GO PRO Product Description
Style: Black Edition
Go Pro Review From the Manufacturer
Smaller, lighter, mightier still.
Capture and share your life's most meaningful experiences with the HERO3+ Black Edition.
20% smaller and lighter than its best-selling predecessor, it delivers improved image quality
and powerful new features geared for versatility and convenience. SuperView™ is a new
video mode that captures the world's most immersive wide angle perspective, while Auto
Low Light mode intelligently adjusts frame rate for stunning low-light performance.
Combined with 30% longer battery life, faster built-in Wi-Fi and a sharper lens, the
HERO3+ Black Edition is the most advanced GoPro yet.
Every time that GoPro launches a new generation of cameras, we're left confronting the
age-old adage, how do you improve on perfection? Well, how about reducing housing size
and weight by 20%, reducing distortion by 33%, speeding up Wi-Fi, a SuperView mode,
and increasing battery life by 25%? We thought that would get your attention. For the
HERO3+ Black Edition - Adventure, GoPro reduced in size and weight of the camera by 20%
in comparison to the old HERO3, and the camera weight was reduced by 25%. In fact, the
HERO3+ tips the scales around 2.08 ounces. The camera body has retained the black
backing treatment and the progressive user interface at the front. Additionally, the lighter
housing boasts an impressive waterproofing, 131ft/40m. As with the HERO3, the HERO3+
continues the use of what GoPro calls a six-element aspherical lens. What does this mean?
Simply put, the lens has been designed to operate evenly across more light conditions than
ever before. For the camera nerds: it's an f/2.8-6.0 lens. So, you'll experience sharper
image quality whether it's blisteringly bright or the sun has nearly disappeared. The lens
also allows Ultra-wide, Medium, and Narrow field of view modes, and you can operate the
White Balance in either auto or manual modes (3000k, 5500k, 6500k, Cam Raw). Now,
you're able to expect crystal clear resolution from sunrise to sunset. Possibly more important
for your mounted shots, the lens has made huge gains in decreasing distortion. In fact,
GoPro asserts that the new iteration of the HERO3 improves reduces distortion by 33%.
And as an added perk, image sharpness has been enhanced by 33%, as well. And speaking
of resolution, the HERO3+ Black Edition boasts ultra-high resolution video modes of
4Kp15, 2.7Kp30, 1440p48, 1080p60, 960p100 and 720p120 fps. Basically, if you love
slow-motion shots, the HERO3+ is a godsend. And did we mention that all of these rates
can be run from Ultra-Wide mode? Awesome.
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The BIGGEST change they have done on this camera is FIXED THE BATTERY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!! The 30% increase is misleading; I would normally only get about 20-30 minutes of recording time on my old hero3, but now with the hero3+, I recored for 2 hours on one battery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's almost a 400% increase! I don't know what they did to increase it so much, but this was one of THE most frustrating aspects of the camera. Now that you can safely record on one battery for the majority of whatever you're doing, you don't have to worry about changing the battery, getting the camera dirty/wet, and fussing with it when you may not be in a good environment to do so (mud/snow/water/dirt...). I have tried many times recording on this camera, and I can say with confidence that the battery life is far far improved.
I recently attended the Albuquerque, NM hot air balloon festival, and took some video with the GoPro to demonstrate a few things. While this video may look good, keep in mind that the quality is severely handcuffed since Amazon limits the size to 100mb.
1.) The dynamic range of this camera is great. You'll see it capture both light and dark areas extremely well; this was early early morning and there were a ton of shadows as the sun was starting to rise. It did a great job keeping everything evenly lit and balanced.
2.) Pronounced fish eye. This is good/bad, because you'll be able to capture a large range of field from the camera's view point, however the edges are very fish eyed.
3.) I naturally want to hold the camera on the black frame that houses the lens, however you may see on the video that my finger kinda pops into the frame of the video. BE CAREFUL IF SHOOTING WITH HANDS!! The lens must be set to record everything directly outside of that black frame, so don't put anything near there.
4.) Frame rate is great at 1080, but for anything above, it is garbage. It may seem attractive to some people to shoot video in 2.7K and 4K, however you are not going to want to after trying. The frame rate is way to slow to make any jump in resolution worth it. Even these hot air balloons, which rise slowly, still look bad in the 2.7k resolution. 1080 is where it is at.
5.) Not sure if this is an isolated occurrence, but 720 does not look good at all. Very grainy, very choppy, and I didn't like the video at all. Stick to 1080.
Of note: The camera did freeze on me once, but this only happened once, as compared to dozens of times with the hero3. Not perfect, but a huge improvement.
Hope this helps!! I have a lot more video I can upload at a later time, let me know if you have any questions!
10/4/13:
At first glance, the Hero3+ does not look much different than the Hero3. The packaging is the same, the accompanying accessories are the same, however as the title implied, there are a bunch of small improvements that are of note.
1.) The lock button is SIGNIFICANTLY upgraded. For users of the Hero3, this may have been one of the more frustrating aspects of the camera. There was a two step mechanism required to unlock the case, which often got jammed with mud/dirt/debris, and even after rigorous cleaning made for difficult operation. They have improved the lock mechanism to one big bar that flips open without much effort or strain. Much MUCH easier to use, and I'm sure will be MUCH more durable.
2.) The buttons controlling the camera are WAY easier to use. I have been a Hero user since the original models, and these two buttons, on the side and on the top, have always been extremely difficult to push/get to respond. This new case/camera has reworked the sensitivity of these buttons and as a result, all you need is a simple push to get the camera to respond. While this may not seem like much, those buttons were such an annoyance previously that this upgrade helps out a LOT.
3.) Battery life. If the case lock was not the worst aspect of the Hero3, the battery life was. For an event covering 2 hours, I had to bring 3 batteries and HOPE that they got me through. I brought this camera to the Bills vs. Browns game last night, and recorded a ton of footage with a lot of pictures and the battery didn't drop one bar throughout the entire game!!! THIS IS A HUGE UPGRADE. From other tests that I've done, I have been able to record about two hours of video before the battery died (shooting 1080p 48fps) and I cannot stress enough how big of an improvement this is.
4.) New Video modes. As you'll read about in the product description, they have included new "super" video modes for 1080p and 720p. While the video looks good on it, one thing to note is that these "super" modes are unable to be shot at the full FPS that the regular 1080p and 720p modes can handle (1080p can shoot 60fps, at super it is at 48).
Overall, GoPro has address the MAJOR critiques to their product and should be commended for this new iteration. While there aren't any new significant additions/features/toys, they have SIGNIFICANTLY improved the existing Hero3, and finally made it worth a $400 investment.
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