GoPro announced the release of the new HERO3+, and it will come in their Black and Silver Editions. The camera comes with a 20% slimmer waterproof housing, 30% better battery life, improved audio and faster Wi-Fi. In addition to those features, the upscale Black Edition gets a new SuperView video mode, Auto Low Light and a lens that boosts a 33% increase in image sharpness. Down deep in the innards of the camera are improved hardware and software, which will enhance overall performance and image quality. The HERO3+ Black Edition retails for $399.99 and the Silver for $299.99. The White Edition remains unchanged and still retails for $199.99.





SuperView Mode

The HERO3+ Black Edition gets their new SuperView video mode which available in the 1080p and 720p resolutions. The GoPro sensor captures things in a 4:3 aspect ratio, and the SuperView mode shoots the video using the entire sensor and then alters it to 16:9. The usual method is to crop the top and bottom of 1080 and 720 to 16:9 during recording, essentially losing part of the viewpoint. The SuperView captures a more immersive wide-angle perspective, so you'll see more of the surrounding during a shot. I am really looking forward to this feature, since I always reverted to 960p so I could capture more height of the trail that I was riding, albeit with a loss of some action on the sides.



Improved Lens and Imaging Software

The HERO3+ Black Edition gets a new f/2.8 lens which is supposed to boost image sharpness by 33% and reduce imaging artifacts by two times. I assume that they have altered the imaging software to assist in this endeavor, and we should also see better white balance and dynamic range.

Improved Battery Life

The HERO3 cameras had mediocre battery life compared with their predecessors, and I resorted to either using the Battery BacPac or carrying a spare battery to alleviate any issues during usage. GoPro has addressed this issue by swapping out the 1050mAH (3.7V, 3885mWh) HERO3 battery to a more robust 1180mAh (3.7V, 4366mWh) one in the HERO3+. They stated that this change should increase the battery life by 30%, but we'll have to validate that during real time use. I wonder if the batteries are the same size so that I don't have to go buy a new one for my backups.



Smaller Waterproof Housing

GoPro has lightened and slimmed down their waterproof housing by 20% for the HERO3+, and it will be waterproof down to 131 feet (40 meters) instead of the HERO3's 197 feet, which isn't an issue for mountain biking. If desired the HERO3+ still fits within the confines of the HERO 3 housing. The buttons appear to be fatter, which should hopefully resolve its predecessors stiff actuation issues, which were especially evident when using them with gloves.



Faster Wi-Fi

The camera's hardware has a new Wi-Fi chip, which is supposed to make the GoPro App video preview, photo and video sharing four times faster. I'll be interested to see if the faster Wi-Fi helps the latency of the Apps video preview, which was a slightly annoying factor when trying to get the camera viewpoint set up properly. A small rumor is that the next App release will let you wirelessly upgrade the firmware, instead of the current process of having to connect it to a computer for a semi-manual download.

New Auto Low Light mode

The new Auto Low Light mode is supposed to automatically adjust your frame-rate on the fly when the camera encounters low-light conditions. For example, if your recording at 960p 60 fps and sensor detects low-light it drops things down to 960p 30 fps. The slower frame-rate allows more light in, for enhanced low-light performance. This sounds like an intriguing feature, and should make recordings during those late evening forays on the trail greatly improved.

Improved audio

They have upgraded and relocated the microphones on the HERO 3+. The new mics will have a 10db increased audio range and two times more volume, and I am hoping that the changes might reduce unwanted noise, which was especially noticeable on the HERO3 when riding at speed.

Press Release

A Smaller, Lighter Evolution of Best Selling Camera
GoPro Enables New Era of Personal Content Capture & Sharing

SAN MATEO, CA (October 1, 2013) ­­- GoPro today announced the availability of its new HERO3+ line of cameras, featuring a 20% smaller and lighter design and 30% better battery life than previous models. These upgrades, combined with an improved lens and convenient new video capture modes, produce the most advanced and easy-to-use GoPro, yet. In addition, GoPro announced several new mounting accessories that further enable immersive content capture during any activity. The HERO3+ line of cameras and accessories are now available at GoPro.com and at select retailers worldwide.

GoPro is enabling people to capture and share life experiences in a way that was never before possible. Prior to GoPro, it was very difficult for anyone to capture content of themselves doing anything without having the help of someone else to film them. GoPro has enabled a new era of self-documentation whereby people can now easily wear or mount miniature ultra wide-angle GoPro cameras to record themselves doing just about anything, anywhere. The result is a surge of immersive user-generated and professional content made possible by the versatility and affordability of GoPro's cameras and accessories. An average of three GoPro "tagged" videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and GoPro is used by the world's leading production companies to help produce some of today's most engaging film and television content.

In addition to being the best-selling camera globally in consumer markets*, GoPro's HERO3 camera has also been the best-selling camera to professional production companies, on a volume basis. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences recently awarded the HERO3 camera an Emmy for its contributions to filmmaking and television production.

"We have used GoPro cameras in some of our biggest productions, like Survivor and The Bible. GoPro has allowed us to capture and share fascinating new perspectives that previously weren't possible or were too costly, which in the end makes for better story telling. We are always excited to see what GoPro is working on next," remarks award winning producer, Mark Burnett.

