This week GoPro released its Wi-Fi BacPac + Wi-Fi Remote Combo Kit, a two-piece product that lets people control GoPro cameras using a smartphone, tablet, or the included waterproof remote control.
Traditionally, with a GoPro camera (which has no LCD viewscreen) you could not preview footage or camera angle. The Wi-Fi setup lets users stream video from a GoPro camera to their phone or other device to “see what the camera is seeing.”
The BacPac piece of this kit attaches to the backside of a GoPro camera and adds Wi-Fi wireless signal. The remote control unit then gives camera operability from up to 600 feet away. You can control on/off, shoot mode, shutter, and settings from afar.
If a shooter wants to get fancy, as demonstrated in a just-released video here (worth a watch!) with pro skateboarder Ryan Sheckler, the BacPac/Remote kit provides such cinematic options as controlling multiple GoPro cameras at one time.
From a smartphone, a skilled shooter could control up to 50 GoPro cameras at once, according to the company. “[This is] something you’d normally see only on professional production shoots,” said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro’s founder and CEO.
The BacPac/Remote kit is available now for $99.99 on GoPro.com. It requires an existing GoPro Hero camera to use plus a free firmware upgrade to enable the new tricks.
—Stephen Regenold
