I thought. It stopped recording 3 minutes 48 seconds into the 30 minute safari. If I had known I would experience this type of problem, I would have been better off taking the video with my iPhone... The frustrating thing was that it worked some of the time without any problems, and failed for what seemed to be no reason at all. The second problem I experienced was in moving from a dark inside location to a bright outside location. In some instances, the camera worked fabulously. In other instances, the camera refused to adjust the exposure when moving from a dark to light environment, resulting in whitewashed video given a significant overexposure. This rendered the majority of my video useless. The inside video turned out great, but the outside video was essentially all white. Surely, I could not be the only person to record in a changing light environment and the camera's failure to accommodate the changes in ambient lighting was disappointing and unacceptable. As with my other issue, the problem was sporadic. Sometimes the camera worked as it should and other times, it did not. If I had known this was going to be a problem, I would have stopped the recording and started it up again when transitioning between the different lighting environments. (Not a perfect solution, I realize, but at least I would have had most of my video as opposed to now where my outside recordings are useless.) Along somewhat similar lines, the low light recording ability of the camera was not very good. Recording in a dark environment, either inside or at night, resulted in a very dark video without much detail at all. In some instances, I might have well been videotaping a black screen. I do not know if it was related to any of my other problems, but I noticed the camera became very warm when recording. I used predominantly 1440 at 60 fps... It was not like I was shooting 4K video. On the positive side, the camera does take outstanding video when it actually works. It has a small form factor with numerous different mounts... The camera can go almost anywhere. It also has numerous shooting resolutions and speeds (almost too many as it can be confusing to decide what mode to use). The battery life was not too bad and a day's worth of sporadic shooting fit on a single 64 GB card without any problem. As I mentioned previously, I really wanted to love this camera... I did. The technical issues have really soured me, however. Unfortunately, there are not many options out there for action cameras, so I am not quite sure what I should do at this point. If there is an equivalent competing product out there, I would jump ship in a minute and buy the alternative. For the time being, however, I'm not sure the grass would be greener on the other side. Maybe this was just an isolated issue with my camera. Then again, maybe not. Needless to say, I am very disappointed.

I have to agree with others that this is good camera. However it is the details that matter...for Hero4 Black, a $500 camera the company can not even throw in a 16GB micro sd card so the customer can have a good experience?. I purchased a Samsung Class 10 32GB card just to find out that it is not compatible. I .talked to the tech support and they said, "Oh ya, we only recommend Lexar or Sandisk" Isn't that one more reason to give out the cards with the camera so customer has good expereince from the start? Other minor but important issues, 1) There is no wall charger for the camera included in the package. Well that's fine but the tech support told me that it will take too long to charge through the computer so you should buy the wall charger...REALLY? 2). Cover to access the usb/hdmi ports is just a plastic thing that does not evens stay tethered to the camera so if you loose it, those ports stay exposed!! 3) battery compartment, just seems very flimsy...not sure how long that is going to last but hope that the company will stand behind their product and support it as long as it is not abused. Overall I really like the form, fit and the function of the camera but it's the details that company SHOULD HAVE DONE to give the customer satisfying experience for $500+...like Apple does (in most cases)!

Great quality pics and pretty easy to use. It would have been nice if it would have come with a sd card to use it right away. This camera is going to be perfect for our family vacations and my husbands fishing trips.

I had the GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition, but quickly exchanged it for the 4k version when it came out just a few weeks after I purchased the 3+. The quality is great, but you'll need a 4k device to actually view the 4k quality. Otherwise, I'd say go with the Hero 4 Silver Edition, or the Hero 3+ black edition if you want to save some money.

I purchased this because I wanted to record when I went scuba diving. First, it's amazing under the water. I purchased the red filter for the camera and the shots/video you take under water are amazing. Now I take this thing everywhere I go. Disney, football games, biking, running, you name it. The video is incredible and the camera is great too. My wife and I have nothing negative to write about it.

except maybe the battery life but other than that it's amazing. The quality of the 4 is the best camera on the market now.

have not taken a good still picture yet, and this is a pain in the-----

Great camera. Upgraded from a Hero 3 Silver and the ease of use improvements are fantastic. Pros: - Menu navigation much improved - Setting up and connecting Wi-Fi to a phone is now all done through the camera + app, no computer needed - Camera preview on the app works literally every time. The 3 Silver was very inconsistent and almost never worked. - Battery charges 100x faster Cons Nothing bad to say about the camera, yet.

Pretty easy to use. Takes great footage once you get the hang of it. The higher resolution video definitely chews through the battery, and I'd recommend the screen so that you can watch what you shot without having your computer or smart phone right there.

Great camera! Vids and pictures are crystal clear. You will go thru batteries quickly. Recommend you have a few with you for constant usage

Want an action camera for certain projects this is it, Get GO PRO App its is the best app out there for this camera. You will need additional accessories as all products do before you leave the store. Data card can be purchased other places or wait to find on other site and price match item at time of purchase. It will need LOTS of battery power to keep going if using for extended periods of time MORE $$$ will need Accessories like video screen back to see what is going on or use your phone with go pro app to use and more battery power will be needed on both devices more $$$. There is an extensive array of products out there as well for the go pro and is good to have and more $$$ will be used for it is a special camera for action shots. The GO PRO black edition is smaller than anything you will ever see in your hand. A good ISO camera will perform all this and more and you will purchase items for it as well to have fun but they are not as small and go pro app is worth it in its self to have the ability to use with the go pro.

Bought this for my dad who is an avid motor cycle rider. Wanted to mount it on the frame and record his rides. He made a custom mount for it and can't wait to try it out once winter is over. He's not good with electronics but he was able to figure it out on his own and get it working

My primary interest in this camera was its 4k capabilities which every other manufacturer keeps in the 1k+ mark. While I have used this for time lapse and other tricks that this camera integrates perfectly, my main use is aerial photography. This form factor makes things possible that were out of reach for the ordinary consumer. Just make sure you have plenty of fast microSDs on hand (only the newest ones will support the 60+ Mb/s bitrate the camera writes) and your computer will need to be the latest gen Intel (Haswell i4xxx series) with 4k hardware acceleration support and a very powerful graphics card from at least the last two years. I can verify that if you try it on any other computing platform it will fail to play back properly and forget about using the GoPro software for Cineform conversion (even on my beefy machine it takes hours sometimes). The free downloadable software is a hug incentive over others as it keeps the high 10bit rate necessary for 4k as well as a free fisheye removal support. All this justifies the seemingly high price tag for a consumer action camera and only Best Buy could give me a 10% discount on the day of its release. If you're in the market, I definitely would advise you to stop by Best Buy and check it out for yourself.

My kids and I love this camera much. It has great picture and video quality and wide angle which is suitable for outdoor activities. Ease to use for all ages. Mounting accessories let users record themselves. We usually use 1 face in and other face out for recording. With a simple and easy Gopro software editor, we have a great video which is not missing anyone. I let my kids use it as a toy and be able to hear what they talked when I wasn't there. It worked like a spy camera as well.