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Karma-What Went Wrong?

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The GoPro Karma launched on September 19th and generated a lot of buzz in tech community. GoPro, being a leading action camera manufacturer, has proven that it can make quality, versatile products. In 2012 and 2013, GoPros were the defacto drone cameras. For the Phantom 2s, F450, F550, and other DIY drones, having a GoPro was a must. The drone industry was booming, and GoPro sales went up in tow.

 
What went wrong?

1) They came out with virtually the same camera as they released 2 years ago (Hero 4 BE).
Meaning the video quality (60 MBPS) for the future was what we've seen for years, while DJI has just come out with 4k @ 60 FPS @ 100 MBPS + 20mp raw.
And their photos are still 12 MP jpegs, which are about 8mp effective one you fix the warp & no raw. A joke.
If Go pro has given us 4k @ 60 + 100 MBPS + 16mp + RAW, it might have been something you want to archive memories with.

2) They can't compete with DJI on the drone side of things. Mavic came out a week later and crapped over it in virtually every single way. Phantom 4 Pro came along to rub salt into the wounds. Actually I'm a little salty over the P4 Pro too! its too good for the money.

3) A product recall is the nail in the coffin as many will have got their money back and gone with the mavic, or P4 Pro. Or at least learned its defective just before Christmas.

Disaster for go pro, they been sinking for ages.
 
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>>>>>>>>>>>The drone industry was booming, and GoPro sales went up in tow.

x5yo summed it up pretty well.

Apparently from what I've read their camera sales have been lagging for quite some time now. Lot's of competition at much lower prices now. Different form factors are better for some applications, like the Sony (I never have understood why they want you to strap a small brick on top of your helmet)

GoPro is indeed in a tough spot. Many speculate they will be lucky to survive... stock down 30% in one month, the share holders cannot be happy about that...
 
They were at the front in the their category, which even with small drawbacks gave them the edge, but they've let themselves be overtaken.

As someone I know said, they've made a drone not becasue they wanted to or were passionate about it, but becasue they had to. The result you get is at the image of their motivation, and the Karma vs Mavic shows that pretty well.

They seemingly haven't gone where they were expected and where it would have made sense from an industry point of view... 360° video, and now most likely lost that too. We got a rehashed GoPro4 when the expectations were that the next GoPro would be the best 360° cam of the market and the thing that would really start the trend. Maybe they're still working on that, but it's getting late again.
 
They must have known it right from the start, otherwise they wouldn't have named it karma.
And the name turned out to be well chosen. If they would have called it Dharma it wouldn't have made any sense.
 
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I wish them good luck. They revolutionized action cam industry, gave us and still do incredible footage.
I hope they will recover from this blunder.
 
I've not heard anything since the recall. I'm wondering if they've found the root cause and have a fix. Also wondering IF they plan to re-enter the market or cut their losses and give up on the drone market...
 
Their inability to produce a low-cost 360º solution is yet another dramatic failure. Anyone with their finger on the pulse of media knows that 360º movies and recordings are the future. GoPro snapped up GigaPano, but software alone does not a successful business make. Where is their version of the new Nikon KeyMission? Even with a 9-month ago on Nikon's part (getting their KeyMission line out) they're still light years ahead of GoPro.

Just ordered a P4Pro. I hated to reward DJI by paying IN ADVANCE for a product, but they know only too well that under-manufacturing prouces demand, and that by driving up demand (now in the 2st Century) they can get their clients to pay for the entire production run. The Chinese will drive any competition into the ground with their strategies. It's really bad thing, because once this competition is gone, there is no telling how expensive Chinese stuff will get? Monopolies are NEVER a good thing!

Let's hope that DJI slows down the 9-months to obsolescence strategy thing a bit, as it is causing most of us (their clients) to bleed money. This will eventually backfire! Apple follows a solid, proven update strategy that leaves few behind. DJI has yet to learn this.

I am anxiously anticipating my P4 Pro. Finally, low noise aerials without risking a 5,000-8,000 dollar bird!
 
A guy makes a camera to surf with, develops a billion dollar company before the age of 45 and changed the way people captured images. Funny thing, this is the camera that made DJI.. Kind of a Hero in my eyes. Wish these guys would partner instead of compete. Imagine what they would come up with..
 
I wish them good luck. They revolutionized action cam industry, gave us and still do incredible footage.
I hope they will recover from this blunder.
incredible footage?
A guy makes a camera to surf with, develops a billion dollar company before the age of 45 and changed the way people captured images. Funny thing, this is the camera that made DJI.. Kind of a Hero in my eyes. Wish these guys would partner instead of compete. Imagine what they would come up with..

DJI are the new go pro.
 
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A guy makes a camera to surf with, develops a billion dollar company before the age of 45 and changed the way people captured images. Funny thing, this is the camera that made DJI.. Kind of a Hero in my eyes. Wish these guys would partner instead of compete. Imagine what they would come up with..

Nick wouldn't really add anything to any company. He's a one trick pony. They came up with an action came then made incremental updates to it. Then when they built their groundbreaking drone they copied a phantom 2 added the detachable gimbal then proclaimed it the best thing ever. I doubt that we will see the Karma rise from the ashes.

