GoPro Hero 3 to Hero 11 Black Creator Edition

Several years ago, I had purchased GoPro Hero 3 Black edition. That was back in 2014 or 8 years ago. Read initial impressions here.

At that time GoPro was not selling in India but I could order on GoPro’s international website and have it shipped to India via FedEx. Had to pay customs duty to FedEx extra before delivery. I was one of the first few people to have a GoPro back then. I also bought multiple accessories over time but I would say I wasn’t very successful in making full use of GoPro.

My usage of GoPro Hero 3 Black during 2014-2022

#1 While shooting was the easy part, I didn’t have the time, patience, skillset and a powerful laptop to process and edit videos and publish interesting video content. Many of my recordings are still there in my laptop unedited. A few minutes of recording exceeds GBs. Managing them is a pain. This problem still persists but I hope to overcome this.

#2 While GoPro Hero 3 was capable of capturing nice wide angle shot, its colour composition was weak compared to regular DSLR and it had no audio capabilities. There was no display either in those early models to see what is being recorded.

#3 Due to limited battery life (half an hour if used non stop, half day if used for few minutes at a time), had to be very judicious when to switch on the camera and when to switch off. This was a bummer- when something interesting happens, camera is NOT ON and if I keep camera on for long time, battery will drain and nothing interesting will happen, so having manage battery and memory space is a challenge.

#4 Every year an updated version would launch- Hero 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 etc. Indian sellers started selling on Amazon and Flipkart and it became more affordable with several people buying it, posting videos from their drive, ride and several other things, flooding youtube with videos. With each year GoPro got more popular, had more features- like live display, audio, 4k and so on. I resisted temptation to upgrade as I was not doing justice to the action camera. 

#5 One of the official accessories- 3 way mount broke within an year. Had to write to Singapore support team and they shipped a replacement unit. Read my GoPro warranty claim experience.

#6 Last 2-3 years I have hardly used my GoPro Hero 3. The camera, battery and several accessories lie unused. Even DSLR was sparingly used. Was managing everything using mobile phone, which was just fine and lot convenient. It is too much hassle to carry a drone, DSLR, GoPro, Gimbal and their batteries, chargers, bags on a trip. In an attempt to record everything I wasn’t able to enjoy the trip, so I reduced gadgets and shooting and focused on enjoying what is in front of me.

After 8 years, I decided to go for it again. While I was checking Hero 10, GoPro launched Hero 11 recently and have packed a few accessories into a bundle named Creator’s choice. The product is still NOT available in India. When a relative in USA asked if I need anything from there I could muster courage to get this. USA price is at least 15k INR cheaper than India price.

Now that I have one more toy, I will try to use it more effectively for video making during my travel or otherwise.

Standby for more details on GoPro Hero 11 black creator edition and more video content from my side.

Also read: Read before buying GoPro * GoPro mounts and accessories *