it really depends on what your doing (how the camera is mounted) and how long you need to shoot. i have the silver edition and purchased the battery backup. i always shoot in 1080p and with the battery backup i can shoot between 2.5 to 3 hours of straight footage. if you shoot 720 it will increase, but i dont know by how much. i also wear my camera head mount or chest mount, the battery backup really helps with battery life. you also should or could get the gopro app for your smart phone, if you have one. what am i saying everybody has a smart phone. the nice thing about the app (which is free by the way) is you can set up the wifi on your phone and camera and see what the camera sees on your phone, ie: if headmounted etc. you can also start and stop recording from your phone.