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Despite its meager battery life and less-than-ergonomic shape, the Hero3 provides imaging performance superior to all of its competitors at a price that won't break the bank.

The GoPro Hero3 Silver and White editions are strong contenders in the sports camera market, but the faster, more powerful Black Edition is head and shoulders the best sports camera on the market today.

The GoPro Hero3 Black Edition delivers outstanding video quality and features like 4K that you won't find anywhere else.

It's already the best action camera we've used, but there are too many software glitches right now to give it our highest rating. If those get fixed, this will be a must-buy. But even if they don't, you should still seriously consider it.

For what it does the HD Hero3 is a mini knockout, just like its predecessors were at the time of their respective releases. It's smaller, it's lighter, the optional touchscreen BacPac improves the user experience and the usual waterproof, rugged housing is an essential. All round it's just better.

If you’re into extreme sports and are looking for a camcorder/still image camera that you can strap to your person to capture the action with, irrespective of whether it’s in the water or on dry land, then the GoPro Hero3 Black Edition is currently best option on the market.

An amazing and robust camera that can go all the places you can, and some places you can't. Better, faster, and now with higher-end video modes more suited to the pro market, it's a serious little piece of kit.

If you're hell-bent on capturing video of yourself catching a perfect wave when you're surfing or parachuting out of an airplane, though, the Hero 3 may be well worth the price.

While we didn't bring the Hero3 to the eye of the storm, or the usual action sports the camera is associated with, we got great, extraordinary results for street video that came alive with the wild point of view and crisp video results for which the Hero is known.

It's expensive with the essential extras but genuinely offers a professional grade setup to make your antics YouTube gold. One for the real wannabe directors – casual video makers should look at the cut price Silver and White editions.