GoPro Has a New Camera Amid Possibly Going Out of Business Rumors. Could It Save It?

GoPro was once the darling of the action sports world. Its cameras captured everything and anything, and its latest and greatest were always welcomed with some of the most insane supercut commercials the world had ever seen. At its height, it powered the industry and beyond, as it came out just as YouTube took off. 

But those days are over.

The competition has heated up. Insta360 and DJI have become more household names, and have gone on to push the industry further and further with gimbals, vlogging tools, 360-degree cameras, and all the camera tech you could ever dream of included in something that's barely a quarter the size of a traditional DSLR. GoPro got left behind, and while its market share has slumped, so too has its revenue, which has led the company to declare that its future might not be long for this world. 

Yet, those grim realities aren't slowing the company down, as GoPro recently launched its new lineup of Mission 1 cameras, which are set to upend the industry, both amateur and professional, once again. Will they though, is the biggest question. 

The answer? Honestly, maybe, as this is a cinema-grade camera that's been shoved into a GoPro frame, and that could replace a lot of the world's cameras. 

GoPro Mission 1 Series Cinema Action Camera

GoPro Mission 1 Series Cinema Action Camera

GoPro Mission 1 Series Cinema Action Camera

Photos by: GoPro

Photos by: GoPro

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The Mission 1 series of cameras feels a lot like the original GoPro, as it leveled the playing field between amateurs and professionals in the sense that you could capture video and photos in ways that you could only do with thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of camera rigging. Then, all you had to do was strap it to your chest, onto your helmet, or to the side of your car and go. GoPro's new Mission 1 series does all that, too, but offers the same sort of cinema-quality capturing capabilities that you'd once need to buy a Red for.

According to GoPro, the Mission 1 is "the world’s smallest, lightest, and most rugged 8K and 4K Open Gate cinema cameras. Featuring a new 50MP 1” sensor and GoPro’s new, ultra-efficient GP3 processor, the MISSION 1 Series cameras deliver category-leading resolutions, frame rates, runtimes and thermal performance for mission-critical reliability in even the most demanding environments. The new series is comprised of three camera models—MISSION 1 PRO, MISSION 1, and MISSION 1 PRO ILS, which features an interchangeable Micro Four Thirds lens system compatible with an even broader array of lenses via adapters."

The idea is to give aspiring filmmakers, content creators, and regular amateurs like myself a camera that you could, theoretically with all the right skills, create something that rivals the big dawgs of the camera and cinematic worlds. Think what Markiplier just did with his Iron Lung self-produced, shot, directed, and distributed movie, but with even better cameras that are cheaper to purchase and easier to use. But for everyone. 

The Mission 1's specs are pretty darn insane, too, with a 1-inch, 50MP sensor, the ability to switch between 8K30 and 4K120 Open Gate, as well as a host of other frame rates for dynamic slow-motion shots and more, the company's new GP3 processor, better low-light performance, a 240MP bitrate, and a laundry list of other points that make it possibly the most versatile action camera/cinema camera around. 

And, like other GoPros, there's a host of accessories to take the camera further, as well as hook it up to traditional cinema rigs. As you can see in the film above, they shot a bunch of stuff using a car-to-car gimbal, and took the camera diving using GoPro's frame body—the latter of which I also have for my Insta360 Ace 2. 

What's wild about the Mission 1 series, however, is the price. 

A Red costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $30,000. Traditional DSLRs, the ones that many cinematographers use for commercial shoots, cost in the area of $10,000 when you've added up all the accessories you need to make them work for that situation, if not more. The GoPro Mission Series starts at just $600 for the standard camera, and $700 for the Mission 1 Pro and Pro ILS. If the Mission 1 is as good as GoPro claims, that's a truly remarkable pricepoint for its performance. 

But the question remains: will this save GoPro from extinction? Or is this a case of a little too late to the party? What do you all think?

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