Design, technical characteristics

Finally, the long-awaited novelty is in our hands. Of course, it could have appeared earlier (online stores are always ready to serve), but I really didn’t want to face the peculiarities, albeit rare, of the so-called “gray deliveries”. Namely - with a lack of localization, flaws software and other unpleasant surprises. Fortunately, there are still official suppliers of this equipment in Russia, and the speed of their work is pleasantly surprising: the third series of GoPro Hero officially entered our market shortly after overseas announcements. The difference in several months can be considered insignificant - it is enough to imagine the difficulties that you need to go through to get just one certificate.

But let us leave the bureaucratic obstacles to those who, by the nature of their activities, are called upon to overcome them. After all, there is a much more interesting reason for the article:

Design, technical characteristics

The reader should be warned: in this article, you will not see mesmerizing footage shot in the stratosphere. There will be no wrecked cars or broken limbs here. Exotic ways of attaching a GoPro to anything is also left to the discretion of the owners of such cameras. We will focus on studying the technical features of the device: control, shooting modes, methods of processing the resulting video. Everything that is not covered in the user manual or on the product web page.

Traditionally, the GoPro Hero camcorder comes in several variations, or, if translated "Edition" literally, editions. They differ not only in completeness. Before buying, it is recommended to carefully study the characteristics of each "edition" - this can be done on.

But everything is much simpler for us: the camera, kindly provided for testing, belongs to the "older" version - GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition.

The camera comes with a serious set of accessories (looking ahead, we note that even such a collection will probably not be enough for the embodiment of all ideas):

• several mounts, including a platform
• waterproof case
• replaceable back cover for the case (not sealed, with holes for better sound recording)
• radio remote remote control with charging cable
• Mini-USB-USB cable
• paper instruction in Russian

The camera concept remains the same as in. The design - yes, it has changed slightly. The battery has ceased to resemble a telephone battery, now it has the shape of a brick. Of course, the old batteries will no longer work with the new camera.

The supplied battery allows 95 minutes of continuous recording at 1280 × 720 50p with Wi-Fi turned off. Wireless communication takes up a lot of energy, the battery is literally depleted before our eyes. Without knowing this, the author, getting ready to shoot and charging the camera, did not pay attention to the blinking blue indicator, and arrived at the shooting location with an almost discharged battery. It turns out that it is not enough to turn off the camera - you also need to make sure that Wi-Fi is also turned off: the wireless adapter in the camera is turned on and off separately.

The body of the device, as usual, is made of impact-resistant plastic. On one of the ends there is a Wi-Fi on / off button, on which a corresponding pictogram is applied.

The camera screen still has no backlight - this is a serious drawback. And, just like in previous versions, navigation through the menu is carried out with two buttons. This way of controlling the parameters cannot be called comfortable; however, this is a matter of habit. It is enough to work closely with the camera for a week to change, for example, the recording mode with your eyes closed, focusing on the sound signals and the number of clicks. But, we repeat, for a beginner, such an unobvious method of control may seem inconvenient and antediluvian.

Service interfaces of the camera are covered with a removable cap: Micro-HDMI, Mini-USB, and a slot for a microSD memory card (up to 64 GB).

The control panel screen is also not backlit; in active mode, this screen completely copies the screen of the camera itself, repeating all the set parameters and icons. All devices exchange information over the same Wi-Fi. The remote control works stably, the maximum distance at which the camera is able to receive a control signal and transmit information can be 200 meters in line-of-sight conditions.

To recharge the remote control, a special cleverly shaped connector is used; charging is carried out from a USB port or from a similar adapter. During charging, pull out the metal eyelet from the remote control, for which the remote control is designed to be attached, in order to avoid losing it.

The main specifications video cameras are shown in the table:

Video / photography

First of all, you need to know with what resolution it makes sense to shoot. It would seem: if you want to save events with maximum detail, use the 4K available here. But the frame rate when shooting with such a resolution, alas, is not yet high enough - only 12.5 frames per second (hereinafter we will use the PAL standard, as the main one in Russia and most other countries).

