GoPro Hero iii+ Black Edition
$399 / 300 | www.gopro.com

GoPro's latest fleet of lilliputian activity bricks are fortified with several avant-garde features that cannot be plant elsewhere in the market. The GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition ($399.99) is the newest flagship model, replacing the GoPro Hero 3 by adding some primal upgrades. While the GoPro Hero three+ Silver Edition ($299.99) and Hero 3 White Edition ($199.99) take both been upgraded, it's the Hero 3+ Black Edition that really showcases all the brand has to offering. Having endemic the first Hard disk Hero and Hero2, I wanted to know if the Black Edition was worth the actress cash, so I spent some quality time testing the camera in a variety of environments.

What's new?

The GoPro Hero 3+ Blackness Edition shares many similarities with its predecessor, the Hero 3. Although the Hero three+ may seem similar an incremental upgrade, there are a number of subtle changes that make this action cam stand up out. First off, it'southward twenty% smaller and lighter than the first GoPro Hero and Hero2, measuring 2.thirty x 1.55 x 0.08 inches (5.eight x 3.ix x 2 cm) and weighing 2.half-dozen oz. (28g). Now while those concrete stats remain identical to the Hero 3, the Hero 3+ ships with a smaller housing, with a streamlined lens covering without bolts, and devoid of the slide lock mechanisms. The resulting parcel is more compact and easier to access. The Hero 3+ also has slightly larger buttons.

A look at the slimmed-down housing. Practise you miss the bolt accents around the lens?

GoPro also improved the lens of the Hero 3+, making it sharper and exhibit less artifacts. The microphone is improved to pick up on more subtle sounds and improve current of air noise reduction. The Hero 3+ Black Edition's congenital-in Wi-Fi has also been boosted to 4x faster speeds with a greater range, and the battery life has been increased by 30%. The Hero iii+ Black Edition also introduces SuperView FOV, which is available in select capture resolutions. SuperView is the widest recording angle GoPro has offered to date (I have samples later on on in the article). Auto Low Lite is a new feature that cuts the frame rate in half when the camera detects lower light levels.

Versus its siblings

The GoPro Hero iii+ Black Edition carries over the same 4K video resolution from the Hero 3 Black, which is roughly four times the resolution of 1080 Full HD. 4K is where most televisions and programming are headed to, and GoPro placed themselves at the caput of the game by incorporating the format into a wildly pop camera that is at present smaller than information technology ever was. The Hero 3+ Black Edition also has a maximum still image resolution of 12MP and 30fps flare-up rate, which is beyond the 3+ Silver and 3 White'south capabilities. The latter two are non capable of 4K video recording either. Go along in mind that the 12MP still-resolution is native, not interpolated, and then it'due south a true representation of pixels.

And while all three new GoPros come with built-in Wi-Fi that's 4x faster, the Blackness Edition is the just model to ship with a Wi-Fi remote. Nonetheless, I don't think that'due south a deal-breaker because the GoPro app is far more user-friendly and quick than the remote. But the fact that Wi-Fi is finally congenital-in is a win. With the older models, I had to use the Wi-Fi back, which prevented me from using a battery back or LCD back if I wanted remote functionality.

The GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition ships with the Wi-Fi remote. Hither's a wait at the whole lot.

The Black Edition does hold white remainder aligning, Protune and simultaneous photograph+video recording above the 3+ Silver and 3 White editions besides. Protune is a setting that records videos with less compression and a more than neutral colour space to aid in the mail service product process. Just looking at specs alone, it's like shooting fish in a barrel to encounter that the Black Edition really packs a punch.

In utilize

A wait at the Wi-Fi push button and side microphone. The Hero iii+ Black Edition is also the smallest and lightest GoPro yet.

Ergonomics

Since the GoPro Hero iii+ Black Edition is 20% smaller and lighter than the original GoPro Hero and Hero2, I was able to enjoy the modest benefits. I usually mount the GoPro to my motorcycle and hockey helmets, and the first 2 models brand information technology easier to call up that they are strapped to the top of your head, thanks to their bulk. This is particularly axiomatic while turning my head. While the Hero iii+ is not a prodigious reduction in bulk and size, it was definitely noticeable, and certainly more than cervix-friendly. The size reduction renders the Hero iii+ half the thickness of the commencement two models, but information technology retains the same summit and width. The newly slimmed-down external housing on the Hero 3+ is the most meaty and easiest to access housing withal. The latch mechanism is similar to the start GoPro models, requiring a unproblematic flip lock to exist engaged and disengaged to admission the photographic camera. The Hero 3 case has a convoluted series of slide lock buttons that made accessing the camera a royal hurting. So, overall size and weight is very impressive compared to all previous models.

Notice the absence of the concluding cover? It surfaced after a long vacation on the floor somewhere.

 The GoPro Hero three+ is about 2/3 the thickness of the Hero2.

Now, this size reduction does come at a price. The Hero three+ records to MicroSD cards, only like the Hero 3. I am non a huge fan of MicroSD cards because I lose things easily, and it's not fun to scour a dirt bike trail for an hour looking for a minute plastic bit. I also noticed the omission of the iii.5mm audio jack, which is something offered on the GoPro Hard disk Hero2.

