# Horrible GoPro Hero 3 battery life



## terprider

I've had the same problem with mine but it was mostly due to it being too cold. Mine would die after three or four runs, but after I got inside for a couple mins, it would turn right back on and have two bars left for the battery. I'm not sure if you're experiencing the same thing but if you are, I would just put it inside my jacket on the lifts and that seemed to help.


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## BigmountainVMD

I had it stashed in an inside pocket for that exact reason. We need an update in battery technology!


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## Lamps

IF its any consolation Contour 2+ has similarly short life, like 45 mins. Does HD Hero 3 have GPS - I think that eats the battery.


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## pwol

I was able to buy extra batteries for cheap ($10), so I got 2 extra ones for my black edition. It sucks but there's gotta be a trade off for that increase in quality and decrease in size. I personally would have loved it if it was still the same size as the hero 2 but had alot better battery system. 

With my hero 2 I had one extra battery and it worked out great. I just keep them labeled and in a zip lock bag, not really a hassle changing them when youre taking a break. 

It just sucks having to remember to charge all of them lol.


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## BigmountainVMD

Lamps said:


> IF its any consolation Contour 2+ has similarly short life, like 45 mins. Does HD Hero 3 have GPS - I think that eats the battery.


No GPS. It has wifi for the remote, but that reduces battery life even further if you leave wifi on. It is really bullshit. How can a company release any electronic product these days that has less than an hour of battery life? I don't see how GoPro could have released this camera without thinking about this. 1.5 hours is not too much to ask for.


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## vltsai

I have the Battery BacPac and if I just leave it on, recording every now and then and maybe switching it to photo mode (read: light usage), I'll get 5-6 hours out of it. I've never tested how long it'll run if I just let it go but I've done days where I've recorded several 15-20 minute videos. WiFi is always on (I love the remote) so I have no idea what's up with your's.

Also, you can leave the WiFi on and turn it on/off with the remote. That's what I will do. Turn on the WiFi while the camera is off, and you'll see the blue light blinking. When you turn your remote on, it'll sync with the camera, and it'll turn the camera on. Turn the remote off, and the camera turns off, but WiFi stays on for you to do it again. Do this and it'll last all day, easy!

What settings are you using, as well? That might have something to do with it.


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## poutanen

I hate to rub it in but I have NEVER had the battery die on my Contour. I don't know how close I've come, because it doesn't have a battery life indicator, but again it's never ran out in a full day of boarding.

I'd be bent if I paid $300 plus for a camera and the battery was as useless as tits on a bull! :dizzy:


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## MarshallV82

My Contour+2 has pretty decent battery life. (It is fairly new though, and CO has been warm each time I've used it (25+ degrees F) 

I shut it off between each run and it'll stay charged for half the day. I usually charge it with the USB port on my cell phone charger on the way there or if I take a lunch.

I still want to buy some extra batteries though, I don't think it's that much of a hassle to change them out... :dunno:

The GPS does eat up the battery I think, but it's kinda cool to have your speed with the video - I figured I always hit my top speed in another part of the run.


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## KIRKRIDER

poutanen said:


> I hate to rub it in but I have NEVER had the battery die on my Contour. I don't know how close I've come, because it doesn't have a battery life indicator, but again it's never ran out in a full day of boarding.
> 
> I'd be bent if I paid $300 plus for a camera and the battery was as useless as tits on a bull! :dizzy:


Same here? I paid mine (ROAM) $163


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## Steelkeeper

I removed red led lights and beep sound to save battery


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## BigmountainVMD

poutanen said:


> I'd be bent if I paid $300 plus for a camera and the battery was as useless as tits on a bull! :dizzy:


It was a gift... but I can think of plenty of other things I could use for $400.


I found these "Wasabi" batteries on Amazon that are 1200 mAh instead of 1050... super cheap and should add at least 5 or 10 minutes on to record time.

http://www.amazon.com/Wasabi-Power-Battery-AHDBT-201-AHDBT-301/dp/B00AAIPT76/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1360945272&sr=1-1&keywords=wasabi+Hero+3


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## poutanen

BigmountainVMD said:


> It was a gift... but I can think of plenty of other things I could use for $400.


Fair enough! Methinks kijiji or craiglist is in order! Unfortunately I don't have an answer to your original question...


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## BigmountainVMD

poutanen said:


> Fair enough! Methinks kijiji or craiglist is in order! Unfortunately I don't have an answer to your original question...


I just really liked the functionality... 1080p at 60 fps and moreso 720p at 120 fps... that makes for an actually decent slow motion shot and is unavailable on most other cameras.


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## terprider

have you tried to run your camera on record in a neutral setting and just letting it run until the battery dies? if you're getting less than an hour worth of record time in, I would call up GoPro and let them know.


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## frombrooklyn22

Good thing I did tons of research before pulling the trigger on my Contour Roam got it for $120 around black friday.

Have been using it for the past 10 trips. At least 5 of the trips were under 20 degrees, plus windchill factor. The most usage in one day was two 10 min clips, probably twenty 2-3 min clips. Battery didn't die that day. In fact, it never out of those 10 trips.


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## BigmountainVMD

terprider said:


> have you tried to run your camera on record in a neutral setting and just letting it run until the battery dies? if you're getting less than an hour worth of record time in, I would call up GoPro and let them know.


Yeah.. it is a good call but wtf can they even do about it? I feel like I would just be wasting my time at that point. It has a more hardcore processor and a smaller battery than the Hero 2. That = an hour of battery life.


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## terprider

they say youre supposed to get about 90 mins on 1080p/30fps... if its drastically lower than that then its worth giving them a call. i had a buddy who had something messed up with his hero 2, and they said it may have been a firmware issue and he had to send it back and they gave him a new one. it cost him like $25 to express ship it to them (cause he wanted it back in time before a trip) and he kept bugging them about that and they gave him some free stuff (headstraps and chest straps). if nothing else, its worth a shot...


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## poutanen

One other thought, are you alwas shooting in 60 or 120 fps modes? I get good battery life with the contour in 720p60 but if you're shooting at 1080p60 then that's going to chew more battery.


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## BigmountainVMD

poutanen said:


> One other thought, are you alwas shooting in 60 or 120 fps modes? I get good battery life with the contour in 720p60 but if you're shooting at 1080p60 then that's going to chew more battery.


Almost all shooting I do is 720p at 60 fps. The day that it died SUPER quick I was using 120fps... but I still figured I'd get more than 40 minutes.


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