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Hey guys. Max here, from DF3 Technology, with a review of the GoPro Hero3
Black Edition. As the flagship model to the "World's Most Versatile Camera" series,
let's dive deeper down to see what this tiny little camera packs. In the box is the
camera, 197 foot waterproof housing, wifi remote to work with your Hero3 and its'
built in wifi, wifi remote charging cable, mini usb cable, battery for the camera, some
assorted mounts and accessories, and the awesomest part: some GoPro stickers. Weighing in at
a scant 2.6 ounces, the Hero3 Black Edition is 25% lighter, and 30% smaller than previous
models. The design of this camera is really where it hit it home; it has a nice sleek
look to it, and a definite subtle sexiness. I was also impressed with the build quality.
On the back, as well as the sides, it features this nice, solid rubber, and on the front,
it is built with a very high quality plastic that seems like it might scratch overtime,
but I have yet to have this problem. As its' predecessors, the Hero3 features a two-button
design; one is a shutter/record button, and the other is a power/mode button. It also
features a half inch LCD which is where you will do your scrolling through the modes and
menus, and it will display some vital information such as battery life, recording time, video
settings, etc. Right next to the LCD you will find two LEDs; up top, a blue LED for wifi
indication, and down bottom, a red LED which will blink when powering on and off and when
recording. Towards the bottom right hand corner, a nice HERO3 logo sits, and above it, the
most obvious, and important part of the camera, the lens. This is an f/2.8 lens, which means
a decent amount of light will be let in, but it's nothing to boast about. It also has
6 element aspherical glass, as well as 2 times better low light performance than the Hero2,
but we'll talk more about low light later. One other cool thing that this lens has is
is quite a bit of distortion as you will see later in my video samples. On the back of
the camera, there is an opening to attach any kind of GoPro BacPac accessories, and
next to that is the spot where your battery is going to go. On the left side, you will
find a microphone up top, an HDMI output, mini usb output, and the slot to insert your
micro sd card. Now one thing to note here, the Hero3 Black Edition requires a class 10
memory card to get you up and running. Lastly, on the right side, you find another microphone,
as well as your wifi switch. As far as specs goes, this camcorder is absolutely decked
out. It does WVGA at 240 fps, 960p at 100 and 48 fps, 1080p at 60, 48, 30, and 24 fps,
1440p at 48, 30, and 24 fps, 2.7k at 30 fps, and 2.7k cinema at 24fps, and
lastly, 4k!!! Yes, I said it, this teeny tiny little camera
does 4k!!! Unfortunately, it only comes in at 15 fps, and at 4k cinema
it comes in at 12fps, but considering how amazingly small this little camera is, that's
pretty crazy. On top of all of that, this takes some pretty nice looking 12mp photos,
which aren't amazing, but they will do the job for you. So you must be asking, "Where's
the screen??" Well, I hate to say it, but this doesn't have one. However, for about
80 bucks, you can purchase a touch screen LCD BacPac from GoPro, which will allow you
to see what you're shooting, and look at your photos and videos. However, something
to note here is that, when attached, the LCD will really drain your battery life, so my
recommendation is to only use it when needed. Speaking of accessories, GoPro manufactures
over 20 of them that can be used in conjunction with your GoPro. Now let me tell you, when
you buy a GoPro, you don't just buy a GoPro; in order to be able to use it to its fullest
potential, there are a quite few accessories that you will need. Some of these include
a tripod mount, adhesive mounts, an LCD BacPac, and many more. And finally, a few test videos.
But before I play anything, I do highly recommend that you playback in at least 720p, as YouTube
compresses like crazy, and what you see in 360p or 480p is not even close to what you
will actually get out of this GoPro. So this first video was shot in 1080p at 24 fps outside
in the dark and rainy night. Low light performance is good, but not great. As you can tell, there
is quite a bit of noise in the darker areas of the clip, but overall, the footage is very
usable. This second shot was filmed during the day in 2.7k at 30 fps. Images look nice
and sharp, however color is a bit dull, and it tends to be a little bit more towards the
blue side than I would like it to be. This third video that I'm showing you was shot
in 720p at 120 fps. So the reason such a high frame rate is good is for slow motion; the
higher the frame rate, the better the quality that is distributed when slowed down. Fourth
is an underwater test shot at 1080p at 30fps. Underwater, the detail is surely there, and
the video looks very nice. The reason that these GoPros are so popular is because you
can mount them on top of your helmet, on your car, and pretty much everywhere else. So for
my fifth test, I'm skiing and the GoPro is mounted on top of my helmet. The last of
my video tests is going to be the ultimate setting: 4k. I figured I'd just throw this
in, even though it is only capable of doing 15 fps. And finally, here are a couple of
pictures I took. Like I mentioned earlier, this has a 12mp shooter, which will get the
job done, but it's nothing like a DSLR. As far as pricing goes, GoPro has raised the
price $100 since the Hero2. Now the Black Edition isn't the only new Hero3, they also
made two other ones: the White Edition and the Silver Edition. The White Edition is the
lowest end model and sells for $200; it will bring you the same video quality as the original
HD Hero. The Silver Edition is the middle end model and sells for $300; it will bring
you the same video quality as the Hero2. And then, of course, you'll have the Black Edition
which was showcased today, bringing you a new generation of GoPro HD video. But is it
worth the money? If you're in need (or want) of a nice, versatile, waterproof, compact
camera and camcorder, that can get you some nice action shots when needed, and considering
that this little thing can do 2.7k video, $400 is a very reasonable price. However,
if I had to recommend one Hero3 out of the bunch, I would say to go with the Silver Edition.
You still get the built in wifi, the same design, the same audio, but you get 1080p
only 30fps, and 720p at 60fps. However, you will also get 11mp stills which, to me, look
exactly the same as the Black Edition stills. For $300 it gives you the same versatility,
and it's just overall more worth its price. However, if you want the latest, greatest,
and best, and you have an extra 100 bucks laying around, go with the Black Edition.
Anyway guys, as always thanks for watching, and make sure to go hit me up on Twitter and
Facebook with the links in the description down below, but once again, thank you all
for watching and... SEE YA!