Cheap GoPro from ali - testing

(should probably go into “Equipment” section but there’s none so…)

Some time ago i found very cheap GoPro3 on Aliexpress: 47.31€ |Original Für Gopro Hero 3 + silber Vollversammlung Bild Sensor LCD Montage Objektiv Motherboard Reparatur Teile|Karosserieteile| - AliExpress and decided to buy it.
Arrived in paper box, bit better than just soft package. So:
Good:

  • Cheap!!!
  • Superview included out of the box, #amaze
  • with some minor tinkering lens can be rotated and entire camera may become even more aerodynamic
  • very good dynamic range and 1080p@60FPS+superview usable

Not so good:

  • 30.6g as-is, but ~10g can be taken out by replacing front plate
  • HDMI-out is not so great (see below)
  • no top (shutter) button, but can be soldered on (see below), controlled via serial (everything can be set via serial…) or scripts
  • something is not right with mainboard. Seller photos shows correct GP3B board. I also had few and remember that shutter button was 3-p connector. But board i got looks more like white (or silver?), with 5-p connector. It still records 1080p@60 and reports as GP3 Black on serial console and on version.txt so probably this is just some strange board revision:
    {
    “info version”:“1.1”,
    “firmware version”:“HD3.11.03.03”,
    “wifi version”:“4.0.36.1”,
    “wifi bootloader version”:“0.1.0”,
    “wifi mac”:“d4d9191d3ceb”,
    “camera type”:“HERO3+ Black Edition”,
    “camera serial number”:“H3B+EDITED”,
    }

Now about HDMI - without superview everything is fine. I’m using cheap ali HDMI2CSI converters, if superview is turned off - then it works every time, at least for me.
With superview it’s a bit worse. Need to turn on camera, then connect HDMI, only then image will appear, else - just black screen. I did not had this issue with GP4B, but again, i did not tested every possible mode.
I did not tested every possible combination with GP3, but looks like 1080p@30FPS+superview has this issue every time, @60FPS looks a bit better, but when plugging both camera and RPI at once is still not reliable.
So, great deal if you can live without superview (ambarella + protune => amazing videos, also you can get some kind of superview by using AE, avisynth scripts…), not so great but usable when using superview.

Pictures:


(HDMI will go into another post)

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HDMI outputs via OHD:
GP3 Wide 1080p 30FPS (see dynamic range - trees still a bit visible trough window, very good):


GP3 Superview 1080p 60FPS:

For comparison - GoPro 4 Black + superview, 1080p @80FPS:

…and gopro7 black, 4K@60FPS + superview (much worse dynamic range, why?):

Wow, I am really happy about this, maybe I will order one.

Good work!!

How much voltage you used to power the camera?

3.8V, but there are many options - 3.3-4.2V over battery port, 4.75-5.25V over USB and there is expansion port if USB is taken for some reason…

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Can you please share the info on how to control via serial? I received the cam, but I don’t know if I can solder a shutter button :thinking:

For example:
https://ao2.it/en/blog/2018/03/28/little-hacks-gopro-hero-3-white
…and so on.

Bought the cam too. Got a HERO3+ Silver Edition board. Not the black edition like you. Strange :sweat_smile:

Hey, i see that my link now points to silver edition.
Go to “My Orders” on ali, press on “View details” in order list, then press on link in “Product details” section - it should show product description copy at order time.
If you ordered black and seller changed to silver later - just dispute and get your money back.

Mine at purchase time said “black” and i got black:

Looks like I was too late. Sad :confused:
It was already silver when I bought.

But good news. After a bit of research I found this one (now silver/white/black is selectable):

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