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1 - Status LCD Screen | 6 - USB Port |
2 - Power/Mode Button | 7 - Combo TV/Audio Out |
3 - LED Light | 8 - Battery Door |
4 - HDTV Out Port | 9 - Shutter/Select Button |
5 - Hero BUS™ Port | 10 - SD Card Slot |
Free downloadable camera updates may be available at gopro.com.
Be sure to insert an SD card into the camera or else you won't be able to record photos or video.
POWER/MODE BUTTON - Front of Camera
POWER/MODE button turns camera on and off and works as a mode switching button once camera is on.
SHUTTER BUTTON - Top of Camera
Shutter button starts and stops video recording and photo capture. When in the SET menu of options the shutter button acts as a toggle button for changing settings. See the SETTINGS MENU section of these instructions for more information.
Turn Camera On | Quickly press the POWER/MODE button and camera will turn on. Camera will beep 3 times, indicating the camera is powering on. |
Turn Camera Off | Press and hold the POWER/MODE button for 2 seconds. Camera will beep 7 times, indicating the camera is shutting off. |
Changing Modes | Once camera is on, quickly pressing the POWER/MODE button will change modes from video mode to self-timer, to photo mode, etc. |
The battery ships partially charged. For best initial performance, charge battery before first use. However, NO damage will occur to battery if used prior to charging. See charging section.
Photo Mode | Resolution Indicator | |||
Triple Shot Photo Mode | Delete Last/All Format SD Card | |||
Video Mode | Battery Meter | |||
10 Second Timer Mode | Spot Meter Exposure ON | |||
Number of Files on SD Card | SD Card Not Inserted |
Turn on camera by pressing POWER/MODE button.
The camera will power on in VIDEO mode as the default mode.
Default resolution is 960p (1280x960). See Settings Menu section to learn about resolutions.
Press shutter button to begin recording video. Camera will beep once.
Red LED light on front of the camera will blink while video is recording.
Press shutter button to stop recording or camera will automatically stop recording when your SD card is full or your battery dies (approx 2.25 hours of battery life on a full charge). Camera will beep 3 times when recording stops and file is saved.
Press the POWER/MODE button until you see the 10 SECOND TIMER icon.
Press the SHUTTER button and the camera will automatically shoot a photo in 10 seconds.
As series of beeps and fl ashing red LED light will indicate when the photo has been taken.
Press POWER/MODE button until you see the blinking camera icon.
The default timing is to shoot a PHOTO EVERY "2" SECONDS, automatically.
Press the SHUTTER button to start taking photos. Press the SHUTTER button again to stop.
To change the timing to shoot a photo every 2, 5, 10, 30, or 60 seconds, see the SETTINGS MENU section of these instruction.
Press the POWER/MODE button repeatedly until you see the solid, non blinking camera icon.
Press SHUTTER button to take a photo.
A beep will sound and red LED will fl ash to indicate a photo has been taken.
Press POWER/MODE button until you see the triple shot icon on the front LCD status screen.
Press the shutter button to shoot 3x photo-sequence in 2 seconds.
Press the POWER/MODE button repeatedly until you see the icon.
Press the SHUTTER button to enter settings menu.
Press the POWER/MODE button to cycle through options once in settings menu.
"One Button Mode On" forces the camera to automatically begin recording video or photos once the camera is turned on, depending on which default power up mode the camera is set to (see next instructions). In "One Button Mode On" the camera is either "on and recording", or powered off. This simplifies camera operation when loaning the camera to friends or when you know you only want to shoot in one mode.
The shutter button is disabled in "One Button Mode" and will not start or stop the recording while the camera is on. "One Button Mode" is convenient when you only want to shoot one type of video or photos and prefer to simplify operation of the camera to be either "on and recording" or off with only the power button being used to operate the camera. This is a great "Simple Mode" for loaning the camera to friends.
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
(default setting) | One Button Mode Off. |
One Button Mode On. |
To turn "One Button Mode" 'ON':
To turn "One Button Mode" 'OFF':
You can program your camera to turn on in either Video mode, Photo mode, Triple Shot Sequence mode, or Photo Every "X" Seconds mode:
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
(default setting) | Video Mode (F means "Filming") |
Single Shot Photo Mode | |
Triple Shot Photo Mode | |
Photo Every "X" Seconds Mode |
Your HD HERO camera shoots the following video resolutions:
Symbol on LCD Screen | Description | Resolution | Frames per Second | Suggested Use |
16:9 Wide Angle Standard DefinitionVideo | WVGA (848x480) | 60 NTSC 50 PAL | When smaller file size and highest frame rate is desired. | |
16:9 HD Video | 720p (1280 x 720) | 30 NTSC 25 PAL | When mounting on vehicles or gear, when a very wide angle is desired but vertical viewing area is not as important. | |
16:9 Widest HD Video | 720p (1280 x 960) | 60 NTSC 50 PAL | Same as r2 but with ultra slow motion playback. | |
(default resolution) | 4:3 Tallest HD Video Max Overall View | 960p (1280 x 960) | 30 NTSC 25 PAL | When mounting on body. helmet, surfboard or chest harness, this mode off ers the most vertical viewing area of all resolutions. |
16:9 Full HD Highest Resolution | 1080p (1920 x 1080) | 30 NTSC 25 PAL | When vehicle or gear mounted, best choice for highest in-car filming. 25% narrower field of view (127º) compared to 170º view of other resolutions. |
NOTE: Above r1, r2, r3, r4 and r5 settings in the SET menu appear as 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (no "r") on the bottom left corner of LCD screen when not in the SET menu. See previous "STATUS LCD ICONS" drawing for an example of this.
