After creating, conquering and eventually being crowded out of the action camera genre, American manufacturer GoPro is pivoting to professional quality equipment. The newly announced Mission 1 is an ultra-compact cinema camera that promises to deliver professional quality 8K and 4K footage in a tiny form factor.
GoPro Mission 1 PRO Grip Edition cinema camera
Modestly described as the ‘World’s Smallest, Lightest, Most Rugged Cinema Cameras Designed for Any Mission’, the Mission 1 range certainly has the specifications. A 50M 1-inch sensor delivers excellent low-light performance (always a criticism of GoPro’s action cameras). There are three models, the Mission 1 PRO, Mission 1 PRO ILS, which offers an adapter for the Micro Four Thirds lens system, and the entry-level Mission 1, which has slightly degraded performance.
GoPro Mission 1 PRO ILS with a Four Thirds lens mount
By opening up the GoPro system to third party lens systems, the benefits of the fast new GP3 processor and large sensor can be applied to different situations. Other specifications will be familiar to GoPro users, such as the high rates of slow-motion shooting.
In fact, the Mission 1 Pro can run at an incredible 960 frames per second for up to ten seconds, equivalent to 32X Slo-mo. The 1 Pro and 1 Pro ILS can shoot 8K video in 16:9 format at up to 60 frames per second. Support for Open Gate Video in 4:3 – allowing for cropping in post production – is also available.
GoPro Mission 1 PRO and PRO ILS cameras
These are also rugged, durable devices, capable of performing in tough environments. Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro are also waterproof to up to 20m without the need for an additional housing. A new Enduro 2 Battery can run for up to five hours (or three hours of 4K video).
Naturally there is also a pro-level audio system, with four microphones and clipping-free 32-Bit Flat audio. Onboard Bluetooth 5.3 allows for additional devices to be connected.
The optional Microphone Kit for the Mission 1 cameras
For simplicity’s sake, the Mission 1 system offers 13 pre-tuned capture modes, ranging for underwater photography to image stabilisation and a special Vlog mode with automatic face-framing. As a camera, the Mission 1 can capture in RAW, with a 60fps burst mode. A larger rear OLED display is combined with more distinctive, prominent buttons for ease of use.
GoPro Mission 1 PRO camera
GoPro is offering the Mission 1 in a number of different editions, including the 1 Pro Grip Edition, 1 Pro Creator Edition (with a separate wireless microphone kit) and the 1 Pro Ultimate Creator Edition which includes the microphones, a portable lighting kit and GoPro’s Fluid Pro AI gimbal mount for a complete image stabilisation system.
The new GoPro Mission 1 family
With the Mission 1 Pro ILS, GoPro has created a mirrorless camera in a tiny form factor, capable of everything from street photography to grand cinematic visions.
‘Our most demanding, pro-minded customers have asked us for years to make this very line of cameras, and we’ve finally delivered,’ says GoPro’s founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman, ‘The Mission 1 Series is designed to go to hell and back, and that’s exactly where our customers are going to take them. The footage is going to look amazing.’