GoPro's new Hero 3 action cam delivers stunning image quality for on-the-go video.
3:23PM EDT October 31. 2012 - NEW YORK — Here's a really good thing in a tiny, tiny package.
GoPro, the company that makes those cool tiny cameras that clip to surfboards, bike helmets, cars and the like, has a new edition of its popular Hero line of video cameras. And the top-of the-line $399 model is a wow. The picture quality is stunning, and on par to many full-size cameras that sell for thousands of dollars.
The Hero3, which was introduced two weeks ago, is already on back order. GoPro says online orders will be fulfilled by mid-November.
In tests here before Hurricane Sandy hit, the black model Hero3 camera produced superior results The video is crisp, sharp and amazingly bright.
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That it comes from a teeny camera that fits in your palm is an engineering marvel that stands as one of the tech breakthroughs of the year.
That's the good news. If you're familiar with the Hero cameras, you know that they're already one of the smallest cameras sold. So why make a new model that, according to GoPro, is 30% smaller and 25% lighter?
To get smaller, GoPro switched from the ubiquitous SD memory card that's interchangeable with most cameras sold today, and replaced with the sub-miniature microSD card. Good luck finding one of those micro cards if you misplace it. It's smaller than a pinky fingernail.
The new slot to access the battery is smaller than the last model — and hard to access. To open it, using a butter knife at the side to yank it open came in handy.
But the exceptional video quality of the camera almost makes up for the pains of operation.
The Hero3 line offers three models:
— The $399 black edition comes with a greatly improved image processor that produces those stellar images. It has the best resolution of the family of cameras and can shoot high-definition video at 1440p. The model sports a 12 megapixel sensor for photos, which can handle 30 frames a second.
All 3 Hero3's have built-in Wi-Fi to pair an Apple mobile device or Android smartphone and compose and control your image. But here's the fine print. New apps were released in early October for composing and operation, but they only work with previous Hero cameras. The Hero3 won't work with the apps until new releases of the apps come out in December.
— The other two models have lower video quality. The $299 silver Hero3 has an 11 megapixel sensor. The entry-level $199 white Hero3 has a 5 megapixel sensor.
GoPro, which dominates the "action cam" category, competes with Contour, which has a similar $399 Contour+2 camera with built-in Wi-Fi. But GoPro is available in 20,000 stores, compared with 1,600 stores for Contour.
Sony also recently released an action cam that comes in two versions. The Wi-Fi model sells for $279.
The beauty of shooting with an action cam instead of a big, bulky digital SLR, or even a point and shoot is that you get a big, wide point of view that shows a fun, unique perspective of the world. You don't have to bother with setting your focus or lighting, because that's all automatic. But unlike most auto cameras, the picture quality on the GoPro cameras is so good that there's no downside to not having more manual settings.
The controls on the camera are minimal: Turn the camera on by clicking the two round buttons on the front and top of the camera. The side of the camera has three slots — for USB charging and transfer, HDMI, to plug into a TV, and the slot for the teeny, teeny microSD card.
The mode dial — easier to read than the Hero2, but still faint and impossible to see in bright sunlight — lets you choose from stills or video, adjust the video frame rate and operate the self-timer.
For tests in New York, the camera was set on a tripod outside a busy subway station (before Sandy shut it down) in the middle of the afternoon to catch images of people filing in and out of the station. Then we brought the camera downtown to Times Square on a busy and rollicking pre-Halloween night. Our footage was illuminated only by neon and theater signs. It was the lowest of available light, and a great test to see how the camera would perform in low light.
Images of folks in the video were bright and crisp, the colors rich and, best of all, the sound was truly superior. Because virtually all pocket cameras have inferior sound, that is a major plus.
Low light was great for video, but for photos, not as good. We got blurry images in low light. So while we didn't bring the Hero3 to the eye of the storm, or the usual action sports the camera is associated with, we got great, extraordinary results for street video that came alive with the wild point of view and crisp video results for which the Hero is known.
Source: http://www.news.theusalinks.com/2012/10/31/gopro-hero3-camera-is-a-small-wonder/
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