GoPro Hero 3+ First Thoughts

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A GoPro has been on my wish list forever and with the recent update to line I used that as an excuse to buy, along with the fact that I am currently reviewing the competitor model from Garmin, the VIRB.  I will have full reviews of both as well as a comparison of the two- quick thoughts. GoPro offers a huge ecosystem and sweet video quality. Virb offers really slick integration with a variety of ANT+ adapters letting you overlay info on the video, wouldn't we all like to see athlete's heart rates as the fly down the mountain side?  You also get a built in screen with the Virb - nice for quick composing of shots/footage.

Early thoughts about the new GoPro Hero3+

  • It is small, tiny really!
  • It doesn't come with a Micro SD Card? Not sure how I missed that, see list below for recommended Micro SDcards.
  • The user interface on the camera is not the best, thankfully the WiFi works well and in seconds I was connected to my GoPro, I renamed its wireless littlehero ;) and was controlling the camera with a nice live stream.
  • So many mount options and many of them are affordable.  See my list that I have ordered below.

20131004-IMG_676020131004-IMG_6761 

Early Thoughts on the Garmin VIRB

  • It is heavy and feels SOLID. Only waterproof to a meter, separate WP housing not included. I worry about the convex lens that sticks out - seems it screams for scratching.
  • The user interface is lovely and navigating it is dreamy
  • Mounts are hard to find and/or more expensive - to be fair it is a much newer product with smaller ecosystem
  • The integration with various Garmin GPS sensors and ANT+ devices is awesome and I have just barely scratched the surface - lots more thoughts soon.

 20131004-IMG_6763Recommended microSD Cards for the GoPro Hero3 or 3+ Black Edition

IMPORTANT- I have hard that when you use the SanDisk cards GoPro firmware limits the bitrate to avoid issues because of the super slow SanDisk Ultra cards.  Basically those cards suck(I haven't tested the Micro SD version of the Ultra cards but I have an SD version and it is the only card I have seen repeatedly fail during video) and as a result GoPro limits the speed for all SanDisk cards. It is difficult to wade through anecdotal evidence but I am forming a consensus that the Samsung 64GB SDXC card is going to give you some of the best results.  Now - all the cards listed above will work fine this really only becomes an issue when you want to use the higher bitrate ProTune mode.Mounts I have bought for the Go Pro

What else should I order?  Leave a comment below with your favorite GoPro Accessory.Buy The GoPro | Buy the Virb