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GoPro HERO4: Is it worth it?
2014 saw thw relsease of the next generation of GoPro, but have they really changed or just put the prices up? Eireann Beardon
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- If you’re shooting 1080p at 60fps, and simply want a durable, lightweight, reliable camera for your travels, the Silver is the one for you. - If you are looking for top-end video modes, go for the Black. But be prepared for editing footage at 4K or at a high frame rate to be a real pain. - If money is the deciding factor, the Silver is probably the best value for money. With its LCD screen and high image quality you are getting a really good camera for your money. - If both models are out of your price range, GoPro have released a much cheaper model – simply HERO – at only £110. At only a third of the price, this is still a very good camera, only with simpler functions and capabilities than the Black and Silver.
Nowadays, GoPro is practically synonymous with action camera. These tiny boxes are one step ahead of the pack when it comes to image quality and features. Although they may be affiliated the hugely popular, and now exceptionally unpopular, Selfie Stick, they have much more to offer. If you’re asking yourself why, “Why would I spend this money when I can just shoot on my phone?” Then you probably don’t need one. The thing with GoPro’s is that they’re not only amazing with shooting high quality videos, but they’re tiny, lightweight and extremely tough. Which brings us onto the HERO4. The face of the campaign is the £410 HERO Black but also released was the Silver Edition for £330. Although nearly £100 difference, the models are actually quite similar. The Black edition boasts the ability to shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second and 1080p at up to 120 fps. The Silver’s processor is slightly slower so can only manage half the frame rate in each of those modes. Other than that though, the image quality and sensor look just as good. The massive upside for the Silver is the fact is has an LCD screen which is great for framing photos and for video playback. It does seem a little illogical that the flagship black is the one that doesn’t have the screen, but there you go. You can add an attachable screen for the black, which will set you back £65, however it will not fit into the standard waterproof housing as it bulks the camera out. To be fair, with the wide angled lense, simply pointing the camera in the direction of the shot and hoping for the best does usually work. But you also have another option if you’d rather not take the risk or spend the money, you could download the mobile app. The app actually works really well by enabling you to get a live view to your mobile or tablet (this is also available on the HERO3 and 3+). The app also allows you to start/stop recording, adjust pretty much all of the camera settings and transfer photos or videos to your phone for quick sharing. The appearance of both is pretty much the same design GoPro have been using for years, which is good as it means they are compatible with the mounts from GoPro since 2012 as well as third-party companies. However, the change in the battery position means you wont be able to use your old ones. Also the battery life itself is relatively short, usually lasting two hours without external batteries. Both cameras come with a waterproof casing which is rated down to 131 feet, which is deeper than its predecessors and most of the waterproof action cams on the market at the moment. Is it a necessity for your upcoming trip? No. But it definitely will record your memories the best!
Watch HERO4 Black show off its 4K recording ability.
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See the HERO4 Silver put to through its paces when mounted on a surfboard
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5 reasons to travel solo at least once Let’s face it, as much as we love our friends, they’re not always up for everything we want to do. Travelling solo means you have the say on every bit of your trip. And its a great way to tick things off your bucket list. 1. THINK OF ALL THE FREEDOM
Travelling on your own will mean you’re more eager to meet travel buddies and generally reach out more in order so socialise. Although you will make friends on your trip, you’re not obligated to entertain anyone else, but yourself. Soyou fancy taking a night bus and spending 14 hours just to see a waterfall – who’s stopping you? You don’t have to fitto group’s agendas, waste a day at a museum you don’t want to be at; you don’t have to compromise at all.
2. YOU’LL CHALLENGE YOURSELF
Most people fear the unknown, and travelling in groups can be comforting and safe. However, if you research your trip, check out hostel reviews and feedback from other travellers on blogs and forums. Lots of people are discouraged from travelling alone because of the things they’ll have to do alone. They may be worried about finding their way around a city, how they’re going to wash their clothes or finding somewhere to eat without being scammed. But as long as you do your research and make sure you’re safe – the only way you’ll really know your limits is to just do it.
3. YOU’LL GET TO KNOW YOURSELF
As cheesy and cliché as it sounds, it is true. Of course you’ll have your bad days where you miss your family, friends – or a toilet – but that will not compare to the days you feel unstoppable. Being alone when travelling will make you face unexpected challenges and you may just be positively surprised by how you respond to them. You may discover new personality traits you were completely unaware you held. If you’re in a relationship it will make you realise how much you miss your partner or may make you realise you enjoy your own company more than you realise. This does not mean you have to end this relationship necessarily, but it may encourage you to make more time for yourself in the future.
4. YOU’LL GET TO RELAX
After preparing, planning and researching your trip it’s now time to bask in it. Turn off your phone for a few days, only contacting people when you feel like it. All the bills, responsibilities and problems of every day life do not exist here, forget about them and be in your own paradise. Disconnecting yourself from everything may give you a creative boost, or give you the answers to a problem you’ve been stressing about. Often the time something great comes to us is when we’re not looking for it at all. You’ll be surprised by how refreshed you’ll feel when you come back home *sigh, home*
5 . A N D Y O U ’ R E N E V E R R E A L LY A LO N E
Lonely is not a word heard by many solo travellers, so if that’s what you’re worried about, don’t be. If on any given day you feel like being social and interacting with other humans, you can as long as there’s someone there you can strike up a conversation with – and it’s a lot easier than you think. If you’re staying in a hostel you’ll never be at a loss for travel companions – ore than likely there will be other solo travellers in the same boat as you – perhaps literally. You are not the first person who has thought to travel to the place you’re heading – and you won’t be the last. And you certainly won’t be alone.
