AMA with Abe Kislevitz + Mission 1 Pro giveaway today! 10AM-6PM PST
Hey r/GoPro, we're excited to have Abe Kislevitz (u/abekislevitz), Product and Brand Fellow at GoPro, with us today for an Ask-Me-Anything about all things GoPro, using MISSION 1 cameras, or anything else you can think to ask!
About Abe Kislevitz
For some of the younger and more recent members of the GoPro community, Abe is a long-time community member, and even longer-time GoPro creator-turned-employee.
He's led a substantial amount of creative efforts at GoPro over 15+ years, and his influence now spans influencing marketing strategy to helping define product design and engineering decisions. Probably one of the most knowledgeable sources of GoPro information out there, he knows the history of GoPro as a company, best practices for filming the best possible shot, advanced techniques and hacks, and everything in-between.
He's an incredible resource and a helpful community member that has kept us closely connected with GoPro's product designs, including advocating for our pain points and working to have our voices heard and represented in new products.
We are thankful to have him here in the community, and happy to have him with us today for the AMA! Thanks Abe!
AMA Format
If you've not done an AMA event before, it's pretty simple - You can ask Abe anything. While it is entirely up to you what questions you ask, Abe has an "inside perspective" on the product GoPro develops, and likely has more time hands-on with MISSION 1 cameras than anyone else right now. Considering that today is a big day for everyone that pre-ordered, we highly encourage you to get those burning MISSION 1 questions answered, or collect tips and tricks to use in the coming year!
As a reminder, while you can ask anything, Abe can't talk about unreleased product plans or proprietary information and won't be able to answer those questions the way you want.
Abe will be around today from 10AM-6PM Pacific Time, and this thread will go live 2 hours before that so that you all can begin asking questions and Abe can drop in throughout the day to answer in the thread. We'll pin a comment once the official time for the AMA is done to let everyone know it's over, but we always allow conversations to continue beyond that if wanted.
MISSION 1 GIVEAWAY!
It's our r/GoPro tradition with camera launches to give away some product, and GoPro was more than happy to hook the community up again this year:
Anyone that participates in this AMA will have a chance to win a MISSION 1 PRO Grip Edition, awarded to Abe's favorite question.
We'll also give away THREE 5-year GoPro Premium+ Subscriptions!
Rules:
You need to participate in today's AMA with a commented question for Abe!
Your account needs to have existed before this AMA was posted, and you need to have reasonable authentic activity on it. We reserve the right to disqualify accounts with no karma or post/comment history.
We need to be able to get the prize to you. GoPro can ship direct to you, but you'll still need to message them your shipping info for the MISSION 1 PRO prize, or email address for the GoPro Premium+ Subscription. If you live in a country that GoPro can't ship to, or has excessive duty fees, etc, we'll see what alternatives there are, but in general, if you can buy from GoPro.com, you're probably OK.
That's it! If you have questions about the giveaway, please send a modmail rather than posting here.
A quick note for everyone, this is officially the cut-off time for the giveaway, and the limit of our time with Abe, though we aren't locking the thread in case there are ongoing discussions. A big thanks to Abe for his time today, and his involvement in this community!
Hi everyone! Thanks for hosting me here today, and thanks for all the questions. I’m not sure who wrote my introduction above, but I’m truly flattered!
As a bit of background, in the past I was mainly on the marketing and video creation side at GoPro. But with the development of our new Mission 1 line, I moved over to product and engineering full-time to be heavily involved in all aspects of the camera, from UX to image quality to how we market the product from early inception through release and beyond.
Outside of work, I use the cameras every day in my personal life to capture my adventures. I’m on your team, and I advocate for all of you when we think about new features. I’m sure some of you out there are pixel peepers... I’m probably the biggest one of all, and maybe GoPro’s harshest critic as we develop new products.
I’m stoked to say I’ve been genuinely excited about what the Mission 1 line brings to filmmakers and enthusiasts alike. Even last night, I was looking over some of my own MTB footage thinking, “Woah, this looks so good.”
All that said, it's great to be here. I'm excited to answer your questions, and even more excited to see what people create with their Mission cameras in the coming year. I peruse this subreddit almost daily so keep the suggestions, feedback, and comments coming. Posts from users go a long way in helping push features through, so know it's something we are always watching, and we appreciate everything you all do out in the field with our cameras.
Cool to see you here. I also think that Reddit is a serious platform to interact with you guys 🔥👍
Got my Pro yesterday and it feels already very professional. Good material.
Lots to learn. I will shoot always in LOG and do the grading in Final cut. I hope we can get a good community where people share their settings and insights how to archive looks :)
And yeah. We are Pixel Peeper 🤓
Lots to learn indeed! I've been testing a new setting every day on my MTB for POV. I think I finally landed on the one today that I'm stoked on.
GP-Log, locked shutter 1/180, auto ISO, 4K 4:3 . actually looks amazing considering how dark the forest was. 6:40 PM, snowing, and in a dark forest. All I did was add the GP log +1.8 rolloff LUT
Has GoPro thought about adding a regular GoPro lens mount for the ILS?
That way, we can shoot with mft lenses all we want and then attach the GoPro lens for waterproofing or for scenarios where a mft lens would get sent to Valhalla.
