GoPro HERO Session Waterproof Digital Action Camera

I use this camera for fishing, boating, and most often paintball. I've written the review below specifically regarding using this camera for recording tournament paintball: The GoPro Hero4 Session is the best action camera I've come across yet for paintball. I personally use the camera with a Grizzly Mounts Pole Mount ($20 on Amazon). The mount is similar to other pole mounts, but that it is made of a really tough rubber. This means it won't scratch your barrel and also doesn't crack when you tighten it down or take a dive. Definitely a recommended accessory for the Hero4 Session that is useful for paintball as well as limitless other activities. I've broken down the camera review into the features of the camera that make it an excellent option for paintball players. One-Touch Operation The Hero4 Session is unique in the GoPro line in that it features one-touch operation. This means that the camera is powered off at all times unless the user is adjusting settings or recording. Simply press the record button, and after a couple second delay, the camera is powered up and begins to record. When finished, press the button again and the camera finishes recording and powers down. This has a couple of advantages on the paintball field. First, it allows a single battery to last an entire day for tournament paintball. The Hero4 Session's battery is rated for about 2 hours of recording, and does not drain when the camera is not recording since the unit powers itself off. By pressing the record button before the start of each point, and pressing it again after the flag is hung, a player's entire tournament worth of play can be captured on a single charge. The other advantage to the one-touch operation of the Hero4 Session is the simplicity of use. With previous GoPro models, the user would have to press and hold the power button, wait for the camera to power on, then cycle through the operation modes until “Video Recording” is selecting, and then finally press the record button. All of this is taken care of in one press of a button with the Hero4 Session, which is saves a ton of time while practicing, but is priceless during an XBall match where every second in the pits or walking out to the start box is precious. One touch of the button and within seconds you'll be recording. Size and Design The GoPro Hero4 Session is the smallest GoPro as of the time of its release. The shaved down dimensions are very noticeable when mounted on your barrel, especially if you choose to mount it upright, on top of the barrel. Previous GoPro cameras were significantly wider, which meant more of your vision was blocked when looking down the barrel while playing. The Hero4 Session is also narrow enough that it does not hit the ground when sliding and crawling with your marker sideways against the turf/grass. Maybe the most important aspect of its smaller size is the smaller target that the Session provides for your opponents. The Hero4 Session also features a centered lens in its design. In other GoPro models and many other action cameras, the lens is placed off-center on the camera. The Session's centered lens affords the camera an unobstructed view when snap shooting on both sides of a bunker, as well as viewing straight down the barrel instead of on a slight angle. The Session captures paint streams better than ever before because of this one easily overlooked feature. Automatic Image Rotation The GoPro Hero4 Session features Automatic Image Rotation. This means that when the camera begins a recording while it is upside-down, it will automatically correct the video to right-side-up. This saves quite a bit of time that would otherwise be spent manually rotating the videos in computer software or changing the camera's orientation settings on other action cameras. This is an important feature for when the camera is mounted hanging below the barrel, allowing the player better vision down their barrel from above. Exposed Microphone One of the most important features of the GoPro Hero4 session are its exposed microphone and case-less waterproof features. Since the camera is waterproof and shockproof without a fully enclosed plastic shell, the microphone remains exposed to open air. This results in superior sound clarity that was never able to be captured with previous generation GoPro cameras. Instead of just the muffled sounds of the marker firing, the Session records the voice of the player behind the camera as well as his/her teammates on the field. This feature alone puts the Hero4 Session above other action cameras. Price Point The GoPro Hero4 Session comes in at a price point of $199. Compared to the other cameras in the Hero4 line, it is the most affordable below the Silver at $399 and the Black and $499. At the lowest price point, this camera still packs in features that the others do not that are essential to recording first-person paintball.

What a wonderful little camera. If you're looking for a video camera with the following specs, you'll be happy: - Fits in your pocket - Battery lasts for days with frequent use - 1080p HD video - Waterproof - Decent sound quality I've previously used the older HERO with the plastic enclosure on vacations, and loved it. The one without any video playback screen on it, btw. But having to muffle the sound with the enclosure, or not be waterproof, was the biggest downside. Now, with a smaller size, apparently more battery life, and apparently better video quality, I'm super happy I switched. I've used this so far on planes, at parties, in the ocean (shore waves/underwater), at amusement parks, on water rides at amusement parks, on the beach, and in a cave, and it worked great in all scenarios. Focus and exposure were wonderful in all experiences. Sounds were great, even underwater. In heavy wind the sound got a little distorted but it wasn't a wind tunnel sound like the older HERO was. I have done trips with 100-200 videos (average 30 seconds long each) in a week or two and only needed to charge it every few days. I do not take advantage of the phone remote control, though it's pretty neat. I don't edit video or pull photos out of videos, I just pull the sd card with the videos and watch them on other devices. I don't use any mount, I just keep it in a little sack (I use an old Oakley sunglass case because it's soft and has a drawstring) and hold it tight when I'm using it. One thing I would like is an ability to put a small strap on it, so I could use my Float Pro or something similar; there's no hole whatsoever (that I can find) to secure it to something. But, it's tiny enough to hold extremely securely. I also noticed that the videos, which are technically supposed to be nearly identical in quality to the older HERO, play better. I pull them into itunes and then watch them on my (older) appleTV and they stream and playback smoothly! The older HERO videos are choppy, not sure if it's a better codec or what, but this seems to be an improvement in this model. There is a minor rounding effect at the edges of the videos which cannot be avoided (that I know of). I was originally pretty unhappy to find this out but it's really minor given the other positive features.

