GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition - Is it really all that and a bag of chips?

[Terribly Surrey]

Just finished reading the reviews of headcams in ABR, and I have to say that I think the GoPro is an unworthy winner of 'best in test'. I'm saying this purely from what i've taken away from the article. Its given a 9/10 rating, but (by the articles own admission);

-is the most expensive,
-has no LCD screen,
-requires separate memory cards for the top whack HD filming
-comes with minimal mounting options as standard
-might not work with some computers

Thats a lot of failings for something that costs so so so much!

Has anyone on here got one? How'd you find it?

Out of all the ones on test, the CamOne Infinity HD1080 seems to be a good all rounder when considering the features/price ratio.

[redbikejohn]

I have one. Very good in my opinion. Battery life isnt great but video quality is top notch.

[redbikejohn]

[video][/video]

to expand a bit. i waited for ages for something other than a gopro to come along to knock it off its top spot. i didn;t like the mounting options nor that fact it didn't have a remote switch. i also didn't like the ultra wide recording angle.
these have all been fixed. i film in 1080p 'medium' (not so wide angle) and at 50FPS.
it comes with a remote (not used yet). and i copied my mates method of mounting it to the front of the helmet by cutting out a bit of the peak.

see an example. filmed in HD so change setting to ge tfull effect. sound at speed is a little poor but so i want to go to a remote mic next as i like to talk while i ride.

[Tim Cullis]

So you don't really agree with the TRF's suggested 25mph maximum on green lanes? :huh:

[redbikejohn]

??? I would have thought the title of Children Hills ENDURO Club at Lane End and all the Orange Course Markers could have been a bit of a give away so I assume that comment was made in jest :laugh:

[AndyB]

So you don't really agree with the TRF's suggested 25mph maximum on green lanes? :huh:

Where did that come from?

[redbikejohn]

Oh I forgot to mention. Lack of lcd screen. Not a great problem as the gopro app works well on a smart phone so you can line it up very easy. Doesn't do playback though. My windows 7 laptop edits 1080p easy enough but it is a corei7 so a cheapy laptop might not hack it - no idea. The video above was changed down to 720p for upload.

[GB]

I took the kids to the gadget show yesterday and had a long look at the 3, if I was to upgrade from my original hero it would be for the black edition 3. The quality of the Gopros knock everything else into a tin hat as far as I'm concerned. Its all about the lens and the processing, others can be 1080hd but the gopro produces superior images, the biggest improvement in the 3 in my eyes is in its low light capabilities, plus live streaming and play back straight out to your tv, I rarely use the still camera so the 11mp camera is less important to me, there is also shed loads of accessories that actually work and last.
Seen them advertised for £299 and when the 4 comes out (which it eventually will) and the price drops I might consider a 3.

The most important thing is you do need a decent PC or preferably a MAC to edit the footage, the Gopros detailed footage will stop an older PC in its tracks.

Take the plunge you wont regret it.

[APD_660Ten]

Another vote for the gopro. I've tried a contour and just found the quality wasn't a patch on the gopro. I've also tried various separate camera's and disk setups but again I found even the gopro 1 better that mates had used. I went for the silver. Spec wise it is better than the hero 2 with the addition of WiFi and simply because the quality is more than good enough for what I wanted. I was put off the black because the package included the remote which I wasn't bothered for as I planned to use my phone as a remote. The ability to get at all your settings without cycling through menu's is spot on. As for the stills, I tried it on 5sec intervals the other day and was very impressed with the results.

The only thing that nearly swayed me to the black was the extra high frame rate options. But I concluded I'd probably never use it.

Batteries, I bout some 3rd party ones for about £20 for the pair and they are spot on.

As for mounts. There are plenty to get you started. Furthermore there are so many extra's that you can buy for sensible money you'll never be stuck for a mounting option. The others don't have half the options.

Really can't fault it.

[TomBoyNI]

I have a black edition and after much research and testing decided on it. Everything that needs to be said has already been covered but my opinions are...

Battery isn't great. True. You can get a battery backpack which helps. Argos were selling the battery backpacks for the hero 2 which work for £20.

No screen. True. Smart phone app is spot on for setting up. And when you're riding you won't be missing the screen.

You need fancy memory cards. True. A class 10 32Gb card is less that £20 from Amazon.

But here are the plus points...

The quality is outstanding.

The range of options for filming are outstanding. From memory you can go as high as 120fps for some super slow mo action.

The quality is outstanding.