The GoPro Hero 3+ has only two terminals: USB and HDMI. Both terminals and the MicroSD card slot are covered by a rubberized flap that matches the cross-hatched texture adjoining the camera. Unfortunately, the terminal comprehend is not tethered to the trunk of the camera, so information technology popped off and sailed across the room the first time I removed it. It resurfaced two weeks later while digging through some photography equipment. And then, for the next model, GoPro needs to tether that affair.

Battery and Wi-Fi

Despite the slim down, GoPro managed to cram an 1180mAh bombardment inside the Hero 3+, and promised a longer battery life compared to the Hero 3. I put this to the test by recording continuously at 1080p/24fps until the battery died. The GoPro Hero 3+ lasted a full ii hours and xiv minutes. Later on researching many accounts of battery life on the Hero 3, my understanding is that information technology usually croaks at around one hr 35 minutes, so the Hero iii+ is a bit of an comeback equally far as battery life goes. Of form, when using the Wi-Fi functionality, the Hero 3+ exhibits rather limited bombardment life. After using the Hero three+ tethered to the GoPro application on my iPhone, I was down a battery bar after a half hour.

The GoPro Hero 3+ packs in longer battery life.

Another area of improvement is Wi-Fi range and speed. GoPro claims a Wi-Fi range of up to 600 feet with the included Wi-Fi remote and a more limited range with the GoPro awarding. I got most 145 feet of Wi-Fi range using the GoPro application, but did not test the full range of the remote. Nevertheless, in my experience, I never lost connection with the Wi-Fi remote, and I have not found an application yet where I would demand to exist 2 football fields away from the action. Regardless, the Wi-Fi connectedness was stiff and did not falter. I could go on my telephone in my pocket while using the GoPro and it remained connected. Setting upwardly is a snap as well, as the Hero 3+ merely emits its own Wi-Fi network that is easily joined past a smart device in a matter of seconds.

The GoPro application makes life much easier.

The choice between the GoPro application and the Wi-Fi remote was a no-brainer for me. While the remote has its advantages in the range and battery life department (you can salve your phone's juice), the GoPro application is simply also pleasant to utilise, peculiarly after enduring years of clunky GoPro card systems on a monochromatic LCD screen smaller than a postage stamp.

With the GoPro awarding, I could make nearly every camera setting with a tap. The GoPro application besides gave me a alive preview of the camera, so I knew exactly how to set the angle for maximum coverage. Ane caveat is that the live preview is but bachelor in select capture modes, so gigantic resolutions like 4K are not possible to preview. I could also watch what I shot on my phone, power the camera on and off, and offset and stop recording, all from my iPhone. Other useful features like battery level condition, SD card capacity, camera locator (prompts GoPro to beep if lost), were welcome additions, and I decided the GoPro application would exist accompanying me on all of my adventures. Of course, I'll need a fill-in bombardment pack for the GoPro and charging stick for my phone in order to make information technology through a full day.

Microphone

The improved microphone on the GoPro Hero three+ is twofold. First, its overall pickup quality is said to exist improved, with heightened sensitivity to delicate sounds and dash. Secondly, the air current noise reduction is apparently improved. The latter is a big one, as there'due south zilch more than vexing than sifting through hours of motorcycle footage with the deafening shrill of current of air prompting you to reach for some other aspirin. I've always wanted more engine sound, less air current noise.

My first exam was full general audio quality. What could be improve than pounding on the drums? I tested the GoPro Hero three+ with it mounted to my head in the case, so once more sitting stationary removed from its case. What I found was that in or out of the case, the GoPro Hero 3+ had some difficulty with bass, primarily during a thunderous cacophony. However, treble sounds like cymbals and snare hits were crisp and clear, particularly with the Hero 3+ outside of its case. On the in/out of the case debate, I constitute the sound to be a scrap crisper when the Hero 3+ was removed from the case, but information technology was non a huge difference. So yes - modest dash sound pickup was impressive, simply bass was a tad muffled. Now if only the Hero iii+ had that 3.5mm sound jack for attaching external mics.

My second test was of the wind reduction. I found a rare 45 degree window in this unrelenting New England winter and took my newly rebuilt dirt bicycle for a spin with the GoPro mounted to the Chesty harness. Now this was a noticeable comeback. At around 45-50 MPH amidst cold, thick air, the only aural wind noise was more of an intermittent lower toned muffling. Gone was the whistling, shrill wail-from-hell. At lower speeds, the current of air noise was barely audible, and the Hero three+ really picked upward on the ring-da-ding of the two-stroke engine (which is all the same existence broken in and sounds extra crude). I didn't accept a gamble to exceed 50 MPH, and I'thou really interested to see how the Hero 3+ fares at over 100 MPH on my street bike. Simply based on the improvement at lower speeds alone, I can project improved current of air-reduction ability.

To learn almost the Hero three+ Black Edition's paradigm quality and our final determination, use the arrows or table of contents below.