What did compact cameras have in 1977 but not 2026? Ask GoPro – the company that tried to take away autofocus

GoPro is the brand that defines the action camera. Many people I know, to my frustration, still call all of the neat little actioncams devices "GoPros" even when they're made by DJI, Insta360, or one of the other rival manufacturers. That is the kind of brand success that belonged to tranformational devices such as Sony's Walkman or Apple's iPod.

Now, though, like those products before it, the GoPro is struggling. There is less need for it, and those competitors have gotten good.

How has GoPro sought to solve the problem? Well, the company's new range of Mission 1 cameras offers a new name and the option of a significantly more irritating camera mechanism.

"Irritating you say? Are you mad – this is the choice photographers have been crying out for!" you respond.

I know what I mean. But let me explain.

Well, GoPro never really used autofocus on its previous cameras, so the company might not think it's a big thing.

The GoPro Hero 13 Black, the top of the line before the Mission 1 Pro ILS came along, had fixed focus. Objects in the foreground and the background appeared in focus (the reason for this was that the image sensor was relatively small).

Didn't GoPro say the Hero13 had interchangeable lenses?

Well, not exactly, though the company certainly gave that impression. The Hero 13 had swappable lens modifiers (Lens Mods) and filters and what made them relatively unique was the arrival of GoPro's 'HB-Series' which delivered auto-detection.

What that meant to the user was that when you put a lens modifier or filter onto the camera's main lens (which never changed), you saw what looked a bit like a part you shouldn't see for a bit – and, when you had finished, the camera sensed the change and made the necessary software adjustments.

What didn't happen, unlike the new ILS, is that you couldn't actually see the image sensor and (if you wanted to for some crazy reason) reach inside and prod it.

I'm sure one of the lenses was focusable?

That's right. The Macro Lens Mod had a focusing ring so the focus could be adjusted – traditional variable manual focus. The Macro lens could focus down to 11cm, while the standard lens was limited to about 60cm (problematic for selfies).

So that's what is happening again. Manual focus or Fixed Focus?

Yes and no. Yes, the focus will be manual, so a bit like the Macro Lens Mod on the Hero 13, but the Mission 1 cameras boast larger image sensors of 1-inch across the diagonal. That should mean that users wouldn't be able to take advantage of 'most' of the focal range being 'close enough' to in focus without the assistance of AF.

So there will likely be a need to adjust the focus, especially if a subject is relatively near the camera and any one of hundreds of MFT lenses is being used – but that from a camera without the ability to do so (or much in the battery tank if it did have the ability).

Which makes me think something worse...

Which leads me to this alternate theory about the Mission 1 Pro ILS. GoPro doesn't care about it.

It's for attention.

After all, if you could get an interchangeable lens, how much do you really want one with a 3x crop factor?

The other cameras are actually slated to arrive within a reasonable timeframe – around six weeks from now – but there is no fixed date for the mirrorless.

The Mission 1 fixed-lens cameras are clearly a replacement for the Hero 14 – designed to take on the large image sensor and adjustable aperture of the DJI Osmo Action 6,

Call me a cynic, but after all the delays that faced the GoPro Max 2 (which did, admittedly, make it to market in the end), it is hard to be convinced by news of new cameras from GoPro that seem to have R&D difficulties and are yet to get a fixed date.

As my colleague Hillary – explained, even if it does work as described, it sounds problematic. Lenses are going to partially block the front LCD. Stabilization sounds like it might be tricky, depending on the additional crop.

Is this really going to be a camera, or is it a hack project to get a few looks at a trade show before what will amount to be a rebranding of 'Hero 14' as 'Mission 1' and 'Mission 1 Pro'?

Only time will tell.