GoPro Hero 3 Silver camera

[StanFoster]

I finally broke down and bought a GoPro Hero 3 Silver camera. This model just came out 3 weeks ago. I definitely wanted the normal lenses and not the fish eye lense...I would much rather see less field of view undistorted.

It has a WiFi remote that can now let me turn the camera on and off while I am having the most fun flying using both feet and hands. My most adventurous flying ....down in the scenery.....never could be recorded before....but it will be able to now.

What triggered me getting this is I need a HD camera to send videos to Jim Bakker for him to put on his TV show. He wants to use some HD video clips from my shop documenting the progress of the curved stairway.

This camera is also going to serve a third purpose....it will be able to monitor our home by sending streaming video to the internet where I can get it on my smart phone.

I found a secure aluminum plate that is bolted onto the belly of my cabin. I riveted the camera mount to that...and it feels very secure. If I ever open up the belly of my cabin for something...the camera mount will simply come off with the plate.

I wont have any time the next few days to figure out this camera.....so it will probably be a week before my first videos.

I think I can switch from pictures to video with my WiFi remote....but not sure until I download the operator manual.

Stan

[Doug S.]

Stan
You can do everything from your remote. Your going to love it.....
You can even down load the GoPro app to your smart phone and use your smart phone as a remote. Pretty cool...
Doug S.

[aerobatic]

Stan,

The flat lens of the plastic cover is just for on focus underwater filming. The GoPro Silver is still equipped with a fish eye lens. But you could select a narrower field of view in the settings. It will crop the area of the sensor where the clip will be framed.

Maher

[fara]

Originally Posted by Doug S.

Stan
You can do everything from your remote. Your going to love it.....
You can even down load the GoPro app to your smart phone and use your smart phone as a remote. Pretty cool...
Doug S.

Doug: Curious. Does the app require a wi-fi or a 3G etc. signal to pass data to the camera? I would think so. I am not sure the signal will be available always in flight, right? Or did they create a BlueTooth like gizmo that hooks into the smart phone to send signals to the camera.

Is the app available for both formats (iOS and Android)?
Its pretty neat that you can view a remote video like Stan says of his shop on his iPhone etc. with a wi-fi connection

[Timchick]

Way to go Stan. Can't wait to see some new videos.

Fara, From what I've read it uses a wifi signal. They claim the wifi remote will control the camera up to 600' away in ideal conditions. The Hero2 and Hero3 are both suppose to be able to transmit video to an iPhone/iPad with the gopro app on it. Right now it is only available for iOS but they're working on an android version.

[Timchick]

You may have to take a laptop or sd card to a library, etc to upload them.

[aerobatic]

Originally Posted by fara

Doug: Curious. Does the app require a wi-fi or a 3G etc. signal to pass data to the camera? I would think so. I am not sure the signal will be available always in flight, right? Or did they create a BlueTooth like gizmo that hooks into the smart phone to send signals to the camera.

Is the app available for both formats (iOS and Android)?
Its pretty neat that you can view a remote video like Stan says of his shop on his iPhone etc. with a wi-fi connection

The new GoPro 3 have the Wi-Fi module integrated. It create an Ad Hoc connection that the smartphone or tablet will log on, in order to control the camera. So the control will work in flight as long as you have battery power on the GoPro.

The video preview inApp is not yet available on the GoPro HD 3. Same for the realtime download on the internet. The company had an annoying habit to launch products that still need work before doing all the promise features.

On the GoPro HD 2, we have the «real time» preview on iOS and Android, but the preview lag for almost 2 seconds and when you push the record button it will take another full second before starting recording. I hope that the 2X more powerful processor of the GoPro HD 3 Black edition will bring down that latency.

Maher

[aerobatic]

Originally Posted by StanFoster

I hope the salesman was right about my camera NOT having a fish eye lenses, as I specifically told him I did not want it. These will be HD videos, and they will challenge my slow internet connection. However, I plan on just making short 1 minute videos anyway.

Don't believe a salesman from BestBuy! The lens from the GoPro HD 3 Silver is the same than the last generation but with a better optical glass quality, but still fisheye...

