GoPro CEO Nick Woodman announces the GoPro HERO3: the smallest, lightest, most powerful way to document your life.
The Wi-Fi enabled HERO3: Black Edition is the most advanced GoPro, ever. No expense was spared during its development, resulting in a GoPro that is 30% smaller, 25% lighter and 2x more powerful than previous models.
More details are coming, but what do you think so far?
GoPro HD Hero 3 White Edition The White Edition looks to be an upgraded HD Hero 1 Camera that includes WiFi, a new flat underwater dive lens and the new, thinner profile. Available 10/21/12. $199 MSRP 1080p/30fps, 960p/30fps, 720p/60fps 5MP photos Up to 3 shots per second in photo burst mode WiFi built in Improved Housing (Locking Latch / Dive Lens) GoPro HD Hero 3 Silver Edition
The Silver Edition is basically an updated HD Hero 2 camera with WiFi built in, the thinner size and and improved housing. Available 10/21/12. $299 MSRP 1080p/30fps, 960p/48fps, 720p/60fps 11MP photos Up to 10 shots per second in photo burst mode WiFi built in Protune and White Balance Improved Housing (Locking Latch / Dive Lens)
GoPro HD Hero 3 Black Edition This is where things get really interesting. The Black Edition uses brand new technology and boasts some incredible settings, including 60 frames per second at 1080p and 120fps at 720p. Available mid to late November. $399 MSRP 4K/15, 2.7K/30, 1440p/48fps, 1080p/60fps, 960p/100fps, 720p/120fps 12MP photos New photo burst modes with up to 30 shots per second WiFi built in Remote Control Included ($79.95 otherwise) Protune, White Balance, Continuous Photo, and Picture in Video capabilities Improved Housing (Locking Latch / Dive Lens)
GoPro HD Hero 3 White Edition The White Edition looks to be an upgraded HD Hero 1 Camera that includes WiFi, a new flat underwater dive lens and the new, thinner profile. Available 10/21/12. $199 MSRP 1080p/30fps, 960p/30fps, 720p/60fps 5MP photos Up to 3 shots per second in photo burst mode WiFi built in Improved Housing (Locking Latch / Dive Lens) GoPro HD Hero 3 Silver Edition
The Silver Edition is basically an updated HD Hero 2 camera with WiFi built in, the thinner size and and improved housing. Available 10/21/12. $299 MSRP 1080p/30fps, 960p/48fps, 720p/60fps 11MP photos Up to 10 shots per second in photo burst mode WiFi built in Protune and White Balance Improved Housing (Locking Latch / Dive Lens)
GoPro HD Hero 3 Black Edition This is where things get really interesting. The Black Edition uses brand new technology and boasts some incredible settings, including 60 frames per second at 1080p and 120fps at 720p. Available mid to late November. $399 MSRP 4K/15, 2.7K/30, 1440p/48fps, 1080p/60fps, 960p/100fps, 720p/120fps 12MP photos New photo burst modes with up to 30 shots per second WiFi built in Remote Control Included ($79.95 otherwise) Protune, White Balance, Continuous Photo, and Picture in Video capabilities Improved Housing (Locking Latch / Dive Lens)
Protune and color correction -- major difference I've noticed on the Hero2 with firmware upgrade. The protune doesn't compress the footage so you don't lose quality, plus it's a higher bitrate.
If you look at official gopro edits you can see they (almost) always film with tons of light. Almost never in crappy dark Woods. That, a steady camera movement, a shitload of footage to chose from and a good color corrector on board does the trick in my opinion.
If you look at official gopro edits you can see they (almost) always film with tons of light. Almost never in crappy dark Woods. That, a steady camera movement, a shitload of footage to chose from and a good color corrector on board does the trick in my opinion.
True they are going to use the most stunning shots to sell it but that's not to say it won't work in lower light, we have a HD Hero 1 that does low light just fine.
I think my favourite option is the 2.7K 30fps, I'd be shooting that most of the time, I think thats what 85% of this video was shot at, thats why everything looks so clear, because it was filmed at a higher res than we can even see at 1080 on youtube.
Yeah I think what I love about this camera is that you get features with it that you'd get with £500-700 DSLR's, obviously you're stuck at one focal length etc but still!
