I love action cameras, but Go Pro's new merger means I'm canceling my Mission 1 pre-order — here's why | Tech Radar
Overview
News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
Details
Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards.
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
I love action cameras, but Go Pro's new merger means I'm canceling my Mission 1 pre-order — here's why
If Go Pro's new direction is 'defense, government, robotics and aerospace', count me out
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Go Pro's latest Mission 1 cameras look interesting — but I'm not sure they'll be the company's priority going forward. (Image credit: Go Pro)
Go Pro has been acquired by private company Starman Optical, an optical photonics specialist
Though describing the deal as a "merger", Starman has paid $285 million cash
The merged company plans to leverage its IP across "defense, government, robotics and aerospace markets"
It's been no secret lately that the action camera maker Go Pro has been in financial trouble. As such, the news that the company has been acquired might seem like cause for celebration for action camera fans — but once you start looking closer, things quickly appear a little less rosy. In fact, this news has convinced me to hold off on purchasing any of the Mission 1 cameras, which went up for pre-order this week.
In a statement put out on September 1, Go Pro announced its acquisition by Starman Optical Inc, a private optical photonics company. Though the deal was called a merger, Starman paid
It's the tone of the statement that really has me concerned. In it, Go Pro seems to downplay its status as a producer of beloved consumer cameras, opting instead to describe its work as "industry-leading imaging solutions featuring innovative, advanced optics, market-defining technology and an associated IP portfolio."
This certainly aligns with Starman, a company that develops optical transceivers and related infrastructure, and describes itself on its website as 'Manufacturing America's AI Infrastructure'. And it makes it sound a lot like the plan is for Go Pro to pivot away from consumer cameras and into optics and AI infrastructure.
An included quote from Go Pro CEO Nick Woodman does not allay my worries. He says: "We expect this merger to enable Go Pro to grow across consumer, commercial and defense markets as a leading American imaging and optical solutions company, addressing important areas of national security related to cameras, optics and AI infrastructure. We're excited to combine with the Starman team to capitalize on this opportunity and play an important role in America's future."
Go Pro Mission 1 Pro review: a premium rugged action camera at a cost
Go Pro Mission 1 Pro ILS review: brilliant video, tough trade-offs
These Prime Day deals make the Go Pro Hero 13 Black a better buy than the Mission 1
Sure, he mentions consumer cameras — once, briefly, before mentioning a lot of other things in much greater detail. And the release assures us that Go Pro "will continue to fully support its existing consumer products and its subscription and cloud platform". But we've all heard that one before.
The Go Pro Mission 1 Pro ILS being tested by our own Sam Kieldsen. (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
I was genuinely pretty excited for the new Go Pro Mission 1 series. It felt like a bit of a fresh start for a company that had been struggling to innovate, and frankly was having its lunch eaten by the likes of the excellent DJI Osmo Action 6.
The idea of an action camera that could take Micro Four Thirds lenses was genuinely new and interesting — and while my style would be a more traditional action camera like the Mission 1 Pro, it was nice to feel like Go Pro was innovating again, after years of inarguable stagnation spent releasing slightly different Hero variants.
But Go Pro cameras aren't just about the cameras themselves. A massively important aspect is the ecosystem; many features of the cameras require the Quik app (or at least are made much easier with it), and action cameras in general require a lot of accessories and mounts in order to be useful.
If I buy a Mission 1 camera, can I be sure that the app is going to keep being compatible with my devices? Is Go Pro going to keep providing firmware updates, and will it still be producing accessories for the camera five years down the line?
This merger announcement simply doesn't give me any confidence that this will be the case. So, I'm holding off on a Mission 1 purchase for now — and I hope to be proven wrong.
Follow Tech Radar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.
Writer, photographer and editor Jon Stapley is an expert in all things cameras and digital art.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Map Quest refused to rename Lake Ontario to appease one person, but I still can't leave Google Maps and Apple Maps behind for this one reason
Skip the new Sonos hardware — these excellent older soundbars and headphones are now up to 20% off
AI is getting closer to being able to exploit OT, and that's very bad news for critical infrastructure
Hyundai just topped the world’s largest EV battery study — analysis of 500,000 tests sees it beat Tesla to the long-term battery health title
Lockheed carries out missile launches directly from a drone boat - will the US Navy be next?
Tech Radar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
Key Takeaways
- News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
- Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
- Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards
- Unlock instant access to exclusive member features
- Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards
