GoPro Hero3 battery life sucks or user error? - Page 3 - Snowboarding Forum

jojotherider · 03-01-2013, 12:37 PM

I think the Hero3 battery is slightly smaller, but not that much smaller. Is your Hero3 set to 60fps? That would probably be a drain. Wifi is the other battery drain.

I basically only turn wifi on for aiming my camera and then turn it off. I'm also using mine in temps 35* and below which kills the batteries faster. It's surprising to me because its an action sports camera and that includes a lot of snowsports. You'd think they'd consider that when thinking about battery management. It'll be interesting if I can get more recording time mountain biking in the summer time.

I still really like mine so I'm willing to deal with it. Of course, last time out I put a huge fingerprint on the lens while changing batteries on a chairlift. didn't take any video after that.

-joel

gatecrashermike · 03-01-2013, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jojotherider

I think the Hero3 battery is slightly smaller, but not that much smaller. Is your Hero3 set to 60fps? That would probably be a drain. Wifi is the other battery drain.

-joel

I believe I was using 48 fps and the wifi was turned off (I think). It's too bad they don't allow you to daisy chain as many batteries on top of each other as you want, or at least 3. This would be much better for fixed mount applications. Particularly in a hunting application where you might sit for hours waiting for an animal to come in and then using the wifi to turn a series of cameras on. With only the ability to have one bacpac battery, you can potentially run out of juice before you ever turn the camera on (with wifi enabled).

jojotherider · 03-01-2013, 12:48 PM

this guy got almost 13hrs on just wifi standby. Hopefully that would be enough.

You miiight be able to extend the time if you turn the LEDs off. I doubt it would amount to much savings though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueLcy2eeruI

I wonder if there's a difference in battery life when using the remote vs the smartphone app. The smartphone app gets the preview which I imagine would take extra battery life. I wonder if that's still sent if you're connected via the remote.

-joel

KansasNoob · 03-01-2013, 12:57 PM

I can imagine the wifi especially with streaming drains a lot. Last time I went I used the wifi to aim, and as a remote shutter to take a couple group pictures.

We took my buddy's hero 2 when we went to Zapata Falls, the temp inside the cave was close to -20 and the camera quit working. Just something to think about...

blunted_nose · 03-01-2013, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baconzoo

What do you use to edit?
How much slow-mo do you actually use in your videos?

For all the talk about fps, most video editing programs (like iMovie) don't even take advantage of the extra frames unless you know how to conform the files in advance. I personally stopped doing slow-mos in my edits, as I feel if it's not 1000fps Cineflex it looks cheesy. My 10 cents...

Naw son. 60fps and then ramp the slow mo's. Thats the shit/

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03-01-2013, 12:37 PM	#21 (permalink)
jojotherider Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 69	I think the Hero3 battery is slightly smaller, but not that much smaller. Is your Hero3 set to 60fps? That would probably be a drain. Wifi is the other battery drain. I basically only turn wifi on for aiming my camera and then turn it off. I'm also using mine in temps 35* and below which kills the batteries faster. It's surprising to me because its an action sports camera and that includes a lot of snowsports. You'd think they'd consider that when thinking about battery management. It'll be interesting if I can get more recording time mountain biking in the summer time. I still really like mine so I'm willing to deal with it. Of course, last time out I put a huge fingerprint on the lens while changing batteries on a chairlift. didn't take any video after that. -joel

03-01-2013, 12:48 PM	#23 (permalink)
jojotherider Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 69	this guy got almost 13hrs on just wifi standby. Hopefully that would be enough. You miiight be able to extend the time if you turn the LEDs off. I doubt it would amount to much savings though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueLcy2eeruI I wonder if there's a difference in battery life when using the remote vs the smartphone app. The smartphone app gets the preview which I imagine would take extra battery life. I wonder if that's still sent if you're connected via the remote. -joel

03-01-2013, 12:57 PM	#24 (permalink)
KansasNoob Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 139	I can imagine the wifi especially with streaming drains a lot. Last time I went I used the wifi to aim, and as a remote shutter to take a couple group pictures. We took my buddy's hero 2 when we went to Zapata Falls, the temp inside the cave was close to -20 and the camera quit working. Just something to think about...