I don't know why everybody is comparing the ROAM2 to the Hero 3. The new ROAM has almost the exact same features as the Silver and White but is cheaper and in the tidy Contour housing (that comes in colours :O ). Yeah, the Plus 2 just got pooped on a bit by the footage capabilities of the Hero 3, but I still don't mind that I just got the Plus 2. They're a lot less obnoxious on your helmet and the Bluetooth settings and viewfinder along with the GPS stuff is super cool to play with. Def jelly about the 4k/60fps/120fps for sure though.
4k it's a resolution of a movie! Like, we all know 1080, 720, 640, etc, and usually it called by its horizontal size! 4k you could call it 4000p, its the horizontal size of the movie that go pro can achieve! but in a low speed format! it does 15fps in 4k, and 30fps in 2.7k For all kinda sports usually i shoot 60fps, so this is going to be a killing machine with the 60fps in 1080p!
Well, he's partially right. The 4 in 4k refers to the horizontal pixels. The "p" refers to progressive (as opposed to "i" for interlaced) and has nothing to do specifically with the amount of pixels in the image.
@biking-is-the-life really? GoPro added a bunch of new features, and what does contour do? We added colour! thats what happens when you cant keep up with the competition
@TommyHatesNorcos I don't know what you're talking about. The coloured Roam has more features than the original one (60fps beings it on par to the GoPro Hero2 which was $100 more). The white GoPro has little to no advantage over the Roam2 for the same price, and in my opinion the Roam is the better choice at the $200 price point. Not a biased opinion, I've just used them all (minus the Hero3s) and that one's my favourite.
If i had 200 bucks i would get the ROAM 2, no doubt about that. If i had 400 bucks it would be hard to decide between the black hero and the contour 2 plus. 120 fps at 720p versus, 120 fps but at 480p, no gps versus with gps, wifi versus viewing app, the teletubbie versus the armory...lol I'm guessing that most people who simple turn the camera on, use it, and don't understand all the technical features would probably use the +2 to the same extent they would the Black GoPro. ..maybe i'll just buy both!
@tommyhatesnorcos seriously are you this stupid? Contour-Bluetooth connectivity, 120 GPS at 1080P you don't look like the biggest tool Havering a camera 6 feet off your head hitting branches and trees and braking mounts, also when you get the motor sports addition your not suppose to use it for snow sports so it kind of defeats the purpose if you do both because that's like 800 bucks gone on a camera that you could be spending a lot less for something multi use and better.
Are you serious? Six feet I like the height of a small basketball player you tool... Secondly my gopro cost me $250 and they only call it tr motorsports edition because of the mounts. Maybe try tapping into the deepest part of your tiny little brain to find some common sense and logic
@Tommyhatesnorcos it says on the packaging because of the casing but most of the gopros if you find them in stores its like 400 so X2 its like 800 and the 6 feet was an exaggeration...
@TommyhatesNorces I was talking to Biking-is-the-life about his rude remarks concerning stupidity towards you. I wasn't calling anyone stupid...lol But i was slightly making fun of his nonsensical comment.
But yes overall i agree; both camera sets are awesome, but GoPro is a bit ahead with the Black edition.
@VFreehd I do admit that they're both nice cameras and all but when it comes down to the line contour looks better overall no doubt about that, but it also has the same features or similar features to the Hero 3 sure the hero has the 4K not to sure what that is lol but contour +2 had all these features about two months ago...
I held off on buying the second because I knew this would happen soon than later. I'm still satisfied with my HD hero but...
totally picking up the black edition.
120fps in 720p......oh my
Well, you got your Hero2 at a good discount if it sold for $240 (amazing deal if you got it for even less). It's $400 for the Hero 3 Black Ed. Good luck finding the Silver Edition (slightly upgraded Hero2) on sale any time soon. Maybe during Black Friday, but I have a feeling they will be excluded from sales.
and the cycle goes on, the people who buy the black edition will be pissed when hero 4 comes out, I got my hero 2 a short while ago and I wont be buying the hero 3 I don't need it IMO if I want better looking footage then I'll screw around with editing until I like it
for now 59 angry riders just bought hero2...Wahhhh that feeling when you bought hero2 and think "hope GoPro will slow down their upgrades and hero3 will not apear in 2012"
Comparing this to the Contour is like comparing the three mermaids in the GoPro vid that swim with HUMBACK FREAKIN' WHALES to the chick at the end of the Contour vid that "might pee her pants".
personally, if I had known that they were coming out with the 3 I would not have picked up my 2 which I bought based on the wifi pack and the app which was released wicked late, I feel like I have been slapped in the face.
edit: GoPro may make a nice product (without question) but right now I feel like they are just a bunch of surfer jerks
Contour comes out with new colors= FAIL & GoPro comes out with new function and quality= WIN ..
