GoPro Camera Differences

[shercofray]

Hi guys,

Basically it's my brothers birthday coming up and i'm wanting to get him a GoPro as he does a lot of climbing, paddling etc.

What are the main differences between the models?

I'm looking at the Hero 3 Silver edition - but what's the difference between this and the white etc?

I'm only looking at spending up to £200.

Thanks

[Greetings]

My friend has a silver Hero 3, I have a Hero HD (the first one). The footage looks almost identical. So not entirely convinced it's worth spending money on the 3 unless it's a Black which stands out in low lighting.

With regards to the differences between all the models I'm sure that the GoPro website will answer your question much better than TF.

[JJ Leigh]

black editions are just best model i'd say, but GoPro's do have some problems and they dont come complete... an example is anti fog inserts, you basically have to have them if your going to use the case/armour/box thingy and gopros tend to freeze alot too. also the quality isnt as good as the official youtube vids by gopro, i dont know how they make the quality so good, but if you scan through the comments of them youll know what im on about. im not saying there bad cameras at all though! but i personally think that you pay for the gopro logo, no the kit... but dont rely 100% on what ive said

[Blake]

black editions are just best model i'd say, but GoPro's do have some problems and they dont come complete... an example is anti fog inserts, you basically have to have them if your going to use the case/armour/box thingy and gopros tend to freeze alot too. also the quality isnt as good as the official youtube vids by gopro, i dont know how they make the quality so good, but if you scan through the comments of them youll know what im on about. im not saying there bad cameras at all though! but i personally think that you pay for the gopro logo, no the kit... but dont rely 100% on what ive said

Make sure you render and record in the correct settings

[RobinJI]

Unless you specifically know he's after a 'gopro' rather than just a genral action camera, it may be worth looking at the Sony HDR-AS15. I got one a little while back and I'd say it's a better camera than all but the black go-pro. Certainly better value for money within your price range.

[Hotchy]

I've got a Contour Roam2 and a Contour Roam1 and in my opinion they're much better cameras than GoPro's, they're also about £100 cheaper, the Roam2 is about £150 from Amazon, but I'm pretty sure you'll be able to get it cheaper than that if you do some hunting.

The quality of the camera is way better though, and it feels a lot better when it's on your head, as it's less bulky, I think it has a wider FOV as well, the Contours is 170° not sure what the GoPro's is. The Contours water proof, which is always a bonus, it records both 1080p and 720p and it can record 720p at 60fps, to switch, you just plug it into your laptop and use the free software the camera comes with to change the settings. The Roam2 adjusts for low light conditions and high light conditions, so if you're in a building or something thats dark, and then look at an open door and it's bright outside, the camera will really quickly adjust to the light change, so you'll be able to see whats through the door, instead of it just being a gleaming white light.

I suppose the only 2 downsides to it are:
It has to be on the side of your head, because it's a cylinder shape as apposed to a box, so it can't sit in the middle of your forehead.
And it doesn't have a fancy smart phone app that lets you use your phone as a view finder, so you can't see what your shot looks like, of it's level. It does have a laser on it though, that shines out as a horizontal live, so you can make sure the shots level, so that kinda counter acts the whole not been able to see if the shots level.

They are the only downsides though, other than that the camera is brilliant, never had any major issues with mine, apart from the memory card randomly formatting itself, but that's also happened to my mate, who owns a GoPro

[Krisboats]

I've got a Contour Roam2 and a Contour Roam1 and in my opinion they're much better cameras than GoPro's, they're also about £100 cheaper, the Roam2 is about £150 from Amazon, but I'm pretty sure you'll be able to get it cheaper than that if you do some hunting.

The quality of the camera is way better though, and it feels a lot better when it's on your head, as it's less bulky, I think it has a wider FOV as well, the Contours is 170° not sure what the GoPro's is. The Contours water proof, which is always a bonus, it records both 1080p and 720p and it can record 720p at 60fps, to switch, you just plug it into your laptop and use the free software the camera comes with to change the settings. The Roam2 adjusts for low light conditions and high light conditions, so if you're in a building or something thats dark, and then look at an open door and it's bright outside, the camera will really quickly adjust to the light change, so you'll be able to see whats through the door, instead of it just being a gleaming white light.

I suppose the only 2 downsides to it are:

It has to be on the side of your head, because it's a cylinder shape as apposed to a box, so it can't sit in the middle of your forehead.

And it doesn't have a fancy smart phone app that lets you use your phone as a view finder, so you can't see what your shot looks like, of it's level. It does have a laser on it though, that shines out as a horizontal live, so you can make sure the shots level, so that kinda counter acts the whole not been able to see if the shots level.

They are the only downsides though, other than that the camera is brilliant, never had any major issues with mine, apart from the memory card randomly formatting itself, but that's also happened to my mate, who owns a GoPro

Contour simply is not as good as a hero black. The contour +2 i looked at has a lower image quality and too much contrast. This means when you have a scene with bright and dark sections the contour is underexposed in the darks and blown out in the lights. The go pro has a much better balance so results in better image quality. At 960p/720 they are both the same 170 degree viewing angle, at 1080 the contour has 125 and gopro 127 so gopro is wider. 2.7k @ 30fps from the gopro means you can use software stabilization on the computer afterwards to get a nice steady picture while still being able to output the finished clip at 1080.

Gopro has removable batteries too so you can take spares

[RobinJI]

Contour simply is not as good as a hero black. The contour +2 i looked at has a lower image quality and too much contrast. This means when you have a scene with bright and dark sections the contour is underexposed in the darks and blown out in the lights. The go pro has a much better balance so results in better image quality. At 960p/720 they are both the same 170 degree viewing angle, at 1080 the contour has 125 and gopro 127 so gopro is wider. 2.7k @ 30fps from the gopro means you can use software stabilization on the computer afterwards to get a nice steady picture while still being able to output the finished clip at 1080.

