Some Resellers are apparently taking orders for HD3 cameras.

Was confirmed and posted on a Resellers FaceBook Page and does read like a GoPro press release the way it's worded.

______________________________________________________________________
Due to arrive in Late October.

All Hero 3 cameras come WiFi enabled. They are 30% reduced in size, 25% less in weight, 2X faster, 2X more powerful and 2X better low light performance.

Silver Edition comes with 2 Quick Release mounts, 1 flat and 1 curved adhesive mount and 1 3-way pivot arm. $299.99

Black Edition comes with all of the above and the WiFi remote plus more. $399.99 (Moto / Surf / Outdoor Models)

The new LCD screen is a touch screen and and it works even with the waterproof backdoor.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOUNDS INTERESTING and addresses some of the physical and technical drawbacks of the previous HD models and mounts.

That's really interesting Ian.
I have a feeling there will not be any fixes for the Protune bugs for the existing HD2 owners.

Interesting I sold all of my version 1 GoPros since I heard the same thing a month ago. I hope this is just not an area 51 post and it really happens.

Yeah, just 2 days after I bought a HD2

lol, I'm one of those that just jumped into buying a GoPro but not disappointed to hear this. First of all I've only recently learned that GoPro's aren't great with deadlines so will probably be later than sooner, second of all loving my 24p (one of the major reasons I didn't get one sooner) and have plenty to play with till the new ones come out, and third the improvements sound great! Not to mention, compared to my other equipment, it's cheap! Not cheap for me mind you, but like I said comparatively! I also don't think I'll have a problem selling my HD GoPro 2 or just keeping it around just in case I need it =)

- Ray

At this point I'm still treating the HD3 info very much as a rumor, the source deleted the info over nite, but there could be many reasons for that.
UPDATE - There was a reason, the retailer was told to take down the info in his FB page. The guessing game continues :-)

I guess we'll find out tonight. "The most epic news in GoPro history drops tonight. Ready to be blown away?" https://twitter.com/GoPro/status/258257283522379776

Yup, on their Facebook page too – I’ll be eager to see what they did, but I can’t imagine that it will entice me to buy another one this quick.

Here we go:

So... Apparently these are the details/spec for the brand new GoPro Hero 3 to be released soon. Black edition sounds rad, 120fps @ 720p.

"The HD Hero 3 is a huge step ahead of the HD Hero 2. People are going to love these cameras. We will offer three models; the HD Hero 3 White Edition, Silver Edition and Black Edition. We will have three price points, and all three models have WiFi Built into them. They all share a new form factor which is the same rectangular shape (which lends itself to be mounted anywhere, including the Chest), but it's much thinner than the HD1/ HD2. The HD Hero 3 + Backpack is the size of todays camera by itself. All three models will come shipped with the new housing which incorporates an underwater lens into the housing and an improved locking latch. The camera needs to work as well under the water as above the water since it's waterproof. We did have to go to the Micro SD Card format since SD Card Trays are way to big for this camera. There are ton of other improvements; I'll send out a Camera Comparison Sheet once we have that and are allowed to send images.

Camera Line Up:

HD Hero 3 White Edition - $199 Retail. This is basically an HD Hero 1 Camera (5mp photo sensor, etc.) that includes WiFi, dive lens and the new, thinner form factor. Available 10/21/12 to ship.

1080/30, 960/30, 720/60
5MP Photo
3 shots 1 second photo burst
WiFi Built in
Improved Housing (locking latch / dive lens)

HD Hero 3 Silver Edition - $299 Retail. This is your HD Hero 2 camera with WiFi built in, new form factor and improved housing. Available 10/21/12 to ship.

1080/30, 960/48, 720/60
11MP Photo
10 shots 1 second photo burst
WiFi Built in
Advanced Features / Capture (Protune and White Balance)
Improved Housing (locking latch / dive lens)

HD Hero 3 Black Edition - $399 Retail. This is brand new technology with incredible new settings. Available mid to late November to ship.

4K/15, 2.7K/30, 1440/48, 1080/60, 960/100, 720/120
12MP Photo
30 shots in 1 second (plus many more burst settings where you can control how many shots in the burst and how long the burst lasts)
WiFi Built in
Remote Control Included (only on this model - remote is $79.95 by itself) - if you net out the price of the remote, the Black Edition is only $20 more than the Silver Edition.
Advanced Features / Capture (Protune, White Balance, Continuous Photo, and Picture in Video - PIV capabilities)
Improved Housing (Locking Latch / Dive Lens)

Cool,

No to pre order.

There's pictures on the net now in actual use, the smaller size pleases me immensely as does the DR

Another pic lower left corner

Still awful audio probably, as there's no mention of it.

Still awful audio probably, as there's no mention of it.

Who cares Lynne , just look at the Dynamic Range in those two shots, if you know what I'm talking about, audio can be non existent as far as I'm concerned. You're waiting for a feature that has low priority and hard to implement correctly even on VDSLRS.

