Review: GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS Camera

Don't let the GoPro in the name fool you, but its new Mission 1 Pro ILS (short for interchangeable lens system) isn't really an action camera. It's not even waterproof, and it uses potentially fragile interchangeable lenses. It's really a cinema camera crammed into the form factor of a GoPro.

While the average action camera user probably won't want the ILS version of the Mission 1 (the standard Mission 1 Pro serves that need), professional filmmakers, creators, and camera nerds have been clamoring for something like this for years, and it's finally here. It isn't perfect—in fact, it has some serious shortcomings—but this initial ILS camera does what it is meant to do quite well and, with incremental improvements, could become a truly great, tiny 8K video powerhouse.

What Is the Mission 1 Pro ILS?

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

The Mission 1 Pro ILS joins the Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro to round out GoPro's high-end line of cinema-quality action cameras aimed at professionals. The major advantage over more consumer-oriented cameras like the GoPro Hero 13 or similar offerings from DJI and Insta360 is the large 1-inch (Type 1) sensor, which produces clearer, sharper video. The Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro are still traditional action cameras, though, with a fixed ultrawide lens and rugged, waterproof bodies. Both deliver outstanding image quality, and the Mission 1 Pro is our favorite action camera on the market.

The Mission 1 Pro ILS is a different beast in one important way: It has a Micro Four Thirds (MFT) lens mount. Yes, a GoPro with interchangeable lenses. Before you go thinking, “No one wants that,” consider that people have long clamored for this capability, and accessories already exist to modify the GoPro Hero Black with an interchangeable lens mount.

But first, what's the same as the Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro? Just about everything. The body is essentially the Mission 1 Pro with the lens removed and a mount added. It even weighs the same (207 grams, before you put a lens on the ILS). The screens, buttons, and controls are identical, so working with the camera will feel familiar to anyone who has used a GoPro.

In terms of video recording, the specs are similar to the Mission 1, topping out at 8K/60 frames per second (fps), with all the same phenomenal slow-motion options, including 4K at 240 fps all the way up to 1080p at 960 fps.

Probably the biggest physical difference between the ILS and the Pro (aside from lenses) is that the ILS is not waterproof.

Why Would I Want to Change Lenses?

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

Photographers and videographers know the benefits of interchangeable lenses in bigger cameras, giving them different focal perspectives and moods to suit the look they want. But why would someone want this capability in a small camera like a GoPro?

When videographers realized they could use smaller DSLRs (and even smartphones) for Hollywood productions, they've been employed as primary cameras for small-budget indie films or as secondary “cheaper” options to ultraexpensive cinema rigs for shooting in tight spaces, or that could be written off. In fact, even big camera companies like Sony, Nikon, and Canon have developed compact cinema cameras for such purposes.

Which leads to two obvious use cases where the Mission 1 Pro ILS will shine. First, it's a great little crash camera for bigger productions (a crash camera is one that's disposable; imagine it installed in a car to capture an action sequence that might well destroy the camera in the process).

Second, it could be a great B-cam for a wildlife shoot, for example, where something smaller like the ILS is more likely to be ignored by wildlife and get shots a bigger camera can't. I also think it could be a good low-cost option for solo or small crews who need to wear a video hat at times, like wedding photographers or small productions where a full cinema cam is likely out of budget.

While smartphones (specifically the iPhone Pro) can now shoot fantastic high-resolution video, the Mission 1 Pro ILS' larger sensor, native lens mount, and even smaller size (minus the lens) give it an upper hand. And for WIRED readers, there's a more relatable use case: it's simply a fun camera to play with and experiment on.

MFT, also called Micro 4/3, lenses are cheap (for lenses), and if you include adapting vintage lenses, you open up all kinds of interesting shooting possibilities. I've known two directors of photography who both looked at lens selection as the most important decision. Whatever camera they were going to use was largely irrelevant because what mattered was the lens. In a sense, that is the appeal of the Mission 1 Pro ILS: It fades into the background and lets you focus on what the lens can do.

The great thing about MFT lenses is that they fit well with a small camera body like the Mission 1 Pro ILS. They're small, compact, and inexpensive—as Olympus (now OM System) and Panasonic, the creators of MFT, had intended when they created it as a foundation for mirrorless digital cameras. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that while the Mission 1 Pro ILS has a Micro Four Thirds mount, it still uses the same smaller, 1-inch sensor as the Mission 1 Pro. That means the crop factor is greater than it would be with an MFT sensor. When calculating the full-frame equivalence, it's about 2.7X with HyperSmooth (GoPro's digital image-stabilization tech) off and 3X with it on.

