GoPro Mission 1 Pro Review: The Best Action Camera You Can Buy

Large, 1-inch sensor with 8K video. Excellent slow-motion capabilities. Solid low-light performance. USB audio support. Footage has a much cinematic look than different enactment cameras. Fast charging with amended artillery life.

Slightly heavier than different cameras. No built-in storage.

GoPro shook up the enactment camera satellite earlier this year, announcing the Mission 1 bid of cameras, offering 8K video and the biggest representation sensor you tin get successful an enactment camera. The Mission 1 bid is present here, and aft spending respective months shooting with it connected bikes, paddleboards, sailboats, zip lines, and more, I tin accidental with assurance that this is the champion enactment camera you tin buy.

The Mission 1 Pro offers sharp, wide 8K footage with class-leading color-accurate video, fantabulous dynamic range, and large low-light show (a spot wherever different GoPro's person struggled). And they're each spot arsenic waterproof, durable, and susceptible arsenic you'd expect from a GoPro. The downside is that the $699 terms besides makes this the astir costly enactment camera you tin buy, meaning it's not needfully the GoPro for everyone.

A Pro-Level GoPro

Anyone who has ever tuned successful for a GoPro net telephone (could beryllium conscionable me) knows that GoPro has agelong wanted to marque a camera aimed astatine cinema professionals. That's what the Mission 1 bid is—it's the Hero camera but with video prime that tin beryllium mixed with cinema-level cameras. There are 3 Mission 1 cameras, the introduction level Mission 1, the somewhat amended Mission 1 Pro, and the Mission 1 Pro ILS, which uses interchangeable lenses based connected the Micro Four Thirds mount. The ILS is the exemplary that pro filmmakers volition astir apt beryllium astir drawn to, portion the different 2 cameras, portion inactive chock-full of features for pros, volition entreaty to the archetypal GoPro audience—those of america looking for a pugnacious camera that tin withstand conscionable astir immoderate adventure.

The ILS exemplary hasn't been released, but some the Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro are disposable today. I've been investigating the second for respective months. The differences betwixt the Pro and non-Pro models are minimal, mostly successful presumption of framework rates that are disposable to each. Generally speaking the Pro tin sprout higher framework rates and is amended for slow-motion footage.

The archetypal happening that jumped retired astatine maine connected unboxing the Mission 1 Pro is that it's precise astir the aforesaid size arsenic the Hero 13. I was expecting the larger sensor to necessitate much space, and it is wider owed to the enlarged lens housing, but different the Mission 1 Pro is astir precisely the aforesaid size arsenic the Hero 13.

The Mission 1 Pro is inactive precise overmuch a GoPro and sat good connected each the mounts I usually trial enactment cameras with. It is heavier, and that value feels much to the beforehand acknowledgment to the larger lens housing, but the lone clip I noticed this was erstwhile mounting connected a helmet.

The different important plan quality from the Hero 13 is the overmuch larger buttons. They are raised up higher and easier to press, making the Mission 1 Pro the archetypal GoPro I've utilized that's conscionable arsenic casual to usage portion wearing gloves oregon adjacent mittens.

The exterior of the camera whitethorn amusement its GoPro DNA, but the internals of the Mission 1 Pro are dissimilar immoderate enactment camera that's travel before. There are 2 large upgrades inside, the archetypal being the caller Type 1 50-megapixel sensor. Note that immoderate radical notation to this a 1"-type sensor, but there's thing astir the sensor that's 1 inch, truthful we're utilizing the sanction Type 1 sensor. A Type 1 sensor is 13.2 x 8.8 mm, which, portion rather a spot bigger than thing other successful an enactment camera, is decidedly not physically 1 inch successful immoderate dimension. With that disorder retired of the way, it is simply a large sensor, and it yields overmuch higher-quality video than I've ever seen from an enactment camera.

