GoPro - anyone have one? (1 Viewer)

[Rodrigo Duterte]

The new Fusion is out ($699).  Anybody have one yet?

They also came out with a new, lower-end model, the Hero ($199).

GoPro link comparing all four models. 

 

[Rodrigo Duterte]

New model comes out tomorrow.  What's the word?

 

[BoltBacker]

New model comes out tomorrow.  What's the word?

"Obsolescence"?

Now that many smart phones models are waterproof they are really running out of selling points. Unless you are into extreme sports or spend a lot of time in the water and don't want to expose your phone to that much potential risk it's going to be tough to get anyone to purchase such a specialty niche.

Imo, at this point they should just partner with Parrot or some other lower tier drone maker(NOT DJI) so they can bring a cheap/quality/VALUE video and photo experience to those people that just can't afford ~$1k to play around with a DJI. Make it so you can use your old drone to swap out better GoPro cameras, or use your old GoPro camera easy to swap onto your newer/smarter Parrot drone.

I'm curious what features that YOU are looking forward to in the next GoPro? I can't imagine anyone paying $700 for any GoPro unless it lays golden eggs or it swallows. Even $200 seems like utter madness at this point unless you need it to make money with your own YouTube outdoor channel or something. This isn't meant as an attack on your enthusiasm but I think the general sense of anticipation has hit the "I can't wait for the new Hewlitt Packard scientific calculator to come out" level. And I'm a camera geek!

 

[glvsav37]

Now that many smart phones models are waterproof they are really running out of selling points. Unless you are into extreme sports or spend a lot of time in the water and don't want to expose your phone to that much potential risk it's going to be tough to get anyone to purchase such a specialty niche.

honestly this is why I'm interested. my son and I are both ice hockey goalies and we have them inside the net and suction cupped to the glass to record ourselves. wouldn't risk our phones doing that. 

the only thing my current ones dont have, but was solved already is a screen to preview the scene. So we have to use the phone, swhich has to link to wifi and yada yada. IDK if there is anything in this new release thats going to change the game, other then lower the price of previous model with the screen so i con get one.

 

[Rodrigo Duterte]

"Obsolescence"?

Now that many smart phones models are waterproof they are really running out of selling points. Unless you are into extreme sports or spend a lot of time in the water and don't want to expose your phone to that much potential risk it's going to be tough to get anyone to purchase such a specialty niche.

Imo, at this point they should just partner with Parrot or some other lower tier drone maker(NOT DJI) so they can bring a cheap/quality/VALUE video and photo experience to those people that just can't afford ~$1k to play around with a DJI. Make it so you can use your old drone to swap out better GoPro cameras, or use your old GoPro camera easy to swap onto your newer/smarter Parrot drone.

I'm curious what features that YOU are looking forward to in the next GoPro? I can't imagine anyone paying $700 for any GoPro unless it lays golden eggs or it swallows. Even $200 seems like utter madness at this point unless you need it to make money with your own YouTube outdoor channel or something. This isn't meant as an attack on your enthusiasm but I think the general sense of anticipation has hit the "I can't wait for the new Hewlitt Packard scientific calculator to come out" level. And I'm a camera geek!

Thanks for the info.  I'm not going crazy, I'm more curious.  I dragged my feet in buying one earlier this year and went to their site the other day and happened to see that they were releasing more.  Had no idea.  It's going to be much cheaper than 6 mos ago.  I'm buying one for the ski season and I guess now's the time.  Not sure which one.

They go for $399, $299 and $199.  Have you looked at them and compared?  Thoughts on the major differences between those 3 models?

 

[BoltBacker]

Thanks for the info.  I'm not going crazy, I'm more curious.  I dragged my feet in buying one earlier this year and went to their site the other day and happened to see that they were releasing more.  Had no idea.  It's going to be much cheaper than 6 mos ago.  I'm buying one for the ski season and I guess now's the time.  Not sure which one.

They go for $399, $299 and $199.  Have you looked at them and compared?  Thoughts on the major differences between those 3 models?

I'm only going by specs that have been released rather than actual reviews so keep that in mind. 

Using one in wet conditions(skiing) is a perfect niche where a GoPro does make sense I'll admit. In particular because a few of the features it offers would probably make ski videos/photos much better than your standard smart phone. In particular the improved video stabilization makes sense if you are skiing while filming, assuming it's actually as good as they claim it is. Other features that would be good for skiing that most people may not think about are the HDR mode using RAW format. In ski situations there is a huge range of contrast so having the ability to avoid scenes with blown out highlights and dark blob shadows is a big feature. Burst mode and slow-mo are also features that make sense while skiing. For some the GPS feature seems strong(particularly speed and altitude "stickers"?) and could be useful. Lastly, the ability to quick charge batteries and swap out batteries is huge when in cold climates because batteries are notorious for short lives in those exact conditions(try to keep your extra batteries close to your body heat if you want to make them last longer).

Overall, you've come up with quite a case where a GoPro does make sense.... but keep in mind many of those high end features are on the highest end model I believe so it depends on your price/utility threshold in terms of how often you actually go skiing or how important these videos/photos are important to you. I'm sure if you were spending time with a close family member for instance the output could be priceless one day. But for a lot of folks it could also turn into an overly expensive champagne bottle opener that you use twice a year. Most of the folks I know only use their GoPro when they go diving, as an example.