You decide , sorry contour lol you just got shitted on big time . People can complain about it being square etc etc, but for me its all about quality and for what your getting out of this new hero 3 is pretty damn sick . 1080 @ 60fps is going to be unreal and then 120fps @ 720 haha ... Looks like Sony and Contour need to come up with a new plan.
dont forget drift! although they arent exactly on the map compared to contour or gopro, but i still wouldnt mind a blue contour just because they look so cool and I already have a hero 2
I dunno , the video quality has always been sub par on all the other cameras, but with the release of the hero 3 and its features is just crazy to have in such a small hand held camera .
Hero2 finally got GoPro up to par, Hero3 puts them on top easily and distracts everyone for a brief second on how crappy the WiFi App is. Contour's new +2 camera is still very sick camera and I LOVE how easy the Contours are to use and added GPS is beyond cool. But after playing with the Hero3 last night and learning about it, I gotta say I'm pretty dam excited to play with it this weekend!
Why the hell haven't they made one with a screen on the back so you can watch what you just did and get the camra set in the right trails. Nothing worse than riding all day and when you get home realise you. Have only recorded the floor or sky! Sort it out lads
The new app lets you see a live view of what your camera is seeing. I mount my camera on my helmet and check it out with the lcd backpack to make sure it's in the right spot and then remove the lcd screen and just use the camera alone to cut down on weight. the lcd screen and new app let you see what you've recorded to make sure you got the shot before you leave. The Hero3 has built in wifi so it'll be even easier to use the app to see the camera view before you go riding and record the wrong angle. Have fun with it if you got one, I just got it this morning and plan to go riding all day testing it out to see what it can do. I want to test out the slow-mo 720p 120fps mode on a few tricks.
New GoPro HD Hero3 Black Edition + 32 GB MicroSD Card - $359.99 + Free Shipping (Pre-order) OK, long time lurker and first time poster. This is the first deal I've posted, so I hope it lives up to SD standards! So far this is the best price I can find for the new GoPro camera, set to begin shipping in November.
MPGear is offering the camera with a free 32 GB MicroSD Card (just select "No Thanks" from the drop down menu):
I still think that overall the go pro vs contour debate for most people comes down to mounting. Lets just be honest, go pros look stupid mounted to a helmet, no matter where you put it. Not only do they look stupid, the fact that they stick out so much is an issue. The camera can easily get knocked off by a branch when riding a bike or snowboarding through trees. So for a snowboarder to get POV footage (meaning chest mount is not an option) contour makes sense.
On the flips side, if you are going to do chest mounts like a skier might, the shape of the go pro fits much better. And they both make all kinds of mounts for bikes, boards etc.
As for picture quality, again, lets be honest, they both take good video. And they both have very similar features (wifi, viewfinder etc) at similar price points. For the average user who is just screwing around filming with friends (99% or users), the differences are barely noticeable.
I like how they made multiple models to capture the different pricepoints. The high end one has some crazy features, up to 4k HD and 120fps at 720. The wifi feature sounds cool, as does the smaller size. More features than I need, but it will be cool to see what the better videogs can do with it! I bought the original on closeout, has all the features I need, I guess the optics are a little inferior, w/e.
Plus the fact theres no real support for 4K yet, top end tv's to support it are only just being talked about/released, Its unuseable for anything other than an editing perspective, and at 15fps whats the point?
The one feature that I would jump on board with upgrading from my GoPro-2 to a GoPro-whatever, is exposure lock. Looking at this video clip gives me hope that this has been included - fingers crossed.
Yeah, a white hero 3 vs roam 2, and a black hero 3 vs a plus 2...I love my contour for its sleek mounting options, but the specs of the black are something else. Would be neat to see what the true better all around package is. I think contour would take it with the roam, but it might be hard to touch the black hero 3...
