The GoPro HERO3 Black shut down after 1 hour 17 minutes whilst the GoPro HERO3+ Black shut down after 1 hour 30 minutes, giving us an extra 13 minutes of recording time. Like most media devices these days, the use of the built-in Wi-Fi is its Achilles' heel, so does the new battery make enough of a difference? We tested both cameras, recording from a full battery to flat with Wi-Fi switched ON, in 1080p 25 fps. The 1050mAh (3.885Wh) battery in the GoPro HERO3 Black has been updated to a slightly more powerful 1180mAh (4.37Wh) battery. Power To The People: The much criticised battery life of the GoPro HERO3 Black has been at least partially addressed on the GoPro HERO3+ Black. On top of the weight saving, GoPro has managed to implement some useful improvements to the case, such as larger ON/OFF, REC and Wi-Fi buttons, a less fiddly clasp, making it far easier to open and close with or without gloves, and a clearer view of the red tally lights on the camera, making it easier to see if you're recording.
Back on the scales, the GoPro HERO3+ Black comes in at 135 grams (4.76oz) compared to the GoPro HERO3 Black at 163 grams (5.75oz) when weighed with case, battery and a MircoSD card. Weight No More: GoPro has introduced a new thinner, slimmer and lighter outer case, to make the whole package more compact, contributing to the vast majority of the advertised weight saving. So where is the advertised 20% weight-saving coming from? As for weight, the 'naked' GoPro HERO3+ Black, with battery, tips the scales at 73 grams (2.58oz), 2 grams (0.07oz) lighter than to the GoPro HERO3 Black.
The only real giveaways are the '+' on the front, a new shaped lens, a slightly more tactile 'mode' button and the position of the microphones on the body. What are your thoughts? Did you find the footage from the GoPro Hero 3+ better like I did? What are your thoughts on it being worth an upgrade? Let us know in a comment below.Getting Naked: The 'naked' GoPro HERO3+ Black is housed in a practically identical body to its predecessor, with the majority of the same external features of the GoPro HERO3 Black. Is it so much better than the Hero 3 that the Hero 3 is no longer worth using? No, not in my opinion. Is the new GoPro Hero 3+ better? Yes, clearly. Now is it worth an upgrade if you already have the GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition? That is up for you to decide, personally I don’t think its worth running out to upgrade unless one of the improvements is something that you feel like you absolutely must have. So if that is a feature that is important to you then the new GoPro Hero 3+ would definitely make a good purchase in my mind. The Wifi performance on the new Hero 3+, while not quite as good as GoPro claimed, was still much much better than the old Hero 3 wifi. That is not to say the original GoPro Hero 3 Black looked bad, but in comparison I think it is safe to say that the Hero 3+ Black Edition is definitely an improvement. So, what did you think? Personally I thought the footage from the GoPro Hero 3+ Black looked better, had better sharpness and was overall much more pleasing to my eyes. The guys over at Rhino Camera Gear just released a new comparison video on YouTube where they took both cameras out side by side to really test them and see if the improvements made in the 3+ are really all that noticeable. The new Hero 3+ Black Edition boasted a smaller size, better Wifi, Better Battery Life, a New Lens, and several other features – but nothing that really jumped out at you as *THE* feature that makes it worth a $70 upgrade. Back when GoPro announced the new GoPro Hero 3+ model many were left wondering if the upgrades made to the camera were really worth upgrading from a Hero 3.
