What will I be disappointed with a GoPro 3?

[Angry Turtle]

Marty the camera lens on the White and Silver edition 3 are plastic only the black is glass

On the hero 2 the camera lens was glass

I didnt know that about the silver and white lenses, strange choice I think if thats the case.

Is the glass vs plastic a big issue?

I just received a silver as a b-day present, and was given the option to go to a black if I wanted. I am trying to decide if I should do it. The remote control does not seem to be a real feature for me, most likely would end up selling or it collecting dust.

 

[Interceptor121]

Usually plastic lenses are cheaper and less sharp

Well this is what gopro said about the hero2 :super sharp glass lens
Then on the black hero3 : 2x sharp glass lens no comments on the others...

The most interesting feature of the new series is the 1080p60 however that is most useful for macro that the gopro is not good at anyway
I used to have a Sanyo with no optical image stabiliser and never needed to slow down footage with the gopro is comparable if your wide angle is a bit moving you can use a software stabiliser provides there is a clear subject it is too shaky has to be trashed

 

[poidog]

Thanks guys for the inputs. I'm gonna stick to my silver. Sure the black would be nice, but I don't think it's worth the extra $ for he basic dive vids I want to do. My biggest concern is getting a sharp, clear picture. If the Silver can do that... then no worries from me. Doing slow motion would be nice, but not a necessity. Spending $300+150 (for red filter/monopod/extra battery) for a toy I can swallow, but $550 for a toy I get a little offish about.

Looking at the specs the Silver does look like it has a plastic lens, but the image quality over optical plastic/glass is the same. Only thing is that glass is heavier/more durable to hold up to scratches.... and since a gopro is in a protective housing all the time that won't be an issue to worry about.

I mostly dive within 60 feet, 120 is the max... and I always dive in warm tropical water... I'm a wuss

 

[flareside]

According to the Silver Edition specs page on the GoPro website:

Optics

• Ultra sharp ƒ/2.8 6-element aspherical glass lens
• Ultra wide angle / reduced distortion

HERO3 Silver Edition | Wi-Fi Enabled | Professional Quality HD footage

And it's the same for the white edition. Let's not allow rumors to get out of hand.

 

[poidog]

According to the Silver Edition specs page on the GoPro website:

Optics

• Ultra sharp ƒ/2.8 6-element aspherical glass lens
• Ultra wide angle / reduced distortion

HERO3 Silver Edition | Wi-Fi Enabled | Professional Quality HD footage

And it's the same for the white edition. Let's not allow rumors to get out of hand.

NICE! Those sneaky devils over at gopro not including "glass" on the comparison page except on the black. So basically it is the same camera except for the new processor/sensor.

And is that processor/sensor really needed for diving vids or is just because it's the newest thing out there?

I do like the idea of being able to capture photos simultaneously doing video... so I may exchange just for that feature.... hmmmm

 

[Gombessa]

The new sensor in the Black not "needed" for dive videos, but it has demonstrably improved quality in low light conditions (among other benefits of increased framerate and resolution) which is important for underwater video. I got the black mainly for the increased low light performance; the included remote is useless to me and I'm not currently using the 2k-4k settings.

 

[Interceptor121]

Improved Sharpness, Less Distortion

The HERO3: Silver Edition's reduced-distortion aspherical lens combines with user-selectable 1080p Ultra-wide, Medium and Narrow field-of-views to deliver more perspective-capture options than are available on the White Edition camera. The totally updated flat-lens waterproof housing delivers stunning image sharpness both above and below water.

and then on the page comparison
HERO3 Comparison Chart
It never mentions glass then on the specs pages of the single camera it does??

How can it be better if it is the same? Marketing crap from gopro?

Go pro black

[h=2]Optics
[/h]

• Ultra sharp ƒ/2.8 6-element aspherical glass lens
• Ultra wide angle / reduced distortion
• 2X Better low-light performance*

Gopro White
[h=2]Optics
[/h]

• Ultra sharp ƒ/2.8 6-element aspherical glass lens
• Ultra wide angle / reduced distortio

Gopro silver

[h=2]Optics
[/h]

• Ultra sharp ƒ/2.8 6-element aspherical glass lens
• Ultra wide angle / reduced distortion

Comparison (which is where I looked)

[TD="class: table-label"]Optics[/TD]
[TD="class: white"]Ultra-sharp ƒ/2.8 - 6 element lens, Ultra wide angle with reduced distortion[/TD]
[TD="class: silver"]Ultra-sharp ƒ/2.8 - 6 element aspherical lens, Ultra wide angle with reduced distortion[/TD]
[TD="class: black"]Ultra-sharp ƒ/2.8 - 6 element aspherical glass lens, Ultra wide angle with reduced distortion[/TD]

How can a lens be twice sharper if it is the same? I think this is a bit of marketing messing about

 

[Gombessa]

Interceptor,

You left off the next table row, which in the comparison link does claim the Black has a "2x sharper lens." It's indeed quite confusing, and would be good to know if there is a difference between aspherical/glass/sharper lenses or if this is just sloppy copy proofing.

In the meantime, it really doesn't impact my use of the camera so I'll be happily diving and filming tomorrow and hopefully have some decent footage to post!

 

[Interceptor121]

I would say that it is marketing hype

Happy diving!

 

[flareside]

How can a lens be twice sharper if it is the same? I think this is a bit of marketing messing about

It is really no worse than their infamous "battery warmer" which was nothing more than the heat naturally generated by the chipset but by calling it a battery warmer it sounded like an extra feature and drew attention away from how hot the cameras ran.