GoPro Hero3 Black Edition (12MP)

• Average user rating: 1.5 stars out of 5 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 9 stars

  I've Found this to be a Great Camera!

  by DKietrich on February 12, 2013

  Pros: Sound quality has been very good.
  Image quality is simply amazing.
  Very impressed when it was cloudy, in low light and even at night.

  Cons: Software issues and bugs.

  Summary: Maybe I'm one of the "lucky" ones, but I have had great success with this camera. I got it for Christmas and after an admittedly bad day and a ...

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  Summary: Maybe I'm one of the "lucky" ones, but I have had great success with this camera. I got it for Christmas and after an admittedly bad day and a half of trying to upgrade the software (which was the fault of the hosting site not GoPro itself). Once I did that, this camera has been amazing! So far I have used it to shoot multiple snowmobiling videos, with many other projects planned.
  
  Because of snowdrifts and such, I have been using the waterproof standard back door, but even with that the sound quality has been very good. The image quality is simply amazing! I have used it in the sun, when it was cloudy, in low light and even at night. I was very impressed with all of the films I shot, and they all turned out very professional looking right out of the camera. I downloaded GoPro's CineForm editing software, and even though I have never done any sort of editing in my life I was able to make my films even better with just a little bit of adjusting.
  
  I understand that many people have had issues, but don't think that all cameras are like that. If you are very concerned I would maybe recommend waiting a few weeks to see if things start to level out.
  
  Now I would like to address one of the biggest complaints I have seen: Lack of a bigger screen.
  
  I have heard so many people bash the tiny screen that doesn't provide any preview or anything like that. That was a conscious choice by GoPro designers. They were looking to make the camera as small and as portable as possible. A screen would have not only added size, but also weight. Considering that many people mount these on helmets and such, that weight would have a massive effect. I have found that it is barely noticeable and certainly doesn't change how i hold my head or add any strain. A bigger camera would be more cumbersome and difficult to work with.
  
  Also, for those users who have a smartphone, GoPro has released an app that includes a preview mode. Even though you need a smartphone to use it, the app is much more useful than a bigger screen anyway. I don't care if they put a screen the size of a small table on the camera. If I have it mounted on the side of my helmet that's not going to do me much good anyway.
  
  Obviously, the software issues and bugs that people had are inexcusable. With that said, however, I have heard much more positivity about the camera following the latest firmware update. I have personally found this camera to be wonderful, and I would recommend it to anyone!
  
  For best price of this camera check here: hd-cameradeals.blogspot.com/p/gopro-hero3-hd.html
  
  Thank for reading, Enjoy!

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  4 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 2 stars

  I have the 1st 2 GoPro's the GoPro 3 is the worst.

  by Honda_Motocross_Rider on February 18, 2013

  Pros: Sleek design, light weight cool look, seemed to be easy to set up and use (at first!)

  Cons: Battery life SUCKS! Had to download updates before initial use, got stuck in modes would not clear had to reboot. Had to buy a extended life battery which added wind noise with the new back and also negated the "sleek design" Pro that I listed above!

  Summary: So have had the GoPro 1 and 2 loved them both mostly, waited for the 3 saved money and got gift cards for Christmas to specifically buy this.
  The WiFi ...

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  Summary: So have had the GoPro 1 and 2 loved them both mostly, waited for the 3 saved money and got gift cards for Christmas to specifically buy this.
  The WiFi and GoPro app were kinda cool but I can not tell when I would ever use them. Originally pairing the remote was a pain but I finally got it. My 1st day out using it, I had it fully charged and set up on 1 button mode, it kept going into other modes with me only hitting the 1 button that is supposed to be used, it took pictures while I thought it was in video mode, got stuck in some unknown mode (I could not find the symbol on the owners manual PDF) had to pull the battery to "reset" it. Then after messing around with it for less than an hour the battery went dead on me.
  So I purchased the $70 add on extended battery, tried that out for a short ride, the new back caused allot of wind noise but seemed to "solve" the fast eroding power issue......so I thought.
  
  I took it to a 2 day ride at the sand dunes and had some of the same issues as the 1st day, a little annoying but I dealt with resetting it by removing the battery several times....by the second day it got stuck in a mode that I could not reset, pulled the battery and charged it, put it back in only to have the same result. Returned it to REI and got a refund, LUCKILY I didn't buy it on the GoPro.com site since it states that it will only refund for the 30days!!
  
  Bottom line is it sounds really cool and does allot of cool stuff but what good is it without battery life and continual functionality issues?? At nearly $400 I would expect a much more professional product and at the minimum some testing and fixes!

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 1 stars

  Biggest disappointment of a long waited product release

  by Dumbiphonefreaks on January 3, 2013

  Pros: Returning it for a full refund

  Cons: everything. Just search online for anything attached to GoPro

  Summary: I received a GoPro Hero3 Black Edition for Christmas, it had been on my wish list since I first started seeing the dozens of misleading YouTube videos that showed professional ...