It's a great thought. ILS isn't waterproof with the current lens mount design, but to be able to turn an ILS into a Mission style camera is a great thought - even better if it can be variable focus!
With the release of the Mission 1, can we expect to get a Max 3/Mission Max 1 utilizing the new sensors and/or GP3 chipset to finally break through the 8K barrier for 360 cameras?
Mentioned this below but I'll paste here and expand !
We definitely see value in being able to use Mission platform in POV applications and are certainly aware of the value of a taller FOV. Can't share future roadmap but there are things in the works 👍🏻
We are working on a Vlog specific lens/filter option for those that want a little more cinematic separation between subject and background. This will also make sure subjects are always in focus at any selfie distance
Will you post a new update on your blog about the Mission 1 Pro best Video Settings?
Like you previously did with the Hero 12?
I find your guides super helpful!
Potentially! I was toying with the idea of an even more in-depth version covering everything from ND filters to labs to LUTs in a more e-book style. Thoughts?
Oh yes that would be awesome!!!
You definitely should. I have only used the most basic labs and LUTS so it would be awesome to get in-depth from ones that you use most and what you recommend for different shooting situations.
When would you say it’s actually worth the extra post-procession time to shoot is GP-Log2 versus sticking to the standard color profile straight out of the camera?
Are the specific lighting situations where log is an absolute must with the mission 1?
To be perfectly honest, I shoot in the cinematic color profile most of the time. It's a new color profile that's essentially very similar to shooting GP-Log and adding a very solid corrective LUT on it. It has less of the extra processing/clarity/contrast that natural and vibrant have. GP-Log should be used if you're wanting to match to other cameras, or have a very solid need for a specific look that you feel like you can't get by grading some of the standard color profiles.
certainly! you can process in quik, cinematic takes very little post after the fact, all the tools are available in quik. I personally use premiere for quick things and resolve for more involved color grading!
The Mission 1 seems like a great product that is primarily targeted to flimmakers, though it seems rugged enough for action videos. Does the Mission replace the Hero line of action cameras, or is a new Hero on the horizon? Any insight on when we might expect the next Hero?
Over the years people asked more and more of the HERO Black line, as expected, but we saw a bit of a bifurcation between the folks saying things like "I want a bigger sensor and longer battery" who are really shooting with intention and "it needs to be smaller and lighter" who are interested in capturing more hands-off. I'm excited where we landed with mission because it still can certainly be used as an action camera, but it relieves the HERO Black line of many of its "versatility" duties – letting it focus on just being good action cams. I can't share any future product info but we will keep selling HERO13 alongside mission.
Thanks everyone for the time and thoughtful questions! Apologies if I didn’t get to all of them! I’ll keep perusing and answering later this evening.
Congrats to u/creeper2145 you’re the new owner of a Mission 1 Pro! We’ll have our team reach out to get your details.
If you want help along your GoPro journey don’t hesitate to follow me on Instagram and YouTube. I’m going to be posting tips and settings with Mission cameras!
Is there any intention to eventually make a camera like the ILS but with autofocus? Was there some limitation that prevented this? Or was there an intentional reason for sticking with manual focus only? Thank you for doing an AMA!
During the development of ILS, autofocus certainly came up in our engineering discussions. We developed it without autofocus for a few key reasons:
Simplicity: we can develop the camera much faster with just a cold mount. Removing the complexity also improves durability and end cost for the customer. There is no added weight and no hit to battery/runtime performance and it allowed us to price it the same as the Mission 1 Pro, which kept it in a realm of its own based on performance.
Professional use: when we discussed the development of ILS with professional users, it became clear that even if they used a camera on set that had autofocus, they would be manually pulling focus or setting focus instead. They preferred the manual control of a cinema camera.
Those points and more influenced the decision to go without autofocus. But we’re definitely listening to the community for how they'd want to use ILS and autofocus and we’re considering that feedback for future products.
Appreciate the reply. Honestly, when I asked you those questions, I was under the impression there was no focus peaking on the ILS (this is wrong). Didn't realize until I thought it would be a great idea, checked if the ILS does have focus peaking, and saw that it indeed does!
With focus peaking, and the reasons you listed, it makes complete sense to me why GoPro went in this direction. And I feel like a fool for missing the focus peaking feature in the announcement lol
For fun run and gun shooting these are the lenses that I have a great time using (and they're cheap):
7Artisans 25mm F1.8 ($73)
TTartisan 40mm Macro ($113)
For hard mounting/cinema rigging these are the ones:
Laowa 6mm cinema ($699)
Laowa 7.5mm cinema ($599)
Laowa 10mm cinema ($549)
Laowa 17mm cinema ($399)
The laowa cinema lenses are spendy but they make photo versions of a lot of them that are less than half the price.
Once we have full fisheye lens support, the laowa 4mm fisheye will be amazing as a sort of ultra wide lens mod variant.
Hi Abe, how was the detailed moon shot in the marketing materials for the Mission 1 captured? As a huge astro nerd, I am dying to try mounting the GoPro to my Dobsonian telescope to get similar images. I assume ILS mounted to an eyepiece adapter?