This is my second hero session, I lost the first in the river due to me not noticing the small tether hole on the camera frame, a tree snagged my camera and opened the case... :( so this time I have a steel cable attached to the very outside edge, where I now see their is a place for you to tether the camera. I also advise buying gorilla tape and taping the latch closed for extra safety. Now for the camera itself, it's awesome, single tap on single tap off, hold it down for time lapse, you can alter all the settings on the camera with the small button on the back if you learn how to navigate it's menu, I found it pretty straightforward. Built in Wi-Fi! You can connect your phone with the Wi-Fi setting and use it as your controller. Battery life is decent it all depends how long you film and what settings, I use it for fishing so when I'm in between bites or unhooking a fish I can easily stop filming. Their is a great battery pack for this I found that comes with a waterproof housing and a regular housing Amazon sells it for 32$ adds 3more hours of life. Quality of footage is great but it doesn't have the contrast the more expensive gopro has but it doesn't have that feature built in either so.. now that its only 150$ totally worth it for the person who just wants to fill and wants a lightweight camera with grear durability and quality.

So I get the session. Charge it. Install the sd card suggested by Amazon. Looks to work fine. Got it night before my daughter's birthday party. We try to shoot a quick 1st time using the GoPro video and nothing. Go buy another sad card. Nothing. Got 1 video recorded the whole 3 hours at the water park. Kids had fun but I was furious that i spent this much money and have nothing to show for it. I do some research and see that it could be the sd card not being compatible. We ordered a "compatible" one from Amazon. It will be here Tuesday. If it's not a counterfeit as I suppose the first one was..... Then God willing and the creek don't rise we will give the session one more go before returning it to Amazon. If the problem is solved then this review might get updated. If the card was the problem then Jameson should suggest the proper cards!!!! Oh, the camera issue manifested as a constant trying to record beep with video icon, and also three beeps with three flashing red lights. The one video that was recoverable was aweso,e though so there's that lol. Not sure if I received an old one, counterfeit one, or what. But after an hour on the phone with GoPro I found out that my camera was no good. I returned all items and was issued a replacement and bought a compatible SD card. Works like a charm!!! I will give a new review on the new camera! So the display list is different on the new session. The outer housing is plastic instead of aluminum. But it WORKS!! I definitely say that if you purchase one of these please ensure you get the RIGHT card, AND that it is from a local store or Amazon LLC. otherwise you may waste your time and ruin your camera. I can't wait to explore the world of/with GoPro!! I now love my camera! So my review has been updated.

I've had this camera for a couple of years now. I've had two, actually. I lost my first one to the bottom of a river due to some unfortunate planning on my part, but bought a replacement the same day. It's that good. This camera, at this price point [$129 at the time of this review] is a steal. It's tiny, and the video quality is amazing, so it's a great choice for someone who likes to film while on the move. The versatility of the GoPro mounting system means you can stick this thing just about anywhere. A couple of notes: - Doesn't do well in low lighting conditions. Don't expect to get nice nighttime footage from this, or really any sports cam. You need a camera with a bigger sensor and manual settings for that kind of light. Low light performance is even worse shooting at high frame rates. Again, not really GoPro's or the Session's fault, just a natural limitation of the form factor. - Battery life is good. You'll get about 2 straight hours shooting at 1080/60 which is what I usually use. The battery is built-in unlike the larger GoPro models, and that means when your battery dies, you have to recharge it instead of just swapping it out. Note that it can be charging and shooting at the same time, so if you have a portable charging pack, you can extend the battery life significantly. - Waterproofing works well. I've never brought it down to the supposed 33' limit, but I've got about half that and it didn't seem to mind. I have mine paired with a water-resistant gimbal stabilizer, and it's really nice to know that a little rain or the occasional splash won't do anything worse than get my lens dirty. - App pairing works well. There's a little bit of latency when viewing the feed in real time on your phone, but it's to be expected and the app still works very well. It's my preferred method of changing camera settings, although most of the main settings [frame rate, resolution, shooting mode] are all able to be changed right on the camera as well. - No 4K or built-in image stabilization. You get what you pay for, generally, and those features are just a little too fancy for what is now a 3 or 4 year old $129 camera. Can't beat it for the price though. If you have a gimbal and a little editing finesse you can still get incredibly smooth footage with this camera even while doing things like biking, walking, and snowboarding. - Sinks like a stone. If you're using this in the water, you could do worse than spend a little cash on a floating attachment. Don't make the mistake I made. - Sound quality is okay. Definitely nothing to write home about, but again, that's not really GoPro or the Session's fault, it's the price you pay for the small form factor and caseless waterproofing. You'll struggle to pick up conversion in windy environments, and really anywhere that the sound is coming from all directions, but normally the audio is at least usable. Generally people running a sports cam are doing active outdoorsy stuff, in which case the audio probably won't be needed anyways. Set your video to some music or something. If sound is important to you, the Hero 5 and up have a little adaptor that lets you hook up an external 3.5mm mic, so you can get as fancy as you want. If you have a little more money to throw around, it may make sense for you to spring for the Session 5 which is pretty much an all-around upgrade to this camera. That being said, this camera is worth every cent and is perfect for someone who's looking to get started without going broke. It's not my primary camera anymore, but I rarely go film stuff without it as a backup or secondary.

