GoPro Camera HERO+ LCD HD Video Recording Camera

I purchased this as a gift for my sister and she loves it. The package arrived earlier than expected. My only note is that they left this package n my mailbox. Given that it is expensive it may be best to ensure someone is home when the package is delivered. Otherwise, love the GoPro!

I bought two of the new Hero+ LCD cameras to replace my aging Hero HDs that I use on my vintage Formula Vee race car. The performance of the new cameras is very good, I’m now shooting my footage at 1080p 60fps and over the last two race weekends had zero issues with dropped frames and the picture quality is a big improvement over my old Heros.

One thing I didn’t realize when I ordered these was that they are sealed units, you can’t replace the battery or replace the external casing, the camera is permanently mounted within the protective housing. If I had known I might have popped for the next model up, since it is easy to get a scratch on the protective case cover in auto racing (lots of stuff gets thrown about on a racetrack!) and it’s a lot more economical to replace a $15 housing than a $299 camera. I should have read the product descriptions more closely.

Also the battery life of the Hero+ LCD is about half of that of my old Hero HDs, and I learned that the hard way when we had three races in one day and I didn’t even think to check the battery levels (which had started the day fully charged) but then found that both cameras had died half-way through the third race. My old Heros would make it through an entire race weekend without needing a recharge (and I had extra batteries just in case, not possible with the new model).

But now that I know that I can use a portable USB charger to top off the cameras between races so they’re always 100%, just an extra step I never had to worry about before. For the money I’m very happy with the picture quality so hopefully the housings will last the life of the cameras themselves and be a non-issue.

***LATEST UPDATE*** After returning this model, I spent more time watching videos that reviewers had made as they compared action camera models. I noticed how the audio was acceptable in most of the GoPro line-up (not stellar, but you could at least hear people), so I purchased a GoPro 4 Session. So far it’s worked out great! The audio isn’t fantastic, but it does the job and the video is excellent.

***Bottom Line (for me)*** The GoPro HERO+ LCD model is designed primarily for usages where audio matters very little if at all. There are other models, even those less expensive options like the Hero 4 Session, that provide better audio while still maintaining some level of underwater use, albeit without the LCD. As I don’t care about the LCD, the Hero 4 Session worked great for me.

***OLDER UPDATE*** I’m returning this after trying all 3 camera back plates. They all deliver horrible audio quality. This is clearly a design issue. The product is designed for video, and audio is not just an afterthought, it’s useless. It might as well be removed from the product description and people told that this is for making silent movies. Have fun snowboarding! I’m getting a camcorder with the ability to connect a decent microphone.

***ORIGINAL REVIEW*** The real problem isn’t the camera. The real problem here is me. I didn’t read up enough about these GoPro models before purchasing this one. I should have. I regret the purchase and the only reason I’m not returning it is because of a bad experience returning items to Amazon in the past.

Here’s the thing, I wasn’t really in the market for an “action cam” but all of these amazing reviews can’t be wrong, right? Isn’t this the penultimate camcorder for everything? Won’t this make for fantastic videos of the kids on that next vacation?

No, I should have bought a model with decent microphones and battery life. I didn’t need the touchscreen LCD or the waterproof case. I needed something that shoots decent video of my sons when they’re riding their bikes, or at the science fair, or whatever. Something a step up from the iPhone camera.

So I failed. But I’m still giving this thing 1 star [ updated to 3 stars later, as video quality is fantastic despite horrid audio performance ], because I’m angry and I feel like I was duped by the marketing of this thing. I am not a snowboarder and neither are my kids, but there are a LOT of moments I’d like to capture anyway, even if they aren’t all action shots that I set to music (because the microphone is USELESS).

Can’t do a rating for the supplier as it was not their fault the item got stuck in customs. They included a message that if this does not meet your expectations please give us a chance to fix the problem. We will do everything possible to make your purchase a great one. That is refreshing in this day and age as usually you buy and who cares how the sale goes.

This GoPro model fell short of 5 stars and I’ll tell you why…….Let me start by saying the last video camera I owned / purchased used an 8mm video cassette, so this was a huge leap in technology for me. I am not a GoPro expert, however before I purchased this GoPro HERO+ LCD I did some homework and visited the GoPro website and compared all the models they offered so I would know exactly what I was getting.

I will say the pictures and video this little camera produces is impressive, but I am very disappointed that the camera itself cannot be removed from the housing. The GoPro website’s comparison chart indicated the battery was not removable, and I was ok with that, but said nothing about the housing. I assumed it was removable like the other models. Now I have to be extremely careful I don’t scratch or damage any part of the housing especially the lens. There’s no way to replace it. If I knew then what I know now I would have went for one of the HERO 4s. Live and learn.