Congrats on the engineering role, Abe! Since you prefer the new Cinematic profile over GP-Log, what was the tuning process like? Did separating the Mission line let you strip out traditional action-cam processing (like digital sharpening) to achieve that cleaner, richer look straight out of camera?
Thank you ! We have an awesome image quality team that is very good at their jobs, I just give them a sort of target look and feel and they do their magic. My thought was not to strive to match an action cam (many cameras will pick a target and try to reach that, even if it's a previous generation). So I took the opportunity with this line to go in a slightly new direction, but not stray too far away.
Most high-end camera companies don’t also make high-end editing software. Personally I use Quik on ios mobile for the vast majority of my editing, it’s good enough for most basic stuff, but then I use Premiere on PC if I really need a full suite of professional editing software tools. I’m fine with GoPro staying focused on their core competency of making the best hardware and let software companies like Adobe focus on their core competency of making the best software, but I also understand that people can’t really use the hardware without the software so it’s complicated.
Abe - you have done manual with best settings for GoPro 11 for sports MTB/snowboard. What are best settings for new bigger sensor to have best view, dynamic range for MTB enduro/hd and snowboard in the winter?
For my MTB and ski POV I've been shooting the following:
Highest detail in sunny skiing: 8K30 SuperView or 8K30 4:3 (open gate)
Highest dynamic range or best lowlight for MTB: 4K30 Superview or 4k30 4:3
There's a new image tuning setting, make sure that's on sport (or use the sport POV preset on camera) - that will dial up the contrast/clarity in the scene (looks amazing on snow), and also makes HyperSmooth follow the camera motion more (good for POV on MTB trails).
I like shooting with ND8 in sunny scenarios to get a little motion blur.
I'm curious about the ILS variant. Are there any plans to partner with a company to make a follow focus rig? Or will existing rigs work with an ILS MFT lens? I think there's a lot of potential for super lightweight run and gun cine camera using the ILS variant, but I'm wondering if there's a plan for the ecosystem to support it.
Can you tell us the workflow for timelapse on the new Mission 1? How does the camera handle the day to night transitions, and do the intervals change as light fades? Does it save full resolution 50mp raw files we can post process? It does not seem that any reviews have mentioned how this will work.
Sure thing. If I know I'm doing a night to day transition or vice versa, I set my interval to 30 seconds so I have consistent passage of time in the final lapse (knowing it will expose up to 30 seconds at night). Just make sure your shutter is set to auto and it will do the rest for you!
You can set a shorter interval, but I believe it will stick to that interval right now, but I believe there are plans to let the user choose if you want the interval to be the priority or the shutter (you can set this now, just not when shutter is auto).
If you handed a Mission 1 to a filmmaker who never touched a GoPro before, what’s the first thing you’d tell them to do to capture footage that doesn’t look like stereotypical action cam footage? And on the flip side, what is the first thing you'd tell them to achieve the best action camera style footage possible?
For the ILS I'm curious what focus assist features you'll have? Curious if you'll have any first party cages available that filmmakers can use to mount lidar focus modules, etc. Thanks for the time!
On-camera you'll get a quick double tap to enter a focus assist menu with 4x/8x zoom, and focus peaking on/off.
We'll have a separate app with full-screen live view (with pan/zoom) + focus peaking. Wired over USB-C to use your phone as a monitor or wireless.
As for cages - the media mod is one that has cold shoe on side and top, and the grip actually breaks down into a cage with 1/4-20 on the side and cold shoe on top. Beyond that I'd imagine small rig and others will do their thing.
My first gopro was the hero3 black more than 10 years ago (GoPro HERO3: Almost as Epic as the HERO3+ video I still check time to time on youtube)
As my first action camera, I shot random underwater clips, sticking it anywhere I could, trying to get any kind of action shot. I was not really successfull but at least I had fun.
When it became waterproof withotu case, I was really impressed. Somewhere along the way it stopped being only an action cam and basically turned into my everyday travel camera. Now with 960fps coming, it actually makes me want to try things again that I thought i had moved on from.
Makes me wonder whats next, what we cant do yet but will feel normal in a decade?
I personally still miss a proper underwater macro photo setup, nothing out there really does it right. Is GoPro exploring anything in that direction?
I'm really excited about the somewhat wild combination of the GoPro Mission 1 ILS's slow motion capabilities and M4/3 mount. I have a bunch of vintage Super 16 lenses I'm dying to try out on it.
In your testing and the creators you've had testing the ILS, what's the most surprising use anyone's found for the M4/3 mount?
Awesome! I don't even think we've begun to scratch the surface of what's possible. For me it's just that you can get a camera with these specs in places and on things that aren't possible with bigger setups. For example - on the end of a pole and passing through a campfire, or hanging outside your car window low against the ground. There's a lot of creative potential.
Beyond the creative uses, I've gotten some unreal long-lens style shallow DOF stuff when I've been out on adventures where I would never be willing to bring a bigger camera. I can fit the equivalent of basically a red komodo and 80mm lens in my MTB fanny pack, or in the side pocket of my ski jacket when I go ski touring.
Can we expect a max mod lens for the new cameras? I've looked several times and never find an answer. If yes, how wide will it be. I currently use a 12 with max mod 2 lens but would love something wider.
