GoPro HERO4 Silver and Black Firmware Update / February 2015

On February 4, GoPro released new firmware for both the GoPro HERO4 Black and Silver. The new firmware is a mix of relatively minor tweaks and major new features.

Both models share some new features:

Timelapse Video Mode. Going back to at least the HD HERO Original, GoPros have had a timelapse mode. But up until now, it has been a traditional timelapse photo mode that captures still photos. To compile all those still photos into a timelapse video required extra steps. You could do it in GoPro Studio or something like Quicktime Pro or Timelapse Assembler. But it meant significantly more time and effort to end up with a timelapse video.

With this new timelapse video mode feature, GoPros can now compile the video in the camera on the fly. It’s a huge convenience and speed enhancement. Instead of exporting all the photos and compiling the video yourself, the camera takes care of the heavy lifting and outputs a neatly compiled mp4 video.

But it’s worth noting that this is an additional new mode, not replacing the existing timelapse photo mode. If you want to do it the old-fashioned way–and there are all sorts of good reasons you might want to from more control over the image processing settings and cropping to more control over the final file format–you can. You can just use the normal timelapse mode, found under the Photos menu.

The new timelapse video mode is under the video menu. You have the same choices of how frequently to take photos–0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 30, or 60 seconds–and have the choice of outputting to 2.7K 4:3 or 4K mp4s (both at 29.97fps).

Auto Image Rotation. This is really playing catchup. Most modern cameras are able to detect which way up a photo should display if you shoot vertically or horizontally. Now GoPros can too.

New Burst Rate of 30 photos/6 seconds. The previous firmware allowed for burst modes of 30 frames in 1 second, 30 frames over 2 seconds, or 30 frames over 3 seconds. But that meant timing the shooting right on with the action. By spacing 30 frames over 6 seconds–or the equivalent of the 5 shots-per-second continuous mode–it gives you a bit more of a safety net in terms of time.

New Video Modes: GoPro HERO4 Black Only

The Black edition gets some new video modes that don’t appear on the Silver.

The highlight is a new 720p 240fps video mode. Anyone looking to do slow motion will love this. It means that you can slow down the action as low as 10 percent of normal speed and still get smooth video without the tell-tale flicker of slow motion that’s been slowed too much. And all in HD. (The HERO4 has always had a 240fps mode, but until now it has been restricted to the much lower resolution WGVA mode at 848×480 pixels). But it’s worth noting that this new video mode only works with the narrow field of vision, not wide-angle.

There’s also a new 2.7K 60fps video mode, which improves on the 2.7K 50fps mode that the previous firmware allowed.

Here’s the full list of updates for each model:

HERO4 Black Firmware Update v02.00.00

New Features:

• Adds Timelapse Video mode
• Adds 720p 240fps video mode (Narrow FOV only)
• Adds 2.7K 60fps video mode
• Adds Auto Image Rotation
• Adds 30 photos/6 seconds burst photo rate

Performance Improvements:

• Changes Protune default video ISO to 1600

Usability Improvements:

• Adds Reset option for camera Wi-Fi settings
• Displays Night Lapse shutter time on the camera status screen

LCD Touch BacPac Improvements:

• Delivers the ability to add HiLight Tags during playback
• Adds new gesture to display the last photo or video captured
• Automatically locks the display after the camera goes to sleep

General Improvements + Bug Fixes:

• Night Lapse stability improvements

HERO4 Silver Firmware Update v02.00.00

New Features:

• Adds Timelapse Video mode
• Adds Auto Image Rotation
• Adds 30 photos/6 seconds burst photo rate

Performance Improvements:

• Changes Protune default video ISO to 1600

Usability Improvements:

• Delivers the ability to add HiLight Tags during playback
• Adds new gesture to display the last photo or video captured
• Automatically locks the display after the camera goes to sleep
• Adds Reset option for camera Wi-Fi settings
• Displays Night Lapse shutter time on the camera status screen

General Improvements + Bug Fixes:

• Night Lapse stability improvements

Updating the HERO4 Firmware

There are three ways to update the firmware of your camera:

• Use GoPro Studio
• Manually download the update and copy to a microSD card
• Use the GoPro mobile app to do it wirelessly

You can find instructions on how to update the GoPro’s firmware here.

New GoPro HERO3+ Black Firmware

On February 10, GoPro also released new firmware for the GoPro HERO3+ Black (v03.00). It improves the automated file transfer process, addresses issues that may impact image quality in incandescent or fluorescent lighting conditions, addresses issues when syncing the Dual HERO System that may occur when Wi-Fi is on, and has some other improvements and bug fixes.

You can find the new firmware along with instructions on how to install it here.