Have you ever encountered this situation: wanting to capture the moment of insect wings fluttering, or the natural ecology of birds nesting, but being deterred by bulky DSLR cameras and expensive professional lenses? Or taking a high-end cinema camera outdoors, always worrying that one slip might break or damage it from water, having to protect the equipment with trepidation? Now, GoPro has provided an eye-catching answer.
197g Waterproof Body, Mount Your MFT Lenses
The biggest surprise of the GoPro MISSION 1 PRO ILS is that it fits a Micro Four Thirds mount into a waterproof body weighing only 197 grams. What does this mean? You can directly attach professional macro lenses like the Laowa 50mm T2.9 Macro APO, confidently leave the camera on wet grass, by a stream, or even in the rain, and focus on waiting for that perfect moment. 50-megapixel, 1-inch sensor, support for 8K60 recording—the specs are no slouch.
960fps Explosive Slow Motion, Capturing Details Invisible to the Naked Eye
What truly amazed me are the 960fps test clips leaked on Reddit. Water droplets exploding into individual drops on dark leaves, the moment a damselfly takes off from a blade of grass with wings fully extended—these images are presented at 32x slow motion, and handheld shooting doesn’t even require HyperSmooth stabilization. At such slow speeds, the footage is already stable and stunning enough. Although limited to 10-second 1080p clips at 8-bit color depth, for nature photography and macro creation, this opens a door that previously only equipment costing tens of thousands could access.
The Purity of Manual Control: Why Is It an Advantage?
This camera’s MFT mount “has no electronic contacts.” At first glance, this seems like a flaw, but for players who already own a collection of vintage lenses and manual lenses, it’s actually liberating. Panasonic and Olympus electronic autofocus lenses lose their advantage here, but vintage manual lenses and PL lenses (via adapters) find new life. Macro shooting inherently requires patience and precise manual focusing; automation often doesn’t help much here, whereas manual control gives you 100% creative freedom.
Who Is It Suitable For?
- Photography enthusiasts with drawers full of old lenses and manual lenses: Finally, a durable body to bring them back to life
- Wildlife and macro photography enthusiasts: Fixed positioning, Bluetooth remote control, birds entering and leaving nest boxes won’t be disturbed by autofocus
- Professional rig operators: Mounted on cable cams, car foot pedals, and other harsh environments—a $699 body is much more reassuring than $2000 equipment
Things to Note
HyperSmooth stabilization has only been tested by GoPro with their original 5 fisheye lenses; straight lenses were only tested up to 50mm, so longer focal lengths should be considered carefully. Additionally, the 3x crop factor turns a 17mm lens into a 51mm equivalent field of view, so wide-angle enthusiasts may need to rethink their lens setups.
If you’re looking for a compact cinema camera that can accompany you up mountains and down seas, mount manual lenses, and capture breathtaking macro and slow-motion footage, the GoPro MISSION 1 PRO ILS is definitely worth adding to your list. At a preorder price of $699.99, it buys you a true creative companion that you can take out and bring back footage with. Preorder now and let those long-waiting old lenses finally unleash their full potential.
