For those of you unfamiliar with the sailing sport, it is unique in the fact that it is intensely physical and action packed, but also governed very strictly with rules and procedures. It is not uncommon for a crew to finish a race sweaty and exhausted and a few hours later meet in a ballroom in black tie attire to go through a procedure that is reminiscent of courtroom proceedings to determine if a rule was broken or if a foul play was involved.
A team who we often compete alongside recently outfitted their boat with a multitude of GoPros, one on top of the mast, 2 on the bow looking back on the port and starboard gunnel of the boat, 2 on the back looking forward, and 2 looking out on each side. They not only use these to practice, going over the "play by play" if you will, but also during the aforementioned race committee hearings, to establish innocence or wrongdoing. They swear the cameras, which cost them at most $3,000, have won them many a race.
GoPro has done a very good job finding the niche they needed to appeal to, and marketing and fueling that niche to be the backbone of what appears to be a very successful business. Best of luck to them moving forward.
> GoPro has done a very good job finding the niche they needed to appeal to
I think they've done better than that: instead of finding a niche, they've found dozens if not hundreds of them. Each individual "extreme" sport is a tiny niche unable to support much of a video company, but by stumbling on the idea of various quality mounts and a solid (in all sense of the term), high-quality camera, gopro covers pretty much all sports at once. And from there, it spreads to every situation where a camera is "out in the open" where it might get banged up or fall.
Indeed. Take a look at Jerry Seinfeld's recent comedic short series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. GoPro's are used in the interior of the cars he drives.
I'm very surprised nobody mentioned the devastating impact of GoPro on the environment. Every single one of those cameras is going to end up in landfills. If we're lucky. Most likely the plastic, metal, and toxic battery trash will end up on slopes, in the wilderness, or in the ocean. Ironic and disappointing for a company that pretends to celebrate the outdoors.
Low volume perhaps, but as a business their goal is to maximize profits, meaning the goal they're working toward is high volume.
I live in Hawaii and I can see the impact of this (disposable electronics) every day on the beach. What's problematic is not just the waste that is the direct result of this company, it's the fact that nobody is even acknowledging the destructive impact of the company. It's hailed as a success -- and nobody notices the impact on the rest of us?
Your argument applies to almost any electronic product - including the one you're typing this message on. There is of course some environmental impact associated with purchasing and eventually disposing of electronic good. If they are disposed of properly however, they don't end up on beaches in Hawaii.
What about the impact of the very device you used to post this message?
Also, considering the GoPro replaced disposable film camera (really disposable, unlike your overly extended definition) the net impact of Gopro could actually be very positive.
I'm curious about what you think is still a viable way to compete with GoPro: is it only on price, or are there some missing features that a potential competitor exploit -- the UI/UX you mention? If RED comes out with a water-proof camera I guess that takes care of the high-end, so is the only way to compete with GoPro to go... low end?
There is one annoying thing about these cameras -- they have a large profile/bad aero dynamics. This seems like something that would not be too hard to address either.
First of all they look silly (e.g. if you wear them on your helmet). A more aero-dynamic design would look better. Also, at the high speeds of some of the sports this is used with this may actually cause problems.
Take skiing for example -- a professional downhill skier can easily reach and pass 80 mph. This camera will cause so much drag that if it does not fly off it will probably cause a lot of discomfort by jerking the skier's head up. But even at the lower speeds of advanced amateurs this will cause problems.
But of course the most important thing for a product like this is looks, and a more aerodynamic design would definately look better.
Honestly, I'm not sure what GoPro's software looks like any more? (I assume it's pretty solid.) But that could be an opportunity.
Also, I believe the design and aesthetics could really be improved.
If you really want more people using a p-o-v camera more often, it needs to be a little less intrusive (the GoPro looks pretty awful). A streamlined, low profile camera with the ease and simplicity of a GoPro would be a winner.
Really the only downside for average consumers is that the gopro doesn't give as spectacular images in low light - for obvious reasons at that price point, and i haven't seen any alternatives that do much better. this is also an aspect that is rapidly improving.. right now, i don't see any way to jump on this bandwagon. they do it too well.
In the sidebar, they mention a 12-million-view GoPro video of a mountain biker getting knocked over by a gazelle. It's definitely the kind of video that can only exist when you make HD sport cameras available to every amateur athlete. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2oymHHyV1M
Best GoPro feature (as a broadcaster); it's cheap enough that if it comes undone during something extreme and you lose, it - no big deal.
But even better, the things are so durable if you can find it, chances are you've got an amazing shot.
