Bushwalk Australia

Posted: **Tue 01 Oct, 2013 3:22 pm**

The new Hero3+ Black edition - got me thinking about it...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... a-ReadMore

Now redesigned to be smaller, sharper and faster, the GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition Camera makes significant improvements over last year's model. Trimming off 20% of its size makes it even lighter than last year's model, and it packs a faster onboard Wi-Fi – along with a new rechargeable lithium battery that has a 25% longer life. The HERO3+ also features a new compact and rugged housing that is waterproof down to a depth of 131' (40m) for underwater recording. To ensure you get the best shots possible, the HERO3+ Black Edition is now equipped with more creative and advanced shooting modes including SuperView Video mode and Auto Low Light mode. The GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition now captures 4Kp video at 15 fps, 2.7Kp at 30 fps, 1440p at 48 fps, Full HD 1080p at 60 fps, 960p at 100 fps and 720p video at 120 fps. The Silver edition now supports Full HD 1080p video at an improved 60 fps, as well as 720p at 120 fps. For still images, the HERO3+ Black Edition supports up to 12MP photos with a burst rate of up to 30 fps, while the HERO3+ Silver supports still capture at 10MP with a burst rate of up to 10 fps.

No association, just thought folk might be interested...

More info on this link - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/gop ... a-ReadMore

Posted: **Thu 03 Oct, 2013 10:08 am**

I got rid of my H3B earlier this year because of how frustratingly buggy it was. I didn't try the latest firmware but somehow I think they should concentrate on releasing final stage products that are stable rather than trying to improve the feature list and release essentially Beta stage firmware. As an electronic engineer I was appalled at how unstable and how many problems there were with the H3B. It was also funny how much the gopro fans defended the fact that you had to follow so many silly rules about how to use it so it had the best chance of actually working.

Don't get me wrong, when it worked I loved the results. But it was just so much work to get something usable out of it. Realizing half way up a cliff (or more often 3 metres off the ground) that it has stopped recording and needs the battery pulled out is reaaally *&%$#! frustrating.

Posted: **Thu 03 Oct, 2013 10:15 am**

cams wrote:Realizing half way up a cliff (or more often 3 metres off the ground) that it has stopped recording and needs the battery pulled out is reaaally *&%$#! frustrating.

6m cliff? That's not a cliff!

Given how GoPro has grown in recent years, I'm not surprised their firmware has been experiencing some growing pains. Like Garmin, progressive firmware updates is part and parcel of the experience for early adopters of any particular model.

Posted: **Thu 03 Oct, 2013 10:55 am**

GoPro are famously unreliable (the 2 had charging problems, you had to send back the camera, which I had to do) and rubbish in low light. The expensive accessories are also a big flaw. They make money because their camera is small and can be attached to anything, but it could (should) be a lot better for the price. As soon as somebody with a bit of talent and the will to create a good rival product realizes it, GoPro will be in big trouble.

Posted: **Thu 03 Oct, 2013 10:58 am**

I think GoPro has a pretty solid maker these days. It won't be an easy task for a rival to beat them as if they by some magic can create bug free firmwares. That's just life in tech product development.

Posted: **Thu 03 Oct, 2013 11:05 am**

Beating them wouldn't be that hard, you'd just need these :
-reliability
-better battery (GoPros only last a couple of hours)
-an LCD screen at the back and easier navigation (the 2 buttons GoPro use are just horrible to navigate through menus)
-better low light quality

Posted: **Thu 03 Oct, 2013 12:19 pm**

Hallu I'm not sure you appreciate the advances made in such a short period of time in camera technology. They are remarkable, for what they are.

One of the camera operators I work with has a camera body he bought for 150K 9 years ago. If he sold it today it would be worth 2-3K.

I look forward to your design and the cheap price tag!

Posted: **Thu 03 Oct, 2013 3:37 pm**

GPSGuided wrote:
cams wrote:Realizing half way up a cliff (or more often 3 metres off the ground) that it has stopped recording and needs the battery pulled out is reaaally *&%$#! frustrating.

6m cliff? That's not a cliff!

Given how GoPro has grown in recent years, I'm not surprised their firmware has been experiencing some growing pains. Like Garmin, progressive firmware updates is part and parcel of the experience for early adopters of any particular model.

I was implying that I would have been happy if it had even made it half way up. Most of the time it would fail within a minute or two of setting off.

GPSGuided wrote:I think GoPro has a pretty solid maker these days. It won't be an easy task for a rival to beat them as if they by some magic can create bug free firmwares. That's just life in tech product development.

There is a massive difference between being bug free (which I know is impossible) and what I had to deal with after paying money for a product. And it's not like it was their first time round. It was the third generation of the product.

Hallu wrote:Beating them wouldn't be that hard, you'd just need these :
-reliability
-better battery (GoPros only last a couple of hours)
-an LCD screen at the back and easier navigation (the 2 buttons GoPro use are just horrible to navigate through menus)
-better low light quality

I would have been happy if it had performed as advertised reliably. I was aware of the battery life and controls before hand and could deal with them both.

