GoPro Hero 3-Black

[Roysviper]

OK...I need your help on this one......I got the Black Go Pro and there are no directions in the packet....I have no idea where to start to set it up, charge it and the remote or anything.....I admit I am not the sharpest rock in the pile and limited knowledge in this new world of fancy electronics and such....it has a hard plastic casing over it and I do not even know how you can hook up the cables to it anywhere......The box was sealed...I got it at Best Buy New.......no instructions to tell me where to start.......and the flat plastic piece that it is attached to about a 4 x 4 square piece.....it has 4 little sticker things in each corner on bottom......is this one of the mounts?...it also has a box of assorted mounts that I have no idea how or what to use for what.......Please give this ole timer some input as to set this thing up......THANKS GUYS........Roy

 

[LifeIsGood]

The 4x4 plastic piece is not a usable mount, part of the packaging. There should have been some cards throughout the box that state their website for the user's manual. It requires a micro-SDxx card which is much smaller than a regular SD card...this one got me.

Insert a microSD™, microSDHC™ or microSDXC™ card into the card slot with label facing forward, narrowest part of the card first.
Speed Class 10 or higher cards are recommended.

HERO3: Black User Manual

The battery needs to be charged before you can do anything.
The harware in the camera needs to be updated before using...

New Product Setup/HERO3

 

[BlackSnake99]

There should also be several adhesive mounts in the box. Any other mounts have to be purchased seperately.

 

[VIPER GTSR 91]

OK...I need your help on this one......I got the Black Go Pro and there are no directions in the packet....I have no idea where to start to set it up, charge it and the remote or anything.....I admit I am not the sharpest rock in the pile and limited knowledge in this new world of fancy electronics and such....it has a hard plastic casing over it and I do not even know how you can hook up the cables to it anywhere......The box was sealed...I got it at Best Buy New.......no instructions to tell me where to start.......and the flat plastic piece that it is attached to about a 4 x 4 square piece.....it has 4 little sticker things in each corner on bottom......is this one of the mounts?...it also has a box of assorted mounts that I have no idea how or what to use for what.......Please give this ole timer some input as to set this thing up......THANKS GUYS........Roy

Everyone has the same problem. I went thru this too. Seems they want to have cost savings by not giving you a manual. You have to download the manual which is not much from a google search and you have to connect the device to your computer to get the latest updates. There is also a you tube video on how to open the waterproof case. Its tight but easy to open once you see the video. You probably will not need the little mounts it comes with but need to get the optional windshield suction cup or the roll bar mount. You also have to get the micro chip with 16GB or more. Not a friendly device but works good.

 

[Makara]

The 4x4 plastic piece is not a usable mount, part of the packaging. 3

I'm not sure about the Black, but my older GoPro came with a 4x4 plastic piece and it was a mount. Basically it can be used as a mini high hat.

 

[Roysviper]

I went on the website for the instructions........Now I see how it shows to open the waterproof cover but I have wore my fingers raw tryin to open it... WHAT IS THE SECRET to those two little slide latches?????I move the one to the left and push on the other but no luck????????? hope all this trouble is worth it when I figure this thing out, ha

 

[viper GTS-R]

Roy,

Push the tab over with your thumb and pull up on the front of the latch with your index finger. Do not push.

--RS

 

[Roysviper]

BINGO........FINALLY GOT IT OPEN........once you do it one time it becomes easy, ha Thanks for the help.....

Roy,

Push the tab over with your thumb and pull up on the front of the latch with your index finger. Do not push.

--RS

 

[Roysviper]

Thanks for all the help.......Now I just have to figure out the setup and remote stuff from here.....Happy Vipering

Everyone has the same problem. I went thru this too. Seems they want to have cost savings by not giving you a manual. You have to download the manual which is not much from a google search and you have to connect the device to your computer to get the latest updates. There is also a you tube video on how to open the waterproof case. Its tight but easy to open once you see the video. You probably will not need the little mounts it comes with but need to get the optional windshield suction cup or the roll bar mount. You also have to get the micro chip with 16GB or more. Not a friendly device but works good.

 

[bluestreak]

The battery life on the Hero 3 is pretty lame as mentioned. It's worse than the Hero 2 by a good margin. Even with the battery backpack. I use mine mostly with track data so the highest resolution in the world only makes integrating with data more cumbersome and the files enormous. I got the white version for that reason alone. I run most of my data with 720p max unless its a special track day or something. The wifi remote even runs out of battery quickly.

 

[DrTaco]

Just an update, got my GoPro and LOVE it! Works like a charm and I recommend it.

FYI, if you are having issues with yours freezing, SUPER low battery life and the memory card not showing up then you need to do a memory card reformat AND a MANUAL firmware download. Doing these things will fix your issues.

If you have any questions on how to do it, you can youtube "gopro hero 3 manual update" or just shoot me a message and I will walk you through it.

PICS!!

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[JohnnyH]

Just an update, got my GoPro and LOVE it! Works like a charm and I recommend it.

FYI, if you are having issues with yours freezing, SUPER low battery life and the memory card not showing up then you need to do a memory card reformat AND a MANUAL firmware download. Doing these things will fix your issues.

If you have any questions on how to do it, you can youtube "gopro hero 3 manual update" or just shoot me a message and I will walk you through it.

PICS!!

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Where did you get that microphone from?

 

[viper GTS-R]

Sweet jesus thats a nice setup.

