I have always been fascinated by GoPro cameras. They are amazingly small compared to the cameras of years gone by and from what I’d seen online their picture quality was nothing short of amazing. Unfortunately, it seemed with their $600 plus price tag and increasingly more complicated (but rather cool) features GoPro were squarely aiming themselves for the professional market, whether that be film makers or professional athletes. I could never justify spending that kind of money on what would essentially be a toy used to capture fun times… that is, until now.
The GoPro HERO is GoPro’s latest entry level camera, announced alongside the new HERO4 range – although it is an altogether different beast to these. Where the HERO4 range has packed more features and options into their small form cameras, the GoPro HERO has gone the other way. There are less options to complicate things, at a price that until now has been unheard of for a GoPro – even on the secondhand market!
The HERO has a rugged, sturdy design that is entirely waterproof (up to 40m deep). In a departure from the rest of the GoPro range, the HERO is an all in one design – you can swap the rear door from the waterproof one to a skeleton one (to help with sound recording) and that is it. You can’t remove the HERO from it’s housing, and as such you can’t remove the battery or swap it out for a new one while out and about. The only inputs on the HERO is a micro USB plug, and a microSD slot (of which only accepts up to a 32GB card). Simplicity is clearly the aim of the game with this camera! Despite the new nature of the non-removable housing, the GoPro HERO fits all of the same mounts as the HERO3 and HERO4 series – a great idea to keep parts costs down and to ensure compatibility if you already own other GoPro models.
On the recording side of things, the GoPro HERO has options to record in both full HD 1080p at either 25 or 30 frames per second and 720p at either 25, 30 or 60 frames per second. While not aimed at professional users, the video quality of the GoPro HERO is absolutely stunning, and well worthy of professional use (if you can get past the lack of customisable features). I made a video for my other blog using the GoPro HERO testing daylight video quality, which you can view below.
As you can see – in normal daylight this GoPro absolutely shines! Although with the new ‘Auto Low Light Mode’ it’s certainly no slouch after dark either! Click on the video below to view an example of how the GoPro HERO handles low light video capture.
The GoPro HERO also has the option to capture five megapixel still images – with single shot, burst mode (at five frames per second) or time lapse mode (shooting one frame every half second). Five megapixels may sound small (especially compared to a lot of cellphones these days), but the image quality is very acceptable for small prints not to mention perfect for showing off the fun you’ve been having to your mates on Facebook! Using these 5 megapixel images to shoot time lapse movies also enables you to produce very lovely looking Quad HD 1440p files indeed – you could even get your inner David Attenborough on and film some beautiful sequences of nature if you wanted to! Keeping within the cycling theme on these examples, I have included a time lapse I shot while out on a ride. Check it out below.
Overall, I think the HERO is an absolute home run for GoPro – it’s the perfect camera for the 90% of us who only want a GoPro to record our fun times, whether you want proof of that epic run down that black diamond trail at your local bike park, or having fun at the beach over summer and then uploading them to Youtube or Facebook later on, or even just watching them on your home television. I also think the HERO would be the perfect backup camera for anyone who already owns a HERO3 or the newer HERO4 – the picture quality is certainly up to it!
The GoPro HERO retails for $189 NZ, and is available online from Mighty Ape NZ, or in store wherever cameras and electrical are available, as well as selected sporting goods stores throughout the country.
For more information on GoPro you can visit their website, or follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Thanks to our sister blog Traction Bike Blog for the awesome video content used in this review.