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10 Июн. 2015 г.Gopro 3 footageIf you're buying the Hero3+ Black Edition (which is what we're testing here), you'll get the waterproof housing, a WiFi remote (worth $80 on its own), two quick-release buckles, two sticky mounts (one flat, one curved), a three-way pivot arm and a charging cable (USB). If you're thinking the Hero3+ looks a hella lot like the regular Hero3, that's because it does.Not only that, but the addition of 720p at 120fps and WVGA at 240 fps had me hitting the “buy now” button quicker than a rat up a drainpipe! Around back is where you'll find the battery cover hiding the 1,180mAh cell (up from 1,050) and the Hero port for use with any of the relevant proprietary accessories (BacPacs and the like). Once you get used to it…a piece of cake and quite reassuring although admittedly I have never had a problem with the old housings. Even Felix Baumgartner had one strapped inside his Space-Suit when he leapt 128,100 feet back to Earth from Space in October 2012. As a stills camera, and after taking a few shots, I can take it or leave it…too random in its exposures and white balance for me although it works brilliantly as a time lapse camera. If you like small buttons, then bad news, as the new case has bigger ones that are much easier to prod, especially with a gloved thumb or finger. Beyond the size, there are a couple of notable design changes to the in-box housing that are worth mentioning. This is the latest offering from a dynamic company that started 10 years ago with a vision of creating the world’s most versatile camera, and I think they are just about there! All I would like to see now is live streaming added as a possible firmware upgrade at some point like the top of the range Contour. Having the Wi-Fi built in to the already tiny body will be a bonus for those wanting to keep the camera as small and light as possible. Obviously smaller than the Hero and Hero 2 casings but now fashioned with a nice flat port for the lens which will allow for much clearer, sharper footage underwater. The previous, heavier one being rebranded as a dive case for those who wish to sink a further 20 meters. In faster-moving action, this effect is more noticeable, but if the subject is right in the center, the broader immersive "frame" caught in this mode definitely can add to the enjoyment; it's just very case-dependent. As before, the power button and action LEDs are on the front (under the small LCD display). I have read in a few forums that people are saying the difference in low light is barely noticeable and not worth the upgrade and cost. As the name suggests, this is more of an incremental revision, rather than the overhaul we saw with the last update. This was achieved by taking 30 images and then performing ancient skulduggery in Photoshop. Because the company many considered to be GoPro's biggest competitor -- Contour -- was still in business. Although it's more revision than revolution, the Hero3+ maintains GoPro's position at the top of the action cam market. The main functional difference being that the slimmer case is now "only" waterproof to 40 meters. I also have some crazy, inspirational and off-the-wall ideas for the future using my Go Pros. Additionally, the GoPro requires the included waterproof case for mounting, but the Kodak comes with a standard screw mount and is waterproof without the need for an extra case. I would rather pick stills from footage and use those for the web than use the camera in most instances. With action cameras, the goal is usually "set and forget." So you want to make sure you have the camera in the best mode for what you're about to do. GoPro's Hero3 White Edition is a solid, inexpensive action camera that shoots very sharp video for the price. We did, but that's when it's in the trademark waterproof housing, which has been trimmed down to reduce its overall footprint -- the actual camera is unchanged in size. I can’t believe that Go Pro have packed so much into this tiny little camera which is about the same size as a matchbox, it is now 30% smaller, 25% lighter and 2x more powerful and it shows. The waterproof remote control unit comes with the Go Pro HD Hero 3 so no extra purchase is necessary although the Hero 3 is substantially more expensive than the Hero 2. The only downside we noticed was that the color representation in this mode can sometimes be slower to adjust and settle to a natural tone. The shutter control is on the top along with an extra LED, while the WiFi toggle is on the left side as you look at the lens. So, now you know who uses these cameras, let’s talk a bit more about the camera itself. Go to Go Pro’s website for more information on those (personally, I would stump up the extra cash for the Black Edition…oh yes, I did)! Next thing was to try the camera out real-time which leads me neatly into the rest of this hands on review. GoPro pitches it as the "most immersive wide angle perspective," but in lay terms it's all the footage you'd get in 4:3, just more TV-friendly (no black bars, bigger view). Jaws also comes with an adjustable "neck" that will let you carve out a whole range of new angles to record from. So, if you were at an event with fast action, you are better off shooting at 15fps 4k and pulling stills in my opinion. This really is the best GoPro ever, and with a 12-month product cycle evidently in place, if you're new to GoPro, the time to buy is now. For me, the image pulled from footage is much more useable than the actual still image in some cases (which also has some purple fringing) as there is more detail all round…food for thought! In fact it's near-identical, bar the small, painted "plus" symbol around the front, and a fainter icon on the power button. Whether you are an extreme sports fan, amateur videographer or professional imaging geek, this camera should find its way into your kit bag at some point…it would be rude not to! Every iteration of the camera has promised to bring your chosen activity to life in more detail and clarity. Well, as you saw above, the 4k cin Pro Tune mode is good for pulling stills and also gives you 12fps. But, what it does have is reliably good video quality and a metric shed-load of accessories that makes it appeal to a wide number of use cases. Well, I for