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Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?

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Re: Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?

#121

Post by radiorental »

microtonal wrote: post #112
sen wrote: post #13

I’ve owned a lot of Gopro cameras, having done video capture for a variety of motorsports, and they just got too expensive for what you get. You can be more expensive if you’re better, or you can be worse if you’re cheaper, but they’re both the downsides while living purely off brand recognition. They also blew up in a time where there wasn’t any real competition. Sony had action cameras but they were bulkier and exp…

I’ve owned a lot of Gopro cameras, having done video capture for a variety of motorsports, and they just got too expensive for what you get. Sounds very similar to another US company - Garmin. They are still popular, but have been raising prices a lot every generation, because for a long time there was no real competition [1]. At this point, Garmin watches that have mapping support have an introduction price of >600…

I have a love/hate relationship with Garmin.

As a motorcyclist and sailor, their hardware is second to none in terms of build quality and robustness. The ability to look down at my Zumo GPS on my motorcycle in a rain storm on a dirt road and have it respond to my wet dirty glove is a close to magic as you will get.

Then there's the watches, the Instinct range is ok but I have a button that doesn't pop back out, my wife's vivoactive suffered the well known touch failure.

However, as a UXer I will say that across all products the software interaction model sucks balls. "China" can and will produce hardware to meet a price point, its not that they can't build good products.

As soon as "China" figures out how to do good UX, the last moat western companies have will fall.

Re: Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?

#122

Post by projektfu »

embedding-shape wrote: post #34
haunter wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mac Mini will be made in Houston (they already make their own servers there) https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/02/apple-accelerates-us-...

Is it common in American factories to have US flags hanging on the walls similar to how dictators like to hang their portraits in factories? Never seen that in the (admitted small amount) of factories I've visited around in Europe, but tends to also give off a bit of "too much nationalism" vibe around here unless there is a special event, the US flag seems to be treated differently in the US so maybe it's a common si…

It is common but I think these displays in the press release are for the photo. I would expect to see a large flag on a tall pole outside most large factories, but inside the decorations will range from bland, to company-oriented, to patriotic.

A defense plant probably has more outward signs of patriotism.

Re: Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?

#123

Post by aeonik »

I stopped buying go pros when I drove from the top of Mt Blue Sky to the base. Had the camera mounted on my dashboard, planned to make a cool time lapse down the mountain road.

Turns out it overheated 15 minutes into the drive, and corrupted all the footage from my whole ski trip.

I'm also still salty that they cancelled my favorite fast video editing software (can't remember the name).

This was 8 years ago.

Re: Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?

#124

Post by rjrjrjrj »

varispeed wrote: post #91

I don't see a use case for these cameras. Phone takes amazing pictures and videos and is always on hand and if I need something more polished, I just get DSLR. Sure DSLR is more expensive, but if I want to do something well, I'd rather go all in.

Who is mounting a DSLR on bike, helmet, chest? Taking it in the ocean, etc.

Re: Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?

#125

Post by dylan604 »

herbst wrote: post #94
LeifCarrotson wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're willing to put a little time into video editing, a 360 cam is great. The insta360 tools can make that a little easier if you want something simple. If you just want to store a snapshot of the moment as it was captured, a regular camera that you pointed in the right direction is better.

I'd love to film in 3d. But being dependent on a single app of a single company (that is not even a good app right now) is literally the worst feature for a hardware I could imagine.

Why are you dependent on a single app? Pretty much any NLE has ability to edit 3D footage.

Re: Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?

#126

Post by radiorental »

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #117
microtonal wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve owned a lot of Gopro cameras, having done video capture for a variety of motorsports, and they just got too expensive for what you get. Sounds very similar to another US company - Garmin. They are still popular, but have been raising prices a lot every generation, because for a long time there was no real competition [1]. At this point, Garmin watches that have mapping support have an introduction price of >600…

It’s interesting that you mention Garmin - they’re a good example of pivoting from your original market (standalone gps units for cars) once you see a nimble competitor eating away at it (gps-enabled smartphones). Garmin would be dead if they had held fast on the standalone GPS market.

I'm not sure you are fully aware of the markets that Garmin is in. When it comes to marine, aviation and offroad, you simply cannot run a gps app on a phone. E.g.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/aviation/general/

Re: Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?

#127

Post by dylan604 »

neves wrote: post #87
antisthenes wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently (checked with AI), Hero 4 Black was the first camera with 30 fps 4k video and was released 12 years ago already (how time flies) Frankly, after 4k/30 and 1080p/60, there are strong diminishing returns, because most people these days watch videos on their phones in suboptimal conditions (or older desktops that may still be on 1080p), so what are they going to do with your 5k/6k video? Sure, you can keep doi…

The greatest advantage of greater resolution is that you can cut for a better framing. But who has time to go through good of video for editing?

That larger image size allows for more aggressive image stabilization as well.

Re: Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?

#128

Post by skippyfish »

I slept on GoPro for a long time because, but then wanted to document some outdoor activities. I went with two Hero 5 units and as a photographer, I was shocked by how overhyped these devices seemed to be.

The first surprise was just shoddy electrical engineering: unlike any camera from a big-name manufacturer, they drain the batteries in storage, to the point where they're dead after 2-3 weeks. But that aside, image quality is just poor for the price. It's oversharpened and oversaturated to cover up deficiencies, and that may work for some YouTube videos, but it's a $400 device that's miles behind any $500 mirrorless.

So I get it that if really want to go snorkeling or mountain biking with a camera, this might be a good choice, but that's a tiny market, and for everything else, why would you buy it? If you want cell phone quality video, you can use your cell phone. If you want professional quality, you can spend the same amount of money on a mirrorless from Canon, Panasonic, Sony, or whatever.

Re: Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?

#129

Post by idiotsecant »

radiorental wrote: post #121
microtonal wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve owned a lot of Gopro cameras, having done video capture for a variety of motorsports, and they just got too expensive for what you get. Sounds very similar to another US company - Garmin. They are still popular, but have been raising prices a lot every generation, because for a long time there was no real competition [1]. At this point, Garmin watches that have mapping support have an introduction price of >600…

I have a love/hate relationship with Garmin. As a motorcyclist and sailor, their hardware is second to none in terms of build quality and robustness. The ability to look down at my Zumo GPS on my motorcycle in a rain storm on a dirt road and have it respond to my wet dirty glove is a close to magic as you will get. Then there's the watches, the Instinct range is ok but I have a button that doesn't pop back out, my wi…

'China' can do UX just fine, when the incentive is there. Part of the reason UX seems rough, outside of low quality products where it's a tertiary consideration, is cultural differences. User interfaces are part of culture, like everything humans touch. Those preferences shape the resulting tech. Sometimes those choices are less optimal for western users with their own preferences.

https://youtu.be/WSMFnJnY7EA?si=NMz0wd94gM5abxyj

Re: Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro?

#130

Post by csomar »

rr808 wrote: post #16

I'm just surprised that an American brand making electronics lasted this long. Even Japanese companies are giving up. No one can compete with China. Apple somehow reigns supreme still. Anyone else?

Apple still stand because of Software which China sucks at. Good thing the US is not about to destroy its software industry by investing all of its money on AI.
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