Stunning video quality: Record gorgeous 1080p30 and 720p60 video;diverse photo capture: capture 5mp single, time lapse and burst photos up to 5 fps built in microphone: Record audio with the built in microphone
Durable + waterproof to 131 feet (40 meters): Designed to withstand extreme environments and conditions
Compatible with all GoPro mounts: 60+ mounts and accessories GoPro software: View and share your content
External memory: Supports microsd cards up to 32gb (class 10 or uhs 1 required) sold separately
Video quality: record 1080p30 and 720p60 video, diverse photo capture: Capture 5mp single, time lapse and burst photos up to 5 fps built in microphone: Record audio with the built in microphone
Product Dimensions
4.02 x 4.09 x 9.72 inches
Item Weight
2.57 ounces
Item model number
CHDHA-301
Batteries
1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included)
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer
No
Date First Available
September 28, 2014
Department
womens
Manufacturer
GoPro
7 reviews for GoPro Hero
Rated 5 out of 5
Ethan Gross –
I bought this camera a few years ago before I worked in the Florida Keys for 3 months in the summer. I bought this intro. level GoPro primarily because I didn’t have the money to fork up for any of the higher models, and given its low price tag, I went for it. I purchased this GoPro shortly after its release, so there really wasn’t any sample footage or photos available other than what GoPro provides, which always seems to look better than reality.
For its underwater abilities, this GoPro gets the job done. Like any GoPro prior to the Hero 4 Silver, there is no screen on this camera, so you have to just estimate where you are pointing it and hope it gets the shot. But I always found that if I point it in the general direction of the subject (fish, coral, boats, etc.) I always got the shot. This camera has just as wide of a field of view as any other GoPro, and it does a fantastic job of keeping everything in focus all the way to the edges, even underwater.
Above water, this GoPro performs quite well. I now use this GoPro as my daily vlogging camera, and you can check out video samples/vlogs done with this camera on my YouTube channel under the same name as listed here on Amazon. I have taken this camera abroad on a few different trips, most recently to Guatemala. I recorded each day of my trip vlogging style and was quite happy with the results. Since that trip, I have started daily vlogging on YouTube still using this camera and have not been disappointed.
I don’t use anything additional such as external microphones or lights, everything that you see in the vlogs is right out of the camera and uses the built in microphone for the audio. All that I do is remove the waterproof housing door, and replace it with the skeleton door which is provided in the box. By doing this, you will get clear audio in most situations. When dealing with tough lighting situations, this GoPro performs fairly well, but not the best. It handles bright lighting pretty well and seems to balance the lighting with the shadows. But when given a low light situation, this GoPro seems to lack a little bit. When using this for vlogs at night in the car, I have found that turning on the center-weight spot meter (built in feature on this GoPro) as well as my interior lights gives the best result, but it is still quite grainy. This is really my only complaint for this camera, which is not even a huge issue for me!
The memory card that I use for this GoPro is the SanDisk Ultra 32GB microSDHC UHS-I Card and have had no issues at all. I have never had any lost footage or dropped frames when recording to this card. I normally record my vlogs in full 1080p HD, and when doing that I can record up to 4 hours and 40 minutes before filling the card! Unless I have the GoPro plugged into a battery pack, the camera will die before recording that much footage. If you are considering using this for a daily vlog like I do, or even for a trip or vacation, a 32GB card should be plenty of storage.
If you are considering buying this camera for vlogging, to take on a vacation, or to use as a dashcam or camera around your house, I would highly recommend this intro. level GoPro. I have been nothing but happy with it, and given its appealing price tag, I would go for it in a heart beat. For sample footage and full vlogs done entirely with this camera, head over to my YouTube channel under the name Ethan Gross and check out some of my videos. Future vlogs will be coming this summer as I go back to the Florida Keys to work for 13 more weeks. Those will most likely be shot using this same GoPro, so that can give you an idea of how this GoPro performs above and below water.
Rated 5 out of 5
Markus Schmidt –
My son just loves this and it arrived really fast!
