From our other sites
The story
Reuters reports that U.S.-based GoPro is moving to sell a 90% stake to optics maker Starman for $285 million. GoPro pioneered the action camera market, but the company has faced a prolonged stock slump and recurring buyout rumors in recent years. On 5ch, the thread split between two explanations for the sale: one blaming Chinese manufacturers for copying GoPro’s products, and another arguing that GoPro itself neglected performance improvements while doling out new features piecemeal. Posters also discussed GoPro’s performance gap versus DJI and Insta360, and noted that image sensors across the industry still largely rely on Sony.
GoPro to sell 90% stake to optics maker Starman for $285 million | Reuters
Reuters Staff
September 2, 2026, 9:58 AM
Source: jp.reuters.com / Read the original article
What people said
Used PK Beam γ (a signature Starman attack in Mother 2)
The buyer is… Starman! It's Starman!! (echoing the same dramatic race-call style — Starman was the horse that famously beat Narita Brian)
It broke the record for lowest-ever win odds (payout capped at the ¥100 minimum) at the Kobe Shimbun Hai
For reference, Deep Impact's win payout was ¥110
Nah, that's wrong lol
GoPro's products are just plain low quality lol
They were first movers, sure, but that's literally all they had going for them — they sat on their laurels without improving anything while everyone else left them in the dust.
Same thing happened with phones and PCs, areas Japan used to dominate — they outsourced production overseas, and before anyone noticed, the overseas players had grown into giants.
Still, they can't make the most important part — the sensor — themselves. They're using Sony's.
Japanese equipment is still going strong in the film and broadcast industries, at least.
I really wanted Sony's action cam to succeed…
Even though the sensor's basically all Sony?
Yeah, because it's basically a scam business model — drip-feeding a few features every year lol
Didn't they throw the balance off at some point while chasing higher performance? Not that into it so I only half-remember.
They lost on the product itself too, that's why it's come to this. Decent Chinese makers like DJI have gotten a lot better.
Same story as iRobot — being ahead on design and vibe alone isn't enough. Getting completely outclassed by Chinese products on actual performance is just bad.
Hasselblad got bought by DJI, and there are buyout rumors around Leica too. It's basically all Chinese money at this point.
The market's actually still growing. Everyone except GoPro is expanding fast.
Agreed. I've traveled abroad and never once seen anyone actually using one.
That's because China's actually investing on the ground. The US, Europe, and Japan keep handing all their profits to shareholders and keep falling further behind.
Canon having so many weird lenses suggests their knowledge transfer isn't going well either — it's either some oddball design some amateur threw together relying on momentum and CAD, or a thirty-year-old lens design just retrofitted for mirrorless.
Beyond the heat dissipation, I'd bet the ASIC design itself is bad. Across the whole lineup, they feel unusable shooting 4K in summer.
Same future as Japan's automakers — I can only see them getting eaten alive by BYD.
Handycam's been dead for ages.
Sony Electronics having to pivot from B2C to B2B says a lot.
Japan used to shine in the kind of position China holds now — the ones who couldn't adapt ended up sinking.
Their push to sell Bravia to businesses has been intense.
Ah, I see — for companies.
Re: #124
Back in the day, when we asked about getting Sony gear for office/business use, they'd politely turn us down with something like 'we're consumer-focused, so we can't really recommend it.' Sounds like they've pivoted to business use in recent years. Wonder if they've redesigned things like heat dissipation — the biggest pain point for business use — specifically for that market.
Background and key points of this discussion
GoPro went public in 2014 as a pioneer of the action camera market, but has since struggled with a prolonged stock slump and repeated buyout speculation. This time, Reuters reported that the company is moving to sell a 90% stake to optics maker Starman for $285 million. Opinions in the thread split over why GoPro lost ground: some blamed straightforward copying by Chinese manufacturers, while others argued GoPro brought it on itself by focusing on incremental feature additions instead of real performance improvements. What both camps agreed on was that rivals like DJI and Insta360 have pulled ahead on performance, and that image sensors — even in competing products — still largely come from Sony. The discussion also touched on Sony’s own shift from consumer cameras toward a B2B focus, framed as part of a broader pattern of Japanese manufacturers moving from finished products to component supply.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “GoPro to sell 90% stake to optics maker Starman for $285 million.”
Leave a Reply