Hero 4 Black - overheating?

[Robert Garvey]

I've just got my Hero 4 Black and running test @ 4K to see how long the Lexar 64 gig x633 card will last with bakpac. This is with Protune 'off'. No WiFi running.

I need to capture an event @ 4k with unattended cameras and hoping for 2 to 3hours @ 25 fps. I can get 3 hours 4K @ 15 fps with the hero 3 +black and Brunton battery, Lexar 64 gig x633, card size is the limitation here, the Brunton would appear to be able to run for 6 hours or more so interesting to see how the gopro handles the new 128 gig cards.

The new hero 4 black is however cutting out at about 1 hr with the overheating warning. If I remove the bacpak, it still cuts out at random times. This test is indoors (temp about ~24C) without the housing, so I would guess that it could be much more of a problem in the housing, in the sun, in the Australian tropics, where I want to use it next week!

Running the new firmware.

I am hoping that the battery performance may improve as I cycle a few charges.

Anyone else seeing the issue?

Cheers,
Robert

[Eric Lagerlof]

Good Luck. I'm interested in using the Hero 4 for a performing arts school so I'll be interested in your results.

[Robert Garvey]

After a weekend of testing the hero 4 Black, the situation has not improved. Shooting 4K at 25 fps, no protunes, no wireless, the camera overheats and cuts out randomly at between 22 minutes and at best so far, 1 hr and 2 minutes. The micro HDMI port and the USB port become very, very hot, along with the front LCD. I switched micro SD cards between the Gopro recommended Lexar 64 gig x633 and a Sandisk 64 gig extreme Pro, just in case it was a card issue, no change. The results were the same if I had the battery bakpac on or just the regular battery. Tests were done with the camera outside the plexiglass housing and in a cool room environment @ ~24C. So I would anticipate a much worse overheating problem when deployed in the plastic and out in the sun.

From my perspective, this makes the hero 4 black inferior to my 3+black, which will at least shoot 4k @ 15 fps till the card or battery runs out (about 3 hrs with 64 gig card and Brunton battery).

So if you are thinking about the hero4, for some 4K work that is critical and unattended, then I would look elsewhere until gopro fix the issue. I'm a bit pissed as the kit is not at all cheap, setting me back close to Aus$900 with the camera. battery pac, delivery and the 2 Lexar 64 gig X633 cards.

In cold climates, in the water or for brief rides on a drone I am sure the 4K will work fine, but this camera for me is very far from complete.

Originally Posted by Robert Garvey

I've just got my Hero 4 Black and running test @ 4K to see how long the Lexar 64 gig x633 card will last with bakpac. This is with Protune 'off'. No WiFi running.

I need to capture an event @ 4k with unattended cameras and hoping for 2 to 3hours @ 25 fps. I can get 3 hours 4K @ 15 fps with the hero 3 +black and Brunton battery, Lexar 64 gig x633, card size is the limitation here, the Brunton would appear to be able to run for 6 hours or more so interesting to see how the gopro handles the new 128 gig cards.

The new hero 4 black is however cutting out at about 1 hr with the overheating warning. If I remove the bacpak, it still cuts out at random times. This test is indoors (temp about ~24C) without the housing, so I would guess that it could be much more of a problem in the housing, in the sun, in the Australian tropics, where I want to use it next week!

Running the new firmware.

I am hoping that the battery performance may improve as I cycle a few charges.

Anyone else seeing the issue?

Cheers,
Robert

[Noa Put]

It surprises me that they even have managed to get 4K 25p and 2.7K 50p out of this minibox, I only wonder if we are not expecting to much from it. I wouldn't trust any critical work, like long continuous shots of over an hour, to this thing at all, for that I would get a real videocamera that is designed to handle 4K and has a system in place to get rid of the heat, even in full sun.

[Andy Wilkinson]

I'm sorry to read of your overheating issues Robert but would like to thank you for sharing them on here. Any initial "gear lust" I had to get the Hero 4 Black has subsided, especially after reading this thread.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Robert Garvey

From my perspective, this makes the hero 4 black inferior to my 3+black, which will at least shoot 4k @ 15 fps till the card or battery runs out (about 3 hrs with 64 gig card and Brunton battery).

I thought you can get the hero 4 silver that also shoots at those framerates? Anyone knows if that versions overheats?

Also, how useful is 15fps?

