You probably forgot that the first-ever GoPro wasn't digital – it used rubber bands and 35mm film!
This is how a broken surfboard leash turned into a $4 billion camera empire
The first GoPro camera was not a digital device, but rather a wearable camera system using rubber bands and 35mm film. Its inventor, Nick Woodman, was inspired by the challenge of capturing his own surf footage. Initially, the cameras were manufactured in China using a Chinese-made compact film camera adapted to Woodman's wrist-mounting system.
Introduced in late 2004 or early 2005, the GoPro Hero featured a waterproof housing, fixed-focus lens, and mechanical controls. The concept revolutionized action cameras by placing the viewpoint directly in the action. In 2006, GoPro launched its first digital camera, the Hero, which captured approximately 640x480 still images and produced 320x240 pixel videos at 10 frames per second.
Despite its primitive capabilities, the 2006 Digital Hero marked the beginning of GoPro's dominance in the action camera market. Over the following years, GoPro continued to improve its digital cameras, releasing models such as the Hero 3 in 2007, the Hero 5 in 2008, and the Wide Hero in 2009, which offered a wide 170° field of view.
The HD Hero, released in 2009, was a game-changer as it was a tiny digital camera capable of shooting FullHD videos in 16:9 with a 127° field of view. This innovation made GoPro footage practical for serious video production, leading to the company's rise as a household name in action cameras. By 2014, GoPro had gone public and reached a valuation of approximately $4 billion.
However, the company faced challenges as action cameras became a narrow market with long replacement cycles, and smartphone technology advanced rapidly. Facing a decline in sales and increasing competition from DJI and Insta360, GoPro sought a merger to save its camera business. In 2026, GoPro merged with Starman Optical, a company specializing in optical transceivers for AI data centers.
This merger aimed to rescue GoPro's camera business while providing access to Starman's expertise and technology.
Written by urgent.news from Digital Camera World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
