Decent comparison video, you can download the original file from Vimeo, I would recommend you do that instead of watching it on Vimeo if possible.

HD HERO v. HERO3 (2 min 15 sec)

And a new overview of camera

GoPro HERO3: Black Edition Overview (3 min 58 sec)

Yes, using a class 10 card that works fine in my 60D and any other camera.

Don't get me wrong, The Hero2 is a great camera. Just disappointed that they didn't deliver the promised features that are printed on the box, and were listed on the website until recently. Because of that it just feels like they never really finished this camera before moving on to another one.

And, no, just switching to 1080p isn't an answer to getting different FOV. For one it doesn't offer 60fps, but worse then that its a jello nightmare. If you breath on the camera at 1080 narrow FOV the image becomes a squiggly mess.

But, I do look forward to 720p120. That will be awesome!

It's pouring rain outside here in CA, so no quad test, but here's a low light test in which you can see a clear difference. Both captured at 1080p 30fps. Make sure to watch full screen in 1080p

GoPro 2

GoPro 2 Low Light test (0 min 10 sec)

GoPro 3 Black

GoPro 3 Low light test (0 min 8 sec)

Wow that certainly is a pleasant improvement.

I just picked up the only one at my Best Buy this morning too.
I can't wait to play with this thing.

Originally Posted by MK3

It's pouring rain outside here in CA, so no quad test, but here's a low light test in which you can see a clear difference. Both captured at 1080p 30fps. Make sure to watch full screen in 1080p

Thanks for these. The GoPro 3 is not only brighter, it also has less noise and better white balance.

Does anyone know what the exact bitrates are for the different modes?

Originally Posted by Lucasberg

I just picked up the only one at my Best Buy this morning too.
I can't wait to play with this thing.

I wasn't aware Best Buy had these things in stock yet! Thanks for this tip, I just called my local BB and have their last "Black" model on hold

Looks like I'll be $480 in the hole today ($399 + $80 for the 2-year "accidental" warranty that I can almost guarantee I'll be cashing in).

I'm guessing my ReadyMadeRC 3.5mm live video output cable won't work with the new Hero3?

Originally Posted by Mikey636

I'm guessing my ReadyMadeRC 3.5mm live video output cable won't work with the new Hero3?

doesnt look like it

It will not. There's just one output, and it's mini-hdmi. I'm sure there's a way to make a custom mini-hmdi to rca cable, it shouldn't be that hard. GoPro also sells the cable

Btw..
A cool feature I came across is the GoPro3's wifi feature. Even when the camera is totally OFF, if the wifi button is on... you can remotely turn on the camera, change settings or shoot. Looks like live wifi output and control to the GoPro App is coming "winter 2012"

Best Buy doesn't "have them in stock" exactly. It looks like each store was sent one Black
Edition along with their full stock of the other models.

No the 3.5mm A/V plug and cable from RMRC won't work in Hero3.
That 3.5mm jack on the Hero HD and Hero2 was fragile anyway. Known to fail if used often.
Running A/V out through the USB port should be more reliable as USB jacks are rated
for a lot more insert/remove cycles. I'm sure RMRC will eventually build up an A/V cable for the Hero3,
but could probably build one yourself once we know the pinout.

BTW, I've found VLC pretty much incapable of playing raw Hero3 1080p@60fps mp4s..
It's not hardware accelerated, so it just can't keep up. Windows Media Player handles
it, and Sony Vegas Pro 10 did ok in Preview mode.

ian

Originally Posted by MK3

It will not. There's just one output, and it's mini-hdmi. I'm sure there's a way to make a custom mini-hmdi to rca cable, it shouldn't be that hard. GoPro also sells the cable

The Hero3 combo cable http://gopro.com/camera-accessories/combo-cable
says it's using the USB port.

A cool feature I came across is the GoPro3's wifi feature. Even when the camera is totally OFF, if the wifi button is on... you can remotely turn on the camera, change settings or shoot. Looks like live wifi output and control to the GoPro App is coming "winter 2012"

Yes, although you have to enable this option on in the camera, and of course then it's not 100% off, but still
powering the wifi radio (probably every second or so) listening for the power-on signal. Would love to know
what the standby time is with this enabled. It is really handy having a full display on the wifi remote so
you can look at camera battery status, record time remaining on the card.. etc.

ian

Oops, correction then. Three output methods then (didn't know usb was one of them)

- USB output
- Wifi output (not yet available)
- Mini-HDMI

Timelapse test I took a few hours ago. It was warmer colors than previous models, much better white balance and virtually no noise during daylight. Must see in 1080p

GoPro3 Black Edition - Timelapse (1 min 1 sec)

For whatever it's worth, the way the stock case is designed, it's not too hard to
pull it apart, and turn the lens protection part into a LayerLens style standalone protector.
See attached.

The Wifi remote is neat idea, but really flaky. Lost contact with the camera 2-3 times
(only a few feet away) and then they seemed to get into some weird mode where camera would
turn on and off with the remote, but remote wouldn't display anything
from the camera, and couldn't start/stop recording.. etc..
Eventually had to pull the battery from the camera to reset . Tried again,
no luck. Turned off wifi function and made a flight. Stopped recording,
and then when I went to try to start again, display was blank
except for the battery level indicator and couldn't do anything at all.
Would power off, but always power back on with blank screen and battery level
indicator. Had to pull the battery again. This firmware clearly needs some work.

1080p is stunning of course.
1440p (1920x1440) is pretty worthless. It's just a 4:3 version of 1920x1080.
720p looks better than ever before. 720@120fps is cool, but
still don't care for it at full wide angle. Wish other FoV had been made
available at 720p.

Everyone's eventually going to lose that tiny little pastic door over the USB/HDMI ports.
Battery door is a bit fiddly and wouldn't be hard to lose too.
Sneeze and those micro SD cards just disappear.

I'll have some FPV vid up later.

ian