Ghaniba
Explorer
I had been waiting for the new generation to come out, having used my ol' trusty Hero2+ for ages now. A couple weeks prior to the release day of Oct 2 I saw the announcement on youtube of all places. I figured I would go get it that next day! Turned out, it was not released until the 2nd, but on the 2nd I did get it!
Anyway. You know the usual tidbits -- I just wanted to share with you some of the other bits that the specs don't tell you.
1st - Image stabilization. Only works at 1080p 60fps or below. Clearly it's using the 4k ability of the camera to downsize to 1080p and center the frame of the shot easier. Smart move, I suppose, but I never read any limitations of the "image stabilization" prior to buying it...
2nd - Same for the Low Light capability -- Not in 4k! I don't recall off the top of my head if it had framerate limitations, but I do know it does not work in 4k mode!
3rd - External mic -- This makes me a bit stabby. I still cannot buy their stupid $50 adapter that I want. First, it was not released with the camera. I've checked back several times, and now instead of coming soon, it says "out of stock" -- Everywhere. I picked up a Sony ICDPX333 digital recorder and have been playing with that, syncing up my audio (which actually isn't as bad as I thought it might be) but I'm still annoyed by having yet another thing to turn on and off and then time, etc.
The USB C connection makes it so that you cannot use the old mic cable... Which, I don't hate. I think the USB-C is a better interface. It's non directional, so you can just reach up n' plug it in -- not do the backwards dance every damn time like we do currently with the older USBs. I have bought USB converters to try to get the older cable to work, no success. I even found some USBC Microphone setup that I guess folks use for a headset or mic for XBox? It didn't work either, so I just wait... someday, maybe I'll be able to source/buy this magical adapter...
As for the door -- It's got a small push button that allows you to slide it downward, then pop it off revealing the suctioning little gasket. It's pretty cool, a bit tedious the first couple times I had to open it due to the vacuum it creates and my not wanting to break anything. The door fyi, does indeed come off with ease, as it flips up, you just keep flipping it and fold it onto the camera and it pops right off. No big deal at all, seems like eventually that could break, but probably not without a TON of use.
Battery and MicroSD card both loaded from the bottom, nothing fancy there. Looks like about 2:15 for recording time with the battery, which, was about all I got out of my old Hero2 WITH the backpack -- so that was a pleasant surprise for me.
The new 3 microphone setup really works pretty well. Up to about 30mph you can still hear me talk without a mic, which is darn impressive to me. The stereo auto adjusting is kind of cool sounding, to hear the stereo move when I was editing was pretty slick.
So, any questions, hit me up I'll try to answer them as best as I can for you.
Here's a 4k demo:
Anyway. You know the usual tidbits -- I just wanted to share with you some of the other bits that the specs don't tell you.
1st - Image stabilization. Only works at 1080p 60fps or below. Clearly it's using the 4k ability of the camera to downsize to 1080p and center the frame of the shot easier. Smart move, I suppose, but I never read any limitations of the "image stabilization" prior to buying it...
2nd - Same for the Low Light capability -- Not in 4k! I don't recall off the top of my head if it had framerate limitations, but I do know it does not work in 4k mode!
3rd - External mic -- This makes me a bit stabby. I still cannot buy their stupid $50 adapter that I want. First, it was not released with the camera. I've checked back several times, and now instead of coming soon, it says "out of stock" -- Everywhere. I picked up a Sony ICDPX333 digital recorder and have been playing with that, syncing up my audio (which actually isn't as bad as I thought it might be) but I'm still annoyed by having yet another thing to turn on and off and then time, etc.
The USB C connection makes it so that you cannot use the old mic cable... Which, I don't hate. I think the USB-C is a better interface. It's non directional, so you can just reach up n' plug it in -- not do the backwards dance every damn time like we do currently with the older USBs. I have bought USB converters to try to get the older cable to work, no success. I even found some USBC Microphone setup that I guess folks use for a headset or mic for XBox? It didn't work either, so I just wait... someday, maybe I'll be able to source/buy this magical adapter...
As for the door -- It's got a small push button that allows you to slide it downward, then pop it off revealing the suctioning little gasket. It's pretty cool, a bit tedious the first couple times I had to open it due to the vacuum it creates and my not wanting to break anything. The door fyi, does indeed come off with ease, as it flips up, you just keep flipping it and fold it onto the camera and it pops right off. No big deal at all, seems like eventually that could break, but probably not without a TON of use.
Battery and MicroSD card both loaded from the bottom, nothing fancy there. Looks like about 2:15 for recording time with the battery, which, was about all I got out of my old Hero2 WITH the backpack -- so that was a pleasant surprise for me.
The new 3 microphone setup really works pretty well. Up to about 30mph you can still hear me talk without a mic, which is darn impressive to me. The stereo auto adjusting is kind of cool sounding, to hear the stereo move when I was editing was pretty slick.
So, any questions, hit me up I'll try to answer them as best as I can for you.
Here's a 4k demo:
