Trying to decide on a gopro

simtech

simtech

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Simtech
I am in the market for a gopro and not just aviation related. As you know or don't know, the hero 3 came out and it is now stock with the wifi and a dive case. If I get the hero 3 it would be the silver edition which is the same as the hero 2 other than the above features and few small others.

So my question is, and I know ultimately its my money but wanted thoughts, should I pony up the extra 100 bucks for the new 3 or take a deal on the hero 2?

So for those that have gopro's what are your thoughts and how well do you feel the hero 2 performs as compared to the extra coin for a 3?

I hate choices!
 
Depends. I have a gopro HD, older then the 2, and am happy with it. Yeah I want the 3, but I wanted the 2 as well.
Most of the footage we shoot is garbage and we share it in a diminished state online only to be suffered through by a few folks. So it probably doesn't really matter. Heard folks that work with these things are going to need to upgrade computers to deal with file sizes from the 3.
Reality is it probably won't matter, so ask yourself is the 100 bucks more important then having the current latest and greatest?
 
Sharing a smaller battery for both the camera and the wifi, I wonder if the silver will suffer in recording time...
 
GoPro just released their ( long expected ) app...

You can control all the camera's settings with the app and get a live preview ( for framing the right angle ).

I installed the app on my Iphone and Ipad, upgraded the firmware on the cameras and WIFI Backpack...and the cameras crashed and stopped responding :yikes:

It looks like there is some kind of conflict with the SDHC cards...when I remove them from the cameras - everything seems to be working fine.

I formatted the cards, canceled the new sertting I selected ( I think it's called fine tuning or something like that ), set back the resolution to 1080p ( it was on 720p / 60fps ) and so far it looks like it's working ( I haven't had the time to thoroughly check if the fix works )

Anybody else encountered that kind of problem ?
 
I have 2 of the GoPro Hero 2's. One for inside and outside the plane. I've seen the Hero2 for $199 which is a screaming deal! Personally I don't use the highest resolution/fast frame rate settings. Don't need really them if you're gonna put you're videos on YouTube.
 
ainokea said:
I have 2 of the GoPro Hero 2's. One for inside and outside the plane. I've seen the Hero2 for $199 which is a screaming deal.
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Yup that's what I am looking at. Plus the different mounts it comes with. Then I would just have to buy a suction cup mount and I will have all mounts I need for my activities. That's why I am leaning toward the hero 2.

But....the 3 has the built in wifi, though not sure I would use it or need it. And it has the dive case in which once a year I go diving. So to bring the hero 2 up to that I would spend more that $100 but I loose all the mounts that come with the 2. And again not sure I would use the wifi since I only plan to have one camera.

I am thinking ill get the hero 2 and if I find myself going crazy with it and wanting more then ill grab a 3 once the 4's come out.
 
I'm getting the 3 as soon as I sell this investment car I have. I'll probably get the automotive package one from Best Buy and get the $30 warranty on it. The boyfriends HD2 flew off of said investment car into the road, and was then run over by a semi. BB replaced it no questions asked. I plan on putting mine in or on the airplane and putting his wherever mine isn't to make some cool videos.
 
I just picked up a Hero3 Black. I went all in because I wanted the higher frame rates only available on the pricier model. It came with the wireless remote which I didn't think I needed but it turns out that it will be a couple months before the iPhone app will work with this camera so I guess I'll be glad I got that as well. I intend to take it on a diving trip next month in addition to using it to make some in-flight vids. I also have plans to use it waterskiing, both on the ski and on my head but that will probably have to wait for warmer weather and/or my next trip to Florida.
 
Anybody have some recent thoughts on this? I am looking at getting one now for the holidays and don't really know which one to go with.
 
My biggest take on them is that the fish eye lense is tolerable for aviation purposes but for motorcycle and other sports its takes away from the vantage point. In motorcycles you have to be pretty close to get good video of the guy in front of you with a fish eye lense. There are plugins to fix that thou.

If you get any kind of HD video camera make SURE you get a class 10 SD card.


-VanDy
 
flyingmoose said:
Anybody have some recent thoughts on this? I am looking at getting one now for the holidays and don't really know which one to go with.
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Just picked up 3 Black this weekend and flew with it today. It's very nice. I think the improved menu functionality alone is worth $100 over the 2 (which I also have and will keep for second vantage point.)

Got the screen and spare battery, too. Similar to 2 components with some nice new touches.
 
If anyone's interested....Costco has the GoPro Hero 2 for sale $199 in the stores.
 
Well I ended up going with the hero3 silver edition. I love it, though I have yet to use it in the plane. I went with the 3 because I figure the support for the 2 will fade.

I went with the silver because I will never be able to afford a monitor that will display 4k res. And while the 120fps in 720 is pimp, I did not foresee me doing any slow mo vids. And yeah the 30fps burst is sweet, I have a nice DSLR that will do that. I personally did not need those extras so I chose the silver. The silver received the new firmware to where the ipad acts as my remote. Pretty slick! You can't go wrong either way but it is easy to use and takes little effort to get going. I love how small it is over the 2 as well.

I say if you have the extra coin go for the 3 and at least the silver edition. If you think you might do slow mo vids or have at least $12k for a 4k TV go for the black. Even if you go with the 2 I think you will be happy, but if you honestly think you will want a dive housing and/or the wifi, just jump into the 3 now as it will be cheaper. Even if you only want the wifi it is cheaper to get the 3 and have it all in one. Good luck with your decision and I honestly think you will not regret it no matter how you go, 2, silver, or black!

Amazon sells the hero 2 for $199 as well.
 
LDJones said:
Just picked up 3 Black this weekend and flew with it today. It's very nice. I think the improved menu functionality alone is worth $100 over the 2 (which I also have and will keep for second vantage point.)

Got the screen and spare battery, too. Similar to 2 components with some nice new touches.
Click to expand...
I used on a dive trip last week and it worked fairly well. I did wish I had brought a spare battery, will probably pick up one of those soon.

Does yours have problems charging the battery? Mine locks up (with a hot battery) if you leave the charger plugged in long enough to get a full charge. Briefly removing the battery is the only way to unlock it. I also had one lockup while using it under water (no way to pull the battery out there).
 
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