Hero 2 vs hero 3

[Absolutbill]

I have been diving with my wife for almost a year and have over fifty dives logged. I own a sealife camera with strobe, I also like to lobster and spear lionfish, my activity just depends on where I will be diving.

I was thinking about a gopro hero 3 white edition, the price seems decent enough and i like the smaller size but i have a few concerns.

1. I know I would have to buy a red filter, but is the new housing good enough for diving? Any depth restrictions or would I be better buying an aftermarket housing.
2. Quality, I am not a film maker, just want to post and share some diving videos, is the 3 white edition a down grade from the 2. I don't think I would be using it for too many photos, I would take my sealife if I was planning on still photography.
3.overall value for a entry level consumer, hero3 white vs, hero 2 , which is better.

Thanks


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[3D diver]

Double check the specs: there's another hero3 thread running that indicated, IIRC, the white version is equivalent to the original hero.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/gopro-video/436724-gopro-hero3-announced.html


There are some good deals for the Hero2. I'd get another if I could justify the expense.

 

[SlvrDragon50]

Don't buy the GoPro Hero 3 white. If you're going to get a GP3, get at least the Silver (although I would just wait to Black Friday if you can)

 

[reebok]

Don't buy the GoPro Hero 3 white.

could you please expound on this? thanks.

 

[3D diver]

The white is equivalent to the original Hero. The silver is similar to the Hero 2. The black is the zoot-capri.

 

[reebok]

yes, that's pretty much common knowledge for anyone researching them...I was mainly looking for specifics from SlvrDragon50 since he seemed to have more indepth knowledge based on his absolute statement. thanks.

 

[Marty Cerven]

1. I know I would have to buy a red filter, but is the new housing good enough for diving? Any depth restrictions or would I be better buying an aftermarket housing.

The new housing is fine for diving, waterproof to 60m same as all other gopro housing's have been. The majority of aftermarket housings were just mods to the original housing, this was because the housing lens was curved and with a fixed focus camera this cause it to lose focus underwater. All the Hero3 cameras use the same housing with a flat glass lens on it, this is pretty much a mini version of the GoPro dive housing for hero2 camera's. If you get a hero 2 you will either need to buy the GoPro dive housing or a 3rd party option like SRP, Backscatter, EYE of mine etc. So your looking at least $50 for the gopro housing I think its selling for atm.

2. Quality, I am not a film maker, just want to post and share some diving videos, is the 3 white edition a down grade from the 2. I don't think I would be using it for too many photos, I would take my sealife if I was planning on still photography.

I dont have a hero3 white or silver, but have used hero1 cameras which the white is an upgraded version of. I had lots of fun with the original hd Hero and you can get some pretty good results with it. The HD1 did slightly worse in lower light then the 2 and there are a few more modes available for the HD2 and silver which is an upgraded version of it.

Underwater wise After doing some basic tests between the HD1 HD2 and HD3 the auto white balance tends to work best in the hero1 still. Not sure if this translates to the white edition but the Silver and Black also have the option to shoot in a mode called cam raw wb that in the black at least is a great feature underwater IMHO. Giving the most consistent results, the hero2 doesn't have that option even though the silver does but possibly could come in a future firmware, but as its been superseded it may not have much more added to it via firmware.

That mode though does require a bit more work in editing and the hero2 does get a bit noisier underwater when using protune, not sure about the silver but this is likely the same. White only has the full wide angle mode in 720p, 1080p is the medium FOV. Silver and h2 have options for wide, medium and narrow in 1080p. 1080p narrow though is its weakest mode when light is even slightly low so not that useable.

3.overall value for a entry level consumer, hero3 white vs, hero 2 , which is better.

Depends on the price of the hero2 as you need to factor in the flat lens or dive housing also, plus the 3's all have built in WiFi which is a pretty neat feature but not for underwater use. I think you would almost be looking more between a white and silver then a hero2. That is unless you can get a hero2 for much less then a silver including the dive housing, If it ends up costing more then a Silver the hero2 isn't a great deal as the silver is a smaller version with built in flat lens and WiFi.