GoPro Hero3 vs Hero2 Comparison & Review

[Alan Lilly]

Here is my video review of the new GoPro Hero 3.
I compare the video and audio quality to the Hero 2.
I also include some important info on the protune feature and camera freezing.

GoPro Hero3 vs Hero2 Comparison Review - YouTube

[Tim Polster]

That's great! The on screen talent is a keeper.

The lens distortion looks improved. I guess the Protune idea has become more difficult to bring to life than they initially thought. I imagine they will get it together though. I will be getting a Hero 3 Black as it is quite a tool. Thanks for posting.

[Matt Sharp]

"Black Edition is much better and would be an unfair comparison."

Well I sure hope so, that's the one I want to see!

[Raymond Schlogel]

Well you gave me a moment of hope with the vid, just got my HERO3: Black Edition yesterday. Did the update as the card in the box directs users to do and was ready to play, except I wasn't. Lots of freezes. At times would be stuck on record, other times it would seem to be recording but than randomly stop. Files appear to be corrupted, on the lcd it says something like "File Not Supported" on each of the thumbnails. Files dont play playback and aren't even seen in GoPro CineForm Studio.

As you mentioned that ProTune was the culprit, which I did indeed have turned on, I disabled and tried again. Same issues. I've also tried putting it in picture mode and after pressing the button had the camera icon turn red as if recording but stay that way and freeze. Only option is to remove the battery.

Additionally after one of theses incidents the card will become corrupt, the unit will say that there's no SD though there is. Removing and replacing has no affect. If plugging the camera into USB, Windows will pop up saying that the card needs to be formatted. If you say okay after a moment it will tell you that it can't format the card. The only option I've found that works is to remove the card, put it in the adapter, plug that directly into my computer and than I can format it. Once formatted and placed back into the Hero 3 the card will be recognized. I should mention that the card I have is the same they offer on their site, the SanDisk 64GB Ultra microSDXC (Class 10)

Essentially at present the HERO3: Black Edition I received is inoperable and unusable. Whether this is a single case or a larger problem I'm unsure. Regardless more than a little frustrated and deeply disappointed.

Nice job on the vid though.

- Ray

[Ray Bell]

What is the method for upgrading the Hero 3... I can't get the software to see the Hero 3...

thanks

[Raymond Schlogel]

I don't believe that GoPro CineForm Studio works with the GoPro 3 yet, at least it doesn't show up in mine either.

As for updating there should have been a card in your box with the addy, its just Product Updates Support

- Ray

[Alan Lilly]

Sorry I wasn't completely clear in my video... the protune firmware causes freezing regardless of whether you use protune or not. So basically hero3 is SOL until a proper firmware fix is available. Hero 2 users with the protune firmware are also SOL unless they revert their firmware to pre-protune firmware.

The reliable firmware for hero2 is about 15mb in size and the protune firmware is 50mb in size. Clearly that is a lot more lines of source code and I am certain there is a bug inside the protune firmwares... both hero2 and 3.

[Raymond Schlogel]

Gotcha, well that makes sense, as I did the update before playing with the Black I'm guessing since yours is working that ProTune was in the update and not when shipped? Grrrr ... kinda groveling since the first card in the package said it needed to be updated so go to ...

And I'm knocking on wood as I type this but so far no problems running ProTune on my Hero 2.

-Ray

[Alan Lilly]

My hero3 came with the protune firmware and it has already exhibited the freezing. I believe the current firmware update for hero3 doesnt yet fix the problem.

I was able to reverse the firmware on my hero2 to a non-protune version and it works perfectly.

You can shoot with the hero3, but it is very annoying with the occassional freezing.

I am very surprised that gopro released the hero3 with bad firmware ... they must have known of the issue. Or worse, they didn't know of the issue and didnt do any testing? That's equally hard to believe.

If they were smart, they would make the non-protune firmware available for those that don't need protune, because I'd rather not have the freezing problem and let people know that they are working on the problem.

Without more information, I can only conclude that gopro is being greedy and not very concerned about their customers.

[Andy Wilkinson]

Thanks for the info guys. I was about to order a Hero3 Black but will put that on hold now until this is resolved by GoPro. I will also watch how they handle this situation before deciding. I hope this gets resolved for you guys soon.

[Peter Riding]

I've updated my GoPro Hero 2 to the latest firmware and activated ProTune.

I've used it on two paying jobs so far and no freezing or other problems. On one I ran it non-stop for about 20 minutes and on the other for about an hour. Just so you know - I had other cams covering so it wasn't life or death whether the GoPro worked or not. 1080 25T setting. Sandisk 32gb class 10 45mb/s card.

One thing I wasn't expecting: the files were broken down into about 2gb / 7.5 minutes per files. Not sure why that would be. But it is an advantage to me because it means I do not have to trim off the start and end of much larger files before backing up.

I also use it with the ipad app and the 3rd party RemoteGo android app.

I'm intending to use Neat Video in Vegas Pro to reduce any excessive noise introduced by virtue of ProTune (nb ProTune switches off in-camera effects such as noise reduction). I suspect that this may then rival the Hero 3. The free software from ProTune - Cineform Studio - has a preset to get you back to what your files might have looked like had you not used ProTune.

Pete

[Andy Wilkinson]

Ah, so it looks like some are having issues and others not. Wonder what is going on?

[Alan Lilly]

After I updated my hero2 to the protune firmware... it worked for quite a long while without freezing, but it did eventually succumb to the problem. I am using a sandisk class 10 card and tried the reformatting and other ideas to no avail. I am confident the firmware is to blame.

[Raymond Schlogel]

Andy, wish I had an answer! As I said the ProTune update has not affected my Hero 2 (yet) but the HERO3: Black Edition is borderline bricked. After three days I have yet to be able to successfully take, save, or transfer one single shot/clip. In my searching I have found many posts from users experiencing issues with the HERO3: Black Edition but in my recollection I have not seen a single post or reply from anyone who's received one that says "Mine is working fine." as is usual in those kind of threads. That's not to say that there aren't any out there that are working just fine, only that I haven't seen anyone that says theirs is.

- Ray

[John Hedgecoe]

I updated my Hero2 to the protune firmware, and have not encountered any issues.

Well, ok, one small issue. I started to get the SD card not recognized/formatted problem.

Easily solved. Panasonic makes an SD Card Format Utility. I have used it in the past to resolve mysterious SD card 'problems'. It has ALWAYS worked and it's FREE.

SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Card Formatting Software | Download | SD Memory Card | Digital AV | Consumer Products | Support | Panasonic Global

A very useful tool everyone should have on thier computer.

The only other issue I 'may' be seeing, is reduced battery life using protune. Anyone else notice that?

Looking forward to getting a Hero3, but maybe I will hold off until January.