Rated 3 out of 5
Georgia –
Product was delivered quickly, image quality is great but battery life is unfortunately really poor, maybe it’s faulty? Runs our of battery really quickly even when not being used
Rated 5 out of 5
JAKEY –
This is just a great piece of kit. Easy to use. Recorded some fantastic footage. I mounted it on top of a motorcycle helmet for a motorcycle tour. It was a good choice I now have some marvellous footage of a great holiday. Downside battery life not great and it is a pity it won’t support a larger memory card. The photo I have posted was accidentally taken when I was looking to see if I had selected the video mode.
Rated 5 out of 5
Hypercussion –
A while back I thought adding a dash cam to my vehicle would be a good idea. I see more distracted drivers every day and I live in a no fault state meaning that as far as accidents go unless someone is clearly in the wrong each party is liable for their own damages. I tried a highly rated conventional dash cam (see my review on the absolutely unreliable Falcon Zero) but it didn’t work consistently and sometimes not at all. We came as close as could be to getting in a head on collision when another driver, talking on his cell phone veered into my lane and we missed by inches and when the Falcon didn’t record it (even though it was on and appeared to be) I realized it’s time to move on. So I thought, just about every video I see on YouTube is shot with a GoPro. I did a little research and found many videos posted by people who are using it as a dash cam. I bought the original GoPro Hero shown here. It was actually $10 less than the Falcon Zero and it’s 100% reliable. Sure the GoPro Hero has been revised several times since this was originally released but 5 megapixels of 1080 video at 30 frames per second is great for a dash cam. The GoPro Hero is durable, can stand up to heat/cold extreme temps while sitting in a car outside for extended periods of time and at $129 it was cheaper than the Falcon or most others and it isn’t a $500 GoPro 4 that I’d be nervous about leaving in my car in the first place. Here is some information that should be helpful if you decide to use this as a dash cam.
– There isn’t an auto on feature or motion detector so in my opinion the only down side is you need to be OK with turning the camera on and off each time you drive. No biggie I got used to it within a day or two. – There is however an internal battery that I’m finding gives me 2.5 – 3 hours of use (couldn’t find any dash cams with this feature) – You can buy a USB to mini USB long cable and car adapter and continuously power it – Don’t pay a lot of money buying a GoPro branded windshield mount. You can find several aftermarket ones like I did for $10 or less – If you hang it from the windshield it will be upside down but you can change the video recording orientation so videos appear normal (this is a one time setting change) – You’ll want to install the skeleton back cover which is included (not waterproof and exposes the USB port) which is fine for use where you won’t be coming in contact with water. I found that also removing the O-ring from skeleton cover allows more sound into the microphone so you can hear music, conversations, engine roar etc… without it all are muffled, which might be desirable for those only wanting to really capture video or don’t mind the sound being low volume – You’ll also want to disable the indicator light on the front of the camera (again a one time setting change) that flashes when the camera is recording as it will likely reflect off the windshield especially at night. There is a rear indicator light that basically let’s you know it’s recording which I haven’t observed it interfering with the video – Lining it up can be a bit of a challenge as there isn’t a rear LCD display (to show you what’s being recorded) but I actually like this. Most other dash cams do have a rear LCD display but I found that distracting while driving. I found the best way to line this up is to keep it mounted high and pitched up slightly, else you’ll have some dashboard and upper part of your hood in the video. What I did was put it in picture mode and snap a series of pictures taking note which position my adjustable mount was in for each. I came inside, uploaded the pics to my computer and found the one that worked best and set my mount adjustments permanently to that position. – Simply plugging the camera into my MAC causes iphoto to open and upload all pictures. Works wonderfully, no specific software needed to import like you do with other cameras. – I also bought a 2nd 32GB micro SD card and I’m finding it’s easier to swap cards when I want to upload pics instead of dismounting the camera. Not that the latter is difficult, just my preference. By the way, 32GB is the largest card this will take but can record about 4-5 hours of video. – Records very well at day and at night. I’ve even been on some country roads with no street lights and just my head lights alone were enough to basically capture video that appears to be what I’m seeing when driving. -The camera also comes with two mounts that do allow you to mount it right side up. They are adhesive mounts that aren’t going to work well on a car dash and my car is leased so didn’t want to take a chance there but if you search Amazon for GoPro accessories you’ll find many and I’m sure there are alternate ways of mounting the camera as well.
