GoPro HERO 3
I agree with everything that Azz just said.
Thanks Azz, everything there is 100% (except maybe the weirdo statement that’s more 150% correct).
It’s been more than hard keeping a perspective over the past 2 years and your rant says what I’ve been trying to tell myself for the last month. It also answers my quoted question.
Time to pull my socks up, roll my sleeves back and get back to where I was 3 years ago. Your advice is more than appreciated, it’s likely life changing!
here is a bit of a comparison of the hardware of GP2 and GP3 by a NoHe kayaker.
Plenty of pics
http://playak.com/news.php?idd=2142262540610
GoPro Hero 3 comes in three models Black, Silver & White Edition
As Cords previously posted;
White Edition is a repacked GoPro Hero (now 2 years old)
Sliver Edition is a repackaged GoPro Hero3
Black Edition is the only model with any new performance specs.
White and Silver Editions may be available as soon as next week; they require microSD cards (not SDHC that previous GoPro’s use) and the battery IS NOT backward compatible.
The advantage of upgrading to Hero3 (White or Silver);
30% smaller (same boxy shape)
25% lighter (badly needed since many other cameras make GoPro look like a beached whale)
Built in WiFi (I don’t believe anyone has WiFi cameras working well but anyway)
A better housing lens cover for underwater videoing.
Back Plates and mounts are backward compatible.
Other than that ^ if you own a GoPro Hero you already have the performance of GoPro Hero3 (excluding Black Edition).
No problems dude.
Sometimes we just can’t see the forest for the trees !!! 
No problems dude.
Sometimes we just see the forest for the trees !!!
Ya always got bush on the mind!!!!!
Azz is just passing on the educational back-burning done at his place.
Seems I need the same done in my head. :burn:
booya! been waiting to use that smiley.
here is a bit of a comparison of the hardware of GP2 and GP3 by a NoHe kayaker.
Plenty of pics
http://playak.com/news.php?idd=2142262540610GoPro Hero 3 comes in three models Black, Silver & White Edition
White Edition is a repacked GoPro Hero (now 2 years old)
Sliver Edition is a repackaged GoPro Hero3
Black Edition is the only model with any new performance specs.White and Silver Editions may be available as soon as next week; they require microSD cards (not SDHC that previous GoPro’s use) and the battery IS NOT backward compatible.
The advantage of upgrading to Hero3 (White or Silver);
30% smaller (same boxy shape)
25% lighter (badly needed since many other cameras make GoPro look like a beached whale)
Built in WiFi (I don’t believe anyone has WiFi cameras working well but anyway)
A better housing lens cover for underwater videoing.
Back Plates and mounts are backward compatible.Other than that ^ if you own a GoPro Hero you already have the performance of GoPro Hero3 (excluding Black Edition).
I’m selling my 2 to upgrade to the 3 (black). I was going to drop $140 to get the wifi backpac for the 2 but I think I may as well sell the 2 and go for the 3 and get the added benefits of lower size and weight, and the fixed underwater housing for a minimal change-over cost.
Good option Mud.
The Black edition is a big step in tech.
Are you going to upgrade your computer system or use the camera with settings at 1080 & 720?
I think 4K video is going to be a whole new ballgame and I assume (like when 1080 first hit) computers will struggle to handle it.
Good option Mud.
The Black edition is a big step in tech.
Are you going to upgrade your computer system or use the camera with settings at 1080 & 720?
I think 4K video is going to be a whole new ballgame and I assume (like when 1080 first hit) computers will struggle to handle it.
I won’t use 4K because of the low framerate. No doubt next year’s model will have 2x the power and be able to shoot 4K at 30fps, but I don’t know anyone with a TV that could display it. I do like the idea of higher framerates for 720 and 1080, though. I have seen some comments around that the GP2 didn’t do “real” 1080, not sure what that means but maybe the 3 will do it properly?
I guess maybe I could do a quick test and see how the current PCs handle it. I work on a PC (overclocked core 2 duo) but my wife has an iMac 27 (core i5), both of them about 3 years old.
I agree with Mudhoney on the 4k aspect, that won’t be a selling point for the majority of users. The 2.7k however could leave the door open for stabilising footage from camera shake and not resulting in a super cropped image, instead it might be clean 720 or 1080 if your footage isn’t too shaky to begin with
4K will also allow for decent digital zooming - 4k only shoots in 15fps on GP3black so it’s prob only good for sped up landscapes. It may not be selling point but it will give bragging rites. And it’s all about Being A Hero if you own a GoPro.
“True 1080” comments regarding GoPro come from the camera having inbuilt software that scales up footage before saving it to the card. 1080 is barely perceivable by human eyes - 720 is about our limit. The first GoPro Hero shot at 900p but saved a 1080 file. VIO.HD used the first true 1080 CMOS censor in an action camera and was released after GP2 (or so VIO claimed).
Action cameras in their nature have to cheat to achieve results, some do it by software others do it by tethering to external hardware.
Discussing Resolution and Definition is irrelevant when determining how good footage is. Optics (the lens) is more important, then censor quality and finally how little the footage has been manipulated. There was a saying that went around when HeadCams first started claiming HD; “Oh great now I can see more of the same crappy footage!”
The best digital cameras have three censors (one for each colour) called 3chip cameras. Action Cameras have 1 chip to process all colours and (my educated guess is) they use a censor that process only 2 colours and create a “fake” green colour. That’s the easiest way to describe what happens anyway. So it’s very easy to conclude that (at best) action cams are 1/3 the quality - this is why the big camera companies have resisted this market until now, they had better quality cameras to worry about.
In a true 4K digital camera (eg: Imax Cameras) each bit of information would need to be processed 3 times for every pixel for every frame - about 1TB/sec (my own calculation - could be wrong).
Film is still the only true 4K - unless someone can suggest a computer that does that sort of processing?
Action cameras have to create highly compressed images so they can be as small and light weight by not having to carry computer grunt (hardware).
GP3black uses a 6 element lens, then the hardcase has a polypropylene lens cover(?). GP2 was the first glass lens camera in the to GoPro fleet.
I could be wrong about the polypropylene - but you can imagine buying a pair of sunglasses and leaving them covered in a plastic protective layer.
Both your computers should handle 1080 video Mud.
Hey thanks, Spaz, awesome post. I was under the impression the outer casing lens was also glass, is this not correct?
I agree with Mudhoney on the 4k aspect, that won’t be a selling point for the majority of users. The 2.7k however could leave the door open for stabilising footage from camera shake and not resulting in a super cropped image, instead it might be clean 720 or 1080 if your footage isn’t too shaky to begin with
Yeah good point, it is disappointing to lose image quality due to stabilisation zoom.
Image stabilization uses digital zoom, finds a reference point and moves the cropped frame around keeping that point centralized - it greatly affects image quality but not just because of the zoom.
If the image isn’t stable to begin with the camera struggles to capture a sharp, focused, well coloured and exposed image - stabilizing it means you can see how poor the quality is. Without knowing exactly what algorithms a particular program has, I can’t say how much any program may try to manipulate to “improve” it by sharpening, colourizing etc…
Your always better improving the shot at it’s origin - most times the quick way is to have a lighter camera head that will prevent the camera from moving due to Gforces or/and a better mounting option.
GP3 does have a glass lens on the cover.
Another comparison video..
[youtube]GbNTzel5vVg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]