GoPro CEO Nick Woodman announced Wednesday that the company will release two new products: a four-rotor drone and a new mount meant to capture “spherical content,” .
Woodman did not reveal prices or specifics other than that the cameras will be of “DSLR class,” which TechCrunch estimated in the $1,500 to $2,000 range. Woodman said the drone would be available toward the end of 2016 and the 3D array later this year. The 3D camera setup will be composed of six Hero4 action cameras arranged in a circle and shooting simultaneously for spherical shots and will generate content for virtual reality. It was also announced Wednesday that GoPro for Google’s new Jump virtual reality ecosystem.
“This is really going to be most appealing for production companies and prosumers,” Woodman told TechCrunch, referring to consumers of GoPro cameras. He added that normal consumers would end up buying the products, but the first versions would be available only to professionals. GoPro expects the mount to be used to capture video for virtual reality systems like Oculus, HoloLens, Cardboard, and YouTube 360 videos. Such technology is already being deployed in the Grand Canyon.
The announcement caused GoPro’s stock to jump 7 percent, , which estimated the company can take between 10 percent and 25 percent of the drone market due to its strong name recognition.