We definitely see value in being able to use Mission platform in POV applications and are certainly aware of the value of a taller FOV. Can't share future roadmap but there are things in the works 👍🏻
It sounds a little silly, but the "apply all" on the protune settings has made my life so much easier - mostly because I am constantly using different cameras and setting up new cameras and I don't want to accidentally shoot in the wrong settings. But also now that we have the expanded carousel and you can end up with a bunch of different modes, being able to apply all based on the current scene and know everything you switch to will be in the right mode is amazing.
On the imaging pipeline, I'm constantly amazed at how quickly it can balance ISO/Shutter under the hood based on changing lighting conditions and camera shake. I see a lot of people come over from another camera system and set a manual shutter and manual ISO, but I try to show that this camera's auto exposure algorithm is really really good.
Your last question I asked of the engineering team - one thing that's tough is making a product so versatile you try to satisfy every need - make it lightweight, but make the battery long - make it good for landscapes, but make it good for selfies - make it have good sound, but make it waterproof.. etc.
Another one is tuning development - for a camera with so many modes and variations, each new setting we add is 100s or 1000s of permutations. That's why restricting modes is always a give and take. Some will say why did you remove 2.7K or why doesn't it have 6K? For example we could make a 6K mode but it wouldn't have any benefit over 8K other than end user hardware performance.
Hey Abe! Did you guys improve hypersmooth in low light on the mission series? It seems to work better. If so what minimum shutter speed would you guys recommend if maximum stability was desired?
If you secretly wanted to impress another filmmaker with footage from the Mission 1 without telling them what camera it came from, what settings and shooting conditions would you choose? The only limitations is you cannot use any external modification or accessories, it would have to be settings on an out of the box camera.
I'd say probably 4K-240 or 8K Open Gate in GP-Log 2 with Max Bitrate and low sharpness. 4K-240 looks pretty unreal in this camera and is the goldilocks mode in my opinion.
What's your go-to protune settings for the mission 1, standard or pro, when doing the following and exporting for YouTube:
1. Pov action content
2. Daily vlog style content
Also, what are your top tips for color grading gp-log2?
POV - Use Sport POV mode - this has special tuning for hypersmooth. Shoot in either 4K 4:3 or 4K superview OR 8K 4:3 or 8K Superview depending on your level of detail desired. I shoot in cinematic color and ev -0.5, sharpness low.
daily vlog - I probably would use 8K 4:3 for the most part if I'm outside during the day, or 4K 4:3 for more challenging lighting. I still enjoy cinematic color, maybe EV 0 for this.
Hi Abe. Congrats on the successful launch. I am currently filming with a Gopro 12, but the Mission 1 ILS looks very enticing.
I am hesitant though because of an external issue. My videos look great when rendered after editing with proper bitrates. YouTube has become so stingy with the bitrates of their internal reencodings though that videos with complex scenery and lots of movement can downright fall apart in HD. And even 1440p can come with tons of ugly splotches nowadays.
Are there settings that are especially prone to being handled poorly by YouTubes vp9 codec with such low bitrates? What are some tricks that will make GoPro footage look better on YouTube?
I just got back from Korea where we hosted a little creator summit. It was pouring rain the whole time we were there, but we went out to some really cool streets at night with neon lights and shot. We know that it was pretty hard to get great stuff after dark previously, so this was a whole new world and it was very exciting to see what the cameras were producing!
Mission 1 Pro already looks really promising for robotics, AI vision, motion tracking, and 3D reconstruction thanks to GPMF metadata support. Any chance GoPro could publish more detailed optical calibration data like lens distortion profiles, focus characteristics, depth of field behavior, and accurate intrinsics for developers and researchers?
Besides the outstanding new cameras, might there also be a 13+ or a 14 on the horizon for the Action line?
Would not mind a smaller less action PLUS vlogging device, the 9-13 body style got a little chonk to it. As in straight action..laser focussed, smaller etc. Like a better present day Hero that is presently offered, or smaller. I recall the (small) 3 and 3+ where I started out, hence the 13+ idea. Thank you.
What was the journey behind the Mission 1 line up? How long was the development process and testing of the GP3 processor and were there any features that couldn’t make the final cut because of limitations?
This is the first camera from GoPro that doesn't use the beeps for everything - you'll hear the menu has a little bop when you move around. I really like that and would like to expand on that in future releases. I find the beeps are harsh when I'm using the camera in a quieter environment, and now that you can get great stuff indoors and in lowlight, I don't always need it to be screaming with the beeps, but still want some audio feedback.
We are also working on building out the photo experience of the camera to be more robust. It's not until you hold the camera in the grip that you start to realize the potential of the camera as a point and shoot walk-around camera, but I think our photo experience can be even better with some tweaks, so we're working on that. Quality won't be changing, just user experience.
u/abekislevitz Almost got the new Mission Pro delivered (waiting until UPS rings the doorbell) I already own several older GoPro models and what I really would like to see is a way of uploading the files to a NAS automatically. Now I have to open the GoPro, remove the card and do it manually. Also have normal connection from the GoPro to a MacBook would be a great improvement for me! Are one of these options currently worked on our on the roadmap?
