With a GoPro camera, the world is not only your oyster, it’s an “oyster” you care share with the rest of humanity. The skyrocketing popularity of GoPro cameras, which seem to be ubiquitous these days, combined with their versatility of use and the unlimited locations where videos can be shot, has made them the camera of choice for many an adventurous spirit. Casual video clip viewers at home, snacking on Cheetos in front of a dusty computer screen, can now vicariously experience life around the globe through another person’s eyes without ever getting out of their chair.
GoPro head- and body-mounted cameras (and other similar devices) truly let us “walk in another person’s shoes,” if only for a moment. And what incredible walks we get to go on. (All right, I’ll stop with the proverbs.) Have you ever wondered what it’s like to fend off a shark attack, albeit a small one? Well, now you don’t have to, thanks to Woodman Labs (aka GoPro) and its rugged, first-person camera perspectives.
Of course, GoPro is acutely aware of how hypnotic and riveting scenes shot with its nifty little cameras can be. With some slick marketing on its part, and a ton of cool GoPro “extreme” videos bouncing around cyberspace, this Californian company has made an indelible mark on the world of personal cinematography and mass video culture.
If thrilling shots of folks kayaking over waterfalls, mountain biking across the desert, racing cars, skydiving, snowboarding or surfing can’t get your blood pumping, you should have someone check your pulse — because you might be in a coma.
According to Forbes, Nick Woodman — the daredevil behind GoPro — has doubled his company’s sales almost every year since he first founded it in 1994. These days action junkies, film directors, military personnel, rescue workers, sports stars and all kinds of different people involved in a variety of professions and hobbies keep a GoPro camera handy, attached to their body somewhere. The phenomenal popularity of this digital recording device has made Woodman a billionaire.
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With GoPro revenues exceeding $500 million per year, China’s Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn Technology) recently purchased a stake in the San Mateo-based company. GoPro’s increasing public profile, along with its IPO, seems likely to only boost sales in the years to come. Wearable cameras, in tandem with phone cameras (which have taken a huge chunk out of the digital camera market), have made their presence known.
Hey, even Superman, with some help from a GoPro head-mounted cam and a little drone technology, is getting into the act. You can check out his flight, and thoughtful camera return policy, in a short film shot and edited by the Los Angeles-based Corridor Digital.
Up, up and away. For those of you who want to film your own amazing adventures — or even a mundane trip to the supermarket — with a durable, wearable camera, GoPro appears to be the way to go. Investors and action aficionados alike are on the same page when it comes to body-mounted digital recording devises, and the future buying (and playing) trends of a wired-up planet.
