Yes , it ’s action cam season . Sony’sentered the market , Contour has updated its line with theContour+2 . But what about the tardy from the trade name that ’s come to define the family — the Kleenex of action Cam River , if you will ?
https://gizmodo.com/sony-action-cam-review-not-as-awesome-as-we-hoped-5953000
We ’ve been redact GoPro ’s highly promise Hero 3 Black variant through some rigorous examination . And it seems pretty safe to say it ’s still at the top of a very rugged mountain .
remark : When we first review the Hero 3 Black the firmware was not yet final . This review has been rewritten to reflect the updates , which are now live .
What Is It?
GoPro ’s most feature article - packed action camera to date .
Who’s It For?
lodger of all types , skiers , bikers , drivers , divers , base jumpers ; you get the picture . fundamentally anyone who spend time outside , and wants to share it with the world .
Design
From the front , the Hero 3 look a hell of a circle like theold Hero 2 , with a larger , slightly mellow - up lens . Peep it from the side , though , and you ’ll see it ’s agency thinner and light , with a case that ’s waterproof to 197 feet and has a more - dependable locking mechanics , a Wi - Fi remote control , and several mounting options . The Hero now uses Micro SD cards ( up to 64 GB ) instead of full - sized . There ’s no built - in 3.5 mm mic jack , but there is a mic adapter cable sold severally for $ 20 .
https://gizmodo.com/gopro-hero-2-lightning-review-best-sports-cam-ever-5852612
Using It
If you ’ve used a GoPro before , it ’s very intimate . There are two main button : one on top for jump / stop / record , and one on the front for navigating menus , which display on a tiny ( not backlit ) LCD screen . shot modes include Movie , Still , Timelapse , and Burst . There are a million options in the carte du jour . There ’s also a third clitoris for turning Wi - Fi on and off .
The Best Part
Image quality . The Hero 3 is capable of rightfully beautiful shots . In daytime and lowlight , it is a heading and shoulders above its rival . Nothing come close in price of distinctness .
Tragic Flaw
Battery life . Oh man . Recording at 1080p over 30fps ( with all radios off ) it came in at a miserable 88 moment . By compare , the Contour+2 come in at 120 minutes , the Sony Action Cam at 157 minute , and the Drift 2 at 166 minutes . Yes , you could corrupt spare batteries and a Battery BakPak , and you ’ll need them for longer shoot , but it should n’t be that way . Also , the shelling meter utilize three bars to assure you how much juice you have left . Not intimately enough info . A percentage reviewer would be much better .
This Is Weird…
It blast 4 K video at 15 anatomy per second . fundamentally nobody ( except suuuuuuper ample hoi polloi ) has a 4 M tv set or supervise yet , so there ’s nothing you’re able to watch it on in all its glory . Sure you could crop mode in and make it 1080p , but they you fall back the across-the-board slant . And the footage is gorgeous — until something moves in the frame , then it ’s unbearably choppy . It ’s not a flaw , it ’s just a pointless characteristic . ( If you want to to a timelapse , you’re able to just habituate the timelapse feature of speech and get 12MP 4:3 effigy that look great . )
Test Notes
The Hero has by far the most mounting options of any activeness Cam River . It ’s toilsome to imagine an activity you could n’t practice it for .
There are so . Many . Options . That ’s unspoilt for extremely detailed grade of control over how your nip looks . But it also makes navigating deep into the menus ( which still are not whole intuitive ) a pain in the AS . Using the LCD Touch BakPak help oneself some , and using the smartphone app will make it easier , but it is n’t available until December .
you may tilt the Hero 3 up and down when surfing , whereas the Contour+2 and Sony Action Cam were locked in position and shooting too low on my surfboard . The only problem is that you ca n’t truly lock its side ; when I duckdived through a big moving ridge it would get push down and I ’d have to readapt .
