4K flagship and $169 GoPro announced

GoPro has announced a 4K upgrade to its range, as well as a $169 budget model, with local availability probably towards the end of October.

Top of the new range is the GoPro Hero4 Black, which captures 4K/30fpsvideo and 8.3 megapixel stills from video. In continuous burst stills mode, it can capture what GoPro describes as ‘magazine quality’ 12-megapixel digital files at 30 frames per second, although it’s not stated how long it can sustain this for.

Other features:
– ‘2.7K’ at 50fps and 1080p at 120fps
– Updated user-interface with improved ‘discoverability’ and access to key camera controls
– 50 percent faster Wi-Fi (than previous model) combined with Bluetooth delivers enhanced GoPro App performance and improved power management

GoPro price is $639.

The GoPro Hero3 Silver also offers 12-megapixel stills but lower resolution video. In addition it has a touch screen – a feature missing from the top-of-the-line model.

GoPro price is $509.

Both models offer:
– Manual control of colour, sharpness, ISO and exposure in both photo and video mode;
– Night Photo and Night Lapse modes;
– HiLight Tag to mark key moments with the push of an on-camera button while recording;
– QuikCapture: When enabled, a single press starts video capture, while a press and hold engages Time Lapse photo capture.
– Improved audio. GoPro claims the new models have twice the dynamic range of previous models.

The $169 GoPro Hero is built into its waterproof housing (it can’t be removed). It captures 1080p video at 30fps and 720p video at 60fps. Still are only at 5-megapixels, in bursts of 5 frames per second.

New accessories announced simultaneously include:
– Smart Remote enabling remote control from up to 183m away;
– A compact floating handgrip;
– A new and improved Battery ‘BacPac’ for twice the battery power of the camera’s internal battery alone.

NOTE: There seems to be some uncertainty about local RRPs. Other websites are quoting the Black model at $679, the Silver at $499 and the basic Hero at $129. It’s interesting to note that GoPro has a US-based online store which offers the range at GST-free prices, undercutting its local distribution network.