In 1080p mode only, you'll have a choice of ultra wide, medium and narrow field of view. In every other resolution you're stock with the ultra wide angle of about 170 degree. The alternate viewing angles in 1080p is not obtained by optical zooming, they just cropped the extra data from 11 Megapixels native sensor so the global image quality degrade clearly in those POV.

If you don't want a fisheye lens, you better bring back the GoPro 3, get a refund and choose something else.

Maher

[Timchick]

Maher,
Thanks for clearing that up. I have a Hero1 HD and I just got a Hero2 off eBay a couple days ago. It's coming with a wifi PAC and remote. Can't wait to check out the wifi remote.

I'm also about to send my Hero1 off to Ragecams for them to change out the lens for a 6mm lens. That will get rid off the fish eye wide angle.

[bmoore2156]

Timchick,
How much do they charge for that service? I might send mine out for the same mod... I stopped using it because of the fisheye look.
Brad

[Rusty Russell]

Hero 2 gopro...
Have issues with light and dark.. not sure if its suited to ältitude... cockpit shots are crystal. Hand held....yes... short intersting clips
Still experimenting with settings...and thats fun! Very clever little camera.
Huge files.... cropping... converting..... eating into flying time!

[Doug S.]

Stan
I was playing around with my GoPro 2 and the IPad app for it to use as a remote, It works pretty good, still in the learning curve, but it's easy to change the setting this way. if you look at the picture below.
In the 1080 mode the top left is wide view. (that gives you the fish eye look)
In the 1080 mode the bottom left is in the medium view.
In the 10 80 mode the bottom right is in the narrow view, you can see how each one zooms in and you get rid of you fish eye view.
In the WVGA 120 fps mode top right is in the wide view that is the only view it will go into in that mode. But if you look close the wide view in the WVGA mode is like the 1080 mode in the medium view. The 1080 mode will give you better clarity. But if you want the real slow motion effect you need to go to the WVGA mode. The new Black edition GoPro 3 will give you 240 fps I don't know about the silver edition?
Hope that helps you out a little.
Doug S.

[Doug S.]

Stan
The last example was in the video mode, this example is in the picture mode.
The top left is 11mp wide (this mode will give you the best clarity)
Bottom left is 8 mp med.
Top right is 5 mp wide
Bottom right is 5 mp med.
The more MP (mega pixels) the better clarity the photo is and the more information that is captured on your SD card.
I am glad your keeping your GoPro, I can't wait to see the shots your going to take.
Doug S.

[aerobatic]

Stan, I'm glad you're keeping the GoPro. It's a fantastic camera when you know it limitations and where it excel.

In good lighting conditions, the GoPro can make wonderful movies and gorgeous pictures.

The fish eye lens was the reason I bought that camera : I needed to take pictures of the wiring closet where I'm teaching networking. The place is very narrow and only a fish eye lens could fill the bill. But the Rebel Canon of my wife needed a $2000 lens to do it and the GoPro was about $350 at that time. Even in low light conditions, you could see that the GoPro HD 1 did a very decent job.

In a cramped space like my Calidus, the fish eye lens of the GoPro give the impression that there is plenty of space and it can capture the action quite well. Enough to tell me if my CFI looked scared by my maneuvers ;-)

And for capturing landscapes when you fly above or under the clouds, it can make a very good job too as those few shots can demonstrate.

The only thing I didn't tried and I don't think the GoPro will excel at is filming in chasing mode another plane.

Maher

[Timchick]

Originally Posted by bmoore2156

Timchick,
How much do they charge for that service? I might send mine out for the same mod... I stopped using it because of the fisheye look.
Brad

Brad,
I was quoted $139 for the 6mm lens installed. I'm sending it off in the next couple days. My camera is the Hero HD. The 6mm lens will still fit in the housing. The price may be different for a Hero2. Hero HD cameras can be picked up for under $120 right now on ebay. Here's a sample video of the 6mm lens compared to the original:

Ragecam Gopro 6mm Lens comparison on the tricopter - YouTube