# Different GoPro models, which one?



## Jet Fuel (Jan 17, 2004)

I have been looking at the GoPro Hero3 cameras. There are three versions; The White Edition for $199, the Silver Edition for $299 and the Black Edition for $399. I have never had a helmet cam and don’t know much about them, but they look like a lot of fun. Is there any reason not to get the White Edition, at $199 or are the more expensive models worth it? Thanks!


----------



## Lawson Raider (Jul 24, 2006)

The White Edition is about comparable to the original Hero HD. Silver Edition to the Hero 2. Of course, Black is a total new beast. At a minimum if I wanted a Hero 3, I would go with the Silver. If you want 4K or 2.7K or 480p @ 240 fps, you would have to go to the Black edition but since most folks don't record in those resolutions, the only real thing you don't get with the silver vs the black is the included wireless remote which if you bought it separately with the silver edition would put you close to what you would have spent on the black edition.


----------



## RandomGuyOnABike (Mar 5, 2013)

The black edition has a higher framerate when recording and also has a wi-fi controller bundled. If you go for the white version + remote, you're looking at $280.

My recommendation: If you have a brick and mortar store nearby that sells both editions, go with the white one first and the remote. Test it out over the weekend and see how it does. If it works for you, great. If not, you should be able to return both items and upgrade to the black edition.



Lawson Raider said:


> The White Edition is about comparable to the original Hero HD. White Edition to the Hero 2. Of course, Black is a total new beast. At a minimum if I wanted a Hero 3, I would go with the Silver. If you want 4K or 2.7K or 480p @ 240 fps, you would have to go to the Black edition but since most folks don't record in those resolutions, the only real thing you don't get with the silver vs the black is the included wireless remote which if you bought it separately with the silver edition would put you close to what you would have spent on the black edition.


May as well go with the black edition instead of the silver edition if you want the remote (as Lawson said), it'll run you roughly $20 more dollars. I would highly recommend getting a remote btw, since it will allow you go "hands off" of the camera to start recording. Especially beneficial if you mount the camera in "odd locations" - off the bike, near the tires, etc..

edit 1,000,000.3: This should be in the video section


----------



## CupOfJava (Dec 1, 2008)

Black edition has wifi and a phone app to control the camera. The reviews on those features are pretty bad. In short you hear lots of complaints about short battery life and buggy app.


----------



## Lawson Raider (Jul 24, 2006)

I purchased a Black edition a month ago.. have done some video on it but not extensively enough to comment on the battery life. I have seen tests where it is shorter than on the Hero 2 or Hero HD. I also own those two GoPro's as well and the battery life is pretty good for those. I have gone a whole day of extensive mountain biking on the Hero HD and Hero 2 and barely used more than one battery's charge (I always carry extra batteries for each camera). 

Hero 3 I have two GoPro batteries and two Wasabi batteries (they come with the external charger) so I am set for that.


----------



## johnnyspoke (Sep 15, 2005)

I don't have a black, but a friend does. What I really like (he does too) is that fact that you can set it up to do stills AND video at the same time. I know it will do a still at least every 10 seconds, maybe more. Some of the best shots we have are from this. Yeah, a lot get binned but there are some real keepers.


----------



## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have the Black. You also get 240fps in WVGA mode for crazy smooth slo-mo (although not HD in that mode), and up to 30 still photos per second in photo-burst mode. I'm not sure what the silver will do, but it's not 30. It will also shoot 120fps in 720p, which is pretty awesome for slo-mo also at a much higher resolution. 

The picture-while-recording-video thing is cool...doesn't work at all frame rates, so you have to make sure you're shooting video in a compatible mode (1080p at 30fps will do it, and several others...but the higher frame rates won't also allow you to shoot stills). In time lapse mode, you can set it to take a still photo down to every half-second..., that's .5 seconds. You can get some really cool time lapse video effect with this too. .5, 1, 3, 5, 10, etc, etc..all the way up to 10 minutes I think. 

The app has worked fine for me...I use it most often to check to see what's in the viewfinder before I start shooting (with a helmet mount or bike mount...so you see what you're going to get at the edges of the frame before you shoot. Also convenient to operate the camera with the phone while it's on the top of your head....drop the phone in your pocket and go, rather than take the helmet off, on, off, on... 

I use the app more than the remote.


----------