Choose between Spot Meter and Center Weighted Average Meter exposure settings depending on the lighting of your environment:
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
(default setting) | Center weighted average meter is best for normal outdoor and indoor lighting conditions. |
This icon appears on LCD when spot meter is active. | Spot meter is primarily for shooting from inside of a car or other dark space looking out into a brighter outside setting. Spot meter adjusts the exposure for the absolute center of the scene, for example the road ahead instead of the interior of the car. If you are wanting optimum exposure of the inside of the car, filming mainly the driver for example, choose Cnt center weighted average to expose for the inside of the car. |
If you need to mount your camera upside down to get the perfect photo or video angle, you can program the camera to save the photo or video upside down so that it appears right side up when you review it on your computer or TV. This eliminates the need to "flip" the photo or video later on your computer.
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
(default setting) | Saves photos and videos in a normal "right side up" orientation. |
Saves photos and videos upside down so that they appear right side up when you review on your computer or TV. The video camera and photo icons will blink quickly on the LCD screen to reminding you that you are saving photos and videos in upside down mode. |
You can set your camera to send a live video signal out the side TV or HDTV ports by toggling the VIDEO LIVE FEED setting on and off. Video Live Feed via the USB port is not supported. When Video Live Feed is set to OFF (LFF) the camera will switch into video / photo playback mode when one of the included TV cables are plugged into the camera. If Video Live Feed is turned on (LFO), the camera will stay in normal camera mode when plugged into a TV and will send a live video signal to the TV. Plugging in the component cable will send an HD video signal out from the camera, and plugging in the composite cable will send a standard definition signal out from the camera. Video Live Feed On allows for plugging the camera into wireless transmitters and TVs for live viewing from the camera. NOTE: If the component cable is used to send live HD video out from the camera, and you begin simultaneously recording HD video to the SD card, the live video feed will be reduced to standard definition as the camera cannot record and transmit HD video at the same time. If you wish to have an HD live video feed from the camera you cannot begin recording HD video to the SD card. If the composite cable is used to send standard definition video out from the camera, then the camera can simultaneously record HD video to the SD card.
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
(default setting) | Video Live Feed OFF. |
Video Live Feed ON. |
When the camera sends a live feed video signal out to a wireless transmitter or TV, it will send a battery meter icon and a recording on/off icon via an "On Screen Display" that will appear in the video feed.
If you prefer to turn these status icons off, you can do so by toggling the "On Screen Display" setting off.
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
(default setting) | On Screen Display ON |
On Screen Display OFF |
You can shoot a photo every 2, 5, 10, 30, or 60 seconds, ongoing, with the "Photo every X seconds" mode. When you see P2 (photo every 2 seconds is the default setting), you can press the SHUTTER button to toggle the following options:
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
Shoots photos in 2 / 5 / 10 / 30 / or 60 second intervals. |
You can set the red LED light to blink while filming or to be off at all times, for stealth:
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
(default setting) | LED blinking ON. |
LED blinking OFF. |
You can set the beeping sound to beep or be silent at all times, for stealth:
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
(default setting) | Beeping sound ON. |
Beeping sound OFF. |
This controls both the video recording frame rate and playback of video from the camera when viewing on a TV.
Select nSC (NTSC) if viewing on a TV in North America. Choose PAL if viewing on a PAL TV (most televisions outside of North America). or if viewing on a PAL TV in any region.
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
(default setting) | NTSC TV setting for North America. Camera will record in 60 or 30 frames per second depending on which resolution is selected. |
PAL TV setting for most regions outside of North America. Camera will record in 50 or 25 frames per second depending on which resolution is selected. |
When "LSt" is on the LCD screen, you can delete the last file saved to the SD card:
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
To delete last file saved to camera, press SHUTTER button when LSt is on screen. LSt will start blinking as a warning. | |
(blinking) TO CHOOSE NO DELETE | "LSt" will blink for 5 seconds. If you do nothing..."LSt" will stop blinking and the file will NOT be deleted. You can press the POWER/ MODE button to advance to the next option in the SET menu. |
(blinking) TO CHOOSE YES DELETE | If you press the shutter button while LSt is blinking, you will deleted the last saved file from the SD card. Red LED on front of camera will blink while card is being formatted. |
When "ALL" is on the LCD screen, you can delete all files and format the SD card:
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
To delete all files and FORMAT SD card, press SHUTTER button when ALL is on screen. ALL will start blinking as a warning. | |
(blinking) TO CHOOSE NO FORMAT | "ALL" will blink for 5 seconds. If you do nothing..."ALL" will stop blinking and the SD card will NOT be formatted. You can press the POWER/MODE button to advance to the next option in the SET menu. |
(blinking) TO CHOOSE YES FORMAT | If you press the shutter button while ALL is blinking, you will format the SD card, losing all files and data. Red LED on front of camera will blink while card is being formatted. this will format your card and all data on the card will be deleted. |
You can program the camera to automatically turn off at 60, 120, 300 seconds, or you can set the camera to OFF to keep the camera on until you manually turn it off.
