Is this the end of the once-mighty GoPro? • Hacker News Board

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

#251

Post by matsemann » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 7:24 PM UTC

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…

A gopro isn't worse than the competition, nor at a premium.

What makes gopro the standard in proper productions (and science etc) is that they're so hackable with the gopro labs software. With that, all the other cameras are toys in comparison for professional usage.

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

#252

Post by abalashov » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 7:26 PM UTC

pvachon wrote: post #230

abalashov wrote: post #142

As a cyclist (and former racer), I still want to know how to capture videos with telemetry overlays (speed, power, HR, etc) from my head unit in a straightforward way. NorCal Cycling's videos - https://www.youtube.com/@NorCalCycling - are an excellent demonstration of this at work. Yes, I've done the Garmin VIRB Edit thing, which is the very approach recommended by Jeff (NorCalCycling) in his tutorial videos on the s…

Sounds like you want https://goprotelemetryextractor.com/telemetry-overlay-gps-vi... — feed it your GoPro footage, your Garmin FIT file, set up your gauges as you so desire and you’re off to the races (or the rendering at least). I suspect a lot of cycling Vloggers use it.

Thank you! This looks like it might be the ticket.

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

#253

Post by belorn » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 7:28 PM UTC

hmokiguess wrote: post #182

I bought my first GoPro for a scuba diving trip in Mexico once. Was super excited, it was my first scuba diving experience too. As soon as we hit deeper waters the capture button pressed itself down due the pressure and it wouldn’t come back up. That, unfortunately happened in a way that I couldn’t start a capture. Lost the entire thing, despite the camera being perfectly fine after we came back to surface. Hated the…

For scuba diving you will want to have a house for the camera regardless of brand. It not only lower the risk of damages, but it is also more explicitly designed for depth without needing to compromising for non-divers.

That said, GoPro is not the best for low light environments, and the battery is a bit temperature sensitive, both which can be an issue when diving.

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

#254

Post by mstachowiak » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 7:32 PM UTC

bruce511 wrote: post #232

gruez wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which industries are the US leading in because of subsidies?

Arms, weapons, fighter jets and so on. The US sounds a trillion $ a year subsidizing the military industrial complex. The US chose their market (arms). The Chinese chose consumer goods. Go figure.

Sadly, consumer goods are the new arms (drones, batteries, etc)

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

#255

Post by matsemann » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 7:32 PM UTC

wolrah wrote: post #19

i_am_jl wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their hardware is unimpressive and expensive, and their software is horrible.

> and their software is horrible As a long-time GoPro owner who recently added an Insta360 X5 to his collection, I can't really see any meaningful difference in software horribleness. They are both really really bad, with ads everywhere constantly pushing subscriptions to their cloud services. At least with the normal cameras the software can be entirely ignored, I can take video from my Hero5 straight in to any ordi…

Agree. Gopro recently released a DaVinci plugin for 360 videoes, which is great. But I often would like something in between the advanced DaVinci and the simple mobile editing. After the release of Max2, the Quik app got a big overhaul and is quite capable now. But it's still mobile, and Gopro Player (for desktop) is then now even further behind on capabilities. Same issue with Insta360 (both mobile and desktop, never tried Dji's apps)

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

#256

Post by tomaskafka » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 7:32 PM UTC

My guess is that action cameras are 20 % need (professionals, documentary crews etc) and 80 % fashion (people buying them and them using them for a few shots twice a year on the holiday), and the fashion component peak is over.

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

#257

Post by microtonal » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 7:33 PM UTC

dingaling wrote: post #201

CWuestefeld wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Garmin watches that have mapping support have an introduction price of >600 Euro. Even at that price point, zooming or panning maps is excruciatingly slow I just got a Garmin Instinct 3 Solar. It does mapping, and cost me about $300 US. You're right that it's slow due to a wimpy processor. But the processor isn't because they're too lazy to innovate, but because they have something sipping tiny amounts of power so…

Sounds like the perfect use-case for big-small processors. A power-sipper for routine 99.99% of operations and a more powerful beast for the CPU intensive ops.

It's mostly because Garmin wants to maximize profits by sticking to old CPUs. The Coros watches (from what I've heard, the same applies to Suunto and Polar) are fast.

This has been an issue across the whole Garmin product line. E.g. the Garmin eTrex 32x from 2019 still used the same CPU as the eTrex 30 from 2011. 8 years without a CPU update. And the eTrex was already had miserably slow map rendering in 2011 with maps from that year.

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

#258

Post by tomaskafka » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 7:34 PM UTC

nikodunk wrote: post #235

recursivecaveat wrote: post #225

Extremely similar to iRobot (Roomba). They both practically genericized themselves by inventing and dominating the product category, then just couldn't keep up with the competition. GoPro does feel more self inflicted though. Their drone was a failure, and they burnt a lot of money trying to do some kind of pivot to being a media company.

Was just about to say Roomba too! Next up IMO is Philips Hue, which don't support Matter and cost $25, vs. Matter-enabled Amazon brands that cost $7.

Hue also peaks at 20 W sources which leave even small room in the dark (for comparison, I have 70 W of LED lighting in the kitchen central light).

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

#259

Post by microtonal » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 7:36 PM UTC

radiorental wrote: post #126

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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/

Yep, also, they had gpsr units way before their gpsunits for cars became popular. They started making GPS receivers in (I think) 1993:

https://static.garmin.com/pumac/GPS95AVD_PilotsGuide.pdf

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

#260

Post by tadfisher » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 7:37 PM UTC

bruce511 wrote: post #232

gruez wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which industries are the US leading in because of subsidies?

Arms, weapons, fighter jets and so on. The US sounds a trillion $ a year subsidizing the military industrial complex. The US chose their market (arms). The Chinese chose consumer goods. Go figure.

Basically every "made in USA" consumer product has a DOD contract. The DOD is mandated by law to purchase from US companies, so there is a huge sector of small-to-medium businesses which only exist because there is a guaranteed order coming every quarter for uniforms or boots or other equipment that would likely be 1/3 the price if they were contract-manufactured in China or Vietnam.

Not saying this is uniformly bad, because without the law the number of businesses with the ability to manufacture this stuff would trend toward zero, but it is a form of subsidy.