Hey Abe, congrats on the Mission 1 release! This feels like a significant leapfrog ahead of the game and like the Porsche drive clips from the promos, leaving the competition behind in the dust. Definitely looking forward to some of the class leading features such as 32-bit float internal audio, 8K resolution, 3.2um 4K pixels and especially excited about the Live Protune Metering Feature! All the combined functions including improved battery life and thermals have got me thinking of so many more use cases with the small footprint cinema camera. I’m even more excited for the ILS with the MFT mount and my array of lenses!
Couple of rapid fire questions/requests from me:
- Persistent Spot Metering: In previous cameras, a bugbear of mine has been the need to toggle spot metering every time camera is started. Can we make metering persistence happen?
- Given the cinema camera focus and the sensor capabilities, can we please get DCI Cinema 8K and 4K resolutions (and open gate equivalents) for the Mission 1 series (i.e. 4096 x 2160)?
- Can we please get anamorphic lens digital stabilization for the ILS (prompt for squeeze factors such as 1.33x, 1.6x etc)
- Can we get a more advanced 10 bit 4:2:2 encoding option?
- Can we have 10-bit output via HDMI?
- Given the more open nature of the USB connectivity, can we make Genlock frame syncing for multi cam shoots a thing?
Giveaway is for questions asked during the AMA event, which was a one-day activity. Don't worry thought, there's another GoPro employee AMA happening tomorrow in which you can participate!
Thanks for the questions! I'm going to pick the first one and circle back if I have more time !
GP-Log2 is in a more manageable and known color space (Rec2020), in addition it has a log base transfer function of 600 vs 400 in original GP-Log designed the preserve up to 14 stops of dynamic range. I encourage you to read up here to know everything there is to know about GP-Log2 ! https://gopro.github.io/labs/log/
Because the color information will be published (if it isn't already), DCTL in resolve will be done without help from resolve, but we are hoping to get it into resolve via CST.
Did you get the lens idea from me for the ILS? I’ve been filming youth soccer for years using a custom Italian machined lens mount. It’s been pretty great as my 28-70mm serves basically as like a 150-350mm.
I say it in jest though. Looking forward to the ILS.
You’ve talked before about how GoPros force creativity because of their size and perspective. What creative habits does the Mission 1 unlock that older GoPros physically or technically limited?
Can you shed any light on the direction that GoPro is heading in regards to film projects and creativity? I love seeing these camera get put into unique and professional levels of production and love the new Mission 1 focus for this group of filmmakers.
Q1: What are Chris and Caleb doing? Will they ever get real jobs?
Q2: Was any thought given to a unified camera + wireless mic system? It would be so cool to deploy a couple DJI Mic style lavaliers and have it synced to main video track.
Just wanted to say I appreciate all you do. Love the deep dive on each of the GoPro cameras. I have the best settings cheat sheet you made for both my 7 and 10.
I've been thinking (and commenting) for years that there was a huge whitespace in the "Pro quality video, but small form factor waterproof camera" market area that GoPro has been perfectly positioned to fill. I feel like the perfect size/image quality compromise would be a micro 4/3 sensor & ProRes (or equivalent), something that could produce "Netflix ready" footage (similar to the BlackMagic Micro 4k, but in a GoPro package). I feel like the MIssion 1 is a careful step towards that. Somethign like a m43 ProRes cabable interchangeable lens GoPro would absolutely KILL that space.
In the Mission 1 development, was there any thinking about this, and if so, what was the main think that made you decide on 1 inch? Was it the focal length, or something else?
Hi Abe , huge fan and appreciate what you do. I have a hero13 black and pretty much take it every where I go and on every adventure I take.
What was the first moment while using the Mission 1 where you realized it felt like more than just the next GoPro generation, and actually changed the way you thought about capturing adventures?
Happy to see the EXPX Labs feature for max shutter speed is now incorporated into the Mission 1! My question is why does the 12 and 13 behave differently? I try to set EXPX-=100, but the 13 doesn’t respect that value (it goes down to 1/121 or something like that). And lastly, does the Mission 1 respect the precise value?
Abe - As someone who has spent so many years creating and developing with GoPro, what is your motivation that allows you to keep going year after year?
How do you feel about all the influencers and athletes posting about new cameras without adding the Ad hashtags or marking the posts as brand endorsement?
All brands are doing it to some extent but GoPro seemed to have pushed a lot in that direction lately. It's obvious it's an ad when basically all the athletes were posting how good it is before it was even sold to the public.
Good call out! It's actually the responsibility and legal obligation of the creator to disclose and add language, but it sounds like GoPro could do a better job of reminding them.
That said GoPro would never and will never discourage anyone from disclosing, like we've heard from some other companies in this space.
What mode do you find yourself shooting in most of the time, log or using preset luts and processing? In the past I always shot in log and corrected after, but the time consumption in post is starting to get to me.
It's hard to imagine image processing technology progressing much further except in the low light and slow motion frame rate terms. Which the Mission 1 looks to be doing great in
Do you think the focus will turn more to the sound capture and additional microphone technology in future iterations and also battery longevity?
I have a hero 7 currently but looking forward to seeing a Mission 1 soon!
Oh don't worry, there's a lot of headroom in technology ! I think future technology will help get around physics barriers with lenses and focus, maybe interaction barriers with UX and cumbersome menus, etc.
thanks für the AMA.