I hope this was helpful. Again I can’t emphasize enough what a good, durable and reliable camera this is and if you can live with manually turning it on and off I personally think it’s superior to any other purpose built dash cam (at least consumer grade) on the market in the same price range.
Ethan Gross –
I bought this camera a few years ago before I worked in the Florida Keys for 3 months in the summer. I bought this intro. level GoPro primarily because I didn’t have the money to fork up for any of the higher models, and given its low price tag, I went for it. I purchased this GoPro shortly after its release, so there really wasn’t any sample footage or photos available other than what GoPro provides, which always seems to look better than reality.
For its underwater abilities, this GoPro gets the job done. Like any GoPro prior to the Hero 4 Silver, there is no screen on this camera, so you have to just estimate where you are pointing it and hope it gets the shot. But I always found that if I point it in the general direction of the subject (fish, coral, boats, etc.) I always got the shot. This camera has just as wide of a field of view as any other GoPro, and it does a fantastic job of keeping everything in focus all the way to the edges, even underwater.
Above water, this GoPro performs quite well. I now use this GoPro as my daily vlogging camera, and you can check out video samples/vlogs done with this camera on my YouTube channel under the same name as listed here on Amazon. I have taken this camera abroad on a few different trips, most recently to Guatemala. I recorded each day of my trip vlogging style and was quite happy with the results. Since that trip, I have started daily vlogging on YouTube still using this camera and have not been disappointed.
I don’t use anything additional such as external microphones or lights, everything that you see in the vlogs is right out of the camera and uses the built in microphone for the audio. All that I do is remove the waterproof housing door, and replace it with the skeleton door which is provided in the box. By doing this, you will get clear audio in most situations. When dealing with tough lighting situations, this GoPro performs fairly well, but not the best. It handles bright lighting pretty well and seems to balance the lighting with the shadows. But when given a low light situation, this GoPro seems to lack a little bit. When using this for vlogs at night in the car, I have found that turning on the center-weight spot meter (built in feature on this GoPro) as well as my interior lights gives the best result, but it is still quite grainy. This is really my only complaint for this camera, which is not even a huge issue for me!
The memory card that I use for this GoPro is the SanDisk Ultra 32GB microSDHC UHS-I Card and have had no issues at all. I have never had any lost footage or dropped frames when recording to this card. I normally record my vlogs in full 1080p HD, and when doing that I can record up to 4 hours and 40 minutes before filling the card! Unless I have the GoPro plugged into a battery pack, the camera will die before recording that much footage. If you are considering using this for a daily vlog like I do, or even for a trip or vacation, a 32GB card should be plenty of storage.
If you are considering buying this camera for vlogging, to take on a vacation, or to use as a dashcam or camera around your house, I would highly recommend this intro. level GoPro. I have been nothing but happy with it, and given its appealing price tag, I would go for it in a heart beat. For sample footage and full vlogs done entirely with this camera, head over to my YouTube channel under the name Ethan Gross and check out some of my videos. Future vlogs will be coming this summer as I go back to the Florida Keys to work for 13 more weeks. Those will most likely be shot using this same GoPro, so that can give you an idea of how this GoPro performs above and below water.
Markus Schmidt –
My son just loves this and it arrived really fast!
Georgia –
Product was delivered quickly, image quality is great but battery life is unfortunately really poor, maybe it’s faulty? Runs our of battery really quickly even when not being used
JAKEY –
This is just a great piece of kit. Easy to use. Recorded some fantastic footage. I mounted it on top of a motorcycle helmet for a motorcycle tour. It was a good choice I now have some marvellous footage of a great holiday. Downside battery life not great and it is a pity it won’t support a larger memory card. The photo I have posted was accidentally taken when I was looking to see if I had selected the video mode.