I purchased this for my mom's boyfriend, who is very new to technology. He purchased this at the same time as his first computer. The camera was easy for him to learn to understand and operate comfortably after some time on Youtube video tutorials. We slapped in a 128GB SD card (also purchased on Amazon) for around $40 and now he has the ability to simply set it to record for long periods of time, or an entire event, without having to start and stop frequently. This made it easy for him to capture some peculiar animal behaviors while on a canoeing trip by just pointing the already-running cam rather than fumbling with it like a n00b and risking losing the moment. This is such a well-designed piece of technology! It's ultra simple (almost bordering on too simplistic), has great image quality, a tiny form factor, and is quite durable. The quick locking mechanism is well thought out and robust too. This is a marvel of modern consumer tech, and sets the bar for utilitarian and minimalistic video. If you need lots of features and options this probably isn't the device for you. If you need something small, tough, and versatile this is exactly what you want.

First off let me start by saying I've never owned a GoPro, but I have used the GoPro Hero 4 Silver while fishing. I really was looking for quality, convenience, adaptable, and waterproof. I found all those qualities in this GoPro Hero Session. Its simple to use and electronically designed to save battery and time. Comparing the price and features to other products in this category I couldn't find a better product. I really love this GoPro Hero Session and love capturing moments of my family. We took this to a waterpark and had a blast. We took it to the ocean and had a blast. My advice, be cautious when letting your kids utilize this product. However, your kids will love it and you'll get some of the best moments captured that you didn't have time to pull your phone out for. I gave it 5 starts because I haven't experienced a product so unique, but convenient. Good job on this model GoPro. P.S. In case your wondering...it has a waterproof case already built around the camera. No adapters for waterproof necessary!

GoPro really needs to pay attention to usability to stay in the market. Pairing this device with my Android is a very hit and miss affair and transferring files to my PC with a USB cable is also very error prone. The Android app doesn't seem to communicate with the camera correctly. For example, right now the app says the camera has 40% battery but the camera says the battery is empty. Which is correct? I have no way to know. The camera seems to act as a wi-fi router that my Android has to connect to. I don't understand why they don't use bluetooth - it would be simpler. Every time I want to pair I have to re-acquire the camera's wi-fi which rarely works. It's a complete mess. When I first tried to download files to my PC the file explorer could see the video but every time I tried to copy it I got an error saying the SD card was empty. I had to disconnect the cable and reattach it (same cable - not a cable problem). The file explorer could then download the video. Very flaky. My last complaint is that the packaging is deliberately not reusable. You have to destroy it to get the camera out. That means I have to find somewhere to store the camera and the stuff it came with. Perhaps GoPro is forcing us to buy one of those camera cases. I don't appreciate that. The camera itself is pretty good and has a nice high-contrast display that I can actually read without a magnifying glass. The two button control is difficult to use though - doubly annoying as the app is such a let down. When I turn the camera off there's a blue light that still flashes every five seconds which probably explains why the battery was empty after leaving it overnight. I have it charging now but the app simply says it's charging - I want to know how full it is while I'm charging it. Another fail from GoPro.

Amazing little camera that’s super easy to use. Recommended for anyone getting into GoPro’s or as a second camera. I use it primarily for motorcycling and will be trying it on the ski hill come winter.

The product is as advertised. Works perfectly. I believe I have gone past the learning curve. I am comfortable using the product - Initial setup with the phone will be a bit daunting for less tech-savvy people. You would find guides online. Would advise people to get a gorilla tripod for this. After a point, it was hard to hold the GoPro in hand. Can withstand rain and bird attacks - while shooting timelapse. Bang for Buck at a 10-15k price range.

Es mi primera Gopro y al principio no estaba muy convencida pero valió mucho la pena. A veces cuesta trabajo emparejarla con el iPhone pero hay que insistir. La calidad de imagen en fotos es baja con poca luz pero por la relación calidad/precio quedé muy satisfecha; además es sumergible y muy resistente. El ángulo de visión me encanta

Excelente cámara, todo bien, muy buena opción y vale la pena la inversión. Fotos y videos con gran calidad sin tener 4K; lo único que sí le haría falta sería el control remoto para tomar las fotos a distancia

This was a used camera purportedly in good working order. Unfortunately the mini SD slot was loose & set at an angle, making the insertion of the mini SD card very difficult. Also, the mini SD card sometimes shakes loose when riding on rough terrain making the camera unusable until you get home and have the time & patience to work the mini SD card back into the miss aligned SD slot. It works but its flaky and I would definitely return the item if purchased from new.