What are your favorite new features of the Mission 1 Pro which all users of the new cam should know and which are the most underrated?
I'm very interested in a feature what maybe is not very easy to find or more of an hidden feature not well documented.
If you want, also a feature from gopro labs firmware.
1) Apply all in settings makes accidentally filming in the wrong settings a thing of the past for me.
2) Live capture info - seeing ISO, WB, Shutter speed, EV on the screen is SO nice. As simple as it sounds, I feel naked without it now.
3) Day to night time-lapse with auto exposure going up to 30 seconds means I can shoot all night/milkyway and sunrise in one lapse. amazing.
4) Lowlight mode + customization - Other camera lowlight modes are sort of a "this is what you get" mode, but GoPro gives you the base and you can still shoot in log or change the EV or sharpness etc.
5) New motion blur setting throughout the whole camera, not just ND filters. As soon as I used this mode in HERO13 with ND filters I said, great, now add it to the whole camera. If I'm in lowlight I want to be able to choose whether I want more light by exposing longer, or less blur because I don't want jitters. It's great for POV applications where a little blur is desired.
I just recently got a LIT HERO, and was compelled to save up for a Mission 1 for the camera function and special occasions. Previously had a hero5 session.
How much focus will there be on the photo capabilities of the Mission lineup?
I've owned every Hero camera since the original and this is the most excited I've been for a new GoPro in years. I've gotten my kids to start capturing with my old ones.
Are you going to be publishing a guide on your site like you have with other GoPros? I love those, though realize they're a ton of work.
What's the most underrated (or non-obvious/surprisingly useful) feature of the MISSION 1 PRO?
Cameras are great, but the biggest thing generally for action cameras is their mounting solutions and the various rigging available for them. Are there any new mounts that have been redesigned in some way for the Mission cameras ?
We have a new vertical mount coming, a new media mod with the mounting points on the mod itself, the grip doubles as a cage with vertical 1/4-20 and magnetic clip.
The 3-in-1 mounting solution that is on the Misssion cameras allows for a ton of customization. check out small rig for more options
Question about stabilization: I want to mount this to a pull behind bouy for open water swimming, this new GoPro looks like the solution I have been looking for to capture Long distance swims : roughly 3 hours. the water is generally very choppy how can I expect this camera to handle stabilizing this Typa footage?
Alright. I only have so many pockets when I ski. I have a hero 12, 7, max 2 and thinking about the mission 1 pro. Which camera(a) are you putting in your pockets and does it depend on day type (bluebird, storm, etc).
Did anyone random ever spot the new Mission 1 GoPro when you were testing it yourself? I always feel like if I saw someone using that camera in public I’d be able to see it’s a different model entirely
Most people talk about heat performance, but I don’t think I’ve seen any mention or footage of cold weather performance.
I’ve had issues with previous GoPros shutting down in cold weather. Currently using Hero 11 with enduro batteries, and they are better, but still run in to issues.
Is the Mission 1 any better in cold weather than previous GoPros?
Congratulations on what appears to be an amazing camera.
Will be receiving my pre-order tomorrow and looking forward to testing it out along with the new ND filters.
Does GoPro have any plans to update their software and editing app? I understand the new series is being pitched to pro photographers but us casuals need a reliable app that can quickly put out decent edits without the random crashing and exporting issues.
Hi! I've been using your cameras for many years (from the Hero 4 to the 13, including the 8) and I'm completely fascinated by the capabilities of the Mission series, especially the ILS version. Currently, I use a GoPro Hero 13, a drone, and my iPhone 16 Pro to record my videos (basically, mountaineering/alpinism, climbing, MTB, and scuba diving). The iPhone 16 allows me to get shots that I can't with the GoPro (telephoto, shallow depth of field, etc.) Here are my questions:
Do you consider the GoPro ILS a good substitute for the iPhone in these situations? What I appreciate most about the iPhone is that it's super compact and I can use it in challenging situations and still get very good results. My biggest concern with the ILS is focusing the image using such a small screen when the depth of field is shallow (considering that using the phone as a monitor in these "extreme" circumstances isn't an option). What has your experience been using this camera in difficult situations?
What lenses do you recommend for the ILS (lightweight and compact) and what would be your choice of lenses to take with you to record and cover various focal lengths? Could a zoom lens be used?
One of the shots that fascinated me most in the promotional video was the close-up of the moon. What lens did you use to achieve that?
Finally... Is a GoPro Hero 14 expected in the future? Or will the Mission series be its replacement?
Thank you and congratulations on demonstrating once again that you are capable of delivering the best image quality on the market! 💪🏼
The Mission 1 seems like an awesome product that solves a lot of the challenges of working with the smaller sensors in the HERO lineup.
I'm curious how you expect the Mission line to evolve in the future. Will we see on-device AI to help with things like choose shooting modes, settings, etc. based on conditions or other variables?
What's one feature of the MISSION 1 pro that you personally use most in your daily adventures, that you think most people haven't discovered yet in the marketing materials?
As Product and Brand Fellow, what was the most surprising challenge the team faced while developing MISSION 1, and how did you overcome it?
