Motorcycles, Kayaks, Cliff Jumps, Oh My! The Go Pro HD Hero review is here and packed with action. Check out our videos here.
GoPro HD Hero Overview
If you're looking for the ultimate affordable sports or action video camera system, look no further. Based on our experience with the GoPro HD Hero, we're pretty sure that no other camera in this price range can match it in terms of image quality and versatility. The GoPro HD Hero not only offered killer 720p, but it was capable of 60fps slow motion, a 960p 4:3 aspect for more vertical action, and a 1080p 30fps shooting mode, all modes delivering top-notch image quality. We could also take still images in various time intervals and standard definition recording was there when memory was low. The mounting system GoPro sent us allowed for a plethora of different camera angles for all of our adventures, so without any further adieu, let's see what this little brick of awesome is all about.
Shooting with the GoPro HD Hero
We were relatively perplexed when we first unpacked the GoPro HD Hero. This is it!? This little 2 1/2-inch wide rectangular cube is supposed to crank out exceptional 1080p HD videos while strapped to our helmet or chest? We shouldn't have judged the book, for the HD Hero was anything but uninspiring. In fact, it inspired us to turn our adventure dial up to 11 and experiment with all sorts of electrifying camera angles. We took the GoPro HD Hero on our Kawasaki ZRX1200R, dirt jumping/mountain hybrid bike, kayak, and even off a 20-foot cliff before plunging into the depths of Long Pond.
Our main concern was the learning curve. The GoPro HD Hero's chassis contains its petite wide-angle lens, Power button, Shutter button, Record lamp, USB terminal, HDTV and TV jacks, built-in microphone and speaker, and back hatch containing the battery. That's a lot of junk to stuff in such a little trunk. The GoPro HD Hero retains many of the traits you'd find on a typical point-and-shoot, only stripped down to the bare essentials and saddled with a minute digital LCD that reminded us of our first Timex sports watch.
Honestly, it wasn't that bad. After a brief jaunt with the intuitive instructions, we were adjusting settings in no time. The Power button toggles the mode while the shutter button does all the option selecting. Very straightforward and easy to handle. Just be sure to make all of your settings before you hit the dirt or the snow. We accidentally selected Photo mode and came back with a bundle of JPEGs instead of MPEG-4s, and that really chapped our ass.
That's one of the GoPro's shortcomings—lack of LCD monitor. You'll have to set up the camera, hope for the best, and sift through the footage when you get home. Also, how can you tell when the camera is recording? It beeps when the Shutter button is pressed and the red Record lamp blinks. This is great if you can see the camera in your mirrors or on your body, but when it's mounted in a tight spot and you've got a helmet blanketing your hearing receptacles, it's difficult to tell if the thing is rolling or not. For the most part, we were able to tell when the GoPro HD Hero was recording, but there were a few times when we had to pull over and double-check.
Where to stick your GoPro HD Hero
GoPro sent us a Whitman's Sampler of attachments and mounts to be used in a variety of different scenarios. We got plastic attachments and extensions that enabled the HD Hero to achieve multiple angles, a chest mount, suction cup mount, 3M adhesive quick-release mounts, and a dashboard mount. The camera itself sits inside a polycarbonate exoskeleton with two different hatches—one designed for regular use and one designed for underwater use. GoPro also recommends using the underwater hatch if you travel faster than 100 MPH. That was a very fun test.
We loved the ability to mod the HD Hero with all of its mounting accessories, but the plastic extensions proved to be thorns in our sides in a couple of instances. Take our mountain bike ride. After one trail, we'd unscrew the camera and extension configuration to mount it somewhere else on the bike. If you over tighten, it's exceedingly difficult to loosen the twist screws, and the tiny, capped nuts have a tendency of falling out of their recessed hexagonal chambers. As a result, we almost lost the tiny nuts in the thick Maine brush a number of times while swapping out extensions. GoPro should mold the nuts into the plastic extensions so that they don't fall out. Aside from that, GoPro's spectrum of mount modability is admirable.
GoPro HD Hero Image Quality
Before we tell you about how impressive the GoPro HD Hero's image quality is, let's check out the specs. Under the hood we've got a 1/2.5-inch CMOS sensor capable of WVGA (848x480) 60fps standard-definition, 720p 30fps, 720p 60fps, 960p 30fps, and 1080p 30fps Full HD. Data rates are 15Mbps at 1080p and 720p 60fps, 12 Mbps at 960p, and 8Mbps at 720p 30fps and WVGA. To be safe, we shot with a 32GB Class 10 SanDisk SDHC card capable of a 30Mbps max data transfer. Videos are recorded as H.264 MP4s, so they can easily be uploaded to YouTube. We had trouble editing, especially the larger 1080p files, so make sure your CPU has a lot of juice in order to handle the complex HD footage. We could also take 5-megapixel stills, but we found that the best results were achieved when the terrain was relatively smooth.
Never in our wildest dreams would we expect the GoPro HD Hero to crank out image quality that rivals or beats the best point-and-shoot digital cameras and camcorders in its class. Beautiful colors, sharp focus, and exceptional motion rendering make the GoPro HD Hero a fearless force, as you've seen in our sample videos throughout the review. The camera's auto exposure is great and its 170-degree wide-angle lens with f/2.8 aperture lens catered to low light environments that most other rival cameras would have choked in. At 1080p, we only got a 127-degree wide-angle view, but it was still plenty enough to capture most of Cadillac Mountain.
GoPro HD Hero – The Final Answer
If you ride motorcycles, ski, kayak, mountain bike, surf, race cars, ride motocross, rollerblade, hang glide, skydive, or engage in any other demanding action sport, then the GoPro HD Hero is a must-buy. The Hero's image quality decimates all other action cams in its class, it's highly versatile, and it's priced very reasonably. At just $300 for the entire Motorsports and Helmet package and $270 for the Surf package, the GoPro HD Hero is a steal. The battery lasted us all day, allowing us to keep the HD Hero on and simply press the shutter button when we caught an extension of open road or extra fun part of a trail. Plus, you get a One Year Warranty. Right now, this is the hottest action cam on the market. If you've been snooping around the HD action cam neighborhood, stop right now, take 300 bucks, and go buy the GoPro HD Hero.
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