--RS

 

[rw99]

Dr. Taco, thanks for posting. Nice rig, and helpful info on the card reformat/firmware update. Any experience with how long it'll record on a battery with WiFi enabled?

When you have time, could you please post up a video for us? Audio has always been a major shortcoming for the GoPro, and I'd like to hear what you're recording when at speed with the windows down (track video would be awesome).

Thanks!

Rich

 

[DrTaco]

Where did you get that microphone from?

It's a Audio-technica Pro 24-CM and I grabbed it off Amazon.

Viper:...thanks for the compliment.

RW99: Thanks. I'm waiting on 9inches of snow to melt before windows down driving . I just got it a couple days ago, so the longest video I have made was 20min long to test it out. I will set it up to record until it dies and let you know, though.

 

[rw99]

Leave it to a Californian to completely ignore geography and weather. Sorry 'bout that, bud. Thanks in advance for checking on the battery.

Rich

 

[ViperSmith]

could there be a way to rig the camera to use the vehicle as a power supply?

 

[msaba]

Should be possible. The camera draws power from a mini usb port, IIRC. If nothing else, you should be able to find yourself a cigarette lighter charger with a mini usb connector.

DrTaco - I reformatted the SD cards with the camera and installed the firmware the manual way (although it came with the latest version already installed). Made no difference. I've since read reviews saying the cameras are very touchy about which SD cards you use. Some even have problems with the GoPro recommended Sandisk Extreme cards but work perfectly with no-name brands. Go figure.

 

[DrTaco]

Should be possible. The camera draws power from a mini usb port, IIRC. If nothing else, you should be able to find yourself a cigarette lighter charger with a mini usb connector.

DrTaco - I reformatted the SD cards with the camera and installed the firmware the manual way (although it came with the latest version already installed). Made no difference. I've since read reviews saying the cameras are very touchy about which SD cards you use. Some even have problems with the GoPro recommended Sandisk Extreme cards but work perfectly with no-name brands. Go figure.

Wow, that stinks. You reformatted the SD card IN your PC first? Then dragged and dropped the unzipped update to the SD card root folder and let it do its thing? That ***** it didn't work for you. I was lucky because I researched the (what I THOUGHT was the universal fix) when I was waiting on shipping and took care of it right away. Guess I was lucky. Yeah, I have the sandisk 64GB one...speed 10 or whatever the crap it is.

 

[LifeIsGood]

Do you guys use the smartphone app (mine is a DROID) to control the HERO3 Black? There isn't a preview when I'm recording video...is this the norm?

 

[DrTaco]

Leave it to a Californian to completely ignore geography and weather. Sorry 'bout that, bud. Thanks in advance for checking on the battery.

Rich

Rich,

Okay, at a 1440 resolution/48fps with ALL 4 leds turned on, wifi always on and while using the remote I got 1hr 9minutes of recording time. I turned it off before it died. The website says the average is 1h 15min. So, I am perfectly happy with the time. I also got 2 aftermarket batteries for $20, so I have 3 batteries to play with during an event if needed.

Here's what THEY say the battery life should be:
http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero3-black-edition#specs

 

[BlackSnake99]

Do you guys use the smartphone app (mine is a DROID) to control the HERO3 Black? There isn't a preview when I'm recording video...is this the norm?

I do use the app and yes, that is normal.

 

[viper GTS-R]

Do you guys use the smartphone app (mine is a DROID) to control the HERO3 Black? There isn't a preview when I'm recording video...is this the norm?

I have it for my iPhone, it's the norm. But I like using it for taking photos. Even though there is a slight delay between the two, I don't have the need to buy the extra LCD screen.

Rich,

Okay, at a 1440 resolution/48fps with ALL 4 leds turned on, wifi always on and while using the remote I got 1hr 9minutes of recording time. I turned it off before it died. The website says the average is 1h 15min. So, I am perfectly happy with the time. I also got 2 aftermarket batteries for $20, so I have 3 batteries to play with during an event if needed.

Here's what THEY say the battery life should be:
http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero3-black-edition#specs

Interesting. Hey I found out I was doing something wrong! You know how the extra battery pack comes with a separate cord to charge it?

--RS

 

[rw99]

Good info, thanks! Nice thing about the WiFi is that you don't need to burn battery and memory in the staging lanes or grid; my GoPro's usually out on the front clip. One battery for two sessions is fine.

 

[msaba]

Wow, that stinks. You reformatted the SD card IN your PC first? Then dragged and dropped the unzipped update to the SD card root folder and let it do its thing? That ***** it didn't work for you. I was lucky because I researched the (what I THOUGHT was the universal fix) when I was waiting on shipping and took care of it right away. Guess I was lucky. Yeah, I have the sandisk 64GB one...speed 10 or whatever the crap it is.

Yeah, did a full format on PC several times. It seemed to freeze less when I formatted on the camera though. And, yes, I unzipped the firmware on the card and it went through the update and restart without problems. I really tried everything. Yeah, I guess you must've gotten a good one. Try doing a timelapse at 12mp with 0.5 sec intervals. That froze mine every time. Wouldn't last 15 minutes.

 

[Destructo]

DrTaco: How does your audio turn out? I just tried a GoPro Hero3 Black in my car (suction cup mounted to rear window) & I get a lot of crackling.

 

[DrTaco]

^ Turns out pretty good. Without my mic I will get a little crackling, but the mic sure cleans it up in my case.