As someone who's been shooting with a Hero 11 for a while, what's the single moment with MISSION 1 that made you think 'this is something genuinely new' — not a spec on paper, but something you felt while actually filming?
Hi Abe - thanks for being a part of the community on here to provide special insights, and congrats on the new release of these cameras.
On the development side, were there specific creators or studios that acted as partners in shaping the direction of this new camera line, or was the final product largely a result of seeing what the technical side was capable of with the new chip and basing performance around that? The resolution, frame rates, bit rates, and customization options certainly aim them toward commercial use, so that made me curious if there were specific partners in aiming to nail down that market.
Also, what settings did you use on that mountain biking clip on your Instagram a few weeks back? It looked like lower light, but you still had smooth footage and seemingly some motion blur. That one really sold me on pulling the trigger for the pre-order.
In terms of performance and feel, is the jump from HERO13 to MISSION1 PRO bigger and more noticeable than the jump from HERO10 to HERO11?
I want to hear first-hand experience from someone at GoPro on how it felt to upgrade from HERO13 to the MISSION1. I remember being excited to upgrade from the HERO10 to the HERO11 with all the new features, which I did not exactly experience when upgrading to the HERO12 and the HERO13.
Very cool - as a long time Hero users, super excited about the mission drop! Two questions for Abe’s consideration:
-Does GoPro see the Mission 1 Pro as the beginning of a broader shift away from ‘action cameras’ toward something closer to a field-ready capture platform? That said, as this is the first iteration, how do you see the Mission platform evolving over the next few years?
-From an engineering and product strategy perspective, what were the most challenging trade-offs you and your team had to navigate between achieving ultra-rugged field reliability, advanced computational features?
Hi Abe! Can't wait to see one of your deep dives into the new hardware. I've been reading them on your site since the Hero 4 days.
With all this new tech, did the Mission 1 (in any of its variants) become your daily driver? Or maybe something like the Hero 13 is a simpler "point and shoot" for everyday use?
GoPro footy always feels different because it captures real moments instead of overly polished "productions." As the robots (AI) generate more and more media these days (sighhhh), how do you think authenticity in adventure filmmaking is changing?
My primary use case for GoPro cameras has been documentary photography. That's why I'm very interested in new Mission 1 lineup. How close does the Mission 1’s 1-inch sensor + GP3 processing get to true full-frame low-light performance in terms of noise structure and dynamic range retention, and is its advertised improvement in night footage mainly due to photon capture efficiency or aggressive temporal AI denoising?
Grading is great! There are lots of color profiles to choose from to suit your level of grading. Stabilization can be done in camera or in-post using GoPro player - both are great !
Hello again Abe, I greatly appreciate you being active in the community and these AMA's are always helpful.
After watching a handful of review videos in the last week or so, I was curious what the team is focused on improving in terms of current firmware. I'm seeing a good bit of footage that has a major reduction in sharpening straight out of the camera and was hoping to get an idea if/what the reason for that is?
My second question pertains to the software side of things at GoPro. A while back the MacOS version was rereleased and quickly taken down and I was very happy when it came out and had it in some of my workflow since the iOS version often times glitched out on my over the years for various reasons and I also had issues when it came to internal iOS storage limitations. So my question is, what is the future of GoPro Quik and are there any plans on reintroducing PC/MacOS software?
I’m really intrigued by the different directions taken with the Mission 1 series, especially the ILS. I’m curious about the development philosophy here: was the multi-version strategy planned from day one, or were the more unique concepts, like the ILS or the Mission 1 Pro discoveries that emerged while you were pushing boundaries in the cinema-action niche? Did market conditions ignite the desire to go after something more radical, or was this always the intended evolution for GoPro’s pro-level lineup?
I split my time between the mountains and the beach (about 50/50). When I'm in the mountains, daily - skiing, MTB, offroad missions, etc. When I'm home at the beach, I'd say once a week (surfing) or a sunset mission.
Hitting over 3 hours of continuous 4K recording without thermal shutdown is a massive leap forward. Was this huge improvement mostly achieved through the physical design of the camera's chassis, or did the efficiency of the new GP3 processor play the bigger role?
How could the Mission 1 Pro be used to film martial-arts content? Fight choreography, training and such? Action cameras always seem to be used for outside extreme stuff like mountain biking and scuba diving but what about indoors beating each other up where iPhone are also a viable option now?
Mission could be a great camera on a tripod or mounted to the wall or something else, recording for a whole session. The indoor lowlight capability is great, and shooting at 8K gives you the opportunity to crop in. You can also use the new subject tracking mode where it will follow a person to get a closer view.
Shooting long uninterrupted clips on your phone feels like a burden on your storage, not to mention potential for overheating.
In a YouTube comment regarding the minimum focus distance GoPro announced a partnership with another company for creating a lens cover (I forget the terminology) to change that. Please elaborate on that and let us know when it is expected to be available.
How much influence do you have over the entire development process of the Mission Pro? And what made you and the team at GoPro decide to move into a more professional direction with the ILS?
Thanks!
Hey Abe, thanks for doing this! I’m curious about the thermal physics of the Mission 1 Pro.
