GoPro Hero3+

[Av8Chuck]

I have a Hero2 that I use as a crashcam on cars, its been great but generally I have not thought the quality of footage from the GoPro's in general is good enough to charge money for AP so I've been using a Sony NEX5n.

With the proliferation of camera gimbals for the GoPro Hero3 and the "Improved" image quality and higher frame rates I was thinking about getting a Hero3 Black Edition but now that the 3+ is out it impossible to find a new Hero3.

There has been a lot of discussion on RCGroups about how the Hero3 is better for AP than the Hero3+ but not what I would consider a lot of conclusive video evidence to back that up and sometimes threads take on a life of their own or group think thing and it becomes difficult to discern if that's true or not.

Also, I've heard that a Hero3 will fit into a Hero2 waterproof case, is that true?

So I'm curious what others think here.

 

[Stacky]

I just tried my H3+ in my GP2 case and it doesnt fit for me. The lens surround is bigger than the GP2 hole.

I only got my GP3+ a week or so ago and I was hoping it would be part of the better focus side of things but it was out of focus at the infinity point. My GP2 was sharper. Fortunately the adjustment for the lens was simple and easy to do. I have now adjusted the focus to where I want it. Its a 5 minute job if that.
With both cameras using the same settings my GP2 at this point is giving me better exposure and dynamic range in the stills setting. The GP3+ is over exposing and losing highlight detail. I havent yet worked out what to change in the settings to correct it.

To be honest for what Im doing, in 1080 resolution video I cant see much difference between my GP2 and GP3+.
I also have a GP3 which was faulty when given to me, I have been able to repair it and again the difference to me is virtually non existent.

Overall I have been quite disappointed as from all the hype I expected a decent jump in quality from the GP2 to the GP3+ but just havent seen it at the 1080 settings. Im using mine in medium mode as well.

I expect however that others with far more video editing experience will be able to see and get more out of the new versions.

 

[Av8Chuck]

Thanks.

This is a bummer in part because all of the new gimbals are for the Hero3, I'm quite happy with my Hero2. The thing that interest me about the Hero3 is the ability to shoot 2.7K @ 30fps or 1080P @ 48fps. My rational is to shoot 2.7K and then center cut 1080 hoping that would yield sharper HD with less fisheye. If that didn't work, I edit in a 23.976 timeline so shooting @ 48fps would only slow the footage by 50% I think I can live with that.

I probably should have asked if the Hero2 would fit in the Hero3 case. The reason for asking is that I have this cage for rigging the GoPro in extreme situations and it would be great if I could use both camera's in it.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._3_127_0001_Cobalt_Cage_For_Gopro_Gopro2.html

 

[Stacky]

Im just messing around with a short 2.7k hop now. I had problems with jello in this mode until I made a couple of changes to my gimbal mounting. It appears to be jello free at this point. Just letting FCPX do its thing and I will have a look again soon. My TV doesnt handle 2.7k so I cant get a quick look and my computer isnt really grunty enough to handle 2.7k very well so will have to wait for the render. Can the camera do 48fps in 2.7k? I didnt think it could?

 

[Av8Chuck]

Nothing really uses 2.7K but if it really is that much more resolution then it would be great for panning and scanning the 2.7K to get a good 1080P HD. Something that would hopefully have a better chance of being cut together with DSLR footage.

I believe it has a "1440" mode that shoots 48fps which I think is 1920x1440. Again in and of itself not good for anything but aside from a more favorable frame rate you could pan around on the vertical which might improve framing or stabilizing.

 

[Stacky]

I can see the difference with the 2.7k, it is an improvement, shame my old mac struggles with it. My only gripe is motion blur when my Y6 movements are too quick. I think this will give very nice results with very smooth flying. and in the hands of someone who knew what they were doing....

 

[Av8Chuck]

Unfortunately we can't control the shutter speed, it would be helpful to be able to know what shutter speed it used, for the motion blur to look correct the shutter would need to be approximately 60fps.

How old is your Mac? Do you encode your footage into an intermediate codec like ProRes or do you just bring it into FCPX and edit it natively?

 

[Stacky]

I edited it natively. The frame rate is apparently 25fps but I dont know the shutter speed.
I have an old imac, about 4 years old now, due for replacement.

 

[PeteDee]

If you do the focus mod on the GP3BE+ you can get much better results, here is a bit of video from last weekends flying. Shot in 1080P 50fps, no filter, Disco Pro with gimbal upgrade.

 

[kloner]

the difference between the quality of image between hero2 and hero3+ is huge. filming in 2.7 does make a difference when you dive into an edit. the color might be a tad better though in 1080 24p than the 2.7 but the clarity is money. unless your gonna replay in slo mo, filming at a higher frame rate more less sense than filming in 2.7 to make a 1080 clip. the color clarity part of the file is destroyed to fit more frames in.....

the focus mod looks nice, it's a big advantage of the ribcage mod to be able to focus the dam thing. period.

hero3 in 2.7 24p

hero3 in 1080 24p but not much sun

hero2 most likely 60p cause i thought that's what made less rolling shutter...