The GoPro name is synonymous with the action camera, but the brand’s latest launch sits somewhere between action and cinema camera territory. The move, however, was a long time coming: GoPro says that the Mission 1 series is the biggest leap since the introduction of HyperSmooth.
I met with GoPro’s senior vice president of product management, Pablo Lema, after the launch of the Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro and ahead of the launch of the company’s first mirrorless camera.
Lema, who has worked with the action camera brand since 2014, says that the series is the GoPro that fans have been asking for since the Hero7 Black in 2018.
“Mission 1 has been a long time coming for us,” Lema said. “I don't say this lightly when I say it to other folks: it was the most important camera we've launched since Hero7 Black. The step up in performance is real, and it's valued by the user reception of it. And we're gonna continue to build from there.”
The Hero7 Black introduced GoPro’s HyperSmooth, a stabilization algorithm that made a significant difference in capturing steady footage from the variety of mounting scenarios that GoPro is meant for.
HyperSmooth continues in the Mission 1 – and in fact, the combination of HyperSmooth with interchangeable lenses is one of the reasons that Lema is most excited for the company’s first mirrorless camera.
But, while DIYers have been hacking GoPros to use different lenses since the Hero4, what GoPro fans have been asking for for several years is a larger sensor. The Mission 1 series delivers that with an 8K-capable 1-inch sensor
GoPro users started getting particularly loud about demanding a larger sensor as competitors like DJI and Insta360 began introducing 1/1.3-inch and 1-inch sensors on competing action cameras.
“The Mission 1 series is probably the GoPro that everyone was asking us for since Hero7 Black,” Lema said. “Myself and the teams, we were pumped to be able to finally get it out to the world. And what's good is that it gave us insights and motivations as to what to build next, which we're already working on.”
While GoPro couldn’t share data on just how many Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro cameras the company has sold so far, Lema said the series has been “the best reviewed and best-received camera we’ve had at a product level since Hero7 Black.”
But, with the move to a larger sensor comes an entirely new category. GoPro isn’t calling the Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro an action camera, but refers to the series as a “compact cinema camera” instead.
“We saw that the types of creators that would extract the most out of a 1-inch type sensor with big dynamic range, massive fps, much better low light capabilities as a result of the imaging package were, what we considered to be, well, for lack of a better word, compact cinema creators,” Lema said.
“The high-creativity folks that are on Instagram and YouTube are the ones that we extract the most out of a package like this.”
While GoPro isn’t calling the Mission 1 an “action camera,” the company’s love for accessories remains with the new series. Lema said that the new point-and-shoot grip and wireless microphone – a GoPro first – have been particularly well received, along with bundles that pair the Mission 1 Pro with the Fluid Pro gimbal.
GoPro’s most-asked-for camera couldn’t have come at a better time. The launch of the Mission series comes as the action camera giant faces significant financial struggles.
The company’s latest financial reports indicate a 38% drop in camera sales. Stock market paperwork filings indicate that the company could “be required to significantly reduce, restructure, cease operations, or seek protection under the Federal bankruptcy laws” if the Mission 1 doesn’t help to turn its finances around.
The action camera company is also in the “later stages” of looking for a potential buyer or merger.
The GoPro Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro have already begun shipping, but GoPro CEO Nicholas Woodman says the ILS will be arriving next month.
This is part of a four-part series with an exclusive interview on the GoPro Mission 1 series. Read part one on the Mission 1 Pro ILS here, or read what GoPro says about the Hero series in the Mission era here.
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