I don’t think I’m alone in saying the GoPro has to be a leading contender for the “most popular invention of the noughties” award. The company’s sales figures certainly back this up. In 2012 alone, the company reported to have sold 2.3 million units and grossed over $500 million in sales. That is a whole lot of GoPros. Furthermore, GoPro’s founder, Nick Woodman, is now a billionaire at age 37. So why is the GoPro so popular? After all, it’s just a video camera, and we have all seen those before. The GoPro has been such a hit because it introduced us to the previously rarely seen POV (point of view) angle. The GoPro now allows us mere mortals to get behind the eyes of some of the world’s craziest daredevils and see exactly what they see. Gone are the days when we had to settle for far-away, shaky footage of people jumping out of and over things. The GoPro now allows us to get right in the thick of the action, seeing everything the daredevil sees—without the broken bones and loss of limbs! Before the GoPro came to town, the POV angle was very complicated and costly to achieve. Due to the size and costs of previous video cameras on the market, the POV angle was reserved for serious and big-budget filmmakers only.
GoPro struck gold by producing a high-definition camera that is accessible to everyone. The GoPro is lightweight and affordable, and it captures video in widescreen and super HD. Nowadays anyone can buy a GoPro and film TV-quality footage of their adventures, and people are taking advantage of this, by the millions. Here are the 10 most epic uses of a GoPro to date.
10. Lion’s-eye view
Kevin Richardson is know as the Lion whisperer. He is a South African park ranger who befriended a pride of lions and has since been accepted into the pride as one of their own. Kevin takes full advantage of his VIP pass by strapping a GoPro to the back of a lioness while she hunts. Simply amazing. To see more of Kevin’s adventures with the lions, check the full length video below.
9. Thailand vacation in 3 minutes
The video for Duke Dumont’s new track “I Got U” is one of the more clever clips I have seen to date. The premise? A Londoner on a cold and wet day orders a virtual-reality mask and is instantly transported to beautiful sunny Thailand on vacation. This three-minute point-of-view video documents his epic Thailand adventure. Riding on the back of elephants, bungee jumping, amazing beach parties, and sunsets… Watch this clip and tell me you don’t want to get on the next flight to Bangkok.
8. Surfing
You may have heard surfers saying that being inside a breaking wave is the best feeling you can ever have. This view was once reserved for professional surfers only. Now thanks to Hawaiian Koa Smith and GoPro, we can all go along for the ride and see exactly what it feels like to be inside a hollow wave. Truly mesmerizing, I think you will agree. Ever wondered how it would feel to be inside a wave bigger than an apartment building? Wonder no more. Garrett McNamara is a Hawaiian big-wave charger and he came up with a crazy idea to strap not one, not two, but three GoPros to himself and his surfboard. He then proceeded to ride the biggest waves of the year at one of the world’s deadliest surfing spots in Tahiti.
7. GoPro goes to space
In the film clip for José González’s single “Every Age”, directors Simon Morris and Chris Higham connect multiple GoPros together to achieve an immersive 360-degree film. They then attach the GoPros to a balloon and send it up into space. The result is an awe-inspiring view of the earth from space, with the most perfect soundtrack to accompany it.
6. Swimming with sharks
GoPro is good for more than just adventure sports, it also reminds us of the beauty of nature. Living in a big city and going about our day-to-day lives, it can be easy to forget how lucky we are. This clip shows one of nature’s most deadly but misunderstood creatures in a different light and reminds us just how magical our oceans really are.
5. Spherical panorama time lapse
German photographer Jonas Ginter is pushing the envelope of what’s possible using a GoPro. He had the ingenious idea to strap six GoPros together to achieve an omnidirectional angle. That is, an angle where you can see the ground and the sky in 360 degrees, all in the same shot. The results are astounding.
4. Bird’s-eye view of London
Team BlackSheep are a bunch of guys who travel around the World and attach their GoPros to specially made drones, giving you a bird’s-eye view of the world’s most famous cities. They have made videos of New York, Dubai, Bangkok, and this one of London.
3. Vertical skydiving world record
This is absolutely incredible. Be a fly on the wall as 138 people jump out of airplanes and proceed to shatter the vertical skydiving world record. Watch from underneath as the skydivers come together to form a perfect human snowflake formation while free-falling at speeds of over 200 mph!
2. Fireman saves kitten
This one almost bought me to tears. A fireman straps on a GoPro as he rescues a tiny kitten from a house-fire and brings it back to life. This clip is a real tearjerker, you have been warned!
1. Cheeky monkey steals camera and takes selfie
The most epic use of the GoPro so far has to go to this cheeky little monkey who not only stole this guy’s camera, but figured out how to open the case and take a selfie. This is hilarious. Is your favorite GoPro clip not on the list? Please share it in the comments below.
