Adventure racer wearing a GoPro
Update 12-11-12: Photofocus has created a fantastic unboxing and demonstration video for the GoPro Hero3 Black edition.
Today, GoPro announced their GoPro Hero3 cameras with the release of the Hero3 Black, Silver Edition, and White Edition camera. The GoPro cameras were extremely popular at the recent Tough Mudder event I photographed.
What’s new about the GoPro Hero3?
- They made ‘em smaller
- Improved User Interface
- Improved Lens Element
- Switch to MicroSD cards (probably to accommodate smaller size)
- Added microphone inputs on all models
- Black Edition includes 4K video
- Black Edition includes Wi-Fi remote ($80 if purchased separately)
GoPro Hero3 Black Edition
4K Video Are You Kidding?
I think it’s amazing that they can get 4K video out of this tiny device. If you haven’t visited the GoPro website be sure to check out their new promo video shot with the Hero3 Black Edition.
However, I wouldn’t get too excited about 4K video unless you are a professional videographer. Most computer monitors and streaming services don’t yet support 4K resolutions, not to mention the video files would be huge. I doubt most of us (myself included) have the computing power or patience to wait for videos of this size to process.
The 4K video also only outputs at 12-15 frames per seconds meaning the video will be choppy unless you increase the playback speed.
Other Features of the Hero3 Black Edition
I think the Hero3 Black Edition has some other notable features outside the 4K video. For instance the 60 frame per second and 100 frame per second HD video rates allow you to slow down the action for dramatic effect or performance analysis.
The Black Edition allows for very fast bust and continuous capture of still images. You can also capture images while recording video. At $399.00 it sits at the top of the GoPro Product Line.
Silver and White Edition GoPro Cameras
GoPro also has added their Silver Edition ($299.00) and White Edition ($199.00) cameras. With some exceptions, listed below, the Silver Edition Hero3 is similar to the Hero2 and the White Edition is similar to the Hero Original.
New to the Silver Edition Hero3 (as compared to the Hero2)
- Smaller Size
- Improved User Interface
- Improved Lens Element
- 24-54 Frame Per Second Video Modes
- New Burst Photo Options
- Protune Video
- MicroSD Card
New to the White Edition Hero3 (as compared to the Hero Original)
- Smaller Size
- Improved User Interface
- Improved Lens Element
- Wide and Medium Photos
- Faster Burst Photo Mode (10 photos in 1 second vs. 3 photos in 1 second)
- 25 Frame Per Second Video Mode
- Medium Field of View Option at 1080p
- MicroSD Card
- 3.5mm Stereo Mic Input
An Even Better Value
I noticed that the GoPro website now offers the previous model, GoPro Hero2, in several sport packages with accessories. You can get the Hero2 and corresponding accessories in your choice of Outdoor Edition, Motorsport Edition, or Surf Edition. The price comes in at $299.00 (even less on Amazon) which was formerly the price of the Hero2 as a standalone product.
GoPro Man
Gotta Have It
Though I haven’t tested one it looks to me like the GoPro line-up has improved. They made their presence known this year at Interbike 2012 with a huge GoPro booth as well as offering cameras for riders to demo at the outdoor day. The only thing I question is the switch to a microSD card which requires an adapter to connect to your computer or tablet. MicroSD and regular SD cost about the same for a 32GB card.
My mission is to help others toward better health. Though I am far from perfect we each must make our own daily effort to stay fit and eat right.
I am an amateur still photographer and I like to take up video photography as a hobby, that now I have retired and plan to travel in India and Africa. I do not have a HDTV, yet, but shall purchase one especially to watch the HD video I will be shooting on the GoPro Hero3 camera when I buy that as well. My concern is how do I go about with post processing the footage shot on Hero3 on my 3 year old Dell PC, so that I can view the footage on the HDTV.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you,
Kind regards.
Dipendra.
Dipendra,
Thanks for the question. I have some thoughts on this. The GoPro records video in the mp4 format which is a very common format for video. Check out this link on the GoPro website: http://gopro.com/support/article/?20743253
Lets break your question into 2 parts:
Editing: After copying the files from the GoPro to your computer you could use Windows Movie Maker (free) to edit footage or add text. Windows Movie Maker requires a conversion because it uses the AVI format. See above link.
I’d also strongly consider using the Adobe Premier Elements software. It wouldn’t require a format conversion and will probably give you more editing options. I use iMovie for Mac so I haven’t personally used this software.
Viewing:
Getting the video to your HDTV could be a little tricky but I’ll suggest some options. You could try hooking your computer directly to your TV. This would be easy if your computer has an HDMI output.
Another option would be to upload your video to YouTube and then use something like a Roku box or Apple TV to play back the video on your TV. Many DVD players also offer streaming connections to YouTube.
After reading the GoPro manual I noticed that you can hook it directly to your TV. If you copied your editing mp4 file back to the GoPro SD card it might play the edited file on your TV. http://gopro.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/HERO3_UM_Black_ENG_FINAL_Web.pdf
A final option would be to burn your edited video to a DVD. I think most video editors have this option and will convert the video to a DVD format.
Hope this helps,
Dillon