13 replies to this topic

[Shiv]

Hi guys,

We all know GoPro cameras, right?

I just wanted to inform you all that you may want to reconsider spending your hard earned money on the latest GoPro Hero 3. Its becoming increasingly apparent that the Hero 3 is plagued by problems.

My Hero 3 has the following problems:

Almost constant freezing problem. My GoPro is unusable at the moment, and virtually brand new.
Audio is out of sync with video
Battery drains itself whilst off
Clip snaps every single time I open it
LCD screen works sometimes, not others.

This is not an isolated or rare incident. Read reviews on Amazon or comments on CNET.com and look at the terrible user reviews. Or better yet, just do a Google "gopro problems". Its official- the GoPro Hero 3 is extremely problematic and prone to failure.

I've spent about $500 on it including accessories, mounts etc and it feels like that money has gone down the drain. Would not want any of you to waste your money so thought I'd inform you all before anyone else decides to buy one, as I know heaps of you want too....

Get an older Hero 2. I had one and absolutely loved it! Best product I've ever owned. I had the Hero 1 and it too was absolutely brilliant.

GoPro has obviously dropped the ball with this new one. The fix could be as simple as upgraded firmware which means all is well, but until then, I wouldn't recommend buying one.

[Alex]

Thank you for the heads up Shiv. I'm sorry to hear that what is anticipated to be the ducks nuts of sports cameras, has turned out to be so problematic.

The father in law and I wanted to buy a Hero 3, after owning a Hero 2.

Looks like we'll stick with the 2 then.

[Scuba-Roo]

Cheers shiv, can say my mates with hero 3's havent had any problems yet.


IMO GoPro have way way too much to loose to just let this problem go. Im sure it will be fixed soon.

[Shiv]

No worries,

Honestly I had no idea the Hero 3 was so faulty. I thought mine was a one in a million dud. But then I searched on the internet and saw the scale of the problem.

As I said - I'm a HUGE fan of the GoPro. But unfortunately this latest one has some fundamental issues that need to be ironed out.

Few side notes:
- I think it impacts mainly the models which have the "ProTune" feature. So not the basic Hero 3's.
- If you wish to record in 1080p or above, you will require a computer with a really good graphics card to view it properly. I thought my computer was decent but its not good enough to view and edit....which is frustrating because this item is targeted at the average punter, and not necessarily the professional.

[Adam]

Sorry to hear that shiv!

I have stupid amounts of problems with the hero 2 aswell. So I was holding off from a 3 to see if it would have the same issues.

Glad I did. It's alot of money to drop on essentially now a useless piece if plastic.

Have you contacted gopro support by any chance? Also there is a free gopro forum that may be able to assist.

[Adam]

With the editing. Final Cut Pro has the ability to create proxy media which is essentially low quality versions of your videos,which is used to edit, and then replaced with the high quality media in rendering. It might be worth looking into that.

[Shiv]

I'll get around to returning it eventually. My mistake, I bought it off a special online deal which was really cheap. Only problem is its in VIC, so I have to pay for postage plus return postage.

Postage doesn't cost that much but its a tough pill to swallow after you've already forked out $500+ for what is suppose to be the beez neez of premium action cameras....

Thanks for the tip RE: editing. I'm not very apt with video editing. I do very basic cropping and that's it. Not even any music. So its annoying I have to do that but anyway, I guess my computers a bit old now that its a whole 2-years old haha!

[Liberty]

Computer technology change on a yearly basis, but two years old for a computer isn't old at all. My iMac is almost two years old and not once have I had a problem with it, nor has anything not worked on it.

Back on topic though.

I was so close to buying a Hero 3 (or getting it bought for me by my mrs). She came back to me and told me that they had problems, but she only ever mentioned that the Black Edition was the faulty one. The Hero 3 White and Silver Edition are good apparently. As you said, the firmware is most probably in need of an update, but until the problems are fixed I will not be forking out my hard-earned cash to buy something full of bugs. Thank you very much for the heads up mate.

[Adam]

Shiv, Just a little something that may help?

http://goprouser.fre...ues-t10623.html

[Scott]

sucks to hear shiv, mines been brilliant and hasnt done any of these yet!
mines the black also

[Hypnotic]

I sold 2 of them today! no regrets

But seriously that is not good at all, have seen a few of the Black edition come back with those faults however no silver at this stage.

[Liberty]

How much do you sell them for Ash?

[simon]

sucks to hear shiv, mines been brilliant and hasnt done any of these yet!
mines the black also

+1 mine has been good so far. Touch wood.

[HowFarToAsgaard]

Im not a owner of go pro but i have used them in a M1A1 tank and they can take alota shock lol
we had one mounted on the mantlet and it dident move a inch. also had one mounded up top during a Danger close. 70 meters from 105 impact and it recorded everything.
but as to the operations not sure. i used my crappy Panasonic thing and it pritty much blew up. might of been shrapnel.

but if ya wana record some explewsions... its pritty cool