New high end GoPro?

[FrankB]

The Hero3 Black just dropped in price by up to about $100.

Usually, this is a sure sign that a new model is about to be released.

Anyone have any information?

 

[bumper]

Or it could be a sure sign that they are better competing with Sony??

bumper

 

[Gizmo3000]

No official word, but here's what the rumor sites are saying
http://stoked.com/blog/3413/gopro-hd-hero-4-specs/

Here's what the GoPro HD Hero 4 will be able to do:

4K Ultra HD H.264 Encoder
- Film in 4k resolution at 30fps
- High Profile with B-frames for high efficiency

Super High Frame Rate Modes
- Film in 1080p at 120fps
- Film in 720p at 240fps

Advanced Imaging
- 700Mpixels/s oversampling performance
- Multi-exposure HDR and WDR tone mapping
- Electronic image stabilization (EIS)
- Improved MCTF with advanced sharpening

Wi-Fi™ Connectivity
- Remote viewfinder, playback
- Upload pictures and video to social media

 

[martcerv]

I think its pretty certain we get a new model GoPro in October as the last 2 cameras were released mid to late October the last 2 years. Price drops are also due to this but the only people that now the exact specs of a new camera are under NDA and so wont be disclosing this so all specs are simply rumours. I did say that it was a bit strange for DJI to make a fairly expensive gimbal built especially for the hero3 with a new camera due in October with no guarantee of keeping the same form factor.

This will have to be a fairly big step up from the hero3 black as most of GoPro's target audience will likely already have one of these. Their main competition still is themselves as nobody has outdone the Hero3 black in the 11 months its been out, a few are getting close but this is at the same time as a new camera is due to come out.

The target is surely double the h3B performance so double rates in each res mode and this will also include doubled bitrates. This was GoPro's biggest issues with the 3 black as it was found not many c10 micro sd cards actually performed to spec properly and failed at 45Mbps constant write speed which is only 5.625MB/s well under c10 speed of 10MB/s. If the recording bitrates arent doubled along with the frame rates then its rather pointless. There are cards that spec wise should easily handle these higher speeds as they have claimed write speeds of 20MB/s which would allow these higher rates easily if they are actually performing to spec this time around.

Then theres issues of heat and battery life so if they managed to solve these things then thats surely going to be the new hero4 at 4k30 1080p60 and basically double every other mode. An improved sensor and lens possibly changeable lenses would be very welcome and then it will be well ahead of the competition for the next 12 months. If they pull of global shutter also and the one thing most would like a solid stable camera with launch firmware they will stay on top. If they dont deliver a significant upgrade over the current range then they will lose their position at the top pretty quickly.

They know in this market brand loyalty is not king but actual camera specs and performance, if they slip up it could be the beginning of their end. This is great for us as any other brands wanting to challenge GoPro really need to step up their game so whichever camera you end up getting the competition will give you some great choices.

 

[martcerv]

New + cams will be here on the 1st and good news for gimbal owners is they are the same form factor, cant say any more but lots of info should be out soon enough.

 

[lilwheat]

http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero3-black-edition

There it is. I don't about anyone else, but it always makes me a little happier when the product number doesn't change (Hero3 to Hero3+ instead of Hero4). That to me signifies there were not enough improvements to validate a completely 'new' version.

Looks like higher 2x frame-rates for the video modes and it claims to be 20% lighter with a 30% better battery. There is new firmware on the site for the Hero 3, so let's see if we get some new video modes/increased battery performance!

 

[syotr]

http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero3-black-edition

it claims to be 20% lighter with a 30% better battery. !

The waterproof case is 20% lighter. The camera is 2 grams lighter.

 

[jumanoc]

An inside waterproof visual size comparison (Hero3 vs Hero3+):