GoPro 3 Back Edition - First Impressions

I decided to jump on the GoPro bandwagon following my hearing about the new Black Edition. I've read the reviews, positive and negative, but truthfully the selling point for me wasn't the 4k recording capabilities, wifi remote and smartphone compatibility or any of the other frills that GoPro probably just added as an afterthought for additional publicity without much practicality.

I'll be eventually strapping this baby to an RC plane, and once I get the hang of it, a quadcopter. The selling points were the size, protune and 150fps continuous recording capabilities. While the primary use of this will be work related, it'll be great for trips and travel as well. The size, quality and waterproof case make it an ideal camera to keep in my pocket, knowing I can get useable footage without any setup for run and gun situations. Since I'm unlikely to record continuously, the problems with battery life aren't an issue. I also have no use for the wifi features, thus far my wifi remote has remained in the box. My only real concern was reading about problems with the camera freezing up, however I have not experienced that as of yet.

My friend points out the ridge we snowshoed up.

To test this out camera out, I decided to bring it along on a snowshoeing trip I made with a friend on the weekend. I mostly kept it in my pocket, and brought it out occasionally while waiting for my friend to catch up. This is my first time using a GoPro, so I really didn't have much to go off of when setting up shots. The settings were 720 @ 150fps, protune on. When I got home to take a look at the footage, I was very impressed with it's quality, and also the results with the wide angle lens on the GoPro.

This edit was done very quickly just to put something together with the footage. I also didn't spend much time working on colour correction, although protune seems to have a lot of dynamic range. I have never used a fisheye lens at all before, however I found that, set up properly, the results could be quite cinematic. On the other hand, certain frames seemed depressingly plain. It will take a bit of practise to get used to this setup, especially without being able to see whats on the camera.

Cinematic look - slight flare added (top left) 

Boring shot, tricky to get good composition without a viewfinder.

Even though it's my first time using a GoPro, I'm immensely pleased with it. It will take some getting used to to get proper composition without a screen, however it is a fantastic camera. The quality is superb; plenty of dynamic range, even when shooting directly into the sun. The focal length, combined with the high frame rate, allows for very stable shots and handheld shooting. I also like the ability to hold the camera at arms length to get a cool SnorriCam effect. This camera is a winner in my books and it has really open the door for me in terms of getting decent shots in adverse conditions where I wouldn't dream of bringing my FS100. I can't wait to get this in the air!

-Tim