One thing - if you are not a pro athlete and you are wearing more than one camera during any kind of recreational activity, expect to be mocked endlessly.
If I was rich I could see mounting a front and rear camera on my bicycle for my commutes. I'd say once a week something happens that would have been nice to have a record of. And with the current culture of blaming the cyclist in all accidents, if I go, maybe I could leave some footage behind to speak for me.
Just for this purpose it's fine to go with some much cheaper camera. For example this one: http://www.chucklohr.com/808/C16/ The video is nowhere near GoPro's quality but it's OK as evidence. It can be mounted on a helmet (while being discreet) which gives you a much better view.
I snowboard and, on those rare perfect blue-bird powder days, the go-pro army hits the slopes in force. I'm conflicted about them to be honest. Boarding (or skiing) is very much about the story. While it's exhilarating when things go right, the most entertaining stories come from when things go wrong. Swapping those stores in a hot-tub or over a much-needed dinner is a big part of the experience. Being able to toss narrative to the wind and just whip out your phone and show off video of the insane trouble you've gotten into cheapens the experience somehow. I get the appeal of capturing those perfect moments, but I don't want to lose the story in the process. Maybe I'll try recording my runs someday, but for now I prefer to live the story.
One issue I've noticed with the GoPro army as a quad-bike rider is the increasing amount of high-speed riders on the trails. At the sand dunes I don't have as much of a problem with it (although not watching over your hills is another issue), but on tight trails with people looking to get that perfect YouTube shot it can be deadly. I don't ride with a GoPro, but I pull over for those who do quite often.
There's nothing wrong with GoPro, and I would have one if I could justify the cost at this point. Idiots will be idiots, the real issue is they now have an audience larger than the other people on the trail. I'd love to see public trails go camera-free just because (in my anecdotal experience) a small but significant minority of riders lose all sense when the reward of a million views is dangling over their head.
I got a GoPro for my NYC bicycle commute earlier this year. I am extremely happy with it. What I am not happy with is their mounting equipment, or at least the handlebar mount.
It broke after a few months. I got a free replacement. Then it broke again in a matter of days. This time my camera was also destroyed. The best they would offer me was a new camera at 50% off. Didn't have much choice. Got an overpriced third party mount made of metal, but this one is definitely not breaking.
I have a slightly negative reaction to seeing GoPro's name. Some time ago, I was looking for a way to mount my video camera on my head, and all I could find was GoPro.
They don't use standard tripod mounts. If I were a little more click-happy on Amazon I may have ended up with a mount that wouldn't fit my camera.
Sure, if you're doing 'extreme' sports, then the standard tripod mount might not be sufficent, but I was just cycling. I don't want to buy a whole new camera just for that.
GoPro cameras are all over the place now and they've really branded themselves well in that I've seen people call all sorts of GoPro-like cameras as "GoPros" even if they technically aren't. They've reached a Google-like status with their name basically defining the market segment.
One thing I've been noticing lately is a bit of a rift in various sport communities (I've noticed it with surfers and mountain bikers anyway) between those who use GoPros and those who don't. This rift tends to cut pretty cleanly along generational lines with the 30+ folk looking down on the GoPro users. I guess this shouldn't really impact GoPro commercially too much as they are hitting the right demographic for growth.
I'm surprised nobody mentioned the devastating impact of GoPro on the environment. Every single one of those cameras is going to end up in landfills. If we're lucky. Most likely the plastic, metal, and toxic battery trash will end up on slopes, in the wilderness, or in the ocean. Ironic and disappointing for a company that pretends to celebrate the outdoors.
For those of you unfamiliar with the sailing sport, it is unique in the fact that it is intensely physical and action packed, but also governed very strictly with rules and procedures. It is not uncommon for a crew to finish a race sweaty and exhausted and a few hours later meet in a ballroom in black tie attire to go through a procedure that is reminiscent of courtroom proceedings to determine if a rule was broken or if a foul play was involved.
A team who we often compete alongside recently outfitted their boat with a multitude of GoPros, one on top of the mast, 2 on the bow looking back on the port and starboard gunnel of the boat, 2 on the back looking forward, and 2 looking out on each side. They not only use these to practice, going over the "play by play" if you will, but also during the aforementioned race committee hearings, to establish innocence or wrongdoing. They swear the cameras, which cost them at most $3,000, have won them many a race.
GoPro has done a very good job finding the niche they needed to appeal to, and marketing and fueling that niche to be the backbone of what appears to be a very successful business. Best of luck to them moving forward.