Don't forget investors have so much faith in them that when Nick did some shenanigans so he could get his money from his stocks before the lockup period ended. Issued at $30/share peaked at $90/share and today its trading at $9.50/share. Yeah that's a strong and vibrant company
 
Nick wouldn't really add anything to any company. He's a one trick pony. They came up with an action came then made incremental updates to it. Then when they built their groundbreaking drone they copied a phantom 2 added the detachable gimbal then proclaimed it the best thing ever. I doubt that we will see the Karma rise from the ashes.

Don't forget investors have so much faith in them that when Nick did some shenanigans so he could get his money from his stocks before the lockup period ended. Issued at $30/share peaked at $90/share and today its trading at $9.50/share. Yeah that's a strong and vibrant company

It was one hell of a trick...
 
Their inability to produce a low-cost 360º solution is yet another dramatic failure. Anyone with their finger on the pulse of media knows that 360º movies and recordings are the future. GoPro snapped up GigaPano, but software alone does not a successful business make. Where is their version of the new Nikon KeyMission? Even with a 9-month ago on Nikon's part (getting their KeyMission line out) they're still light years ahead of GoPro.

Just ordered a P4Pro. I hated to reward DJI by paying IN ADVANCE for a product, but they know only too well that under-manufacturing prouces demand, and that by driving up demand (now in the 2st Century) they can get their clients to pay for the entire production run. The Chinese will drive any competition into the ground with their strategies. It's really bad thing, because once this competition is gone, there is no telling how expensive Chinese stuff will get? Monopolies are NEVER a good thing!

Let's hope that DJI slows down the 9-months to obsolescence strategy thing a bit, as it is causing most of us (their clients) to bleed money. This will eventually backfire! Apple follows a solid, proven update strategy that leaves few behind. DJI has yet to learn this.

I am anxiously anticipating my P4 Pro. Finally, low noise aerials without risking a 5,000-8,000 dollar bird!

Dorian Im not sure their obsolescence strategy is any different to Apple. Its not like a P3 or I1 will suddenly stop flying and the software no longer works etc. I mean even the old original P2 still flies and there must be thousands of them still around. The crocodile tears over being left behind is little more than envy at not having or wanting the very latest and greatest. Something Apple have been masters of manipulating. They actually create new phones that do little or nothing better than the last model for 99% of users but Joe cool wants the latest to show off to their mates. I see the DJI procession as being very different. The I1 vz I2 is chalk and cheese. The upgrades in the I2 are extensive and real if your in the business of making movies. In fact a 6000 dollar camera package or a 10,000 dollar package is pocket money for the pros. Its a lot of money for the wanaabee's however. Most of whom are never likely to use a tenth of the capacity the machine has.
 
incredible footage?


DJI are the new go pro.
Not they are not. They are different. You can't fly a DJI underwater. And yes GoPros around the world have capture incredible footage.
GoPro has saturated its market. The drone is for them a market expansion. If they can make it it will be good for the drone industry. DJI is the incontestable leader in its field. It has some ways to go with its camera but I have no doubt it will get there. At some point in the future it also will reach market saturation and they will be in the same situation as GoPro.
 
I think along with market saturation is failing to innovate within the "action camera" market. I think they rested on their laurels for too long thinking the GoPro in its many incarnations was the end-all. While I did buy the GoPro5 that was purely in anticipation of the Karma Grip. Had it not been for the Grip, I'm perfectly fine with the GoPros I currently have. I dislike "planned obsolescence" but GoPro has not change enough that I was fine with the 3+ and the Session I had...

I find the Nikon Key Mission something I'd have opted for instead of GP5 if there was no Grip as it would add an interesting dimension to videos...


Not they are not. They are different. You can't fly a DJI underwater. And yes GoPros around the world have capture incredible footage.
GoPro has saturated its market. The drone is for them a market expansion. If they can make it it will be good for the drone industry. DJI is the incontestable leader in its field. It has some ways to go with its camera but I have no doubt it will get there. At some point in the future it also will reach market saturation and they will be in the same situation as GoPro.
 
I think along with market saturation is failing to innovate within the "action camera" market. I think they rested on their laurels for too long thinking the GoPro in its many incarnations was the end-all. While I did buy the GoPro5 that was purely in anticipation of the Karma Grip. Had it not been for the Grip, I'm perfectly fine with the GoPros I currently have. I dislike "planned obsolescence" but GoPro has not change enough that I was fine with the 3+ and the Session I had...

I find the Nikon Key Mission something I'd have opted for instead of GP5 if there was no Grip as it would add an interesting dimension to videos...
Totally agree. I'd still be interested to pick up a 5 for its 60fps at 4K

Edit: Oops 60fps starts at 2.7K
 
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I have a Hero3 Black and don't anticipate upgrading anytime soon. It would be nice to have 4K, but for my taste the lens is way too wide. It's the way to wide lens thing that really hurts there video with the Karma -- tilt down from above and the world becomes the little planet. No thank you!

There being eaten alive at the lower end by all the Chinese clones and they don't actually have a higher end so...


Brian
 
A few corrections. The Hero5 Black can take Raw stills. The design is much improved, being smaller with no need for a case, and a built in LCD screen. While the GoPro is jus 60Mbps, the quality of their encoding is much better than the ones DJI have been using. Even my old Hero3 BE gets a better quality with more detail and far less macro blocking issues in ProTune modes than the Inspire1 X3.

That said, the Inspire is getting better. But we really do need an improved X3 for the I1. GoPro is in trouble, and the issues with the Karma could be disastrous for them.
 

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