"The HERO3+ illustrates GoPro's commitment to innovation. We took the world's best-selling ultra compact camera and made it better because we're relentless in our pursuit of delivering the best possible user experience to our customers. We saw that we could make the HERO3+ significantly smaller and lighter while at the same time increasing battery life 30%. We saw the opportunity to design a sharper lens, so we did it-improving GoPro's already highly regarded image quality. And we thought up exciting new features like SuperView, which enables the world's most immersive wide-angle video. These are all features that we as passionate GoPro users want for ourselves, and we're excited to share them with our customers around the world," said Nicholas Woodman, Founder and CEO of GoPro.

The HERO3+ Black Edition - The Most Advanced GoPro Camera Yet.
  • Innovative new housing yields a 20% smaller and lighter overall package when camera is installed in housing (waterproof to 40m)
  • 30% longer battery life
  • 4x faster Wi-Fi for quicker transfer and playback of photos and videos from your HERO3+ camera to your mobile device when using the GoPro App
  • SuperView is a new video mode that captures the world's most immersive wide-angle perspective
  • Auto Low Light mode intelligently adjusts frame rate for varying lighting conditions
  • A new lens for sharper video and improved image quality
The HERO3+ Black Edition camera has a suggested retail price of $399.99.

The HERO3+ Silver Edition - 2x More Powerful.
  • 2x faster image processor than the HERO3: Silver Edition
  • Enables 1080p60 and 720p120 fps video
  • Innovative new housing yields a 15% smaller and lighter overall package when camera is installed in housing (waterproof to 40m)
  • 4x faster Wi-Fi for quicker transfer and playback of photos and videos from your HERO3+ camera to your mobile device when using the GoPro App
The HERO3+ Silver Edition camera has a suggested retail price of $299.99.

New Mounts, More Versatility, Better Content

GoPro is the world's 2nd largest camera accessory brand* thanks to its industry-leading line of wearable and gear-mountable accessories. Mounts and accessories are key to enabling the life-capture creativity of millions of GoPro customers around the world. GoPro announced today several new mounts, including:
  • Jaws: Flex Clamp - A quick way to clamp your GoPro camera to a variety of objects. Use the optional opposable neck to achieve a wide range of camera positioning and adjustability. Jaws securely grips irregular shapes and super slim objects thanks to its innovative design.
  • Junior Chesty (Chest Harness) - A smaller version of our adult-sized Chest Harness. Perfect for kids ages 3+, the Junior Chest Harness is great for capturing immersive footage of a child's world from their perspective-from skiing and skateboarding to slides and swings.
  • Headstrap + QuickClip - The QuickClip is a new accessory that now comes bundled with GoPro's Headstrap. The QuickClip enables ultra-compact, low-profile mounting to baseball hats, belts and other objects ranging in thickness from 3mm to 10mm.
Check out other new mounts and accessories at: GoPro.com/products

Awesome Edits Made Easy: GoPro Studio 2.0

While HERO3+ cameras and accessories make it easy to capture incredible footage, GoPro Studio 2.0 makes it easy to edit and share incredible videos. New to Studio 2.0 are GoPro Edit Templates-customizable templates of some of GoPro's best videos made available for free to users. It's as easy as picking out a GoPro video you like and dropping your own GoPro clips into the pre-made edit template. Killer soundtracks are included and all the edits are stylishly timed to the music by GoPro's famous production team. Now anyone can easily create professional-looking videos, making it more fun than ever to GoPro.

Studio 2.0
  • Simple to use storyboard-based video editing software for Windows or Mac
  • Manually create a video with transitions, titles, and soundtrack, or
  • Use GoPro Edit Templates to quickly create professional-looking videos based upon edits originally produced by GoPro's acclaimed production team
Studio 2.0 is available for free download on GoPro.com

About GoPro
GoPro makes the world's best selling and most versatile cameras, enabling people to capture immersive and engaging footage of themselves during their favorite activities. GoPro's HERO line of wearable and gear mountable cameras are used collectively by more consumers, professional athletes, and video production professionals than any other camera in the world. Based in San Mateo, California, GoPro's products are sold in more than 35,000 stores in over 100 countries worldwide and direct via GoPro.com.
GOPRO® and HERO® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Woodman Labs, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company, product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their rightful owners.

Awesome Edits Made Easy: GoPro Studio 2.0

While HERO3+ cameras and accessories make it easy to capture incredible footage, GoPro Studio 2.0 makes it easy to edit and share incredible videos. New to Studio 2.0 are GoPro Edit Templates-customizable templates of some of GoPro's best videos made available for free to users. It's as easy as picking out a GoPro video you like and dropping your own GoPro clips into the pre-made edit template. Killer soundtracks are included and all the edits are stylishly timed to the music by GoPro's famous production team. Now anyone can easily create professional-looking videos, making it more fun than ever to GoPro.

Studio 2.0
  • Simple to use storyboard-based video editing software for Windows or Mac
  • Manually create a video with transitions, titles, and soundtrack, or
  • Use GoPro Edit Templates to quickly create professional-looking videos based upon edits originally produced by GoPro's acclaimed production team
Studio 2.0 is available for free download on GoPro.com

About GoPro
GoPro makes the world's best selling and most versatile cameras, enabling people to capture immersive and engaging footage of themselves during their favorite activities. GoPro's HERO line of wearable and gear mountable cameras are used collectively by more consumers, professional athletes, and video production professionals than any other camera in the world. Based in San Mateo, California, GoPro's products are sold in more than 35,000 stores in over 100 countries worldwide and direct via GoPro.com.
GOPRO® and HERO® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Woodman Labs, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company, product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their rightful owners.