GoPro CEO Nick Woodman says the company worked on the Hero 4 Session for three years, but some tradeoffs still had to be made in order to condense it to such a small size. It can’t shoot in 4K. It can’t shoot in incredibly high frame rates such as 120 or 240 frames per second, which limits your options for shooting in slow motion. And it only takes 8MP still photos — a resolution your phone can likely match or beat.
If you don’t already own an action camera, the Session might not be the first one to buy. For example, there’s GoPro’s own Hero 4 Silver, which is priced the same and is definitely more robust. The Silver has a built-in touchscreen LCD screen, can shoot video up to 2.7K at 30 frames per second, and at 720p can shoot in 120 frames per second slow motion. The Hero 4 Silver also shoots higher resolution stills — 12MP to the Session’s 8MP — and can take them much faster, reaching speeds of up to 30 images per second.
But there’s a lot to love about the size and simplicity of the Session. It fits in so many more places, the battery will last longer than any other GoPro (though it can’t be swapped), and if you’re not obsessive about frame rates and resolutions you’ll probably be just fine with the excellent 1080p/1440p footage it does capture. All of this is certainly the bet that GoPro is making with the Session. "I think this is going to expand our customer base," Woodman says. "I think a lot of people still scratch their head when they look at our cameras."
Other action camera companies have a hard time keeping up with GoPro’s high-end cameras, but they still offer some competition at the low end. Garmin’s new VIRB X ($299) and XE ($399) cameras offer similar shooting capabilities as the Session, and Sony offers a number of good options at different price points.
Where GoPro still wins is the ecosystem. GoPro maintains a robust line of accessories and mounts for its cameras, and the third-party market for accessories is deep. It’s similar to buying a particular brand of camera body because you like the lenses the company makes. Choosing a GoPro competitor likely means you’re limiting the flexibility of shooting with an action camera.
The Session slots right into that ecosystem. For some, it will be the smaller and longer-lasting camera they’ve been looking for. For others, it might be the dead simple action camera they’re finally ready to use. Either way, this little camera is about to turn a lot of heads.
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