Several customers have been asking questions about the GoPro Hero 4 cameras for Christmas. Due to the low price of the Hero 4 entry camera, it has become popular among all of the questions. I would like to offer some points that you may or may not know, that perhaps shows that this camera is not best suited for recording softball games:
1.) There is no method to remotely communicate with the camera. This in and of itself is not a deal breaker, as I generally turn off all wireless communication to save battery life and reduce heat. However, it does make setting up the camera a pain.
2.) No port on the back to add an LCD. So in light of the no Wifi to remotely see what the camera is recording, this is kind of a big deal. Especially when mounting this camera to a fence, you really want to see what you are recording so you can make sure you don't have a big fence wire right in the middle of the view. Also, because the camera is so small, it really is kind of hard to make sure you are recording level and are including the whole field in the shot.
3.) Wide field of view is the only option. This also is a problem because in most cases, wide field of view will cause the fence to be in the shot, even if you rest the camera against the fence. You can probably crop the video in post production, but it is a lot of work, and will reduce the overall quality of the final video.
Aside from those items, the camera is really tempting. The price is right and the quality is far better than most entry level 1080p cameras. In fact, I may grab one anyhow as we started producing multi-camera video of games this year and plan to do more next year. We are thinking of adding some candid video in the shots, like dugout or rounding 3rd after an HR (I will not be that Fox camera man that leads the batter down the baseline....but it is tempting).
Anyhow, I thought I would share my findings. I hope you find it useful.
1.) There is no method to remotely communicate with the camera. This in and of itself is not a deal breaker, as I generally turn off all wireless communication to save battery life and reduce heat. However, it does make setting up the camera a pain.
2.) No port on the back to add an LCD. So in light of the no Wifi to remotely see what the camera is recording, this is kind of a big deal. Especially when mounting this camera to a fence, you really want to see what you are recording so you can make sure you don't have a big fence wire right in the middle of the view. Also, because the camera is so small, it really is kind of hard to make sure you are recording level and are including the whole field in the shot.
3.) Wide field of view is the only option. This also is a problem because in most cases, wide field of view will cause the fence to be in the shot, even if you rest the camera against the fence. You can probably crop the video in post production, but it is a lot of work, and will reduce the overall quality of the final video.
Aside from those items, the camera is really tempting. The price is right and the quality is far better than most entry level 1080p cameras. In fact, I may grab one anyhow as we started producing multi-camera video of games this year and plan to do more next year. We are thinking of adding some candid video in the shots, like dugout or rounding 3rd after an HR (I will not be that Fox camera man that leads the batter down the baseline....but it is tempting).
Anyhow, I thought I would share my findings. I hope you find it useful.
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