one, sometimes stabilize my footage in post production and by doing this, you need to crop out some of the image. If you are doing time lapse, you only need to use the 5mp setting unless you really want the wide angle. I have found that you really need to shoot stills in a well and uniformly lit environment to get the most out of it. If you didn't read the above yet, then firstly, shame on you, but secondly, it's worth knowing that there are a lot of filming options. There's less change here, with 12-, 7- and 5MP modes, and time-lapse options from half a second right up to once a minute. This means there's not so much to talk about that we didn't already cover last year, but still, there's no harm in a refresher. When shooting 1080p footage, this means when I render out, I either need to render to 720p or lose some clarity and detail at 1080p. Needless to say, while there's a good deal of competition, if GoPro keeps doing what it currently does, the onus is on the rest to catch up before GoPro has much to worry about. If you just want some standard first-person, or to shoot from the hip belt instead, the new QuickClip will hook onto caps without the need to wear the rather more conspicuous head strap and clips right onto the aforementioned trouser supports. The Kodak also sports a built-in display, which is an $80 accessory for all GoPro cameras called the LCD Touch BacPack. A positive side effect being that Hero3 owners can upgrade their housing to the new one and reap the same benefit. I suspect this is because in order to get such fast fps, a fast shutter speed is needed which will produce darker images once the aperture is wide open in certain lighting conditions…I think. After reading stories of how the old rear case once came undone and a naked Hero 2 fell to earth from 10,000 feet (and survived), I was pleased to see that there is now a 2-point mechanism for opening the rear door. Ultimately, what we're interested in is the quality of the footage it grabs across the spectrum, and how easy getting that footage is. In the screen grabs below, you can see more detail in the brickwork of the buildings with the Hero3+, while the shots of the food-hall tent show how the Hero3 doesn't offer as much detail after the first few yards (noticeable on the gravel floor, particularly). We managed to get our GoPro out in the water, and for some downhill skate action -- two fairly typical use cases -- as well as some general indoor and outdoor feature testing. The company is run by CEO Nicholas Woodman and around 300 employees, many of which are extreme sports fanatics which is great as they are able to give hands on and credible feedback to each new camera as it is released. However, this camera does have a tiny sensor and packing 12mp into that sensor should tell you not to expect great things as a photographer from this camera. I can safely say, judging by the results, that the narrow view footage is just as clear as the wide footage…nice one! So, it's a little misleading at first -- the idea that the camera is smaller -- but with the vast majority of use cases requiring the housing, it's at least mostly true. We did, however, make sure that we went through all the resolutions, a variety of frame rates and field-of-view options. But even then, GoPro has the Silver ($299) and White ($199) editions if you don't need the absolute best specifications. New advanced camera settings: Looping video, Continuous Photo, Manual White Balance control, Protune Mode, allows to shoot photos while recording video and more. It definitely does feel more "immersive," as GoPro hopes, but there's also more visual warping around the edges, as you can imagine.  Type Go Pro into YouTube and you will see footage from skydivers, scuba divers, snow-boarders, skiers, surfers, bikers, drivers, mountain bikers and many more sports people. After working on these pics in Photoshop, amazingly the image pulled from HD footage was way better than that of the 12mp still! This is less extensive than some of the bundles of old, but even so, it should be everything you need to get going. Then again, you can quite easily link the White Edition to the GoPro app if you need some sort of reference of where you're shooting. On the inside is the same sensor, which grabs video in a dizzying assortment of modes and frame rates. We jumped at the chance to get outside and see how it fares, so join us below to see the results. I ordered and have now received a 32GB SanDisk Ultra Micro SDHC-1 Class 10 card from Amazon and will be using that from now on. Purists might shudder at the thought of any unnecessary image manipulation, and we hear that. With three Hero3+ cameras to choose from (Black, Silver and White), price shouldn't be much of an issue. One of the first things I wanted to try, much like many who will buy this camera, was the 4k video albeit shooting at just 15fps. If we were writing this section just a few weeks earlier, it would make for very different reading. My first thoughts when I took the Go Pro HD Hero from the box were “that is small”! We tried it clamped to a Freebord (seen in the video) and the neck adds in a lot of rocking to the video (it even fell off at the end of our run), so it's best-suited to more stable objects. So, while they'll cost you extra, there are a couple worth mentioning for sheer coolness if nothing else. There are a couple of new options that are designed to be less technical in nature, and more about just getting that great shot. GoPro's taken a leaf out of Apple's book and released its "best ever" camera, even if it's just an incremental update over the Hero3. It's a close battle, as the Kodak' trumps the Hero3 White Edition in certain aspects that are important when considering action cameras, while the White Edition betters the Kodak in others. Of course, like its predecessor, you can also operate the HD Hero 3 via your smartphone, Android or IOS. Auto Low Light mode aims to take some of this anxiety away by offering a virtual hand on the frame rate control to adjust the setting on the fly, and -- hopefully -- getting you a superior video. We're still finding those hard to shake, but the difference with the new battery is decent. This may be because I am a pro photographer and more used to the quality from the Canon EOS 5D Mark II but it is unfair to