GoPro HD Hero2 Camcorder Review

Performance

If all you care about is quality and performance, there are better HD camcorders out there than the GoPro Hero2. But, those camcorders don't offer the mountable, rugged design that is integral to GoPro's success. That's the give and take with hands-free camcorders—not the best quality, but you can record video that wouldn't be possible to capture with a traditional camcorder.

In our tests, the Hero2 showed some significant problems with noise, especially when we shot using the narrow field of view settings. Other than the noise issues, though, the camcorder did well in terms of video quality. Colors were deep and accurate, motion looked better than most other ultracompact camcorders we've reviewed, and its recorded images were reasonably sharp (although not quite as sharp as the competition). In a direct comparison with the Contour+ hands-free camcorder, we give the Hero2 a slight edge in overall performance.