EEVblog #672 - GoPro Hero 4 Silver Teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 11, 2014, 10:52:27 am
content: What's inside the new GoPro Hero 4 Silver action camera?Dave tears it down!Ambarella A9 Chipset:http://www.ambarella.com/uploads/docs/A9%20Product%20Brief%20120813-2.pdfTI TLV320AIC3212http://www.ti.com/product/tlv320aic3212

author: dr.diesel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2014, 11:27:13 am
content: I really hope the 720P@240 is somehow just a in the works software snafu. That was my primary buying consideration, with 4k just a nicety.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 11, 2014, 11:29:08 am
content: Quote from: dr.diesel on October 11, 2014, 11:27:13 amYep, I was really hoping for and expecting that. Maybe some clever cookie will hack the firmware? All the hardware in there is capable of it.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2014, 11:49:54 am
content: More impressive is that it went together again. I agree that that heatsink compound is hard to replace, likely a custom pad from Bergquist, which you could probably get as a sheet ( at a price no doubt) and trim to size.Upgrading frame rate would probably be merely a firmware switch flip, likely like the E4, it all is in there but disabled. Wonder what the few bits difference between upgrade firmware for the black and the silver is. Might work but unless you get better cooling for the processor and support chips along with the sensor it possibly could cause issues in very hot environments or in cases where there is no ability to dissipate heat in any case.

author: Legit-Design
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2014, 12:30:11 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblogEven if someone did a teardown there would be no contest compared to yours. Usually people don't talk on teardowns or if they talk they just show how little they know about something. I don't blame them since not everyone has decades of industry experience. But quality and insight will always win over being first or shelling out multiple videos without much content in them. I still think PS3/PS4/X360 or any other console that has multiple teardowns and if you did a teardown of one then the insight and knowledge into design aspects and all kinds of things would definitely make it worth watching.

author: max_torque
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2014, 02:13:50 pm
content: The lack of soldermask over the pcb that houses the CCD might be just to ensure that the sensor is sitting parallel to the lens assy when screwed down? (assuming the flatness of the copper layer is likely to be much better controlled than that of the solder mask layer etc)

author: ratdude747
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2014, 04:17:08 pm
content: Quote from: max_torque on October 11, 2014, 02:13:50 pmLooks like heatsinking to me as that lens frame is indeed metal with some sort of coating/anodizing (the threads on the inside give it away)... I'd wager that there are more places for lens lineup wear in the sensor's mounting to the board than there is with the solder mask.What would be really clever would be if the coating used was thermally dissipative, like is used on some purpouse-made heatsinks. It looks that way from here at least.

author: dentaku
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2014, 04:46:07 pm
content: The sound quality is amazing for such a tiny camera.

author: bigsky
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 07:54:00 am
content: The soldered-on backup battery was interesting. I wonder if that means GoPro regard the camera as having a life of a few years, after which it is scrap as this battery can't (easily) be replaced. If so, that's a bit thumbs down from me.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 08:03:35 am
content: I think that will be a rechargeable battery there, only meant to keep the clock running for a few months if you are not using it. Yes it will eventually die, but that is likely only after 10 years or so, when the rest of the plastic parts are more than likely to have disintegrated in any case from just exposure to light and air.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 09:13:52 am
content: Quote from: bigsky on October 12, 2014, 07:54:00 amThose usually last much longer than a few years.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 09:15:16 am
content: I justLOSTthe GoPro in a canyon today!It currently resides in the bottom of a 3-4m pool in Fortress canyon.

author: nowlan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 09:29:17 am
content: Doent it float? Invest in ping pong balls on string next time.Bad luck.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 10:16:46 am
content: Wow, sorry you lost it!Being in the market for a GoPro for my son, I really enjoyed the details for your teardown on a weekend and watched it together with my children.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 10:22:13 am
content: Quote from: bigsky on October 12, 2014, 07:54:00 amHardly scrap - it would just mean the RTC doesn't keep time.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 10:24:16 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 12, 2014, 09:15:16 amWas it in an airtight case? Provide photos in order to design apparatus to salvage it!Alexander.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 10:25:24 am
content: Only 3-4m deep..? SCUBA time?Fishing trip with a camera on a string maybe...

