As a camera nerd and GoPro user, I’ve been following GoPro’s monumental shift into the Mission 1 series closely – but there’s a key term that I have yet to hear GoPro use to describe its new trio of 1-inch sensor cameras: action camera.
The brand best known for creating the first action cameras does not describe the new Mission 1, Mission 1 Pro and Mission 1 Pro ILS as such. Instead, GoPro’s latest announcements are littered with another key term: cinema camera.
When GoPro finally unveiled the full specifications – and price – after a series of teasers, I was pleasantly surprised at the mix of more advanced features for the price point. But, it’s hard to deny that the Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro look closer to a GoPro action camera in appearance than a cinema camera.
I wouldn’t call the GoPro Mission 1 series an action camera, but I wouldn’t call it a cinema camera either. Instead, I feel like the newest high-end GoPros bridge the gap between action and cine cams – and if they live up to GoPro’s many promises when shipping begins on May 28, I think they could be quite popular.
One of the reasons that GoPros and action cameras have been so popular in the past is that they are incredibly easy to use. There are plenty of auto shooting modes and, with the fixed ultra-wide lens, everything stays in focus and within the frame. (This does not apply to the Mission 1 ILS, which uses manual focus.)
GoPros aren’t a point-and-shoot, but a mount-and-shoot. The simple shooting format has been a key feature for GoPros for a long time, as it enables even those who aren’t video experts to capture solid footage.
The action cameras are even used in TV shows when a traditional film crew isn’t possible. For example, the Artmeis II crew used GoPros to capture their experience for a National Geographic special.
But with the Mission 1 series, GoPro is going after creators who may not just be surfers, bikers and athletes looking to capture POV action. The Mission 1 Pro has a 1-inch sensor capable of 8K 60p video as well as 8K 30p in open gate. The processor has been improved for better performance and low-light shots, and the battery life is also much longer.
Yet the Mission 1 Pro doesn’t look much larger than the GoPro Hero13, carries a similar control layout and is still waterproof.
The Mission 1 Pro straddles the line between action camera and cinema camera – but I don’t think the camera’s ill-defined boundaries are a bad thing. By sitting somewhere between the two, it becomes highly flexible.
In the latest video shot on the Mission series, I lost count of the number of different ways that creators were using the cameras. Handheld as an underwater point-and-shoot. On a handle as a travel vlogging camera. Mounted on vehicles, gimbals, cages, cranes, drones, dollys, ziplines, selfie sticks.
There’s even a shot of a rig where a GoPro is sitting on an arm to take behind-the-scenes footage of another GoPro in action.
A camera with a 1-inch sensor isn’t going to beat out the cinema cameras with full frame and medium format sensors – but it could go places and in more dusty, wet conditions that those oversized cameras cannot. (Though I have to admit, the Mission 1 ILS looks comically small in some rigged-out cinema kits.)
The GoPro Mission 1 Pro defies categorization – but because the camera doesn’t quite fit in with the action cameras and doesn’t quite fit in with the cinema cameras, I can see several different types of creators drawn to the tiny, durable camera.
I can see serious athletes and longtime GoPro fans opting for one. I can see vloggers and content creators picking one up for the mix of resolution and portability. I can see it doubling as a point-and-shoot camera. And I can see even professional film crews who need POV shots, who can’t have a traditional film crew, or who simply need something smaller and more durable, being drawn to the camera.
Hybrid cameras have risen rapidly with the growth of video content, but the GoPro Mission 1 Pro feels like an entirely different kind of hybrid. It shoots both video and photos, yes, but the compact size, waterproof build, and plethora of available mounts make it a camera that is hybrid not just in dual types of content but in a wide range of scenarios.
I’m not entirely convinced that “cinema camera” is the right word for the Mission 1 Pro, but I don’t think it’s quite an action camera either. I’m eager to try one out and see if GoPro delivers on its many promises for the new series.
One thing that I’m sure of? This is a pivotal moment for the company that has needed to diversify beyond the action camera category for quite some time.
Both the GoPro Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro are available for pre-order, with retail shelf availability beginning May 28. The mirrorless Mission 1 ILS is expected to arrive later this year.
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