GoPro 3

Soldato
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The headline feature is that the new GoPro 3 will do 4K HD resolution. And this is useful because? Nobody has 4K sets and nobody will for a while. Even if you do, the FPS is only 15fps. Hello? The 90s called, they want their 15fps back. Totally pointless.

On to the other features though, it will do 2.7K HD @ 30fps so atleast we have a "future" resolution at a usable fps. Still a bit pointless for me personally.

It also does 1440p though which some people are starting to take advantage of with higher res monitors. I guess to have the choice is all good.

Something to be excited about though are the new high fps modes for the ability to have awesome smooth slow motion footage for sports.

1080p will do 60fps(NTSC) / 50fps(PAL)
720p will do 120fps/100fps

The 720p at high fps is a nice feature.

They have supposedly increased lens performance again and other things. It is the Daddy the black edition, but for me, I will be watching the price of the older lower spec models which could be pushed down further.

Something I find surpising is the minimal difference between all of the other models though, including even the new GoPro3 Silver and White editions. If you only care for 1080p @ 30fps, and 720p at 60fps, then the following models all do that:

GoPro3
Silver
White

GoPro2
HD Hero2 Professional

Go Pro "1"
HD Hero Original


Obviously each new model has other features it adds, including a supposedly sharper/redesigned lens and better exposure algorithms each time. Surely an original HD Hero should now be bargainous and still shoot 720p @ 60fps quite well though?
 
Soldato
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The only reason they added the 4k feature was to tick boxes and make headlines, it's not very useful in real life. The real features are the 1080p/60 and 720p/120.

Personally I have the HERO1 and will be buying the HERO3 black for the following reasons:
  • Size
  • Optics
  • Menu system (compared to HERO1)
  • slomo @ 120fps will look incredible
 
Soldato
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My Hero 2 lasted 3 days on my skiing holiday, which considering the press makes me the unluckiest Go Pro customer ever I believe...

Still pulled together a video. Those questioning the need for such high resolutions, in my video I used the highest res for the time lapse (edit dammit Raikiri, stealing my point) so i could artificially pan and cut the scene. Skip to 40s to see what I mean.


I am loving the Hero 3 shots which I assume are on some sort of backpack stalk so the wearer has the camera tracking them at all times.
 
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Soldato
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Those slating the fact that it's 4k clearly don't know how cameras work. The only reason it's 4k is so they can get 120fps out of it at 720p. Resolution always drops with speed so you need to start higher to remain high. Nobody is suggesting you film any action at 4k.

The 4k is very useful for timelapses, least because you'll be able to crop into the image to correct alignments and also create artificial pans and tilts without degrading quality.
 
Soldato
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Like the panning effect - see what you mean and it's quite effective, I'm making a slider for mine when I get time off work to get some better panning shots.

I use Adobe Premiere elements and it's fantastic for beginners like me! What did you use gord?
 
Soldato
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Like the panning effect - see what you mean and it's quite effective, I'm making a slider for mine when I get time off work to get some better panning shots.

I use Adobe Premiere elements and it's fantastic for beginners like me! What did you use gord?

The best thing to use for panning shots is to get an ikea ordning timer, put a sticky mount on it and set it going.

E.g.
 
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Associate
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I do really want one, have wanted a GoPro for a while but ended up getting a Contour last year which I use to film airsoft action. I think the looks of the new Hero 3 have made me want to get one now. The 120fps mode is also very tempting. Thinking of super slowing that down and frame blending it, should be some smooth super slow mo moments there.

All in all I think that they are priced to high but you are paying for quality. I dont want to be cheapskate and go for the white edition when you could push the boat out and know you have the top dollar product.

Hmmmmmm watch this space :p

Looks so sexy dont you think!

http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/GoPro-Hero-3.jpg

No hotlinking!
 
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Soldato
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It's worth pointing out that even at a 1:1 conversion, £399.99 is not a lot of money at all. Less than a mediocre DSLR lens and you get a hell of a lot of well-built technology for that...

The wifi control from phones and tablets sounds pretty decent. Wondering what the delay will be like, not that it really matters as it's just a remote monitor for checking composition etc really.
 
Soldato
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I have family in the states and it is coming up to Christmas... :D

I work as a diver during the summer and will hopefully start travelling over winter next year so this would be awesome to have!
 
Soldato
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I use Adobe Premiere elements and it's fantastic for beginners like me! What did you use gord?
After Effects for that composition. I didn't have much video because it broke after I'd basically finished my test shots, which were pretty much useless.

The best thing to use for panning shots is to get an ikea ordning timer, put a sticky mount on it and set it going.

E.g.
Nice video, did you quickly stop the camera from it's timelapse to shoot the video part with the excellent dance manoeuvres? Or use another technique? There's a small jump but it's done well.
 
Associate
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It's worth pointing out that even at a 1:1 conversion, £399.99 is not a lot of money at all. Less than a mediocre DSLR lens and you get a hell of a lot of well-built technology for that...

The wifi control from phones and tablets sounds pretty decent. Wondering what the delay will be like, not that it really matters as it's just a remote monitor for checking composition etc really.
My situation, I want the 12MP and the 720-120fps bu dont need the wireless but have got to fork out a bomb for somthing I dont need just to get a few features I want - Not worth it at all.

As orevious people have said, its gonna be an order from america to the UK I think...
 
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