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

For example, GoPro sent a Laowa 7.5-mm lens for me to test with. When HyperSmooth is on, that's the equivalent of shooting with a 23-mm lens on a full-frame camera. With HyperSmooth off, it becomes a 20-mm lens. I bring this up mainly because if you want to go really wide on the ILS, you'll need a very, very wide lens (fisheye lenses are probably your best bet).

Now for the downside to the ILS: There are no electrical contacts, which means lenses that rely on electronic focus or aperture control probably won't work. For example, my all-time favorite MFT lens, Panasonic's original 20-mm pancake, won't work on the ILS because there's no manual aperture ring.

Your best bet is to stick with fully manual lenses that have a mechanical aperture ring. There aren't many, but there are enough with quality glass to cover a good range of focal lengths. GoPro's Abe Kislevitz put together a nice collection of lenses that he has tested with the Mission 1 Pro ILS, along with his recommendations for various shooting scenarios. Be aware that the camera is sold body-only, and so far, we haven't seen any bundles from GoPro or resellers that include a lens.

And yes, you have to manually focus. I could drop some jokes here about kids today not knowing how to do it, but the truth is, I shoot vintage manual-focus lenses all the time on my Sony A7R II. While I've shot sports and wildlife with these lenses and had a pretty high success rate, I struggled to focus on the ILS.

The problem with focusing on the ILS is the small screen. It's hard to see, not just in bright daylight. It's just really small. There is focus peaking, which uses color banding to indicate what's in focus, but it can be hard to see exactly where it ends, and I've learned from my Sony not to fully rely on peaking.

You can zoom in to get very precise focus, which is what I do on the Sony, but again the small screen makes it hard to see. Worse, for filmmakers especially, you have to have the camera at eye level to focus it well, which limits your shooting ability (or you get to contort into all sorts of weird poses). I would love to see the next Mission 1 Pro ILS get a tilting screen; it's not waterproof anyway, so it doesn't seem like there would be a need to reengineer. GoPro no doubt would suggest using the app on my phone, as it does make it considerably easier to focus, but then you need a cage, and then a handle, and at that point most of the Mission 1 Pro ILS' size advantage is gone; you might as well get a Panasonic GH7, which has an even larger sensor.

Ultimately, while focusing on the small screen is challenging, using a phone or other external monitor sidesteps that issue (and is what pro filmmakers do anyway), but the inability to control the lens iris electronically feels like a bigger limitation since it eliminates a significant number of lenses. It would be nice to see a future Mission 1 Pro ILS support at least electronic connectors for aperture and manual focusing on lenses that require it.

Shooting With the Mission 1 Pro ILS

Once you get past the hurdle of manual focusing, there's a lot to love about the ILS footage. Testing it reminded me more than anything of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera from several years ago. I can't believe this tiny little thing can match the quality of those early Blackmagic cameras.

If you ever wondered whether the image quality of action cameras is held back by the limitations of a small, fixed lens, now you have your answer: yes, very much so. The footage from the ILS is easily the best I've shot with an action camera.

When safely ensconced in the grip/case, even a relatively large lens like Laowa 7.5-mm felt comfortable and well-balanced when shooting. I don't think you'd want to mount a 300-mm lens—it would be a bit much—but for the smaller lenses it supports, it's very comfortable to shoot with. (Note that GoPro says the weight limit for the mount is 250 grams. If you do want to put a heavier lens on the ILS, you'll need some kind of cage for additional support.)

With the Laowa 7.5-mm lens on it, it really does feel like a Micro Four Thirds camera, which is perhaps why I was more taken with it for stills than for video. The 50-MP RAW images out of the Mission 1 cameras are on par with any Type 1-inch sensor camera I've used, but adding the much nicer lenses on the ILS mount really moves the results out of the “pretty good for an action camera” category and into the high-quality image category.

The typical action cam user might balk at the $700 (sans lens) price tag, but they're not the target audience anyway (that's Hero 13 Black territory). But for what it's aiming to do and the videographers it's designed for, I think the price is spot-on, especially if you already own compatible lenses.

That's the heart of the ILS's appeal: to take the GoPro form factor beyond action cameras by adding larger, sharper lenses. This camera is for experimentation and exploration. It's not perfect—the lack of electronic connection to lenses is a serious shortcoming—but if you're looking to try new things and see what's possible, this is an incredibly fun camera to use, and the results are the highest-quality footage and images you'll get out of a so-called action camera.

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