Am I missing something? I'm not seeing 24p which is why I hadn't bought a GoPro till last month. They wouldn't wait this long to finally add it to Hero 2 and then not have it on 3 ... right? I gotta be overlooking something.

- Ray

Apparently they flew in reporters from 60 different countries for the event announcement. Nick Woodman (CEO) on stage, Justin Wilkenfeld seated to the left in the shadows. Twitter / GoPro: GoPro CEO Nick Woodman announces ... (http://t.co/dspCIVfk)

Specs up on screen, CAMERA SHIPS MONDAY

More pics HD3

I cut my teeth on double system sound. So to "return to those thrilling days of yesteryear" (1960s and 70s for me) makes no sense.
The whole point of POV cameras is to be self-contained. Why force people who want ultra-portable gear to also have to carry and operate and maintain a recorder and then spend time and energy later syncing up? It's the entire camera manufacturing culture these days who say, "Why have good audio when you can "cover it up" with music? Or lug around more equipment?"
Frankly, I'm hard pressed to think of a GoPro video I've seen that isn't mostly a music video.
Implementing better audio isn't asking much. Just give us clean circuits. We can then worry about better mics.
Obviously I'm in a minority here.

Lynne, this ones for you, read down the list

IMPROVED SOUND.

I think many people will be grateful for that small addition, altho' it remains to be seen what they mean by "improved." Less AGC? Cleaner sound? Better in-camera mic? We'll know soon enough, I guess.

I think many people will be grateful for that small addition, altho' it remains to be seen what they mean by "improved." Less AGC? Cleaner sound? Better in-camera mic? We'll know soon enough, I guess.

Stop procrastinating Lynne, you know you want it, bush walk coming up for you soon :-)

Setting FOV's and Frame rates

I'm in!! Looks like worth updating to for sure!

I would like a real-time monitor that would allow me to see what the camera sees at the end of a stick.

Preferably the connection would be waterproof enough to be submerged. Looking forward to seeing more about this new addition to GoPro's lineup.

The new video

GoPro HERO3: Black Edition - Smaller, Lighter and 2X More Powerful - YouTube

SOUND QUALITY - FROM THE GOPRO HD3 SPECS

Understanding that sound quality is as important as image quality, GoPro engineers completely redesigned the HERO3 to be as adept at capturing the subtle, natural sounds of voice and music as it is at capturing the immersive sounds of sport. Also improved is GoPro's already famous wind-noise reduction, ensuring that you'll hear more of your passion, be it your engine or expletives, and less of the wind during high speed activities.

Data rate for the black HD3 is 45Mbps,

White balance Auto and manual, 5 settings ......... Auto, 3000K, 5500K, 6500K, Cam Raw

The footage from this camera on YouTube is just incredible.

The GoPro Hero 2 with Cineform is really nice. The Hero 3 is just amazing. The underwater footage has great color and terrific dynamic range.

I worked with three other POV cameras. None come close to this. Wow.

'Has anyone been able to purchase? Waited for the countdown where it said you would be able to but none of the new stuff's "Add to Cart" buttons don't seem to work on any of them.

- Rag

The footage from this camera on YouTube is just incredible.

The GoPro Hero 2 with Cineform is really nice. The Hero 3 is just amazing. The underwater footage has great color and terrific dynamic range.

I worked with three other POV cameras. None come close to this. Wow.

Yep, they reestablished their role of King of POV in a big way. Now all that remains is the HD3 has to live up to the specs and perform. Thousands of Pros are Tweeting about it on Twitter, so they have made a big impact on the Pro/semi Pro crowd.

Bitching about sound quality while jumping out of a plane, with a camera (and mic) concealed in a water proof housing, doesn't make any sense to me.
No audio gear, at any price point would do much better.

For what it is and what it costs, it has actually amazing audio qualities.
Put a Senheiser or Sanken $1000 mic in a Tupperware box, throw it of a cliff into the sea and see what you get.

You guys are spoiled.

Frank

I often shoot double-system sound. It's not easy, there are the ever-present risks involved and, as Lynne said, there's the difficulty of syncing audio with picture in post.

I can definitely see the need for decent sound to come from a camera like this. There might not be an opportunity to get audio otherwise. And having decent audio can help with post-production sync via programs like PluralEyes.

All that said, the problem I run into is having the mounted camera pick up low-frequency vibrations in the hull that originate from the engine, and driving recording levels so low that very little is audible anyway.

It might be OK in a kayak or other situations. But due to the lack of vibration isolation, I don't think dependable, high-quaity audio can be ensured under all conditions.

I don't know what you guys edit in but in Sony Vegas Pro, i just throw a video with captured sound on the timeline, expand the timelines vertically so the wave forms are huge, then directly under i place the Zoom H1 or H4n recording and just sync visually to a spike. It takes no time at all and is perfect even with multiple stop starts on the secondary recorder. Much quicker and more accurate than PluralEyes, which i don't use anymore.

That's a great idea, Ian.

But I have dozens, if not a few hundred, clips to sync. I feed the audio from the recorder to the camera via a 2.4 GHz wireless link. There's an on-camera mic to provide additional audio.

