GoPro Going Out Of Business?
- Thread starter glamphotographer
- Start date
I always liked GoPros. At-least for the past 7 or 8 years it was pretty easy to find spare enclosures, accessories and batteries even in far-flung locations. They were always meh as a camera, but a total game changer for people who pack light when they travel, and do stuff for what it was designed for. Everyone seems to have one, and can therefore help each other use them. Collective competence goes a long way.
I’d be a little surprised if this is it for them. They’re in so many places the competition is not, and for your average adventurererrer or whoever their market is, the advantages the competition holds over a top-end GoPro are subtle.
If it does fold, it’ll be an interesting case study.
I’d be a little surprised if this is it for them. They’re in so many places the competition is not, and for your average adventurererrer or whoever their market is, the advantages the competition holds over a top-end GoPro are subtle.
If it does fold, it’ll be an interesting case study.
Kind of surprised they are still around. So over priced that unknown companies on amazon and eBay were able to sell well with their versions that used he same accessories and had the same quality.
The competition are from China (Apeman, Yi and others) they make them more affordable and just a good as GoPro. Also GoPro fell behind the drone market (DJI and others), started a R&D division to make drones but had the shut it down.
The problem is they made their camera too good and durable that cameras bought 4 years ago are still good today. Plus the people are using cell phones for just about all type of videography and getting ridiculous slow motion at high resolutions with waterproofing and are causing a very niche market for these type of sports/fast action portable cameras.
Their cameras are not that good. Trendy marketing but they sat on their laurels and seriously failed to innovate and the prices have been ridiculous for a $20 camera.
Your right though cell phones have stripped away that market.
That's right as they said in the video GoPrO used the cheapest parts (really a $20 camera with high markup). It's was sexy and slick marketing that made their success. The cheap action cams alternatives from China and cell phones caused their demise.
I've read a bit about the competition but don't have any experience with them though they seem comparable at least on paper. I personally have a Hero4 Silver and it has been outstanding. It's takes awesome pics and has taken a shit ton of abuse on vacations (mostly on excursions & under water). My only complaint is I find the FL of the lens is way too short to be practical a lot of the time. I'd guess equivalent to 12mm to 15mm on a DSLR, pretty much fish eye. It'd be nice if it was longer or if there was clip-on or swappable lens groups to get it to ~35-50mm equiv. Other than that I can't say any bad about it. Sure it's pricey but good optics aren't cheap, the flare around bright reflections is well controlled proving the polish on the lenses and coatings are top notch as well as the internal baffling. Also to squeeze such short FL lens in such a tiny space with no detectable chromatic abberation likely takes elements made out of exotic low dispersion glass. On top of that the hardware is solid. i'd say they are worth what you pay for them but someday I might have to check out an alternative just to see.
Last edited:
Yea, I feel this way too. I have two, and wouldn’t mind upgrading one or both, but can’t justify it unless one breaks. I’ve tried, but they are still in great shape despite punishment. I keep telling myself I should sell one or both, but I don’t really want to update all my accessories as-well.
At-least one goes with me on most dives, and I usually have one in pocket or on a necklace, especially when doing a sport or activity where a phone is inappropriate.
I’ve never seen the true made in China cameras last long around salt water, but I may only hear about them breaking, not when they work without failure.
Back to the OP, I’ve heard they haven’t hit profit targets and may get sold. I haven’t heard they are going out of business. That’s a big name to just die, considering they still dominate the action camera market.
The GoPro is actually not that special in terms of build quality or even picture quality/sensor size. Not suitable for serious diving photography - not tough enough. Even for surfing - it's the disposability (if you lose one, it's not the end of the world - especially if you get them for free - like many pros) and size that's attractive - not the technology. It's strengths were in the ease of use and size - and the attachments. Most importantly was the lifestyle marketing which the company did from the beginning - making sure that any extreme sport had GoPro cameras to document the action. Where the company failed was in keeping Nick Woodward (the founder) on to run the company as it grew. Surfer, entrepreneur, but not a strong CEO. He made a number of huge mistakes - beginning with shortly after the company went public and he essentially sold ("gave") shares at their tiop to a charitable foundation - this marked the price top for the shares. Everything after that was a struggle for the company - from launching new editions of the flagship camera, to their late (and eventually failed) forays into the Drone business and then the way their initial marketing stalled. At the same time, phone video became prevalent and the action cam market became flooded with imitators as well as competitors with equal or superior product. Woodward didn't pay enough attention to development and gave up his leading position in the market.
A year ago, the company probably would have been purchased - as it stands now, it might be bought just for the brand name - but even the value of that would only be attractive at a lower price.
A year ago, the company probably would have been purchased - as it stands now, it might be bought just for the brand name - but even the value of that would only be attractive at a lower price.
I don’t get these guys who say that gopros are not built that tough...there are hundreds of videos of them falling off skydivers and surviving and still working when they hit the ground. How much tougher do you want them to be?
I had mine for over 4 years and still works as good as day 1. I cannot say that for my phones or any others cameras I have owned in the past.
I even took a ton of wipe outs snowboarding and rolling down the hill while my GoPro continued to work.
This is fake info being presented here.
I had mine for over 4 years and still works as good as day 1. I cannot say that for my phones or any others cameras I have owned in the past.
I even took a ton of wipe outs snowboarding and rolling down the hill while my GoPro continued to work.
This is fake info being presented here.
It depends upon how you define "that tough". For 90% of the owners, it's plenty tough enough. But then, so are most waterproof, ruggedized point and shoots. GoPro's strength was in the variety of attachments and small size which allows it to be held or mounted to capture POV action really easily. But it's toughness has limits. Eg: It's waterproof (and down to a certain depth) - but that doesn't mean you'd dive with it. Also the picture quality is limited because of the wide angle fixed lens. So eg: a serious surf photographer (one of those crazy guys who float in the waves wearing a helmet - capturing "from the water" shots of surfers - will always be seen with a larger format camera in a housing. A GoPro wouldn't have the same quality of shot - but more importantly, a GoPro wouldn't last with all the underwater time, crashing waves, etc.
I'm with you. ^^^
I bought a gently used GoPro 4 Silver with tons of accessories for $300. The camera is great. I don't know of anything better for the price. The quality, ease of use and indestructibility factor make it the best bang for the buck.
I highly doubt they're going out of business.
They're great little camera's, but the rest of the world has caught up with them and they haven't really innovated. I predict that they'll get bought out - Woodward has announced he's open to selling the company and JPM is shopping them around - it just might take a while. The thing is, there's nothing proprietary about GoPro.