Gopro has removable batteries too so you can take spares

Have a look at the Sony. For £140 to £170 It does 1080 @ 170deg or 120deg, 1080 @ 60 or 30 fps, 720 @ 120, 60 or 30 fps. It has a wi-fi link to android/apple phones to preview, and you can control all the settings from that, as well as buttons/screen on the side. 60m waterproof, standard tri-pod mount. And it has built in digital stabilization when on 120deg angle, which seems very effective, and saves some of the processing on the videos. It's also bloody good in low light. They use a separate battery too.

I really do think they're just as good as the go-pros up to the black, and they do a fair bit of what the black does. Being from a reputable make the build quality's good and parts are easy to get too, they're not some random Chinese brand that might disappear/go out of fashion any second. I'm far from a hater of go-pros, they're great, but in terms of value for money I think the Sony's way ahead, and definitely a proper competitor for what it'll do. I will say the contrast's a tiny bit better on go-pros, but only a little, and the way it's out's easily sorted in post processing..

This was straight off the memory-card, un-touched. Youtube's spoiled the sharpness a touch, but you can see the steadying working well, the mount's solid and you can see it moving the frame around from the way the bonnet's moving (the rattling noise is the cheap e-bay special mount):

Edited March 15, 2014 by RobinJI

[kevintaylor]

The White, Silver and Black Editions can be described as “Good, Better, Best.” The Hero3 Black Edition rightfully holds the flagship position in GoPro’s Hero lineup, as it does stand head and shoulders above the Silver and White Editions in low light performance, resolution and additional features. It’s important to note that although the Hero3 Black Edition technically has 4k capability, it will only record 12 fps at that level, so it’ll only be useful for time lapse at 4k.

When comparing the Silver and White Editions with the GoPro Hero2, the differences in resolution and low light performance become more negligible, BUT… don’t forget that all the GoPro Hero3 cameras have wi-fi and the Hero2 does not. This is a big reason to go with a Hero3.

Thanks

xtreme-items.com

[mr ailsbury]

At work they've got GoPro Hero 3 Black editions and i've got a Go Pro Hero 3+ black edition, the jump between the models has been pretty big from my experience, in both image quality and general functionality, i'd strongly recommend going for the top model (black edition) for the extra features, the wifi connection to use your phone as a monitor is an absolute life saver, I use it every time I use the camera, having that ability means you don't have to do whatever dangerous thing you're doing twice because the first camera angle was messed up because you couldn't check the shot, and avoids the major disappointment of having to wait until you get home to find out the shot is crap. It also allows you to review footage after and send clips directly to your phone so you can do quick edits and upload to instagram, youtube etc on the fly.

Getting the black model also future-proofs it to some extent. There's nothing that the GoPro 4 can offer me besides a big improvement in low light quality that would make me jump to upgrade any time soon. I use mine for filming trials, and also as an extra camera for gigs and studio video shoots.

https://vimeo.com/100999979 -Here's a video I shot with it as the extra camera (wide shot is a canon 7d, face close up is a Canon 5d Mk3 and the guitar close up is the Go Pro 3+ for image comparison.) Also a good argument for the wifi function, I was monitoring the gopro on my phone whilst operating the 5d from across the room, saved loads of hassle.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FQOXM78/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - This card is an absolute must as well, the Go Pro shoots MP4 files which are relatively small so this lasts forever. I reckon 2 or 3 of those would cover all your needs for a week holiday, maybe more without having to empty them.

Battery-wise, the gopro battery is good enough, but not for a full days shoot, you'll need 2 or 3 realistically for a full days riding, especially with the wifi turned on. The Go Pro backpack has been pretty useless from my experience, unless you're shooting a timelapse where you can't break to change battery, they're £50 each and normal batteries are about £20, much much better to invest in 2 of those than a backpack.

Hope that's been helpful!

[Krisboats]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FQOXM78/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - This card is an absolute must as well, the Go Pro shoots MP4 files which are relatively small so this lasts forever. I reckon 2 or 3 of those would cover all your needs for a week holiday, maybe more without having to empty them.

Battery-wise, the gopro battery is good enough, but not for a full days shoot, you'll need 2 or 3 realistically for a full days riding, especially with the wifi turned on. The Go Pro backpack has been pretty useless from my experience, unless you're shooting a timelapse where you can't break to change battery, they're £50 each and normal batteries are about £20, much much better to invest in 2 of those than a backpack.

Hope that's been helpful!

The sandisk cards can be a little unpredictable in the gopro's, much better with a samsung or even better yet, the lexar cards that are recommended on the gopro site.

Also, if you're doing a really long timelapse. You want this and a usb cable. Those chargers are invaluable and are great for charging a flat gopro while out in the middle of nowhere biking.

[mr ailsbury]

shit totally forgot to mention the battery pack thing. Definitely worth getting one!

[Mark W]

The sandisk cards can be a little unpredictable in the gopro's...

That might just be down to the specific level of card though. In my 550D, I had a SanDisk card in it and it used to f**k up pretty regularly when I was filming despite technically being a high enough class to deal with recording HD footage. I switched to their Extreme version (or something like that) and I've had no problems at all. Apparently some of their classes/types of card just don't work well with specific cameras, but some do.

[Tony Harrison]

Also there are lots of fake Sandisk cards about.

My Hero 3 had some issues straight out of the box, freezing etc, but I flashed the firmware and it was fine. Great camera but I haven't used it much or tried it in comparison to others.

[dann2707]

Wtf you have a brother?