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GoPro Hero3 , 4K is here in Baby Steps for $399.99!
  • 642 Replies sorted by
  • @BBT That is mostly fixed. Had to pull the battery once in the past two weeks. Which is much better than before, IMO...

  • POWER SUPPLY AND HEATING ISSUES with Black and 64GB memory cards

    I tore apart a cheap Hero3 battery in order to get a plastic housing that would plug into the back of my Black and allow me to feed it directly with a stabilized power supply instead of via a 5V USB supply. The resultant maximum front panel temperature dropped from 63 to 55 centigrade when recording 2.7K cin, 24T with the latest software.

    Cards which consistently failed to span when the Black was fed from a 5V USB supply, and the front panel reached over 60 degrees C, will now fill without failure. Have been running tests in a Frame, on repetitive 3-hour cycles (3 hours is the maximum capacity of the card, and also the energy in one of my GH2 / FZ200 batteries (BLC12) powering the whole caboodle...

    Interesting...

  • GoPro released the Skeleton Housing and Wrist Strap for the GP3 this weekend! Got the Skeleton Housing on the way. :) Has openings for all the ports and mics. Unlimited power AND full protection! :D Now all they need is the 3D Housing and firmware to support it. ;)

  • I get the impression that the lens is maxing out on resolution at about 1080T. The 2K7 mode is usefully higher res, but I can't see any noticeable increase in actual resolution going to 4K. Am I missing something?

  • yep....you're missing hdr at 1080/60p...you're missing 1080/120p.....and 720/240p...and you're missing the idea that this will be put into a completely redesigned package....with a new lens .

  • @Kurth I took another look at the article you linked to. Is there anything there which supports an assertion that GoPro will introduce an upgraded package with a new lens, or hdr at 1080/60p...1080/120p...and 720/240p??

    What is the utility of a 2-frame HDR when GoPro already have Protune and Cineform and could surely produce a software HDR today, if they wanted to? Actually, those using Protune and Cineform in post would know that there is already no difficulty grading to an "HDR" appearance.

  • @trevmar...ah, I believe the assertion is the title of the article....and the history of gopro. Both the A5S and A7 ambarella's are being used in the Hero3. Makes perfect sense that this will be the next version chip inside the Hero4. As for the advantage of double exposure HDR , remains to be seen , but it must make some difference or else they wouldn't be selling it. The assertion of this going into a new gopro with a new lens comes from gopro doing the same thing with the Hero3. 4K will require a better lens ...maybe even a set of lenses. To quote -

    I came away very impressed with the resulting video quality, clearly the age of 4K/UHD is upon us with the availability of inexpensive encoders like these that will make their way into small form factor cameras.

    I wouldn't be surprised to see a GoPro Hero 3 Black successor with the A9 SoC inside and those higher framerate capture modes fully enabled at some point in the very near future since the A9 SoC is now available to customers.

  • Hero3 is so nice that all my friends wanna borrow it from me for their vacation trips. Good thing it's non-destructible... almost. I wanna wear it on my head for a roller coaster.

  • Or bungie jumping... nah... too old :(

  • Hey Guys Sorry I'm new in a GoPro area , and I need some helps I'm going to buy the Hero 3 one , cause I need it for drummers music videos , I got already two pana GH2 and I 'll use GoPro for hight shots . So I would want a suggestion for a cheap WIFI monitor device ( Ipad Ipod etc etc ) to control the framing and other operations in a remote way Thanks Val

  • @valpopando You dont want i-anything if you are looking for reasonably priced options but an android phone instead. Any model with wifi and decent touchscreen will do.

  • @Jasketti Thank a lot men , I will looking around for a cheaper wifi TS android phone

  • The WiFi remote is such a useful device. But does the WiFi remote drain HERO3's battery much faster?

  • Battery definitely drains faster with any wifi use (remote or via phone). Seems to heat up the camera body more too. Noticed it's more prone to fogging when in the waterproof housing due to the heat. Also worth mentioning that the wifi feature is borderline useless in and around the water. Repetitive testing has shown that if either the camera or the remote dip below the surface of the water for more than a couple of seconds, the signal is lost. Still a useful tool. Just more limited than originally had hoped.

  • @filthy Thanks.

    It seems they just released a firmware update.

  • I haven't installed it yet. I never do for a while since GP updates are usually 30% bug.

    First reports are that it only helps with the one button mode and there are a few side effects with the battery bacpacs.

  • That current FW update was actually publicly released on 24th April, those people using Cineform Software have been notified via the auto update feature. GoPro are just slow at notifying by email/newsletter ( yesterday) wrongly assuming everyone uses Cineform Studio.

    Feature Enhancements

    Audio clarity improvements.

    Fix ..... Pressing and holding the Power button during One Button Mode recording now powers off the camera.

  • @Rambo .....In that case, I have installed it!

  • I will wait until i get back to California, I don't change firmware in the field, and currently am in Kazan. Flying back home next week and will let you know if I see anything unusual with the modes I have been using (Protune and Cineform Studio).

  • Hi Guys I made a timelapse on my Hero 3 , two session in the same card (64Gb class 10), each one almost 1and alf hour , at 7MP , wide , 1 sec interv. Now I got almost 6000 shots , 23GB !! But Cineform doesn't able to import them , the application off with an error message , I got last Imac 3.4Ghz intel core i7 , 16GB memory !! any suggestion ? Thx

    Ok Sorry I fixed it , was my fault

    First : I tried to import by USB cable direct from Gopro , but is better to insert card in Imac SD card slot ; Second : select folder and not select all jpg as I did wrong before !

    Thx anyway !

  • Playing around with the Black Edition shortly after buying it. Built a 360 degree swivel rig after being inspired by some shots I've seen online. I've since improved the design quite a bit (doesn't involve duct tape anymore...) I've tried everything I can think of to make the rig less noisy, but that's a losing battle.

    I'm really liking this little camera. I prefer the bullet cam form factor, as they mount on my track bike better, but it's hard to argue with the quality coming from this new GoPro. YouTube makes it look like crap, but it's quite nice right out of the camera.

  • I won the GoPro Daily Giveaway recently and have a Hero 3 Black in the mail! Woot, so pumped!

    Which memcards are people having the best luck with? It seemed up in the air for a while which worked well and which didn't, is there a general concensus of which to buy yet?

    Cool swivel rig above, I've been meaning to try building something like that for my hero2, maybe the hero3 will motivate me a bit more lol!

  • Todays Firmware update reduce 2.7 bitrate from 45mbs to 35mbs. Loks like it is better to stay with old one. They also recommend which card to use and there is no Sandisk on the list! http://gopro.com/support/product-updates-support?utm_source=update&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gopro-app-update-2-top-image-camera-software-update-row&utm_campaign=gopro-app-update-2-row