GoPro Hero3 Black Edition review: Its legacy lives on

Since release, the GoPro Hero3 Black Edition has been replaced by a newer model with fancy 4K video functionality, the GoPro Hero4. If you aren’t in the market for 4K video footage, though, last year’s model has held up pretty well, even if you might struggle to find one. Sadly, unless you manage to stumble across some old stock, the Hero 3 Black Edition is no longer available to purchase, so if you’re planning on buying a GoPro, you’re pretty much stuck with the newest model, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The silver edition is still doing the rounds too, yet the price has been bumped up somewhat, so I’d say you’re better off sticking with the Hero 4.

At face value, there doesn’t seem to be all that much different between GoPro versions, which is definitely a good thing. What this means is that you won’t run into compatibility problems with mounts, accessories and the like. It’s also incredibly popular, so there’s a whole manner of extras you can find for it.

The camera’s not weatherproof, so you’ll need to use the case

With three different models of the Hero3 available, the first, and probably most significant, thing to take notice of is the difference in sensor sizes between the three Hero3 cameras. The Black Edition has the largest sensor, at 1/2.3in, so GoPro claims it will perform better in low light. The Black Edition is also capable of taking 12-megapixel photos. The Silver Edition has a smaller 1/2.7in sensor and can take 11-megapixel still images, while the cheapest White Edition can only take 5-megapixel snaps but, strangely, has a larger 1/2.5in sensor than the Silver Edition.

There are also some significant differences in the video formats each model supports. All models can record 30fps at 1080p resolution video, which is perfect for YouTube, as well as smoother 60fps 720p footage. However, the more expensive Black Edition can also record 1080p video at 60fps, and 720p video at 100fps in case you want to slow your footage down in your video editor. It also supports 4K Cinema video at 12fps, but we’re not convinced how useful this is; in our tests there’s not a huge amount of quality difference between 4K and 1080p footage even on a 4K 84in screen.

There’s also a difference between what the cameras can do with still photos. The top model can shoot burst photos at up to 30fps, while the Silver and White editions make do with 3fps and 10fps respectively. The cameras can all capture time-lapse photos at various intervals.

All this adds up to a seriously versatile set of action cams. We’d be tempted to go for the cheaper White Edition, as 1080p 30fps is enough for most needs, but as we only tested the Black Edition we can’t vouch for the video quality of the cheaper models.

There are recording lights on three of the camera’s sides, so you always know when you’re capturing footage

The Hero3 is well designed and easy to use. The button on the front turns the camera on and scrolls through the various menus on the small LCD screen, while the button on the top selects options in the menus and starts recording. While the camcorder is recording, red LEDs flash on the front, bottom and top, so you always know when you’re capturing footage. The only thing we didn’t like was the plastic flap covering the Mini USB, Micro HDMI and microSD card slots, as this is small and easy to lose.

The ports are covered by an easy-to-lose rubber flap

Unlike already-toughened models such as the Contour Roam2, the bare GoPro Hero3 isn’t tough or waterproof and has no mount point, so you always use it in the provided waterproof (to 60m) and toughened cover. This has a power button on the front and record button on the top, though, so it’s easy to use without taking it out of the case.

All three camera models come with seriously sticky curved and flat mounts. The Black Edition also comes with a 3-way pivot arm, which lets you mount the camera facing pretty much any way you please. There are also plenty of accessories available at GoPro’s website, from the £15 Head Strap to the £30 Suction Cup, to a £50 Wrist Housing and £30 Bar Mount.

The HPI Racing Bullet MT RC car we use to test our action cams

You can also control the camera from a smartphone or tablet app. You connect to the camera directly over Wi-Fi, and then use the iOS, Windows Phone 8 or Android app to connect to the camera – a full compatibility list is here. The app let us see a live preview of the image, as well as lets you stop and start recording and change camera mode from video to still images. The live preview lags a couple of seconds behind reality, though, so it won’t help you pilot a radio-controlled vehicle.

The Hero3 has the best video quality of any action camera we’ve seen. Footage has accurate colours and is highly detailed; helped by the GoPro’s high 20,025Mbit/s video bit rate. The high quality of video is particularly evident when the camcorder is stationary and when there’s not much shake in the image, but the Hero3’s mount didn’t do it any favours when strapped to our test HPI Racing Bullet MT test radio-controlled car. The mount is far from wobbly, but the number of joints led to more flex than with rigid mounts such as the Drift Ghost HD or Contour Roam2’s, so footage was shakier. It wasn’t a disaster, but neither was it quite as smooth as the footage from Sony’s image-stabilised HDR-AS15.

Excellent image quality, if some wobble from the mount – best viewed full-screen at 1080p

When the camera is still, there’s a huge amount of detail – best viewed full-screen at 1080p

The GoPro Hero3 Black Edition is a seriously well-designed camera with excellent video quality, especially if you’re filming activities without too much vibration. We think the Black Edition is overkill, so would be tempted by the cheaper White and Silver Editions, but whichever GoPro Hero3 you buy will give you pain-free high-quality action video and you get support for a wide selection of mounts and accessories.

UPDATED HERO3+ MODELS

More recently, the Hero3 Silver and Black Editions have been replaced by the Hero3+ Silver and Black, while the White Edition remains the same. The newer cameras are the same price as the old models and in many respects are the same, but there are a few improvements.

The cameras have a claimed 30% longer battery life than their predecessors, and are 20% smaller and lighter while still being compatible with all GoPro accessories; for example, you can put a Hero3 in a Hero3+ body and vice versa.

There are also some image quality improvements. GoPro claims the Hero3+ has a sharper lens, leading to a “33% increase in image sharpness”. We weren’t able to test the cameras side by side, but various online comparisons show a definite improvement in detail for the new camera; this test footage is a good example.

One of the bigger changes is what GoPro calls the new SuperView mode. Video camera sensors are square, and when you record in a normal widescreen resolution, the sensor is cropped at the top and bottom to make a rectangular shape. In SuperView, the camera records with the entire square sensor, then stretches the image to make it widescreen. This means you can record more of the scene, but objects and scenery can appear distorted.