GoPro is clever! change the size of the camera, so your housing you have to change, you cannot reuse the skeleton case, nor the housing spare lenses, the wrist mount and the 3D housing
Make a new camera, then remove the options for medium and narrow FOV on 720p promised since launch of the hero 2; so people will buy the vastly superior hero 3 black
make the specs superior to the hero 2, so if you have a hero 2, you will feel like your hero 2 is a point and shoot compared to the professional movie quality of the hero 3 :3
well somethings i like just from the specs: 1) 720p 120fps 2) 1080 60fps 3) 4k 15fps 4) 30 shot burst in 1 second 5) flat lens 6) built in wifi and remote provided free with black edition 7) max 64gb of storage all the functions in the touch lcd, including the 3.5mm audio out jack
i hate 1) micro sdhc cards support only 2) hero 3 specific functions for the touch lcd ( hero 2 doesnt support a lot of the new stuff in the touch lcd) 3) no lens protection for the frame mount for hero 3 4) expensive micro usb to 3.5mm mic adapter 5) no dedicated mic input port 6) digital display on the 2nd gen batt bacpac
beats me that in this day and age full of technology that anybody would want ro ride with what looks no different to a conventional digital camera strapped to their helmet... surely these ugly looking gadgets could look the part too !
The only problem with 2k is that no-one has a tv that can display it..... or software that can edit it.... hmmm marketing gimik... but if they have really got 1080p sharper and clearer and high frame rate then that really is the selling point...Also it is what you do with it that counts.
As a regular GoPro user I'm excited to see that it is flatter and lighter, but what I don't understand is why they don't center the lense on the body, and why the body is not square. Too often I find myself mounting my camera either upside down or sideways so I can get the angle I want with the limited mounting options, a square camera body with the lense centered would allow a lot more flexibility in mounting options and a lot less video editing. At least make the waterproof case with multiple mounting points?
Centred lens on a square body would give only one mounting option. You just said you are able to mount the camera in different ways to get around obstacles because of the offset lens. It is the work of a minute or two to flip or rotate the video.
i love my Contour [ had a Go Pro but did not like the feel of it on the Helmet mount compared to the Go Pro sticking out ] and with a few dollars for another part it can also be chest mounted using the Go Pro chest mount - so, herein lies the conundrum : the chest mount gives the best visual look and 'feel' for the trail, but now the Contour sticks out like an aroused camera weenie waggling about as i rip down Garbo trying to not look like a biker tourist - so, why hasn't Contour redesigned it !? imagine a Contour camera that fits snug on the side of your lid or bike and when you decide to use it on the chest mount it is merely turned or flipped to the side with another lens exposed - this is the 'age of techno genius ' and it can be done the same for Go Pro and it sticking out on your helmet like a TV set - this is the REAL issue that will kill it with sales not the innards; both of these cameras are the cats butt and work pretty much equally when it comes to bells and whistles and quality...oh just one mega bitch : what the %##@** is with the prices for the extra stick pads etc etc - f'n stupid and makes me want to go postal on the retailers!
Wow that new hero3 is pro quality for $399, that is a steal. With the high frame rates there is no other choice worth looking at. Really can go pro with that thing. Gopro or go home.
If you are using this as an amature, with amature editing skills, would you not be better off going for the cheaper HD2? I am asking because I have No idea! All I know is when I get my footage it wont be anywhere near as good as the video up there ^^^
I'd go for the hero 3 silver b/c its pretty much the hero 2 but way smaller if you can swing the cash. The black is SICK but the average person is never going to use half the features like 4k res. Its pretty much if you are a movie maker, photographer type camera. The slowmo is awesome though, that and the better low light performance is the reason I'd consider it, and I'm seriously considering the upgrade from HD to Hero3. Anyone looks for a used standard hero HD and wifi setup? Help fund my addiction, lol
GP3 looks sick! Is it me or is the lens itself bigger or is it just the body is smaller? I wonder how the battery life will be when using it in the higher modes.
As far as GP vs. Contour goes I'm real interested in the Contour+2. I have a GP2 now and the features and footage are solid. But I get confused with the buttons and I end up putting in the wrong mode, or it gets left on while it should be off, or I do something dumb the runs out the battery, or the mount is too low or too high for good footage. So I picked up the LCD backpack and that helped a good bit but It runs down the batteries like crazy and it's too easy to leave on. I also find the various mounts to be very cumbersome. Especially if you have the LCD backpack which ends up doubling the mounts to choose from. So the GP2 rarely gets used anymore as I don't want to deal with it.
When I had a ContourRoam I loved how it was plug and play. No housings to mess with (unless you plan on going underwater) which made the mounts far simpler. The instant on/off button was huge for saving battery life and simplifying things when you're out on the trail partly exhausted. I also like the laser alignment as you can make sure it's aimed right pretty quickly. I got rid of it mostly because the quality wasn't as good as my bud's GP1 and they had that whole 720/60fps fiasco. So now the the video quality is through the roof but the camera takes so much fussing that I never use it.