author: max_torque
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 11:36:08 am
content: Next week on EEV, Dave modifies his Sinclair C5 into a Piloted Underwater Vehicle............ Who says electricity and water doesn't match! ;-)

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 12:38:16 pm
content: Quote from: firewalker on October 12, 2014, 10:24:16 amIn the stand waterproof case with the new touch screen window on the back. That window is only rated to 3m, so I don't expect it to survive for as long as the normal back door.Also had the headband attached.http://img.pecheur.com/headband-fixing-gopro-z-685-68518.jpg

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 12:41:43 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on October 12, 2014, 10:25:24 amA pair of googles and flippers would do it. We recovered a rope from the bottom, but no camera. Was too cold to spend much time there hunting.The problem is it's whole days adventure to go back and search for it.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 12:46:28 pm
content: It will make a good video though!Alexander.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 12:56:09 pm
content: Quote from: firewalker on October 12, 2014, 12:46:28 pmFilmed with what?

author: open loop
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 01:03:46 pm
content: Review time for a really cheap action camera like,http://www.banggood.com/Gopro-Hero-Extreme-Action-Bike-Sport-Waterproof-Camera-Wifi-Support-p-916900.htmlDo a teardown and see how it compares to a real "action" camera. I also suspect you want to get what's on the card. Many people who loose a camera are not worried about the camera but want the last years of photos they forgot to download from the memory card.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 02:30:44 pm
content: Well, better it is only the camera than the camera and you still attached to the camera at the bottom of a 3m pool.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 02:31:25 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 12, 2014, 12:56:09 pmYou still have the Pro 2, right?Alexander.

author: senso
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 11:15:39 pm
content: That heatsink pad in the main processor really looks crappy/crummy, with a reduced contact to the heat-sink..

author: RobertoLG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 11:18:38 pm
content: maybe one of these would help :runs:

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 11:44:40 pm
content: Quote from: open loop on October 12, 2014, 01:03:46 pmI got one for $24 at my local BigW store the other day.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 12, 2014, 11:45:42 pm
content: Quote from: firewalker on October 12, 2014, 02:31:25 pmI have the case for the GoPro 2

author: dentaku
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 02:25:01 am
content: A few years ago we went kayaking in a very dark lake to recover a GoPro with the headstrap still attached but it didn't work. The bottom of the lake was probably rather large rocks that anything can hide between.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 02:36:46 am
content: Quote from: dentaku on October 13, 2014, 02:25:01 amThis pool, as are most in the sandstone blue mountains, sandy bottoms. So the camera could eventually bury itself in the sand.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 02:41:36 am
content: The way the front fixes it looks like dirt could work its way in there. Seems like a crude design for something to be use on the go, where keeping things clean is nearly impossible.

author: digital
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 08:35:03 am
content: Great teardown Dave I thought the gopro were toys now I know better, thanks for the video

author: ovnr
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 10:26:27 am
content: I was rather surprised that the thermal pads didn't seem to make better contact - it just seems to have flowed a bit between the surfaces on the main SoC, and the rest looks untouched.

author: dentaku
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 04:16:44 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 13, 2014, 02:36:46 amSomeone could make some money selling buoyant headstraps.

author: ozwolf
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 11:00:52 pm
content: QuoteA bit like this?http://shop.gopro.com/APAC/accessories/floaty-backdoor/AFLTY-003.html

author: ConKbot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 11:53:40 pm
content: Ineresting comment on heatsinking of the sensor to the lens body. Perhaps its a there to provide heat to the lens as anti-fogging, perhaps as a secondary benefit, or maybe a main purpose.

author: dentaku
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2014, 01:28:33 am
content: Quote from: ozwolf on October 13, 2014, 11:00:52 pmThat looks useful but it would still be cheaper to make a headstrap that floats. Of course if the camera dislodges from the strap the floaty backdoor is better.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2014, 05:52:43 pm
content: An excuse to get the 4K version (when it becomes available), evaluate how good the 4K quality is, and then do a teardown?

author: CChin254
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2020, 01:57:53 am
content: I did an IC Identification and Block Diagram of this device: