File photo. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
GoPro cameras have been used by a wide range of people, from filmmakers to adventurers to cross-country travelers, in an attempt to capture those unique, difficult-to-film shots. Over the past few years, drone enthusiasts have been particular fans of the small portable cameras, using GoPros to record dangerous phenomena like a volcano erupting.
Now, the camera company reportedly wants to get into the drone business. The Wall Street Journal reports that GoPro is developing its own consumer drones that are expected to hit the market late 2015.
GoPro aims to market multi-rotor helicopter drones that will hold high-definition cameras, according to sources close to the company’s plans. The drones will apparently be priced from $500 to $1,000.
Could the move place GoPro in the somewhat awkward position of competing against drone makers that have been long supporters of the company? Some in the drone industry think so.
“I’m happy to let GoPro keep making great cameras and we’ll keep making great copters,” Colin Guinn, senior vice president of sales at 3D Robotics, told the journal. He added that he was surprised by the news given that so many of his company’s customers own GoPro cameras of their own before buying drones.
Others speculate that this could be a winning formula for GoPro. The company’s reputation for high-quality, small-scale cameras “will likely put its future competitors on the defensive almost immediately,” wrote the Verge.
GoPro has not yet responded to a request for comment on this story from FoxNews.com.
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