Hypercussion –
A while back I thought adding a dash cam to my vehicle would be a good idea. I see more distracted drivers every day and I live in a no fault state meaning that as far as accidents go unless someone is clearly in the wrong each party is liable for their own damages. I tried a highly rated conventional dash cam (see my review on the absolutely unreliable Falcon Zero) but it didn’t work consistently and sometimes not at all. We came as close as could be to getting in a head on collision when another driver, talking on his cell phone veered into my lane and we missed by inches and when the Falcon didn’t record it (even though it was on and appeared to be) I realized it’s time to move on. So I thought, just about every video I see on YouTube is shot with a GoPro. I did a little research and found many videos posted by people who are using it as a dash cam. I bought the original GoPro Hero shown here. It was actually $10 less than the Falcon Zero and it’s 100% reliable. Sure the GoPro Hero has been revised several times since this was originally released but 5 megapixels of 1080 video at 30 frames per second is great for a dash cam. The GoPro Hero is durable, can stand up to heat/cold extreme temps while sitting in a car outside for extended periods of time and at $129 it was cheaper than the Falcon or most others and it isn’t a $500 GoPro 4 that I’d be nervous about leaving in my car in the first place. Here is some information that should
be helpful if you decide to use this as a dash cam.
– There isn’t an auto on feature or motion detector so in my opinion the only down side is you need to be OK with turning the camera on and off each time you drive. No biggie I got used to it within a day or two.
– There is however an internal battery that I’m finding gives me 2.5 – 3 hours of use (couldn’t find any dash cams with this feature)
– You can buy a USB to mini USB long cable and car adapter and continuously power it
– Don’t pay a lot of money buying a GoPro branded windshield mount. You can find several aftermarket ones like I did for $10 or less
– If you hang it from the windshield it will be upside down but you can change the video recording orientation so videos appear normal (this is a one time setting change)
– You’ll want to install the skeleton back cover which is included (not waterproof and exposes the USB port) which is fine for use where you won’t be coming in contact with water. I found that also removing the O-ring from skeleton cover allows more sound into the microphone so you can hear music, conversations, engine roar etc… without it all are muffled, which might be desirable for those only wanting to really capture video or don’t mind the sound being low volume
– You’ll also want to disable the indicator light on the front of the camera (again a one time setting change) that flashes when the camera is recording as it will likely reflect off the windshield especially at night. There is a rear indicator light that basically let’s you know it’s recording which I haven’t observed it interfering with the video
– Lining it up can be a bit of a challenge as there isn’t a rear LCD display (to show you what’s being recorded) but I actually like this. Most other dash cams do have a rear LCD display but I found that distracting while driving. I found the best way to line this up is to keep it mounted high and pitched up slightly, else you’ll have some dashboard and upper part of your hood in the video. What I did was put it in picture mode and snap a series of pictures taking note which position my adjustable mount was in for each. I came inside, uploaded the pics to my computer and found the one that worked best and set my mount adjustments permanently to that position.
– Simply plugging the camera into my MAC causes iphoto to open and upload all pictures. Works wonderfully, no specific software needed to import like you do with other cameras.
– I also bought a 2nd 32GB micro SD card and I’m finding it’s easier to swap cards when I want to upload pics instead of dismounting the camera. Not that the latter is difficult, just my preference. By the way, 32GB is the largest card this will take but can record about 4-5 hours of video.
– Records very well at day and at night. I’ve even been on some country roads with no street lights and just my head lights alone were enough to basically capture video that appears to be what I’m seeing when driving.
-The camera also comes with two mounts that do allow you to mount it right side up. They are adhesive mounts that aren’t going to work well on a car dash and my car is leased so didn’t want to take a chance there but if you search Amazon for GoPro accessories you’ll find many and I’m sure there are alternate ways of mounting the camera as well.
I hope this was helpful. Again I can’t emphasize enough what a good, durable and reliable camera this is and if you can live with manually turning it on and off I personally think it’s superior to any other purpose built dash cam (at least consumer grade) on the market in the same price range.
Mr MDA Macleod –
Fantastic
SHAUN.T –
brilliant love it great quality video