GoPro Hero 4 black/silver Firmware V5.0

rcflyingaddict · Sep 11, 2017

Joe Horn said:
That's not the fault of the GoPro 5.0 firmware. Something else is causing that problem. A common cause is the user's a failure to tell the app which GoPro model they have.

So just to clarify 5.0 is the firmware to go with as long as you are OK with turning on the camera manually vs I'm assuming 3.0 where you could turn it on from within the App?

Joe Horn · Sep 11, 2017

rcflyingaddict said:
So just to clarify 5.0 is the firmware to go with as long as you are OK with turning on the camera manually vs I'm assuming 3.0 where you could turn it on from within the App?

That's my opinion, because I really like the Linear POV mode that version 5 offers, and don't mind turning on the camera manually. But opinions differ; some folks feel that versions 3 and/or 4 are more stable, or something.

No, you can't turn the camera on from the app, no matter what version you have. What versions 3 and 4 offer in that regard is automatic camera power-up when Solo gets turned on. Rev 5 doesn't do that. I think that's the main reason some people prefer versions 3 and 4 over version 5.

rcflyingaddict · Sep 11, 2017

Joe Horn said:
That's my opinion, because I really like the Linear POV mode that version 5 offers, and don't mind turning on the camera manually. But opinions differ; some folks feel that versions 3 and/or 4 are more stable, or something.

No, you can't turn the camera on from the app, no matter what version you have. What versions 3 and 4 offer in that regard is automatic camera power-up when Solo gets turned on. Rev 5 doesn't do that. I think that's the main reason some people prefer versions 3 and 4 over version 5.

Thanks - Good to know. Will fly it with R 5 to see how it is. I'm assuming the downgrade process is 'easy'.

Hans Solo · Jul 18, 2018

Joe Horn said:
That's not the fault of the GoPro 5.0 firmware. Something else is causing that problem. A common cause is the user's a failure to tell the app which GoPro model they have.

Joe,
I just received a new Gopro Hero 4 Black from Peau, with the rectilinear lens. It came with Version 5.0 firmware. With Solo setting as hero 4 Black, After powering on the camera, and then powering on the Solo, the bird boots up, camera feed comes through then the camera turns down towards ground and app says invalid camera.
I have tried resetting the camera model to a silver and then back again to no avail. The gimbal works fine and the app recognizes my earlier Black camera as well as my silver camera. So I think you are wrong about this. The only thing that puzzles me is noone else has written about this as yet as far as I can tell. So I want to reopen this discussion. If there is a different thread I should be looking at that anyone knows of please advise.

David Boulanger · Jul 18, 2018

Hans Solo said:
Joe,
I just received a new Gopro Hero 4 Black from Peau, with the rectilinear lens. It came with Version 5.0 firmware. With Solo setting as hero 4 Black, After powering on the camera, and then powering on the Solo, the bird boots up, camera feed comes through then the camera turns down towards ground and app says invalid camera.
I have tried resetting the camera model to a silver and then back again to no avail. The gimbal works fine and the app recognizes my earlier Black camera as well as my silver camera. So I think you are wrong about this. The only thing that puzzles me is noone else has written about this as yet as far as I can tell. So I want to reopen this discussion. If there is a different thread I should be looking at that anyone knows of please advise.

Hmmm. I have 5 all with v5.0 and have no problems. Solo app or Solex?

Hans Solo · Jul 18, 2018

Solo App. I've tried the solex app, and couldn't work with it, as critical flight telemetry data was not visible on my samsung s6 display. At the time I filed a bug report and the developer said he might get around to it sometime, but he had a tablet, and it wasn't his priority. All that is a separate issue, but I'm using the solo app, and do not want to switch.

David Boulanger · Jul 18, 2018

I use nothing anymore but Solex on a 10 inch Tab A with no problems. I think it has been recommended to not use the Solo app anymore. v5 on a Gopro should not cause any problems. Did you try turning the camera on after Solo was powered up? Pull the battery out of the camera and then reinsert it?

Hans Solo · Jul 18, 2018

I don't see any reason to go into the pro's and cons of Solo vs Solex app. I have no desire to buy a tablet, just so I can see critical flight information, and if I care to have a better view of camera output I have fatshark HD goggles. So that side discussion is just not relevant to this question. I am going to try a few more things, your suggestion turning on camera after powering up, pulling the battery, etc, may be worth a try.
Thank you

David Boulanger · Jul 18, 2018

The problem could be that the Solo app may not work properly with Android's latest firmware.

Hans Solo · Jul 18, 2018

I figured it out. I tried three things. First swapping the 4Black with a 4 silver running 3.0. Changed settings in the app to silver then shutdown bird. Powered up silver worked fine. Swapped camera back to the 4 black. Changed settings to 4 black in the app, powered on Bird, powered on camera. worked fine. Powered down bird, turned on camera, restarted bird, still fine. Looks like I'm ready to do a flight test with my new camera.
I'm not sure which of those things solved the problem, it might very well have been just replugging in to gimbal. After earlier posts I recalled having similar errors in the past if camera wasn't plugged in securely. I did check those things before swapping out camera and it did feel good, but not sure perhaps the back bus connector wasn't plugged right. In any case I think we can mark my query solved. Thanks for the insight folks, sometimes just hearing that it is not something is what's needed.

David Boulanger · Aug 1, 2018

Set the camera up ahead of time and all will be good. I doubt the Solo App has Linear as a choice but I could be wrong.

Joe Horn · Aug 2, 2018

Ula said:
What happens if you use the camera controls to set the FOV to linear, and then hit "record" on the Solo app. Does the camera record in linear?

Yes, the GoPro will record in Linear mode as long as you don't touch the FOV setting on the Solo app. Once you DO change the FOV to any other setting, you won't be able to change back to Linear mode using the Solo app. You'd have to land and change the setting on the physical GoPro itself.

David Boulanger said:
Set the camera up ahead of time and all will be good. I doubt the Solo App has Linear as a choice but I could be wrong.

You're right. The 3DR Solo app doesn't know that Linear mode even exists, because it's OLDER than Linear mode.

For what it's worth, I often set my GoPro to Linear mode, do all my Linear videography first, then change to other modes (via the Solo app) as needed (e.g. 4K for screen captures), knowing that there's no way to get back to Linear mode without landing first.