But how do you measure the resolution of a given camera? Our test chart, printed on A3 paper, is not suitable for this. The fact is that the lens of the camera in question has a fixed focal length. Simply put, objects located a meter from the lens to infinity will be in focus; objects that are closer than a meter will come out of the focus area and blur.

What's the way out? A huge-oh-ohm test chart, of course! True, it is quite expensive to print (and place) such. In addition, it does not make much sense: after all, the main areas of the table, by which it is possible to quite accurately determine the resolution of the camera, fit on only six A4 sheets (the entire table in this case could have a width of 3 meters).

To print the required six sheets, we split the "virtual" table into sheets. After that, only the desired area was printed - in the following figure it is highlighted in color.

After gluing the resulting sheets and placing them on a vertical surface (wall), we thought about it. Dilemma: How far away should you shoot? After all, it is required not only to remove the given object. The main thing here is to maintain the desired proportions. One could use a simple calculation, but alas - the optical distortions introduced by the camera lens are so strong that the usual geometry is not suitable here. There is only one way out - sequential shooting made from different distances from the table will help us. Armed with a tape measure and choosing a step of five centimeters, we made the necessary shooting, making several dozen takes.

Now it is enough to combine in a graphic editor the freeze frames obtained from each take with the image of the table itself in the original and select the frame that is most suitable in size, where the key objects of interest to us in the table coincide with the original ones in location and size. Ready!

The shooting was carried out, of course, in 4K 3840 × 2160 mode. This mode was chosen because the aspect ratio in it is the standard 16: 9 - exactly the same as in the test chart. The counting showed that the actual resolution of the camera reaches 2800 × 1600... This is wow! Carlson comes to mind with his sincere surprise: "Such a big housewife - in such a small box?" What is this processor inside our camera that allows you to encode a picture with a similar resolution? Come on, heating up like an internal combustion engine? Let's measure this parameter too.

This photo was taken half an hour after the start of 720p recording, while the camera was in a room with a temperature of 24 ° C. As practice has shown, you can avoid reaching a critical temperature by abandoning the use of Wi-Fi and providing the device with the maximum possible ventilation. That is, shooting in the heat with a camera placed in a sealed box threatens to overheat with the subsequent shutdown of the device - this aspect is covered in detail in the user manual. One thing pleases: due to the presence of a thermal sensor in the chamber, one should not be afraid of the device breakdown due to overheating.

But back to the resolution. So, 2800 × 1600. These numbers are pretty damn similar to the resolution you get when shooting in 2.7K mode. Conclusion: to get the maximum video detail and at the same time avoid unnecessary waste of disk space, you can use one of the 2.7K modes: 2.7K (2716 × 1524, 16: 9) or 2.7K Cinema (2716 × 1440, 17: 9) ... Moreover, the frame rate of such a video is already close to normal: 25 or 24 fps.

You can clearly visualize the difference in the detail of each of the recording modes using the following clip:

To view it in full resolution, click on the button "Original size"

The huge number of shooting modes available in the camera in question forces their description to be displayed in a separate table - all parameters cannot be accommodated in the main table of technical characteristics. Here you can also download freeze frames and original clips shot in the specified modes.

Here it is necessary to decipher what the column with the name "Protune" means. This shooting mode is activated in a separate item of Capture Settings, and there is a choice between automatic white balance, manual white balance (3000 K, 5500 K and 6500 K) and shooting in Cam RAW mode. The latter mode, most likely, allows you to get the picture as it is, without software color processing. We'll deal with this Protune feature a little later.

You can also conclude from the table that some shooting modes allow the use of different frame rates. It is hardly necessary to convince the reader to always use the highest possible frame rate, especially when shooting fast-moving objects. And since we are considering an action camera, this is the only shot that is supposed to be.

Another burning question concerns the corners. Those that are now for some reason not indicated in degrees, but have a more understandable designation: Wide (Ultra-wide), Medium (Medium) and Narrow (Narrow). Let's try - clearly, of course - to see and evaluate the difference in the angles of view of the lens. As you can see from the above table, not every recording mode allows you to change the angle. Just two: 1080p and 720p. In general, these formats are the most in demand today, so in the future we will start shooting in the older one, 1080p. With the highest possible frame rate, of course.

