As a creator who’s relied on action cameras for years, I’ve lost too many shots to GoPro’s overheating issues. Cameras shutting down mid-record, footage vanished—this isn’t hypothetical. It’s happened to me, repeatedly, in real-world use. The GoPro Mission 1 ILS, reviewed by Gizmodo on September 30, 2026, only confirms what I’ve long suspected: it’s a flawed product born from a lab experiment that should’ve stayed there.

The summary calls it a “chimera of a camera”—a patchwork of ideas that don’t cohere into a reliable tool. For creators who depend on their gear to capture moments without failure, that’s unacceptable. I’ve had GoPros overheat during outdoor shoots, in moderate temperatures, cutting off recording without warning. No recovery, no save—just lost content. That’s not just frustrating; it’s a breach of trust.

Let me be clear: the only way I’d even consider touching new GoPro hardware is if they handed it to me for free. And even then, I wouldn’t risk it on anything important. A free camera isn’t worth the cost of a ruined shoot. My workflow demands reliability, and GoPro has repeatedly failed to deliver that baseline.

As a result, I no longer recommend GoPro products to fellow creators. When I’m asked what to buy instead, I point to DJI or Insta360. Their cameras handle heat better, record longer, and—most importantly—don’t vanish when you need them most. In this line of work, your gear should be an asset, not a liability. GoPro, unfortunately, has become the latter.