The GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition:
This review is all about the Hero 3 Black Edition (yes we can all read the title) although the Hero 3 Black isn't the only Hero 3 that GoPro decided to release.
So what other Hero 3's are lurking out beneath the yonder and what do you need to know about them?
Well for starters, the Hero 3 Black Edition is the only Hero 3 with a physically different lens to the one found in the Hero 2 and quite a few reviews have found that the Hero 3 White and Silver editions are in terms of footage, completely identical in quality to the previous generation and much older GoPro Hero 2.
Price/Performance:
Lets start with price since everyone from Joe Blogs to Negative Nancy seems to think that this camera is expensive for what you are getting. This camera is targeted towards the higher end of the market but the price really suggests otherwise and if you're keen as keno you can pick up a Black Edition in Australia for around 450AUD including postage at the time of writing.
For that small fortune you essentially get a camera that can film up to 4K resolution and can tackle bumps, falls and drownings all in the same sitting. It's got several field of vision settings without needing a lens change and it also comes with a wifi dongle so you can remotely control your cameras with ease.
The Hero 3 Black Edition is professional grade and due to it's size it's being used by large television networks to film content that generally ends up on your big screens at home, such confidence in the footage quality isn't unfounded either if you take a look at the review I did on it on YouTube.
To put it simply, this camera is by all means inexpensive for what you get and lets not forget you can do 4K footage at fairly limiting 15 FPS, something that very few cameras for 10 times the cost can do right now. It's not without its uses though as quite a few inventive creators have used the 4K setting with the time lapse feature with great success. This feature is more for future proofing unless you can afford to pony up the 20,000 to 40,000 Aussie dollars currently required to own a 4K projector or TV.
Forget the 4K for a moment though because 1080p at 60 FPS is where it's at and 720p runs in at an insane 120 FPS. Such high FPS figures allow you to slow down the footage without getting a choppy finished product and this is possible simply because the frames you require are there, ready for you to use. I personally don't do too much awesome flippy stuff to really utilise slow motion but I do use it to make some of my product shots and pans much smoother without having to use a dolly.
Underwater Filming:
One of the things you'll want to try out is the underwater case that each unit comes with. It's rated at 60m depth although due to my diving licence, I'm not allowed below 12m. Here is a video I did diving with sharks at Cook Island, NSW. It's about 30 minutes from the Gold Coast and is really a lovely diving spot. The underwater performance is pretty damn good although I should have used a red filter, the type that Polar Pro Filters stock as a snap on now. These filters allow you to see a wider spectrum of colour underwater because at just 5m depth, the amount of red spectrum penetrating the water lowers significantly giving you much greener, bluer footage. Thankfully, this can be fixed quite easily with the filters linked above.
Battery Life
The battery life on the GoPro is by my own admission, fairly bad and with the internal battery you may see 35 to 45 minutes footage whilst filming at 1080p 60FPS. The battery bacpac almost doubles this figure but certain situations ensure that you cannot replace the battery whilst doing all those extreme things you enjoy doing like frolicking in the rain or more importantly, being 12m under water.
There is a third party battery charging unit called Wasabi Power although I can't speak of it first hand as I don't actually have one. If I was heading to the snow for a day of powder then yes, I will be getting one and stuffing a whole nugget of pre-charged batteries in my pocket for the day out.
Mounts
The GoPro Hero Series has a pretty universal mounting system that has seen many custom mounting solutions crop up for every conceivable circumstance of expected use. GoPro of course have their own proprietary mounts which are pretty well built if I'm honest and in my opinion, still a bit expensive for what they are despite the quality.
Mount to your bike handle bars, helmet, snowboard, kite, goggles, pet...you name it, there's a way to mount this camera. It relies on the power of friction in a 3 by 2 fork set up to hold it in place with a tightening bolt and a hex end cap. If none of that made sense, just watch my video and you'll suddenly understand.
Cineform Studios and Post Processing
Cineform Studios allows you to colour correct and process your footage to produce vastly different results than you had initially filmed. It's powerful and incredibly useful and did we mention that it's free?
Well, It's free. It's absolutely 100% free for GoPro users to take advantage of and use.
So what does the infamous Cineform Code 444 do? How can it transform your life and make your wife and kids love you?
Well for starters, you'll need to switch to ProTune mode and select CAMRAW as your white balance and then the rest is all gravy, just follow my tutorial on how to use it above and bobs your uncles sisters nephew.
Should you buy one?
This is always a tough one because I bought one and I love it but lets not get all emotional here. The premise behind any purchase is a perceived need so this question inevitably becomes, well do you need one?
I'd love to get a bit more philosophical than that but I really don't know what you will be using the Hero 3 for so I can't recommend it to you on an activity specific basis. What I can do is encourage you to watch the video at the start of this review and show you the quality of footage this camera spits out and you can make up your mind from there.
The proof is in the pudding so to speak.
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