A lot of free space is required to measure angles. Therefore, we will go to the open air, armed with a shovel for clearing snow (we are in Russia, and now it’s not summer).

What's the verdict? It looks like the camera has a 150 ° angle of view in Wide mode, it goes up to 110 ° in Medium mode, and narrows down to 80 ° in Narrow mode. The most preferable is the medium mode, Medium. And the field of view is wide enough to cover the main scene, and at the same time geometric distortion does not hurt the eye as much as in the maximum Wide mode.

By the way, about distortions. How do I fix them? The answer is unlikely to please: it is difficult to overcome this distortion. However, it is possible. For example, in Photoshop. Don't be surprised, this program works well with video (Video processing in Adobe photoshop: Part 1, Part 2). There is also a way to correct distortion using open source software: a filter for VirtualDub. Unfortunately, in both cases, the video will have to be re-encoded or repackaged before processing into a format that is understood by the corresponding programs (Photoshop and VirtualDub).

However, you can do without preliminary re-encoding or writing AVISynth scripts. So, in After Effects there are several ways to partially overcome distortion, here is one of them:

As we have already seen, the camera in question has a rather large MOS-matrix. In this regard, it is quite reasonable to expect an eerie rolling shutter from her. Let's check this too, we will shoot passing vehicles in different modes.

If there is a rolling shutter, then it is so weak that it does not attract attention even in the maximum 4K mode. Not every camera is capable of this.

WVGA mode also promises a lot of benefits. Recall: shooting in this mode is carried out with a frequency of as much as 240 frames per second. Slowing down such a video by 10 times, you can get a result that is rare in terms of effectiveness. The following scenes may be rather commonplace, but the potential of such shooting is not difficult to understand.

Now, as planned, let's take a look at the Protune shooting mode. The manufacturer promises that the video shot in this mode lends itself much better to color correction - let's make a preliminary conclusion that the Protune mode allows you to shoot with an increased dynamic range. To confirm this theory, we will carry out one more experiment: we will shoot a contrasting scene.

Indeed, dark areas appear more distinguishable when Protune is turned on, and, apparently, a lot of color and light can be "pulled" out of such a wide-range video. There would be desire, skill and time. More precisely, a lot of time.

What is the difference between these modes in technically? Does the camera in Protune mode manage to encode video with a higher bit rate? No, in reality everything turns out to be much simpler. The files differ only in bitrate (with Protune enabled, it is one and a half times higher) and GoP length (Group of Pictures, 15 frames in normal mode and 8 frames in Protune mode). Below is the keyframe rate in both of the cutscenes.

As for color correction, it is not only possible, but necessary. The reader has already noticed that the camera is noticeably "yellow". In any scene, wherever and in whatever conditions it was filmed, a yellowish bloom is clearly visible. This may be the fault of the lens coating. Be that as it may, it is simply necessary to get rid of yellowness. It is not difficult to do this in any video editor.

Due to the presence of a loop recording mode in the camera, the device can be used as a car DVR. True, in order to simultaneously shoot video and recharge the camera, you need a box with open interface holes - after all, the camera itself does not have any fixtures, it can be attached to anything only under one condition: when it is in the box.

Having considered these videos and still frames, we can say with confidence: in terms of detailing, none of the existing car DVRs can compare with this video camera.

At night, under lantern lighting, the camera also behaves very well. In the case of video recording, the fixed focus of the camera plays an extremely positive role.

Time-lapse photography is only possible in Photo Mode: the camera is capable of creating photos of a user-specified size at the following intervals: 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 30 and 60 seconds. Thanks to this mode, it is possible to get a pretty beautiful video sequence by combining photos in a video editor.

A lucky chance allowed me to test the camera in question in underwater photography. Of course, in an artificial reservoir. The result is quite expected: flawless operation in all modes and, most importantly, the almost complete disappearance of distortion. In principle, this is understandable: water is an excellent corrective lens.

The camera's photographic ability is worthy of respect, but only in terms of excellent detail. Among the shortcomings - of course, is the wrong geometry and the absence of small depth of field and, accordingly, "bokeh", so beloved by many photographers (or those who consider themselves to be a photographer).