FYI in Canada it's $450 MSRP for the black model... and they'll have them in December, or a bit later, since apparently they're not too accurate at forecasting deliveries to bike shops.
I'v been wanting to get a gopro for so long, I am glad I have waited, the black edition seems amazing for that price. Hopefully they have kept up with the same quality as their previous products!
No significant update here for anyone but the pros. A well edited and colour corrected Hero2 shot will still look better than 99.9% of what you`re going to see out of this camera. I`ll be waiting for the next upgrade thanks.
there is a iphone app that lets you watch the vid that you just shot on your phone I guess it would destroy our data plan though if you were not on wifi , or maybe it doesnt work unless you have wifi?
personally i think the shape mounting of go pros are retarded. much prefer the contour on profile mounting and simplicity. with that said go pro does have superior video quality.
Hey that was the first one I ever used ... got me hooked tp buy the HD when it came out. Still caught some awesome footage with the original when I rented it. Theres a point where its not just the quality of the camera but the person that uses it, if you can't shoot good video on the standard the new version won't help with that.
You'd be surprised- lost mine surfing and thought I would never see it again... until I saw a flash of orange and I paddled my little heart out and flapped about in the whitewater until I saw it again and grabbed it!!
The floaty also puts extra pressure on the backdoor/latch and keeps is tight. The original housings have a tendancy to loosen up when underpressure/submerged. Yes, I realize you're not going to great depths in kayak. I think they also use them as a bright orange "callout" so people see them in their adds. I doubt I would have noticed half of them and their mounting positions if not for that.
Im happy they done this and all but im a bit pissed seen as i just bought my hero 2 few months ago, oh well, i guess hero 4 is my next thing to save for!
Only reason to upgrade is if you REALLY want a thinner profile, or are a pro photographer who's going to use 4k res at 15fps. Hero 2 is still an awesome product for $100 less
I think it's the built-in wifi that's the real difference. Now you can use your phone as a viewfinder, so you can aim it BEFORE you start riding, instead of realizing afterwards that you've been filming your top tube for half an hour.
The LCD screen is a better option in a few ways- you can playback footage which is handy, and also what they don't tell you about the wifi system is that there is a HIDEOUS delay. It's about 3.5 seconds delay if you have an iphone like me- that's almost enough to make a cup of tea.
I havent really noticed a slowness for the hero 2 though really? Its gonna take a few years i think before the advances are a leap forward from what we have now
if you aren't using it underwater you can plug an external mic to improve the quality of the audio, that's on the Hero2 and I'm not sure yet what is needed for better audio for the Hero3. The Hero2 has skeleton cases that have open sides to give you access to the audio plug. I ride with one sometimes to have better audio when I know I'll be talking and want it recorded.
supposedly they did, but i wonder why they removed the dedicated audio input jack and forced us to buy an overpriced generic micro usb to 3.5mm adapter cable and use their supposedly better sound? (i hope they improved it, else the lack of "out of the box" 3rd party mic support is a deal breaker for sure
I hope they have kept the amazing feature on the GoPro HD which adds loud clicks and crackles to the audio whenever you ride over a small stone - boy, I love that feature!!!!
the clicks are just where the clip isnt tight into the mount and wabbles a little. and with the hero3, its lighter so it should dub that down if not cut it out combined with the 'advanced' audio.
to stop the 'clicking' use some mousse or some shit (i use filters for rollups) to block the camera in its plastic case.. makes it harder to close and the camera doesn't move and the filters are soft allowing it to absorb shocks
Are you high? 1080@60fps - you try buying a camera that can do that for anywhere close to this price. 4K is for TIMELAPSE- if you want 4k @30fps you're talking mega mega bucks.
This cam is seriously awesome- especially for the money. If you want to talk about Go Pro ripping people off then focus on the mounting accessories. For example the sticky pads- £15 for 4 of them??? Now that's a rip off! The actual camera is a bargain imo.
Sony Action Cam has 120fps at 720p, steadyshot, and better low-light environments and $250 to boot. This better be a darn good cam that cost 60% more than the Sony.
Yea it has been a year. I'm pretty sure they revamped the whole camera over again to show Contour who was boss, before this you could chose either of their top models and not have significant differences in performance. Not so now. Why compete when you can dominate?
all the functions in the touch lcd, including the 3.5mm audio out jack
I'm hoping to get one for Christmas!