make any comparisons. If you use a larger image size for time lapse, you have more room to zoom in and out during processing to give a great impression of camera skill and trickery even when the film is processed at 1080p…nice. There's obviously only one way to really assess this and that's to pit them against each other side by side. The results definitely do seem to come out better when light starts to fade and you're recording up in the higher frame rates. Built-in Wi-Fi enables remote control via included Wi-Fi Remote or live video preview and remote control on Smartphones and tablets running the free GoPro app. For some, there's not enough new here to warrant the upgrade, but the "gotta-have-its" also won't be disappointed. I use slo mo quite a bit in my work and after the disappointment of not seeing 1080p 60fps with the new Canon EOS 5D Mark III, I was delighted to see it on the Go Pro HD Hero 3. The burst mode is a little more flexible now, with 30 photos per second as before being joined by a host of other options (30 per two seconds, 10 per second, right down to five and three per second, if you wish). Owners of older GoPro cameras might have developed frugal tendencies when it comes to power management. If this sounds less secure, it might well be, but in our testing it caused no problems -- your extreme mileage may vary. This is the marquee new feature here, and it's something that GoPro has been very excited about. Well, I have done a quick comparison in the video below to show just how different these two cameras are. But the Hero3 just edges it out, and becomes our new Editors' Choice for budget action cameras. For all the obvious inner and outer similarities, there is one hardware change that is nearly impossible to spot, but promises one of the biggest differences, which is the new and improved lens. The dive case has rivets and is larger, while the new one is smaller, without decoration or detail. Here is some more footage of the camera attached to the front of my car in very low light at dusk in Weymouth. What you will get are better optics, a new "SuperView" mode, an improved battery and a slimmer profile (more on this later) -- all for the same price as last year's model. Also, check out any episode of Top Gear in the UK and you will more than likely see a Go Pro attached to one of the cars as it speeds around their track. In addition to what's in the box, GoPro launched a bevy of new accessories alongside the Hero3+. But considering it shoots better video, has more options, a better battery and a smaller case, not to mention more accessories, there isn't really anything to complain about. There are also a number of field-of-view settings to consider, with Ultra Wide available across the board, Medium when shooting between 720 and 2.7K and Narrow for 720p and 1080p only. Alas, the only Micro SD card I had at first was a puny 2GB class 6 card which wouldn’t allow more than a few seconds recording at these super high resolutions. The trouble with the Hero 2 was that I had to choose one or the other depending on the shoot. I also tested the three different focal lengths (or fields of view), namely wide, medium and narrow as someone had asked if this was a genuine focal zoom or simply a digital zoom and crop. These have been around in official and third-party forms for some time, but it's good to see them getting the official GoPro re-working (and they're so, so handy, too). Other new additions include a (revised) suction cup, a "junior" chest mount and the most simple, yet most welcome of all: updated regular tripod mounts. Also, shooting at 2.7k 30fps will be exciting as it will allow me to stabilize or crop footage and still get to 1080p resolution. You can, however, restore this functionality with the use of an optional $20 adapter that uses the USB connection. In our usage we got a good day's general usage out of it, which shortened to three or four hours when in more constant use. There are, of course, strong contenders from Sony ($300), which just got a gentle upgrade, or Drift. As the name suggests, this is a high-tension clamp with GoPro's proprietary mount clip on top. This means you can add the extra battery pack AND have Wi-Fi without having to make the compromise. New cards required, and make them class 10 or higher as larger resolutions and quicker frame rates won’t work so well with slower cards. This has the potential to really add some new perspective options, but isn't suitable for everything. We did exactly that, and would agree that head to head, the footage from the Hero3+ not only appears sharper, but also has notably better color tones with much better brightness. Seriously, so much better we're predicting bigger smiles on more faces just on this fact alone. This means stretching the image out if you want it to play nice with most TVs, or watching with black bars and not getting the benefit that the wider format offers. The other new option is the somewhat self-explanatory Auto Low Light mode, which will sacrifice frames per second when lighting conditions are poorer in exchange for a more exposed shot. One other standout claim from GoPro is that new optics offer a 33 percent improvement in image sharpness compared to the Hero3. The two-stage hinge from the dive case has been replaced with a much simpler one-pop mechanism, almost reminiscent of that found back on the HD Hero2 housing. In summary, you can start as low as WVGA, and work up the ranks, including 720p, 960p, 1080p, 1440p, 2.7K and 4K. GoPro's Hero3 White Edition takes over as our favorite action camera in the $200 price range, thanks to its sharp video quality and low price. I am only going to review the Black Edition Go Pro HD hero 3 here as that is what I have but please not that there are two cheaper editions, the Silver and the White Go Pro’s, that also have lesser specifications. There are also a bunch more affordable options from the likes of ION, Veho, Polaroid and Swann -- each with their own merits and trade-offs. I honestly think I could use this little camera for ad-hoc, quick blog entries without the hassle of setting up all my usual kit. If you want to take a break from that labyrinthine video settings menu, there are always the photo options to keep you distracted.  |
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