GoPro is best known for its action cameras, but the new GoPro Mission 1 Pro is a tiny camera that toes the line between action camera and serious video rigs. But in true GoPro fashion, the Mission 1 Pro also launched with a new accessory that makes the camera feel more like a point-and-shoot.
I love using compact cameras for travel – I even used a waterproof compact camera more than my mirrorless on one of my vacations. After I unboxed the GoPro Mission 1 Pro with its point-and-shoot grip, I decided to see just how worthy of the point-and-shoot title the new camera is – and took it to a day at the splash park and beach.
I’ve used a few GoPros in the past – I have a Hero12 Black that I use for behind-the-scenes video tucked into my camera bag. I knew going into the beach day shoot that the new GoPro would have both some strengths and weaknesses compared to traditional point-and-shoots. This is what I shot, swapping my point-and-shoot for a GoPro.
The GoPro Mission 1 Pro has plenty of resolution, almost zero focus misses, and a waterproof design
The biggest change moving from the Hero to the Mission series is that the new Mission 1 Pro uses a one-inch sensor. For video, it’s capable of 8K60, but using it as a point-and-shoot, the tiny cam has a 50MP mode as well as a 12MP mode for low light.
The shots that I captured on the GoPro Mission 1 Pro had plenty of detail at 50MP. I was also pleasantly surprised at the wide dynamic range that it captured. I was shooting on a sunny day, and the shadows weren’t too dark, but the sky wasn’t blown out to white either.
Like the Hero series, the Mission 1 Pro uses fixed focus. That means that there’s no autofocus at all, but it’s not needed – anything that’s around 60cm and farther from the camera lens will be in focus. That means there’s no focus delays and, unless you get too close, no focus misses. That helps the camera capture still action photos easily, not just for video – it’s also great for getting high and low angles without the aid of the screen.
The GoPro Mission 1 Pro surprisingly doesn’t feel much larger than my Hero12 – but there is such a thing as a camera that’s too small. On its own, the Mission 1 Pro doesn’t have enough to comfortably wrap my fingers around. But the point-and-shoot grip accessory had just enough of a grip to comfortably wrap my fingers around and a solid thumb rest in the back.
Importantly, the Mission 1 Pro is still waterproof. The camera didn’t have any issues getting dunked at the splash park (although sadly, the water clarity was too poor to try a swim). The temperature around 80 degrees F / 26 degrees C didn’t seem to bother the camera either. I even accidentally bumped the shutter button and ended up taking a 45-minute 4K video of the inside of my backpack without heat issues. (Lesson learned: The Quick Capture function that starts a recording when the power button is pressed should be turned off if you’re storing it in the point-and-shoot grip.)
But the Mission 1 Pro doesn’t have a zoom or (much) bokeh
GoPro’s fixed focus lens is excellent for freezing action without misses – but it also hints at what I missed from my more traditional point-and-shoot camera. Fixed focus works because the Mission 1 Pro uses an ultra-wide lens that, even with the larger one-inch sensor, makes the depth of field wide enough to easily get (almost) everything in focus.
The downside is that, with nearly everything in focus, there’s no bokeh, or background blur. I couldn’t let distractions melt into the background.
The Mission 1 Pro, of course, also doesn’t have a true zoom on it – just the ultra-wide lens – so it’s hard to get close enough to eliminate distractions. There is a digital lens option (one that crops) that helps keep lines straighter than the native ultra wide, but otherwise there’s no zoom.
True point-and-shoots often have lenses with some macro capabilities – the OM System Tough TG-7, for example, has an excellent close-up mode. Shots like this aren’t possible with a fixed focus ultra-wide.
Of course, there is no viewfinder – but that feels increasingly common on point-and-shoots. The screen was sometimes challenging to see all the details on shooting in the sun. (The secondary front screen on the front is great for selfies though!)
As a camera that’s video-first, shooting stills on the Mission 1 also feels a little different than on a stills-first camera. There’s a one-second countdown that pops up on the screen for still photos, and it can be challenging to time the shot right in single-shot mode. Thankfully, the Mission 1 Pro has burst mode. The burst mode does function a bit differently – if you set it to 30fps bursts, you will get 30 photos regardless of whether the action stops before then.
There’s another trick for getting perfectly timed action stills – I can also pull stills from the 8K30 video files using the GoPro Quik app, and the resolution is still 44MP.
The GoPro Mission 1 Pro isn’t a point-and-shoot camera – I missed the bokeh, zoom, and flash that come from cameras geared specifically towards still photos.
But the Mission 1 Pro did surprisingly well at ultra-wide snapshots with excellent dynamic range, resolution, and speed – enough so that video-first shooters may not need a separate point-and-shoot if macro and longer focal lengths aren’t on the must-have list.
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I used the new GoPro as a point-and-shoot, but DCW's action camera expert is putting the camera through all the paces – read the full GoPro Mission 1 Pro review for more insight. Or, browse the best waterproof cameras.
