Waterproof to 33 Feet, Featherweight Unit Records up to 1080p60 and 1440p30

GoPro announced a tiny new model, the Hero4 Session, that it calls its smallest and lightest HD camera to date.

Here's a trail-riding, snow-shredding, BASE-jumping, fist-bumping, bikini-rocking demo video from the folks at GoPro.

It captures 1080p video at up to 60fps, or up to 48fps in the "SuperView" 1080p and 720p modes that uses the full height of the camera's sensor. The Session also supports a 1440p video mode at 30fps or 25fps. GoPro's Protune capture mode is enabled for 1440p, 1080p and 960p60/50.


GoPro Session Video Modes

Video Resolution Frames per Second Field of View Screen Resolution
1440p 30, 25 Ultra Wide 1920 x 1440
1080p 60, 50, 30, 25 Ultra Wide, Medium 1920 x 1080
1080p SuperView 48, 30, 25 Ultra Wide 1920 x 1080
960p 60, 50, 30, 25 Ultra Wide 1280 x 960
720p 100, 60, 50, 30, 25 Ultra Wide, Medium 1280 x 720
720p SuperView 60, 50, 30, 25 Ultra Wide 1280 x 720
WVGA 120, 100 Ultra Wide 848 x 480

Source: GoPro


How small is it? GoPro says it weighs just 2.6 oz (74g).  For comparison's sake, the GoPro Hero4 Black weighs 3.1 oz, or 5.4 oz with its housing. The camera is designed with a single shutter button that doubles as a power button, and the built-in battery is charged via Micro USB.

GoPro has innovated on the audio front this time around, building in a dual-mic system that dynamically switches between microphones to select the one that's picking up less wind noise. Plus there's good news if you plan to get wet: the Session is designed to go underwater up to 33 feet as a bare camera with no separate housing, which should further improve audio capture quality. "We're very excited about the stunning audio advancements we've made with Hero4 Session during water-based and windy activities," said GoPro CEO Nicholas Woodman in a prepared statement.

The Session ships with a Standard Frame compatible with GoPro mounts as well as a Low-Profile Frame that folds down to give the camera the lowest possible perspective. (An auto-rotation feature corrects the image during recording, in case you happen to have the camera mounted upside-down to get it into a certain position.) Also included is a new Ball Joint Buckle mount that allows the camera to swivel around freely, plus a curved and flat adhesive mounts. It's also available in a Surf edition that swaps in surfboard-friendly mounts and a camera tether.

The Hero4 Session is scheduled to ship July 12 for $399.99.