[Mark Rosenzweig]

The experience by one poster is not typical. I can go 50 minutes in 4K, 30P in the GoPro frame (it may work in other cases too, I have not tried) with the lcd back mounted. What stops is the battery runs out. I use the recommended Sandisk Extreme 64GB card. Any other card than this or a particular Lexar card will cause stops at 4K.

I would suggest that the poster exchange his unit for one that meets the specs - 50 minutes continuous on one battery in 4K. There are lots of reports of GoPro units having issues (this does not mean GoPros have lots of issues, it just reflects that people do not report non-issues); they are unit-specific and not typical. Having a unit that is not up to specs happens. One guy's GoPro Black almost melted the covering of the battery back, and he shows this on Youtube. So, there are units that do have over-heating problems. But that is not the spec or normal experience.

The GoPro 4K, from this tiny box, is amazing.

[Robert Garvey]

Hi Noa,

15 fps can be useful. I have to cover the launch of a very large piece of industrial equipment off a barge at sea. The event starts out very slowly as the barge is partially flooded, then finishes with a flourish of churning waves etc. I use a number of cameras both DSLR and gopro (in wet areas) to capture the event in time-lapse mode of 0.5 to 1 second, this renders out very nicely to 4K, so the 4K @ 15 fps is even smoother for the faster action. I was hoping to get the new 4 black to capture the final 10 seconds in real time at 4k - in a wet area.

I don't just rely on the various cameras listed above however, also shooting 4K with the Sony FDR-AX1 and other cameras ( couple of operators).

I am pleased to see that some people are getting hero 4's that are working correctly. I do find it strange however, that a company worth $9,061,540,035 (as of last week) is selling so many dud (or prototype) cameras that the consumer has to spend time ferreting out and then attempt to exchange or get a refund for.

The unit and the accessories purchased with it, are a reasonable cost, but for the moment I will just put it aside and see if gopro responds or comes up with a fix:)

Originally Posted by Noa Put

I thought you can get the hero 4 silver that also shoots at those framerates? Anyone knows if that versions overheats?

Also, how useful is 15fps?

[Robert Garvey]

Hi Mark,

Would it be possible for you to do a quick test using the fully enclosed plexiglass enclosure? See how long your camera runs for?

I just put mine in the plexiglass housing and placed outside in direct sun (mild morning here @ 24C outside) @ 4K 25 fps to see how it fared, it cut out in less then 20 minutes. Using the Lexar 64 gig 633X recommended card. Latest firmware. Also tried with the Sandisk Extreme Plus - same result. The whole lens area became extremely hot. Yes maybe I am unlucky and just have a dud:)

[QUOTE=Mark Rosenzweig;1866080]The experience by one poster is not typical. I can go 50 minutes in 4K, 30P in the GoPro frame (it may work in other cases too, I have not tried) with the lcd back mounted. What stops is the battery runs out. I use the recommended Sandisk Extreme 64GB card. Any other card than this or a particular Lexar card will cause stops at 4K.

[Robert Garvey]

HERO4 Black has Short Record Times and Overheats in High Performance Modes

Well gopro has now acknowledged that there is an issue with 'high performance mode - aka 4K) and provided this helpful information (link above).

[Noa Put]

That helpfull info when it shuts down due to overheating is wait until it cools down and start shooting again :D, when you are flying with a wingsuit I suppose keeping the camera cool won't be a problem. I actually am not surprised this can happen, we know 4K recording generates more heat and that for stationary shots in warmer locations that could be an issue if you leave it running.

[Andy Wilkinson]

So if I'm reading this right GoPro are basically "positioning themselves", i.e. they won't replace Hero 4 Black's that exhibit this overheating (despite as Mark pointed out earlier, that their published specs indicate longer recording times in 4K mode)...

[Ian Newland]

Would you prefer they place a recording time limit on that mode or persist with the thermal cutout.?

[Rich Adrion]

Then send me a free remote GoPro if you are telling me that the app will cause my camera to overheat

[Ian Newland]

The limitations of the camera should be stated in plain view in the specs at point of purchase, but not many camera manufacturers do that, even Canon. I agree with you, you should receive a remote for compensation. GoPro should have applied a recording timeout shutdown rather than a thermal cutout for these Hi -performance modes, that wouldn't have been popular either, but at least it's honest.