Software

The software built into the camera on an external monitor looks much more convenient and logical than on the screen of the camera itself. If not for one thing: navigation through the menu is possible only in one direction - forward. There is one hell of a button missing that would allow you to go back instead of scrolling through the entire menu over and over again with the risk of missing again.

The camera's wireless adapter creates an access point with a specific name when the GoPro App is turned on. To control the camera using a smartphone or tablet, you need to install the GoPro App on your smartphone (there are versions for both iOS and Android), connect the device to the specified point and launch the installed application.

It's a pity, but this application did not really work on our existing Android devices. Three different devices were tested: a smartphone, a tablet and a media player running Android 4.0. The connection was established, the application was launched, but this did not go further: despite the seemingly confident connection and even the appearance of a video stream in the viewing window, the application stops working after a few seconds, displaying a message on the screen about the need to check Wi-Fi for correct connection. Why check it, if the camera even manages to display the picture - it is not clear. We hope this flaw will be eliminated soon.

No matter how much we would like to evaluate the operation of the application in the version for iOS, we do not have such a device in the foreseeable environment.

Comparative testing under the same conditions

When there is almost no light, it seems much preferable to shoot without using Protune. The actual resolution of the camera has already been mentioned above - it is close to 2800 × 1600. This figure is an absolute record, no amateur full-frame camera has such resolutions today - what can we say about such microscopic bricks as a hero of this review.

conclusions

I was surprised by the camera, you won’t say anything. Honest 2.7K at a tolerable 25 frames per second - isn't that a miracle? As for the 4K mode, it was introduced here rather "for show", because the real resolution does not reach such an indicator. And the frame rate in this mode is not conducive to its use at all.

The second important positive point is the presence of the Protune mode, in which the image is not subjected to color correction (often incorrect) and software noise reduction, but is taken directly from the matrix.

Finally, one more aspect: the rolling shutter. It practically does not exist, which is at least surprising. A matrix with such a number of pixels should - no, it simply has to produce an eerie rolling shutter in the form of oblique lines and a jelly-like picture. However, we do not observe this.

Speaking about the disadvantages that characterize this device, two points should be noted. The first is the risk of overheating. True, only theoretical. In practice, during testing, we did not encounter overheating - but it is understandable, winter is outside. The second serious disadvantage is inconvenient, archaic control. Long ago, it's time to abandon this two-button blind regulation (however, someone might consider it a kind of zest, peculiar only to GoPro). And finally insert some kind of backlight into the screen!

The aforementioned shortcomings are quite serious, but other positive qualities of the camera undoubtedly outweigh them: excellent resolution, minimal rolling shutter, Wi-Fi. And they do not just outweigh it, but force us to mark this device with our award. Quite what he deserves.

Official cost GoPro camcorders Hero 3Black Edition in Russia - 20,500 rubles; the current average price (number of offers) is $ 369 (10).

Dimensions (edit)

Size and shape GoPro cameras practically unchanged for last years... All these actioncams have the same dimensions (without protective case) 41 x 59 x 21/30 mm. The two depth measurements vary depending on whether or not a protruding lens is taken into account.

Weight

The difference in weight between these cameras is negligible, and the extra few grams are unlikely to be noticeable.

Angle of view (FOV)

GoPro cameras usually have a wide field of view, but each has the ability to shoot at medium to narrow angles, depending on the video resolution.

Diaphragm

All of these GoPro models have F2.8 wide-angle lenses.

Matrix size

4K recording

4K video recording attracts buyers to the Hero4 Black, which is not surprising: the camera is able to shoot 4K video at double the 30/25/24 frames per second, unlike its counterparts at 15 / 12.5 frames per second. Thanks to powerful new image processing, the camera excels in 2.7K shooting.

The GoPro Hero3 + cannot shoot 4K or 2.7K video at any frame rate.

HD recording

Slow motion

If you want to take time-lapse recording, you need video recording with high frequency frames. These GoPro models are capable of recording at 120fps, but only the Hero4 Black can do that at 1080p, the rest are limited to 720p.

