Pre-release footage from GoPro Quadcopter

Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
you guys are assuming that GoPro isn't capable of taking another significant evolutionary step between now and then and that they can't outgrow their "GoPro" imaging standards. but maybe they'll be trying to undercut DJI Phantom with an even more evolved consumer grade "drone" at a lower price in which case the imaging might be sub-gopro but i think that market is too saturated already (though not with anything that really grabs you and makes you want to buy it). gopro is a public company though so don't expect them to sell a product that won't be capable of large volume sales.
there's still room to evolve the "drone" concept into something even more user friendly and prices have been coming down so anything's possible.
just kind of thinking out loud here, they're a pretty capable company with an understanding of tech/social/buzz so i'd expect them to try for something spectacular rather than just another player in a crowded market.
 


econfly

econfly

Member
I think the consumer space is going to really explode assuming government doesn't completely screw it up.

Look at the camera market. What we have learned in recent years is that just about everyone prefers convenience over image quality. Photo nerds (myself included) get all excited about the new Sony A7 cameras or Canon's 5Ds, but the public is out there oblivious to these things, nowhere near willing to pay thousands just for a camera, and very happily snapping shots with their phone. There is a segment that wants increased quality, but they are buying RX-100s or the like.

Then look at what people photograph: Primarily, themselves. We may really care whether a system is using frequencies with range, but most people won't care if their drone can work a kilometer out when they really want it to follow them around 20 feet away. WiFi is fine.

So, while the Phantom 3 line, for example, is offering amazing tech for a cheap price (radio, HD downlink, camera, gimbal, copter, etc., -- all for about $1,000), there is a lot of room to compete by offering less for less. Cut the size and weight down, make it safer / more robust to crash, take out features most won't use, and above all make it simple. Image quality is nearly irrelevant -- after all, the public is happy with cell phone photos, so even GoPro tech from a few years ago would be more than enough. Get the thing into Walmart for well under $500. Make it so that anyone can get it to follow them around for a few minutes of video with zero hassle or flying experience required. That's the market.
 

fltundra

fltundra

Member
Gopro missed the boat long time ago. I don't seeing them having any chance against the phantom. They will screw it up one way or another. Only time well tell.:)
 
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Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
econfly said:
What we have learned in recent years is that just about everyone prefers convenience over image quality. Photo nerds (myself included) get all excited about the new Sony A7 cameras or Canon's 5Ds, but the public is out there oblivious to these things, nowhere near willing to pay thousands just for a camera, and very happily snapping shots with their phone.
Click to expand...

i haven't seen it for myself yet but in flying with friends yesterday, both whom are tech savvy people, Vince commented that the video from his new iPhone 6S is so good he won't use his DSLR anymore for video!
 

Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
econfly said:
So, while the Phantom 3 line, for example, is offering amazing tech for a cheap price (radio, HD downlink, camera, gimbal, copter, etc., -- all for about $1,000), there is a lot of room to compete by offering less for less. Cut the size and weight down, make it safer / more robust to crash, take out features most won't use, and above all make it simple. Image quality is nearly irrelevant -- after all, the public is happy with cell phone photos, so even GoPro tech from a few years ago would be more than enough. Get the thing into Walmart for well under $500. Make it so that anyone can get it to follow them around for a few minutes of video with zero hassle or flying experience required. That's the market.
Click to expand...

i agree, if they were a "Drone" company then they might need to justify themselves with a great "drone" product but they aren't, they're a lifestyle company when it really comes down to it. and because they're public they've got to have great numbers to justify the development expense. both points lead to what you described above, even more simple, even less money, i'm thinking something I can pull out from inside my ski jacket and fly while i'm riding the chairlift back to the top, or that my daughter can pull out of her beach bag to catch video of dolphins swimming by just past the breakers.....that would make a lot more sense than competing with Freefly ALTA or DJI Inspire although I think GoPro could do that if they wanted to. the time being spent in development would be the only thing to make me wonder if that's what they're doing.
 

jfro

jfro

Aerial Fun
I wouldn't count GoPro out. I remember seeing an interview a few years back with the guy that started it all. He made a simple statement, that anybody can put this together with the hardware (like his GoPro0, it's readily available. It's our software that stabilizes the video that makes this work. Not his exact words, but how I remember it.