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
(default setting) | Camera will only turn off if manually turned off. |
Camera will turn off 60 seconds after last button press (unless recording video or shooting automatic photos). | |
Camera will turn off 120 seconds (2 minutes) after last button press (unless recording video or shooting automatic photos). | |
Camera will turn off 300 seconds (5 minutes) after last button press (unless recording video or shooting automatic photos). |
You can set the time and date on the camera as long as the battery stays in the camera. Once the battery is removed the time and date settings will be lost:
Symbol on LCD Screen | Function |
When you see "dAt" on the screen, press SHUTTER button to set the time and date. | |
Press POWER/MODE button to toggle from Y09 (2009) to Y30 (2030). Press SHUTTER to advance to next date setting. | |
Press POWER/MODE button to toggle from 01 (January) to 12 (December). Press SHUTTER to advance to next date setting. | |
Press POWER/MODE button to toggle from d01 (1st day of month) to d31 (31st day of month). Press SHUTTER to advance to next date setting. | |
Press POWER/MODE button to toggle from H00 (12 a.m. military time) to H23 (11 p.m. military time). Press SHUTTER to advance to next date setting. | |
Press POWER/MODE button to toggle from 00 (zero minutes) to 59 (59 minutes). Press SHUTTER to advance to next date setting. |
When you see ESC on the screen, press the SHUTTER button to exit the SETTINGS MENU.
The HD HERO camera is compatible with Microsoft ® XP/VISTA or later, or Mac OSX 10.4 or later. The HD HERO camera can also be plugged into any standard definition or HDTV that has RCA or component (RGB) ports, allowing for high quality playback.
Windows System Requirements for Full HD 1080p and 720p 60 fps Playback:
Macintosh System Requirements for Full HD 1080p and 720p 60 fps Playback:
If you are having problems achieving smooth playback on your computer, the HD HERO camera can also plug directly into any standard definition or HDTV that has RCA or component (RGB) ports. The HD HERO camera itself provides very smooth playback directly on a TV and when using component (RGB) cables for HD playback, the quality matches that of playing back on a computer.
The HD HERO camera is compatible with 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacity SD and SDHC cards. While all speed cards work in the camera, GoPro recommends minimum Class 4 speed cards for reliability when shooting HD video. GoPro's own testing has shown improved reliability in high vibration activities with name brand SD and SDHC cards.
To insert the SD card, slide the SD card into the SD card slot on the side of the camera with the SD card label facing the front of the camera. The SD card will click into place once it is inserted past flush with the camera. Use your finger nail to do this.
To remove the SD card, push it further into the camera and it will spring out from the camera far enough so that you can pull it out.
On a PC with WINDOWS operating system:
On a MAC:
IMPORTANT TIP FOR MAC USERS: When deleting files from your SD card you must empty the trash before removing the SD card or unplugging the camera. If you do not empty your trash the photo and video files will not be completely erased from your SD card.
The LCD will blink a "bAt" message when the battery is low and the camera will save the file, if recording, and turn off. You must now charge your battery.
100% charge after 2 hours total charging time.
To charge battery and record video / photos simultaneously
You can charge the camera's battery while simultaneously recording video or photos. Simply plug the camera into any 500mAh or 1000mAh USB-based wall, car, or phone charger to charge the HD HERO camera while recording video or photos. It is best to use a 1 amp (1000mAh) charger for maximum charging performance when also recording video or photos with the camera while charging.
Spare batteries batteries are available at gopro.com and authorized GoPro resellers.
The battery is designed to have a very tight fit to maximize reliability in high vibration activities. To remove the battery, squeeze the sides of the battery and pull it out of the camera. It is intentionally not easy to do, but the battery will come out. In most cases it is not necessary to remove the battery. Please note, if you do remove the battery you will lose your time and date settings on the camera. Additional batteries and charging accessories are available at gopro.com.
Make sure your camera is set to the correct NTSC or PAL video setting or your camera will not work properly with your TV. This is explained in the SETTINGS MENU section of these instructions.
If you see the "SoS" message on your LCD screen, that means your video file was corrupted during recording for some reason. While SoS is showing on the screen, press ANY BUTTON on the camera and the camera will repair the file.
If you see the "HOt" message on your LCD screen, that means that your camera has become to hot and it needs to cool down. Don't worry, no damage has occurred to your camera. Simply let it sit and cool before attempting to use it again. Your camera will not allow itself to overheat, so do not worry as no damage has occurred.
FCC STATEMENT
Modifications not approved by the party responsible for compliance could void user's authority to operate the equipment.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
This equipment generates and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment on and off.
The user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
Here you can download full pdf version of manual, it may contain additional safety instructions, warranty information, FCC rules, etc.
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