Anyway, I know they've had firmware updates since I got rid of mine and maybe they've addressed a lot of the stability issues, but I won't be rushing back to them if I need another action camera anytime soon.

Posted: **Thu 03 Oct, 2013 5:30 pm**

cams wrote:Anyway, I know they've had firmware updates since I got rid of mine and maybe they've addressed a lot of the stability issues, but I won't be rushing back to them if I need another action camera anytime soon.

I don't think you have the right sort of aptitude to play with bleeding edge gadgets. Nothing wrong with that but strongly suspect you'll be better served and happier by staying with mature previous generation devices.

Posted: **Fri 04 Oct, 2013 9:49 am**

GPSGuided wrote:
cams wrote:Anyway, I know they've had firmware updates since I got rid of mine and maybe they've addressed a lot of the stability issues, but I won't be rushing back to them if I need another action camera anytime soon.

I don't think you have the right sort of aptitude to play with bleeding edge gadgets. Nothing wrong with that but strongly suspect you'll be better served and happier by staying with mature previous generation devices.

Wow, ok so now you're talking down to me and saying it's my fault that a product (not a gadget) doesn't work...

Anyway, the point of my comments is to warn people to do your research on the gopro forums and make sure it is going to do what you expect it to do before buying. Don't just rely on Gopro's feature list and advertising. That's it.

Posted: **Fri 04 Oct, 2013 2:14 pm**

cams wrote:Wow, ok so now you're talking down to me and saying it's my fault that a product (not a gadget) doesn't work...

Not at all, but said with all due respect. I'd be the first to apologise if you felt that way. We are all different and that's a fact of life.

Seriously, we all have different expectations on products and it's but a fact that bleeding edge consumer gadgets all have rough edges, all the way from new clothing to backpacks, to stoves and electronic gears. If one takes the attitude that new products are to be bug free, then it really is better to wait for the product to mature in the market place. Otherwise, if we expect aerospace level of QA, then be prepared to pay $100 for a plastic trowel. Don't even want to think about the market price for such spec'ed electronic gadgets.

But yes, I agree with your recommendation for research before purchase.

Posted: **Sat 05 Oct, 2013 9:25 am**

cams wrote: Realizing half way up a cliff (or more often 3 metres off the ground) that it has stopped recording and needs the battery pulled out is reaaally *&%$#! frustrating.

Ah but think how frustrating it is when that bug occurs while at 20m underwater with no way to replace the battery until you surface

I spent the next min sulking that I couldn't capture what I was seeing, but then we caught a Cray.

Na they fixed that bug months ago but they certainly took their time about it..
Quite happy with my hero 3 now.

Posted: **Sat 05 Oct, 2013 10:16 am**

I'm happy with my gopro h3, but it does have poorly thought out software and yes it is unreliable.

But it's still a great camera.

Thg h3+ claims to be smaller and lighter, but from what I can tell it's physically the same. Are they still comparing it to the older cams?

I note the white hasn't had the upgrade.

It's a shame it doesn't yet have enough processing grunt for 24fps at 4k.

Posted: **Sun 10 Nov, 2013 10:43 am**

cams wrote:Don't get me wrong, when it worked I loved the results. But it was just so much work to get something usable out of it. Realizing half way up a cliff (or more often 3 metres off the ground) that it has stopped recording and needs the battery pulled out is reaaally *&%$#! frustrating.

And there I was thinking that the freeze issues were due to something I did.
ps: it's worse when you're in the water.

Posted: **Sun 10 Nov, 2013 2:42 pm**

GPSGuided wrote:Seriously, we all have different expectations on products and it's but a fact that bleeding edge consumer gadgets all have rough edges, all the way from new clothing to backpacks, to stoves and electronic gears. If one takes the attitude that new products are to be bug free, then it really is better to wait for the product to mature in the market place. Otherwise, if we expect aerospace level of QA, then be prepared to pay $100 for a plastic trowel. Don't even want to think about the market price for such spec'ed electronic gadgets.

This. So many times.

The first adopters of cuben had problems with tear-outs. The first GPSs were hard to use and heavy. The first Sawyer Squeeze bags broke.
This is one of the drawbacks of being an early adopter. I think it is worth it, but it is reasonable to prefer 99% reliability.

Posted: **Sun 10 Nov, 2013 4:59 pm**

One thing with the commercial reality is, for any commercial product of any relevance, a business plan with a finite budget and timeline is put in place. Work will proceed and an incredible amount of pressure will be on those engineers and marketeers to deliver the "product" accordingly. Unfortunately, few projects follow a plan and outcome varies. Companies that develop product without a deadline invariably go bankrupt. A commercial sweet spot will be determined by said business entity to accept or release a product at the end of that. That's that. Just be thankful that companies like Garmin are willing to continue to evolve the product during its commercial life. There are others that don't.

Bushwalk Australia

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