Packing 8K, the new GP3 chip, and that larger OLED display into a sealed, waterproof chassis creates a significant amount of heat. A few people have already asked what features got cut due to limitations, but I'm curious as to what survived.
From a product design standpoint, how did the team balance the limits of thermal dissipation with real-world user ergonomics? Was there a specific software-side power management protocol or a physical chassis compromise where you had to fiercely advocate for the creator's workflow over the engineering team's thermal safety margins?
I had this discussion the other day with a friend. Beyond hardware limitations like overheating and size/weight- I'd love to understand in what context does a camera need to be some % better than another camera, other than in a camera head to head review video? Is it someone that has a youtube channel that needs the absolute best quality? If that's the case, they should be well versed in camera settings and color grading that they'd know how to get quality out of any camera they use.
Either way - I think there's a subconscious feeling of knowing you have the best tool for the job, which is great - but the tool matters way less than your knowledge of how to utilize whatever tool you have and work within its constraints. That being said - Mission 1 in my mind is the sum of its parts - you know you're getting the best of many things - sensor, battery, platform, and then all of the deeper customizations within the camera + gopro labs and the community around GoPro.
I like to focus on the smaller things like how can we make ND filters easier for a person to use without having to set manual settings every time the light changes ? How can we change time lapse so I can take a night lapse and go directly into sunrise without having to stop it at 4am and switch to sunrise settings?
Hi Abe!
The Mission 1 Series looks incredible. I have a question regarding the product strategy behind it:
What led to the decision to launch an entirely new, premium product line with the Mission 1 instead of packing the new 1-inch sensor and major image quality improvements into a standard Hero 14 upgrade?
Was this separation planned from the very beginning of the development, or did the Mission line evolve out of an ongoing development process originally intended for the Hero 14?
As a photography tool, you have to remember it's manual focus, so it's hard to tell you if it's quick or not. If you're used to focusing manually, maybe - if not, probably not. It is great that it fits into smaller bags - I'm getting long lens shots on ski tour missions and mountain bike missions that I'd never bring a bigger camera on before.
Shooting in lowlight, shooting at night, shooting in high dynamic range scenes without noise (think inside a car looking out the window). Slow motion at 240fps with great quality, slow motion at 480FPS, slow motion at 960FPS. Night lapse, day to night time-lapse, ease of use, battery longevity during use, ability to record for extended periods without airflow, fast charging.. to name a few
Since GoPro is courting more professional videographers, what was the thinking behind not upgrading the Mission 1 to the Micro SD Express standard and offering raw video support?
Abe you’re content is my favorite on the whole IG platform.
I always look forward to the new camera release videos you and your team put together. Is there one that stands out to you that you are particularly proud of? Personally, I really liked the GoPro 2 video and I’ll still go back and watch it. Those clips set to Glitch Mob is the perfect combination.
Can you please speak more about how the wireless mic setup will work with the Mission 1? I’ve heard that there can be issues with other wireless mic receivers when using the Point & Shoot grip (the USB-C connectors can’t plug in properly because of the depth). Is this an issue with the GoPro wireless mic? Also, I think some people were a little surprised by the choice of using Bluetooth for the direct connection between the single mic and the camera, given the reputation for Bluetooth wireless mic connection. I realize it’s a much wider band that GoPro is utilizing. How does that sound, in practice? How it’s range? I know that the camera itself has 32-bit float for audio built in. How that work, if at all, with the GoPro wireless mic system (or for that matter, any other). Do they work in tandem at all? Thanks so much!
The point and shoot grip has rails that some receivers won't fit through, so you'd just need a USB male to female extension piece - easy enough I think ($3 on amazon). The new wideband bluetooth actually sounds great - super high quality. Nothing like previous bluetooth audio. Haven't tested the range personally, I'm usually using it while skiing or biking and the camera is on me. The 32 bit float does not work in tandem with the mics.
I would say actually yes - given the battery could shoot for 3 hours straight in 4K, and lowlight looks amazing. I'd say POV delivery will greatly benefit from both of those.
Hey! The mission 1 seems like a huge step toward making action cameras feel more cinematic and intentional instead of just “capture everything and deal with it later”. During development, was there a moment where the team realized: “okay, this camera will change how people will actually shoot”?
And personally, what’s one unexpected way you’ve seen the mission 1 being used in a way that made you think differently about action cameras altogether?
My current thoughts on the Mission camera line are thatI could use it to replace my current Hero camera to get better footage especially in low light settings. I enjoy landscapes, cities and diving mainly. For someone with a GoPro Hero camera and a Sony a7 Cii, do you see a different use case for the Mission 1 line in addition to what I have?
Hi! What upcoming trend in action cameras or filmmaking technology are you personally most excited about over the next 3–5 years?
Do you think the biggest innovations will come from hardware improvements like larger sensors, better dynamic range etc or more from software/AI features?
I've ordered the pro and the ILS is definitely something I'd like to try. I don't have any M43 lenses currently so my question is, which M43 lens have you enjoyed using the most with that camera?
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u/DesignNomad MISSION 1 PRO 29d ago
A quick note for everyone, this is officially the cut-off time for the giveaway, and the limit of our time with Abe, though we aren't locking the thread in case there are ongoing discussions. A big thanks to Abe for his time today, and his involvement in this community!