I am hopeful that they are going to take this to the next level while keeping it price friendly. Next level to me is getting rid of the fish eye, getting better exposure control and getting rc controls into the camera including a real fstop. Also, incremental developement on the FC and flight characteristic of the MR.

The history of digital imaging has been (and will continue to be IMO) that things get better, smaller, cheaper, and easier to use. Technology reduces the separation between good consumer or high end hobbyist and the pro market in regards to quality and ease of use. Been going on over and over.

Filming form a drone is not going to be any different. Better, lighter cameras and better drones are coming.

I believe these guy (GoPro) are good and can deliver something special. I hope their market isn't going to be the cheap and good enough that some of you are talking about but rather the really good / cost effective product that further encroaches on the professional quality market.

IMO, with regulations coming down the pipeline here in the states, smaller, quieter, and higher quality video is what I'm hoping for. I fly my Inspire much more often than my other MR's. Quality isn't as good as my GH4, GH3, etc, but I get more hours logged and don't feel like I'm being as intrusive or as much of a nuisance to my surrounding. It's also a whole lot less stuff to lug around, setup , and get in the air. And I say this even though I really dislike DJI. Had the worst customer service experience of my life, but the Inspire is pretty amazing.

Come on GoPro. I'm rooting for you todo them 1 better!
 

Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
maybe i should take bets? i could use the income to supplement the site's humble revenues :)
 

D

dark_star

Member
fltundra said:
Gopro missed the boat long time ago. I don't seeing them having any chance against the phantom. They will screw it up one way or another. Only time well tell.:)
Click to expand...

completely right. they very late to the party. but worse, look at the footage. it could be from any china gimbal- and look at the pan wobble on the sky shots. if this is intended to impress people then the bar is very low.

go pro has lots of capital and have done a lot of good things, but success here is not likely.
 


econfly

econfly

Member
The market I see won't care about minor defects in stabilization. Like Bart says, if GoPro can produce a highly portable and easy to use system that basically follows the subject on its own from a short distance and captures cell-phone quality video then it's a winner.
 

violetwolf

violetwolf

Member
Interesting thread. I agree that it could go in any direction for a product.

They will be designing to a price point thats a certainty. But where in the market is the question. Personally I think it will either be bellow the Phantom or slightly above the Aspire.

Below the Phantom I would guess at about twice the price of a gopro... They don't want to cut sales on the GP.

Or above the Aspire in order to look like the more "pro" option.

Either position would probably work. IMHO
 




jfro

jfro

Aerial Fun
Other than their hd downlink, the rest of the quad shouldn't be that hard to make better. Matching or bettering the gimbal shouldn't be that much of a issue and making a better camera is what they do. So why not 1 up the inspire, Especially since they upped the price today.
 


Y0urDaddy

Y0urDaddy

Member
Bart made a point earlier in the thread I was thinking of but did not mention. It had to do with market saturation. In my time on the earth I have seen this a couple of times. Video game crash of 1983 comes to mind, but I guess more recently the RC car industry comes to mind.

For a bit of context I am 42. when I was young, about 11 or so I started racing RC cars. At that time I recall there being about 3 or 4 main vendors who made hobby quality RC cars. Personally I had several Tamiya cars and one Losi JRx2. I stopped racing RC cars when I was about 16, you can guess why.

Later in life, around 30 or so I picked up the hobby again. What I noticed was that the number of vendors for RC cars had really grown. The 4 I recall being the main players were still there but there were a ton of other vendors. Plus Horizon had purchased Losi and a number of other companies. Right now in the room I am sitting in I have about 16 RC race quality cars that I don't really do much with any more.

the 1/8th nitro market was I think the most impacted, racing in that class you had to be your own hobby shop as there were so many possible car types. Not only vendors, but classes of cars which fragmented an already small market. I live in a pretty large area and most of the race tracks I know of have gone out of business for some time.

So where am I going with this whole story? I think market saturation as a whole is bad both for the industry and getting new people involved. If your first experience with RC car racing was with some cheaper, lower quality product it tends to leave you with a poor view of the hobby as a whole. I think the same is true for multi-rotors, if your first experience is with something poorly made you are unlikely to continue.
 

Old Man

Old Man

Active Member
From the time you were 16 to the age of 30 I'll bet you spent more money chasing, and keeping, girls than you ever did on RC cars, before and after:)

I'm so excited about a Go Pro copter I just went out and bought a Chroma 4k...
 


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