Battery life

[DepthCharge]

I have a HERO 3 Black with a LCD back. Run time on the battery is approx. 20-25 minutes. It's been that way from the start. Is this normal?
Later,
John

 

[scubamarketing]

Yes, running the LCD kills the battery quickly. That seems a little fast, but if I run mine with my LCD the entire time (and it doesn’t freeze up), I think I’m getting about 30-35 minutes out of mine.

 

[DepthCharge]

That sucks, wish they would come up with a larger battery/housing.
Later,
John

 

[scubamarketing]

Supposedly the Hero 3+ fixes this problem, but after all the problems I've had with mine I'm not really interested in buying another one at this point.

 

[Dax The Magnificent]

I seem to get about 25min with the LCD backback on mine. total battery hog.

 

[flareside]

How long you get is a function of what video mode you are using but 20-25 minutes is way too short. I get 60 to 65 minutes recording at 1080p-30 with the LCD on. 1080p-60 would bring that down considerably but not to 25 minutes. Either you have a bad battery or you are not getting a proper charge. When charging use the GoPro supplied cord and plug it into an Iphone/Ipad style wall charger. Let it continue to charge for up to an hour after the light goes out. If that doesn't solve the problem, you either have a bad battery or a short in the camera. Also be sure you have taken all external factors into account like cold temperatures and the full amount of time the camera is turned on.

This chart on the GoPro website gives a better idea of what to expect http://gopro.com/support/articles/hero3-battery-life

 

[scubamarketing]

I shoot in 720p60, am on the latest firmware, have 2x GoPro batteries and 4x Wasabi batteries, and follow your charge recommendations for every charge and still only get 30-35 minutes. I usually use mine in mid-70s temps.

 

[Fish&beer]

When you shoot are you having the camera record the entire dive? I have a Hero 3 silver and use the LCD back on 1080p-30. What I generally do is set the camera mode to shut off after 2 minutes of inactivity. When I see something interesting to shoot, I turn the camera back on and then shoot the subject. Yes sometimes I miss a subject that comes by quick but it is seldom. I don't have the camera recording the entire dive. It works great for me and I can get two dives out of the battery.

 

[scubamarketing]

At least for me, the 30-35 minutes I'm referencing is record time, not just camera on time. Not sure about OP.

 

[Hobby Mounts]

I would say 30-35 minutes could be about right using the LCD on a Hero 3 Black Edition. The Hero 3+ is much better though due to the less power hungry processor and the slightly higher capacity battery. Gone are the problems of freezing too associated with early Hero 3's although this can be fixed with a firmware update and a proper memory card.