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"The year I spent paying off my travels was the worst expereince of my life"”
One young woman’s which saw her risk her education, be forced to use payday loans and miss out on much of her university social life may make you think before harder before you decide to take a year out without the proper preparation. Having achieved higher grades than she was expecting, Alice decided to go to university but defer for a year so she could work and live a little outside of education for a while. After working to save money, she flew to India to teach English in a slum as a volunteer. “None of my friends were really up for it but I knew I didn’t want to waste my year off so I just went for it.” Alice says now of her decision. She spent two months volunteering, as well as spending her 19th birthday in India, but after this she decided she wanted to travel more. “Being in India was great, but I still had months until I started university and I wasn’t ready to get back to reality yet.” After working again for a while she spent two months in Thailand. “I volunteered for some of the time, but going with a friend was different, there was so much to do and see so we island hopped for the majority.” It all sounds great, doesn’t it? But now she only had a few months left until her next chapter – university. When you think of students you may think of baked beans every night for dinner, but for Alice this really was reality. “I saved a lot for India, but I think it was in a kind of “I’ve spend so much money to get here, I want to do everything” state of mind. When I got home I was in my overdraft and did plan to get out of it, but everyone I talked to said it was perfectly normal to be in it.” “All my friends started to apply for student bank accounts with interest free overdrafts. I thought: great I can transfer the money from my student overdraft onto my credit card and current overdraft so I wont be so stressed.” It turns out most banks won’t accept you for a student account if you have existing credit elsewhere. “It was horrible, I was only in my first few months at university and I already wanted to leave.” Sadly this is not an isolated case, according to the National Union of
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Students (NUS), some 32% of all full-time students considered dropping out of university last year. With 89% of those saying financial struggles was the reason for this. In debt with multiple credit cards, and being a full-time student Alice had to somehow keep up with minimum payments. To do this she thought about getting a payday loan. “I know these aren’t a good idea,” she explained, looking ashamed, “but I had no income, I hadn’t found a job yet and the interest on my credit cards were just getting too much.” A lot of “payday loans” come with ridiculous interest rates. So if Alice were to borrow £200 she would have to repay around £300 within 28 days, meaning her bank balance would automatically be down next month. NUS reported there had been a massive 333% increase in commercial debt (credit cards, bank loans, door-stop lenders) in Further Education students in recent years. Unlike government supported debt you would be required to pay this off regardless of your income, which may force some students to turn to much riskier, higher interest loans. But Alice felt she had no other choice. “It was just such a confusing time. After paying my rent in halls of residence I only had around £200 of my maintenance loan left because of how much my parents earned. It is hard to get your head around though, because although my parents earned enough for them to love comfortably, they certainly didn’t earn enough to also fund my life.” Beacuse of her lack of finanical support, Alice found it hard to fit in socially with new firends. “Sometimes I simply could not afford to go out. I know most students say “I’m so poor” but I was a different kind of poor to them. They’d say they couldn’t afford it but have a £500 overdraft they could dip into – I don’t think they realised that most of the time I’d only have £40 in my account, if any. Finally she found a job to start to control her spiralling debt. “I started with just a 10 hour contract with my job at All Saints but then when they offered me more hours and I felt like I had to take them.” Alice ended up working a 30-hour week as well as studying full-time. Although over half of all university students are employed, last year only 4% worked over 28 hours a week. With this pressure, Alice’s studies were bound to be affected.“I would miss lectures, or miss going out with my flatmates just to survive. It wasn’t like I was saving for another amazing summer, or a car or working this hard so I could live in a London hotspot or be able to go to lavish clubs and
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restaurants. It really did make me sad. There were nights I’d just cry, not really knowing what I was doing with my life was so stressful.” Although she had already had the amazing summer, paying it off after must have been harder as she didn’t have anything to look forward to. With all her hard work and missing nights out there wouldn’t be a voice in her head saying “it’ll all be worth it when you’re on a beach sipping cocktails.” “My mum would call and I’d say I’m doing fine at university and with money, because I’d already borrowed off her and it had just been Christmas so I didn’t want to be a burden.” Falling significantly behind on studying and coursework, classmates and lecturers encouraged her cut back her working hours. “I remember my law teacher saying when I walked into her class late “why do you even bother coming?” that’s not really something you want to hear from a lecturer, especially when she’s the one marking your essay due next week. And I started to become embarrassed to tell anyone the grades I was getting, so I had to do something.” She reduced her hours at work to a healthier 16 hours a week, having paid off the majority of her debt by now, although she only had 3 months left at university to try and catch up with university work and do it well this time, rather than sleep deprived and stressed. One year later, and Alice is finally out of debt completely. She does not live beyond her means, and does not have an overdraft or any credit cards. Although her average grade for her first year at university was lower than she expected, she’s working on trying to build it up throughout her second year. “Do I regret it? I regret maybe not being so prepared. I look back on my travelling as one of the best experiences I will ever have, but the year after it trying to pay myself back was definitely one of the darkest.” Although Alice’s has a relatively happy ending, the year she had to live in order to fund her trip is not one we would like to do ourselves. “I feel like if I worked that hard before going to Thailand then I would have known how much I could spend or maybe would have had to cut my trip short. Either way, I wouldn’t say I totally regret it, but if I were to do it over I would have definitely stuck to a budget more as to not get myself into this mess – but hindsight is a wonderful thing.”