The larger sensor country allows for 8K video seizure astatine up to 60 fps. It's really a small spot bigger than 8K, due to the fact that that 8K footage is inactive 8K adjacent with HyperSmooth stabilization turned on. (HyperSmooth makes astir a 10 percent crop.) The sensor tin adjacent bash 4:3 unfastened gross seizure astatine up to 8K 30 fps, which is arsenic precocious (even higher) than what immoderate mirrorless cameras are susceptible of shooting.

I americium tempted to accidental that precise fewer of america request 8K footage. You mightiness person had the aforesaid thought. But 8K allows you to harvest and zoom successful significantly, portion retaining the quality to export 4K video. This is particularly existent with the GoPro's precise wide, 156 grade tract of presumption (146 with HyperSmooth on). Even if you person nary plans to ever export thing arsenic 8K, the quality to harvest successful station makes the Mission 1 Pro a much almighty camera than astir enactment cams.

Interestingly, determination is nary 5.3K video enactment similar you find successful the Hero 13 Black. The Mission 1 Pro does 8K, 4K, 1080p, and 1440p if you sprout successful 4:3. I recovered that I did benignant of miss the 5.3K due to the fact that I seldom needed each 8K (which makes for immense files), but person go accustomed to having much than 4K. I should besides enactment that the ratio options person changed to 16:9, 9:16, and 4:3, determination is 8:7 arsenic successful the Hero 13 Black.

Along with the higher resolution, you get overmuch amended slow-motion video successful the Mission 1 Pro, which tin sprout 4K astatine 240 fps and 1080p astatine a staggering 960 fps. Shooting astatine 960 fps allows for immoderate singular footage that inactive looks precise good, and plentifulness crisp capable for YouTube and web video. The catch, due to the fact that you knew determination was one, is that you tin lone sprout 10 2nd bursts astatine this framework rate.

The 2nd large upgrade wrong the Mission 1 Pro is the GP3 processor, which is liable for galore of the video and representation improvements, including the caller debased airy modes, precocious framework rates, and in-camera taxable tracking.

There's besides the caller GP-Log2 signaling option. This is the 2nd mentation of GoPro's log format and it's considerably amended successful my experience. Getting excessively successful extent connected log signaling is beyond the scope present (GoPro has a large overview of the GP-Log2 format), but overmuch of the powerfulness of the Mission 1 Pro lies successful shooting log. More connected that below. At the aforesaid time, the default colour illustration remains excellent, with by acold the astir earthy looking colour rendering successful each the enactment cameras I've tested. I similar the Mission 1 Pro implicit the Hero 13 successful this regard, though the quality is subtle. All of which is to say, if you don't privation to sprout log and colour people successful post, you don't person to.

What’s Great About the Mission 1 Pro

High connected my database of reasons to bargain the Mission 1 Pro is the caller slow-motion capabilities. Not lone tin you sprout 4K video astatine 240 fps, but you tin usage the 2X zoom portion doing it, which opens up shooting possibilities nary different GoPro tin match. What I truly similar is that the resulting slow-motion footage does not person that "action camera" look. It looks similar it was changeable with a "real" camera.

Also precocious connected database of reasons to bargain the Mission 1 Pro is that, successful my experience, erstwhile decently colour graded, footage from the Mission 1 Pro pairs seamlessly with footage from immoderate different camera. This is particularly existent successful bully light, but wide the look of footage is leaps and bounds beyond the Hero 13. Some operation of the bigger sensor, amended lens, 10-bit GP-Log2, and higher spot complaint leads to much cinematic looking footage than I've seen coming retired of an enactment camera.

Other large improvements see enactment for accelerated charging. You tin get to 80 percent successful astir 20 minutes, afloat charged successful conscionable implicit 30 minutes. Battery beingness is large too, I managed astir 3 hours shooting 4K 24fps. I was besides impressed to spot that the artillery itself, portion bigger, is backwards compatible with the Hero 13 and vice versa, which is simply a bully interaction if you hap to person rather a fewer other batteries lying astir (and let's beryllium honest, what GoPro idiosyncratic doesn't).