It hasProtune ! What the pit is that ? The Hero 3 makes a deal of readjustment on the fly for direct contrast , bite , and color when you ’re dash in Basic mode . They ’re prettier , but sometimes the camera makes the untimely call and adjusts for something it should n’t . Shooting in Protune not only open up other framerates and resolutions , but it boosts the bitrate and does n’t do any recompense . The lead footage has a flatter , grainier look . It fundamentally gives you sore video which you may really tweak in redaction . pro and semi - pro will have intercourse this lineament , but unless you really want to tweak your footage in spot , you probably want to void it .
The Hero 3 is n’t compatible with the old waterproof case because of the slightly unlike layout , so you have to use the case it comes with . Thankfully , the new guinea pig is compatible with all previous mounts ( for bike , boards , helmet , etc ) .
There are mini USB and Micro HDMI porthole . If you shoot at 120fps and play back via HDMI to a TV , it will look like regular speed . You have to slow it down with software on a electronic computer . Also , the cover for these larboard does not attach , and you will most by all odds lose it . But you do n’t really need it , so whatever .
The included , wearable , rainproof ( to 10 feet ) Wi - Fi remote can alter modes and start / stop tape . It purportedly works from as far as 600 substructure away , but our shot is that you ’d need to be on a flat desert plane for that . We got about 80 base in NYC , and it did n’t like go through floors . By compare , the smartphone apps for the Contour and Sony which connect via Bluetooth max out at about 15 - 20 feet . GoPro claims the remote control can control up to 50 cameras at once , though we were n’t able to test that .
Low - light footage looks really good . It ’s not nearly as noisy as the Hero 2 was . Sometimes , however , it picks a strange full stop to meter off of , so footage can end up being too sorry if there ’s a mix of bright light and dark .
Overcranking for slow - motion works really well . Shooting 1080p at 60fps then slacken it down to 24fps ( it ’s 30fps in the video ) attend gravid and you do n’t lose any detail . shoot down at 720p at 120fps then slow it to 24fps ( again , the TV depict 30fps ) produces larder 5x slow apparent motion and it still looks great even on a 1080p television . There are so many resolution / skeletal system - rate combinations , you could get lost in them .
Of the all the action camera we ’ve examine , it is by far the most comfortable to wear down , thanks to its lightness and smaller footprint .
you could flip the video if you ’re mounting the camera upside down , but that ’s it . A rotate lense , like the Contour and Drift has , would be a welcome improvement .
you may get various BacPacs for the television camera , including the Battery BakPak ( which you ’ll belike need ) , and the LCD Touch BacPac which allow you frame your shots , review your footage , and makes navigating the menus slimly less abominable .
Should You Buy It?
Yes . It is conveniently the undecomposed action photographic camera we ’ve ever used . The footage it takes is simply unparalleled . The biggest ding against it is barrage fire life , which is important enough to cost it half a star . If you ’re not doing tenacious shoot ( or if you do n’t mind buying additional battery or the Battery BakPak ) this is a no - brainer .
The only thing other reason to hesitate is the damage ; $ 400 ai n’t tatty , and you could get the Hero 3 Silver or lily-white variant for $ 300 or $ 200 , severally . That said , we retrieve the image quality is deserving the $ 400 . It ’s easy one of our favorite gadgets of the year . [ GoPro ]
GoPro Hero 3 Black Specs• Field of View : 170 ° or 120 ° • Storage : up to 64 GB microSD• Frame Rates : 4 K ( 16:9 and 17:9 ) @ 12 , 12.5 , 15fps ; 2.7 K ( 16:9 and 17:9 ) @ 30 , 25 , 24fps ; 1440p ( 4:3 ) @ 48 , 30 , 25 , 24fps ; 1080p ( 16:9 ) @ 60 , 50 , 48 , 25 , 24fps ; 960p ( 16:9 ) @ 100 , 48fps ; 720p ( 16:9 ) @ 120 , 100 , 60 , 50fps ; WVGA ( 16:9 ) @ 240fps• attribute : 2.30 x 1.55 x 0.08 inches• Price:$400•Gizrank : 4.0
Action camscamera reviewsCamerasGoPro
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