Video bitrate

Various GoPro cameras offer differing high video bitrates (H.264), from 25 Mbps to 60 Mbps. A higher bitrate is important for professionals who need the highest video quality possible, which is what the Hero4 Black is focused on.

Audio

Photo Resolution

FPS - the number of frames per second

Superview mode

SuperView is a new video mode that allows you to capture video with the widest perspective angle.

Only the Hero4 Black can shoot in SuperView at 4K (24fps) or 2.7K (30/25fps). Whereas Hero4 Silver and Hero3 + Black (where this feature was first introduced) can use this mode for 1080p and 720p footage.

Protune

Protune allows GoPro users to shoot more high quality and with less compression. You can adjust settings including color, ISO limit, white balance, sharpness, and exposure.

Built-in LCD with touch screen

The GoPro Hero4 Silver is the first to feature a screen like this, and only the GoPro ActionCam boasts a built-in touchscreen viewfinder.

Wireless connection

Memory cards

These GoPro actioncam models support MicroSD Class 10 or UHS-1 cards up to 64GB.

Battery

Battery life is one of the few aspects of GoPro cameras that users complain about, and unfortunately the situation is not improving.

In the recording mode that all cameras are capable of (720p 120 fps, off) Hero4 Black can shoot for 1 hour 50 minutes, Hero4 Silver for 1 hour 55 minutes, Hero3 + Black for 1 hour 55 minutes and Hero3 + Silver for 2 hours 20 minutes.

It's also worth noting that the Hero4 cameras are not compatible with any older GoPro batteries.

Price

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A long, sometimes sad, sometimes stupid story about the search for a silicone cap for the SJCAM SJ5000 Plus lens. Instead, I now have a cover for Go Pro Hero 2, Xiaomi Yi and SJCAM SJ4000. All individually - not bad and worthy of a story, but all this is not what I was looking for ...

This whole story is connected with the fact that I have a cat named Cookie and I have an action camera. The camera has a silicone cover to protect the lens from mechanical damage, and the cat just loves to roll all kinds of round objects on the floor. And why is it not a round object?


And so I left home for a couple of days, threw the camera into the box and into the backpack, and left this silicone piece somewhere near the PC. I arrived, decided to take the camera with me around the city, having already pulled it out of the box and took it cleanly in my pocket. But finding a silicone cover turned out to be unrealistic. And the whole house is ransacked, and the cat does not go out into the street, and does not admit where it has rolled it. And to this day has not been found, if that


I searched on Aliexpress in a hurry - I did not find the right one - the covers are for Sj5000 +. It was somewhere else in winter ...
When placing an order a little later on tmart, I remembered this loss, I also remembered with the edge of my ear the info that my camera has accessories similar to Go Pro and without reading the characteristics - I ordered the next one

Where in the region of $ 4 it was then and this is the price of my purchase at random. Because the cover for the 2nd generation Go Pro, which has nothing to do with 5000+

By that time, I was already sick of wearing a camera in a box (I use it in urban conditions as a camcorder) and this time I decided to consult / ask someone to help me find I needed. Time itself does not work.
One person advised me to take a cover from the Xiaomi camera, they say they already exist and it's not a problem to buy. I found her here

Cost around $ 2 free shipping- I decided to try.


Delivery within a couple of weeks, no excesses and no track. I expected it to become the norm, but already in the unpacking video it is obvious that everything will not end so easily

incompatible with Sj5000 sj5000 plus.

The most offensive thing is that the cover is cool. Cover for box + for lens


I read the reviews for the lot - like 4000 - it fits perfectly. But for 5000+ - nope (


Its outer diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of the Xiaomi lid


Here it is inside the cover of Xiaomi


So at the moment, everything is how it takes place - the cover for Xiaomi + electrical tape - are used, and the cover for 4000 - will lie idle along with the cover for Go Pro


Why did I write this not too long, but very epic opus - there are a lot of owners of the SJ4000 camera here, who may just need a hint of a place where you can buy lens caps for her camera very inexpensively. The seller on Ali is an indisputable plus for the product and price.

And, in fact, I also want to ask - can someone tell me where to buy what I still need? To keep me as calm as a cookie