The debased airy show is besides a highlight. I don't request a camera that sees successful the dark, but it's bully to beryllium capable to sprout successful twilight and get usable results. For each the ballyhoo astir however atrocious debased airy show is successful older GoPros, I ne'er recovered it each that limiting, but if you did, the Mission 1 Pro is your camera. I'm blessed to study that GoPro has exercised sizeable restraint with the caller Low Light mode, determination is nary of the dense processing and weird artifacts that often plague low-light modes.

Out of the container with the default colour illustration the Low Light mode successful the Mission 1 Pro astir intimately matches with you get from the Insta360 Ace Pro 2, which is truly solid. But don't hide that the existent powerfulness of the Mission 1 Pro comes from shooting GP-Log. When you bash that successful debased light, and past colour people yourself, the results are amended than immoderate different enactment camera I've tried. My 1 gripe is that you can't power sound simplification successful Low Light mode.

There's mode excessively overmuch to screen successful a abbreviated reappraisal similar this, but it's worthy saying that audio is improved, with much mics, the rear surface is somewhat bigger, and the settings menus are much extended and easier to customize. It's besides worthy calling retired that GoPro Lab has alternate firmware for the Mission 1 Pro, which enables rather a fewer absorbing features, including up to 300 Mbps video.

What’s Not So Great

To get the astir retired of the Mission 1 Pro you're going to privation to station process your video. It needs to beryllium edited and colour graded to propulsion the astir worth retired of what you tin sprout with the Mission 1 Pro. This makes cleanable consciousness fixed that it's partially aimed astatine pro filmmakers who are people going to edit and colour people their footage. If you spell this route, you volition extremity up with amended looking movies than what you'll get from immoderate different enactment camera. The downside is that this is simply a batch of work. I've joked successful rather a fewer WIRED guides that I person a monolithic magnitude of video footage sitting connected hard drives waiting for maine to edit it. I truly do, and I inactive haven't got astir to editing it.

Editing video is clip consuming, and if you aren't determined to bash it, you're amended disconnected with the Hero 13, which produces beauteous good-looking (if somewhat oversharpened) video retired of the box. Can you get the aforesaid look from the Mission 1 Pro? Sure, but past you're not utilizing the happening you paid for, namely pro-level features similar GP-Log, little amounts of sharpening, and truthful on.

Occasional jitters successful debased airy mode. If you sprout successful precise debased light, good past bluish hour, you whitethorn spot immoderate jitters successful lights and highlights arsenic an artifact of HyperSmooth. It's hard to responsibility GoPro present due to the fact that determination are limits to what an onboard processor tin do. There's besides an evident solution to this: Turn disconnected HyperSmooth and usage a gimbal.

It is heavier. I bring this up due to the fact that idiosyncratic volition astir apt beryllium bothered by this. Personally, I didn't announcement it.

Should You Buy It?

You don't need the Mission 1 Pro to marque large videos. Go look astatine GoPro Creative Director Abe Kislevitz's YouTube channel, particularly this video, which was changeable years agone connected a GoPro 9, and is leaps and bounds amended than what astir of america are going to marque with a Mission 1 Pro. What you request to marque amended videos are skills that travel from practice, not caller cameras.

That disclaimer retired of the way, if you privation the champion enactment camera connected the market, this is perfectly it. The Mission 1 Pro blows each different enactment camera retired of the h2o and volition present footage that nary different enactment camera tin match. If you person the other wealth I would get the Mission 1 Pro implicit the non-Pro mentation for the amended slow-motion capabilities, but if you don't request that past the non-Pro mentation saves you a spot of money.

If you're a pro, you mightiness privation to clasp retired for the ILS exemplary with the interchangeable lens, which is coming aboriginal this year. While it sacrifices immoderate of what makes an enactment camera an enactment camera, it could perchance beryllium adjacent much useful.