GoPro’s Hero series is so old that the first one was a 35mm film camera launched in 2004. But now, more than 20 years later, for the first time GoPro’s flagship camera doesn’t carry the Hero name.
The launch of the GoPro Mission 1 Pro brings a number of key questions, but chief among fans of the action camera giant brand is this one: What does the Mission series mean for the GoPro Hero line?
I recently sat down with Pablo Lema, GoPro’s senior vice president of product management, to chat about GoPro’s Mission era. While GoPro declined to talk specifics about future products, Lema did offer a hint of hope for fans of GoPro’s Hero series.
“There's a spot for Mission 1 in the lineup, and there's a spot for Hero-like products,” Lema said, explaining that options like the GoPro Lit Hero, the Hero13 Black and the Mission 1 Pro are all targeted towards a different type of user.
While options like the Lit Hero are targeted towards the most budget-conscious users and the Mission 1 series has become the company’s new flagship, Lema says that the GoPro Hero13 is still “the ultimate POV camera.”
So with the Mission 1’s larger sensor and 8K 30p open gate video, why does GoPro still consider the Hero13 Black the king of POV? The Hero13 Black has a 12mm equivalent ultra-wide view, where the widest look on the Mission 1 Pro is a 15mm equivalent.
But the Hero13 Black’s reign for POV is about more than the lens – the dimensions of the sensor play a role, too, along with the Hero13’s support for lens mods. The Hero13 Black uses a nearly square sensor with an 8:7 aspect ratio for more versatile horizontal-to-vertical crops, where the Mission 1 Pro is 4:3.
We still love Hero13 Black; we still think the Hero13 Black is the ultimate POV camera in the world"
Pablo Lema, GoPro
“We couldn't make Mission 1 with an 8:7 sensor, like we had on Hero13,” Lema explained. “That doesn't exist; 1-inch type, 8:7 sensors aren't there yet.
“As a result, if you are a pure POV shooter, if you mountain bike or ski, if immersion is where you're really seeking, then Hero13, with a wide lens mod, is the king. That is the king of maximum POV, maximum balance of fps and aspect ratio. That's what you're gonna use.”
Lema says that the Mission 1 Pro can be used as a POV camera, but it’s meant to slot in above the Hero13 for creators who are filming more than POV shots.
“Hero is sort of the meat of that POV action market,” Lema said. “We still love Hero13 Black; we still think the Hero13 Black is the ultimate POV camera in the world… And then Mission, as we discussed, is sort of a more high-end kit above it, with really incredible performance. They each have their place in the line-up.”
This story is part of a four-part series on GoPro’s next era with an exclusive interview. Read part one here.
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