At least with the GoPro footage there's not nearly as many clips as the main camera. So your idea might work... except the audio gets messed up due to the noise. So for those instances I rely upon the action to sort out clips and get the sync right.

I hope you guys don’t mind me asking, but is that 15fps of 4k actually going to be usable for projects that you all work on? I’m impressed they got a usable 2k out of that tiny thing – for what little I know about these things.

Otherwise, I’ll certainly keep my eye on any price drops on these – amazing how much of an improvement in just one year! I’ll be happy with my Hero 2 1080p for the time being though.

'Has anyone been able to purchase? Waited for the countdown where it said you would be able to but none of the new stuff's "Add to Cart" buttons don't seem to work on any of them. - Rag

they must be taking lots and lots of orders this morning... I had to use three different computers this morning to get the stuff into the checkout box... goter done tho... now the wait...

The white balance and dynamic range are perfect...

I would like a real-time monitor that would allow me to see what the camera sees at the end of a stick.

Preferably the connection would be waterproof enough to be submerged. Looking forward to seeing more about this new addition to GoPro's lineup.
Dean: there is a an aftermarket company on the web (rhymes with rye of fine) that makes a housing for the GoPro2 with a sealed RCA video cable through the housing. They use a 3D double case, and put the wire and connection in the open space left by using only 1 camera.

As soon as the 3d Hero3 housings are out, I'd suspect they'll make an underwater cabled housing for it, too.

My credit card company would not let me order today. After talking to the CC company they said they were protecting me since the traffic on the GoPro site was so high. They thought it was a scam.

This is awesome timing for me. I just have been holding off on a v2 and thankfully now the v3 has dropped!

Does anyone know if the Black Edition has the ability to do the lower bit-rates as well? i would like the option and not be stuck at max for times i don't need it. :) I haven't seen a mention anywhere so this question is a long shot.

Just go to the Gopro web site and read the specs ... should answer all your questions...

Dean: there is a an aftermarket company on the web (rhymes with rye of fine) that makes a housing for the GoPro2 with a sealed RCA video cable through the housing. They use a 3D double case, and put the wire and connection in the open space left by using only 1 camera.

As soon as the 3d Hero3 housings are out, I'd suspect they'll make an underwater cabled housing for it, too.

Thanks, Bill!

I'll probably use the Hero 2 as a "gaff cam".

The Hero 3 will be on-deck or elsewhere as the second camera for cutaways.

I'm wondering if the battery back for GP2 is compatible with GP3? I have a ton of various backs, batteries, and an lcd screen. It would be a shame if non of these will work on GP3.

Canon, Panasonic and Sony could all learn from the GoPro promo video. They all got "taken to school" on this one. Just downloaded and viewed a higher quality version. Whom ever shot and edited the promo did one heck of a fantastic job.

http://fil.io/fl48NPQwb/gopro_hero3-1920x1080.mp4

cant wait to get mines :)

3.5mm Mic Adapter | GoPro Accessories | Professional sound via HERO3 (http://gopro.com/camera-accessories/3-5mm-mic-adapter)

The cable for a stereo mic sure is odd. Must plug into a USB port on the camera. Then you've got a few inches of cabling to deal with. I guess the alternative are those L-shaped jacks from Radio Shack that are a disaster waiting to happen.
Or would that be a mini-HDMI port? Or mini-USB?

Canon, Panasonic and Sony could all learn from the GoPro promo video. They all got "taken to school" on this one. Just downloaded and viewed a higher quality version. Whom ever shot and edited the promo did one heck of a fantastic job.

Fil.io — file hosting for SMB (http://fil.io/fl48NPQwb/gopro_hero3-1920x1080.mp4)
Very impressive video - really high quality, both the footage and the editing. It makes you forget it's POV, and it raises my personal bar for future POV projects.

Canon, Panasonic and Sony could all learn from the GoPro promo video. They all got "taken to school" on this one. Just downloaded and viewed a higher quality version. Whom ever shot and edited the promo did one heck of a fantastic job.

Fil.io — file hosting for SMB (http://fil.io/fl48NPQwb/gopro_hero3-1920x1080.mp4)

The guy that helped shoot this video and actually did ALL the editing posted in the ProTune thread and know one even acknowledged his post even when I pointed out who he was. ABE KISLEVITZ GoPro Head editor. The guy is awesome at his job. Link to his post here. http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/new-micro-pov-camera-systems/507244-gopro-protune-8.html#post1757910

Implementing better audio isn't asking much. Just give us clean circuits. We can then worry about better mics. Obviously I'm in a minority here.

I'm certainly with you, Lynne. Even the old Canon S95 had much better audio, and in STEREO.

-- peer

I'm wondering if the battery back for GP2 is compatible with GP3? I have a ton of various backs, batteries, and an lcd screen. It would be a shame if non of these will work on GP3.

I'm wondering the same thing; I also have underwater housings and other stuff. I hope at least that the batteries are the same (but I'm guessing they will be much smaller). Well at least the mounts are the same!