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  Summary: I received a GoPro Hero3 Black Edition for Christmas, it had been on my wish list since I first started seeing the dozens of misleading YouTube videos that showed professional grade, high quality ACTION movies of people in high-risk sports. First problem: NO CHARGING BASE (must use USB to computer to charge). This is garbage. Do an online search for GoPro charging problems and tell me how many people your company has disappointed. All of the reviews point to FAIL. "Do Not Charge Your GoPro On Any Computer." is the consensus, even though the manuel tells you to. Second problem: NO INSTRUCTION MANUEL. This is garbage. Why do I have to go to a computer to read the horribly unorganized manuel that was put together by a third-world country? Oh, I know the answer- $$! Third problem: 1980's black and green watch face technology. Who can read the menus and submenus on that little display? THIS TOO, is GARBAGE! Fourth problem: If you're lucky to have a charge in the battery, you might try to give this very misleading camera company a 2nd chance, and dump another $80 for a "touch-screen" back pack display. Why? So you can see what is going on. ANOTHER FAIL. All touch screens are measured against one company: APPLE. Your touch screen "back pack" is junk. It has a lag that is extremely annoying, and forget having fingers bigger than a two year-olds, you're gonna press the wrong menu. This display says that your battery meter is at 2 bars (after plugging into Apple's charging/usb outlet, since a computer doesn't work) but the 1980 watch display says ONE BAR, after 8 hours charging. THIS IS TOTAL GARBAGE! What LED light is telling me that the camera is even charging? There is a faint red LED on the back, that sometimes comes on while charging, then there is two bright red LED's on the front that sometimes blink while charging. Which is it? The 1980 watch display shows the old animated battery level moving too- so I am to think it is charging. NOT! It should just be a cook meter, because it's gonna be hot after a while on the wall. What am I up to? Oh, sixth problem: What is with the Micro SD Card? What in the heck is with your product line? Did you pay an 8 y/o in a sweat shop to build the crap-box you call a Hero camera? This is an ENEMY PRODUCT LINE! Do an online search for GoPro SD problems. Count how many more people you have pissed off. Why is it not specified which brand name(s), size cap's and speed specs are required to make your princess of a crapamera work? F your product and all the bugs you failed to address prior to launch. Your firmware update didn't do spit, other than confirm the non-ease of use in your worthless camera. I can't believe for one second that you have ANY true sportsman/beach bum figuring out how to put together any of the videos you have online. They are all either doctored, or are made using some other product, because your Hero line is absolute junk. I'm taking everything back to BEST BUY and getting a full refund. But before I go, your packaging is also nonsense. What a waste of plastic, paper, silicone, and metal. I think you made the packaging difficult to open, thinking your customers will just throw the destroyed "boxes" out and not be able to refund or return your product! Well, I got news for you, I'm throwing everything in a trash bag and dumping it on the return counter!!!!!! $1,000 in GoPro camera and accessory cash, back in my pocket you waste of time and energy!!!!

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  2 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 2 stars

  A very frustrating product that I don't recommend.

  by b6343 on June 10, 2013

  Pros: Small. Pretty good but not outstanding video and photo quality. Take a few shots and videos, zoom in on the results and you'll see what I mean. I have a Canon S110 point and shoot that blows this device away.

  Cons: User manual illogical, so cheaply made that pages started falling out as soon as I started to try to use; poor battery life; tiny dinosauric LCD display; stupid menu logic sequence; videos choppy even w/ VLC; overpriced espec. accessories; freezes.

  Summary: I really, really wanted to like this product and was quite excited to bring it hom. My first experience just getting into the box was over-the-top frustrating - believe it ...

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  Summary: I really, really wanted to like this product and was quite excited to bring it hom. My first experience just getting into the box was over-the-top frustrating - believe it our not there is even a Youtube video on how to unpackage this little monster! Then when I opened the groovy-sized user manual pages started falling out right away! That was the least of my worries... the manual is so illogically organized you have to get well into it to figure out what to do first. Right... charge the battery... do you think that opening the battery door is straightforward? NOT!!! Took me 15 minutes to get the door to open and - you guessed it - the manual was useless so I had to look up on Youtube how the heck to get the door open and closed. And I could go on and on... but won't.
  
  The thing I can't understand is why GoPro would release a product that requires a FIRMWARE UPDATE just to get it working properly! If their QC is that bad it makes me wonder what else will break on this overpriced product.
  
  My advice to all of you: KEEP YOUR RECEIPT!!!!! I'm now looking at alternatives like a mini ruggedized waterproof point and shoot. Buyer beware!

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• 1 stars

  Either it works or you have nothing but problems!

  by olbedhead on March 11, 2013

  Pros: Great quality when it works.

  Cons: Too many to list! Freezes, poor customer service, doesn't recognize SD cards, poor battery life, fogs up, no hard reset. You have to take camera out and pull the battery, which gets it wet and then it fogs. Don't buy!

  Summary: I cannot recommend this camera to anyone due to the fact that you may get a lemon. About 50% of them work and about 50% of them freeze, fail, etc. ...

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  Summary: I cannot recommend this camera to anyone due to the fact that you may get a lemon. About 50% of them work and about 50% of them freeze, fail, etc. Read the bad reviews on amazon and believe them. I am happy for the people that got good ones that seem to work. For all of us that have spent time trying to update, unfreeze, contact customer service, etc. I say no more. Send back your cameras and call your credit card companies if need be. GoPro has lost many customers because of this camera!

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