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Hero 3 HD Black, Silver or White Edition? What's the Big diffrence?

4K views 29 replies 11 participants last post by  pwol 
#1 ·
Ok so I am going to buy a Hero 3 HD. It is almost the end of the season, I am sure they gonna come up with Hero 4 next year but maybe I will get a deal somewhere

My two primary use cases;
1. snowboarding
2. summer vacations, swimming, under water video recording (no i don't surf, shark-phobia lol)

so considering these two primary uses, which one is the most ideal for me? I can get the black edition too but it's like 200 more than white

I see that they come with 5MP/11MP or 12MP. They do have different lenses so that's where the quality is most likely but what you guys think?

or maybe some other brand, idk it doesn't have to be GoPro but after watching this video, man GoPros are solid lil fudgers

Here's What Happens When You Accidentally Drop a GoPro From 12,500 Feet
 
#2 ·
Silver is the best deal. The black edition's only perks are a 2.7k resolution that hardly any device can actually play and the included remote. But that doesn't justify the price. The silver has very good quality (1080p and 11MP pictures) in decent light and you can use your phone as a remote if you wish so.
 
#3 ·
Get the silver. I have the black edition and actually mostly regret it. I didn't realize it at the time, but there's too many features on the black version that I KNOW I will never get around to using. Someone brought up a good point on another forum that I'm on that the quality of the video is so good with the black that most machine's wouldn't be able to process it anyway.
 
#4 ·
I like my H3 black, and my ONLY complaint is the battery life sucks. If the battery life is the same between all three... then it is down to the specs. The main reason I got the black was for the 120 fps at 720p, which is really nice for some HD slowmo shots but I really don't get enough use from it.

We will see though. If I was on the mountain all season like I was 2 years ago, I'd probably get full use from all the features but now, at 40ish days per season, I'm more concerned with just riding than filming.

As for the computer argument, my 2011 MBP has been able to handle everything the black can do. It helps to have it plugged in and the fans definitely start to buzz, but it handles it fine.
 
#7 ·
prices seems to be fixed everywhere, amazon evo ebay trying to find a cheaper black if not i am gonna get the silver thanks to you guys i don't see the point of buying the black

hey this should be `of course` but, gopro can be used underwater right like diving and stuff?
 
#10 ·
I got the black edition so i maybe bias but the remote is pretty handy and maybe i won't used it to its full potential but maybe i will i still want to have those options.

$400 Black w/ Remote

$300 Silver + wifi remote $80 = $380 not unless you have and iphone you can use the app.


$100 for the extra features and wifi remote for me it's worth it.


About the battery there's really nothing we can do about it co'z they all sucked.
 
#11 ·
I got the black edition so i maybe bias but the remote is pretty handy and maybe i won't used it to its full potential but maybe i will i still want to have those options.

$400 Black w/ Remote

$300 Silver + wifi remote $80 = $380 not unless you have and iphone you can use the app.


$100 for the extra features and wifi remote for me it's worth it.
If you're buying straight off the site, then yeah, you make as well splurge, but in store, currently Future Shop has the silver on sale for $300, and the remote for $100, which brings the total to $400. For the black edition I spent $475 on it, after tax. After taxes and stuff, you still end up saving about $55.
 
#12 ·
Go with the Silver edition. Also, battery life isn't terrible so long as you use it appropriately. Turn WiFi off, only record when you have to (don't leave it recording when you're on the lift for example).

I have both the Silver and the Black editions and for the price the Silver edition is amazing.

And you won't feel so bad when it flies off your helmet and tumbles down the mountain!
 
#15 ·
If your looking for something to film with and have a bit of fun then you should check out the RD32II. It's around 125$ and shoots in full HD. I don't film very often and didn't want to spend too much on a camera that I would be using a few times a year. Overall I'm very happy with the camera, it can do video, photos and audio (waterproof also). Here's a sample video from youtube (watch in HD) and a few shots I took at Tremblant early this year (raw photo, no editing)









 
#17 ·
I've been researching cameras WAAAAY too much and I can say that in terms of pic/video quality, functionality and camera specs... the Hero 3 black has it. I just really didn't like the boxy look of the Gopros and wanted a cylinder like the ion air pro, but the smaller Hero 3 and 120 fps 720p did it for me.

Other options are:
Contour
Ion air pro (pro 2 model being released soon)
Drift HD
Replay XD1080 --> I really like this one, seems perfect for boarding and pretty small. Not technically waterproof... I emailed them with some questions and they never responded so I said fuck it.

Here is a list of 10... hero3 black is in the top spot:

Best Action Cameras to buy in 2013 | Geonaute 360-degree action camera | T3
 
#18 ·
wow dude i really like the Contour ROAM2 and ion speed pro, circular shape really look nice

but hero 3 comes first, i wonder where silver will go in this list, I mean from what I can tell difference isn't that much just 1mp more and lens is different, which makes a difference I know, lens is all about a camera.

i found a gopro silver brand new never opened box, buying it today for 250, that's like 70 in savings :) he says it's never opened in box so we will see
 
#21 · (Edited)
#25 ·
nice review thanks,

so here it is, i bought one from bestbuy coz i needed one fast for this weekend for 69.99 surely this is overly expensive they said price is gonna come down to 30 this sunday so i am gonna go back and return it get my 30 dollars back, on newegg it's also 30 bucks so that should be fine.

i got the sandisk ultra 32gb btw with the one that comes with adapter of course
 
#26 ·
IMO Black Edition is the only one worth getting. Silver is the same as the Hero 2 just smaller/lighter. If you want the silver you can prob just find a Hero 2 for real cheap now.

Black Edition can record:

720p at 120fps
1080p at 60fps
2.7k at 30fps

Silver/Hero 2:

720p at 60fps
1080p at 30fps (30fps is pretty useless in recording anything with motion in my experience)

And the Black Edition comes with the Wifi remote which is $80 itself so that alone makes it worth getting for.
 
#27 ·
black has 12mp and better lens so if you're considering these yes it's better
but remote alone is not a reason to get the black over silver especially if you are an iphone user, with the gopro app I already have a remote controller
i also got the silver for 250 brand new from craigslist, I really think i got a good deal :)
 
#29 ·
What I was trying to say that the differnece in recording performance and quality was worth the extra $100, and then they throw in a $80 remote and make it even sweeter.

GJ on the deal man, I ended up getting a sick deal myself lol :)

lol sick deal indeed, you didn't firebug that checkout page right?

where you getting that from? lol i am sure you wont tell me

you're getting 2 extra battery a must buy lol
 
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