The new HERO+ camera costs only $199.99 and enables users to share content through the built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, connecting to GoPro App and Smart Remote. Talking of remote, Riddley Scott took the GoPro to Mars…

At $199.99, the HERO+ is waterproof and mountable as well as compatible with GoPro’s vast array of mounts and accessories.  It captures stunning 1080p60 and 720p60 video and 8MP single, Time Lapse and Burst photos with the same impressive image quality that GoPro has become famous for.  HERO+ most notably features Wi-Fi which allows it to connect with GoPro’s mobile app and benefit from convenient tools such as a Trim & Share feature that allows the user to quickly create and share short video clips across leading social media channels.

The new lower-cost HERO+ is not the only news, as the 2015 GoPro lineup also includes the new and impossibly small and simple to use HERO4 Session at a more accessible price of $299.99. These two exciting devices complement the industry leading HERO4 Black and HERO4 Silver to provide a wide array of options for those looking to GoPro this holiday season: 

• HERO4 Black:  Pro-quality capture. Simply the best. $499.99
•  HERO4 Silver:  High-performance capture. Touch-display convenience. $399.99
•  HERO4 Session:  GoPro Performance, Simplified. $299.99
•  HERO+LCD:  The perfect entry-level GoPro + Wi-Fi + touch-display convenience. $299.99
•  HERO+:   The perfect entry-level GoPro + Wi-Fi. $199.99
•  HERO:  The perfect entry-level GoPro. $129.99

“Whether mounted to a weather balloon floating 100,000 feet above the earth to capture a sunrise across the stratosphere or in the hands of a child recording their backyard tree house adventures, HERO+ is built to capture your imagination wherever it takes you,” said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro’s founder and CEO.  “Even as we continue to raise the bar for our highest performing cameras like HERO4 Black, Silver and Session, we remain committed to developing simplified products like HERO+ that make GoPro life-capture accessible to everyone.”

HERO+ will be available at authorized retailers around the world and on GoPro.com beginning October 4, 2015. Key features include :

• Stunning and immersive 1080p60 and 720p60 video
• 8MP photos with Single, Time Lapse and 5 Photos-per-Second Burst modes
• Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connect to GoPro App and Smart Remote
• Rugged, durable and waterproof to 131’ (40m)
• Integrated camera + housing design
• QuikCapture enables power-up and recording start with the press of a single button
• HiLight Tag lets you mark key moments while recording
• SuperView captures the world’s most immersive wide-angle field of view
• Auto Low Light mode intelligently adjusts frame rates for optimal low-light performance
• Built-in microphone
• Wearable and Mountable, Compatible with GoPro’s vast array of mounts and accessories

GoPro cameras also went to Mars, at least in Riddley Scott’s recent film, The Martian. In an interview at Entertainment Weekly Scott said that when faced with the challenge of turning a first-person voice book into a movie, the GoPro was considered as a viable choice. If so many people these days use action cams for selfies, the astronaut Mark Watney (actor Matt Damon) could well use GoPro cameras to register his days on Mars. Riddley Scott adds that ”our solution was the GoPro that is everywhere where he is. They record everything — they’re like the black box on an aircraft. So if you have a GoPro present and no one else to talk to, it suddenly becomes a buddy. Matt was able to talk to it that way. So it was tricky but it never became a problem because Matt Damon is such a great humorist. “

One article on Gopro’s website also quotes Riddley Scott saying: “I ended up using these cameras in a way I didn’t expect,” reflected Scott. “They became a character in the movie; they were mounted on the astronauts; Matt’s character actually records all of his video logs on them in the habitat. Small details that helped drive aspects of the story forward and gave the world an extra layer of authenticity and familiarity.”

In addition to giving Watney a companion on Mars, Scott discovered that the video content that he was capturing with the GoPro devices unlocked unique perspectives, enabling a completely new way to showcase the astronaut’s struggle. So while the storyline is fictional, the footage captured from GoPro is quite real.

“We used GoPro cameras in several of our biggest scenes … and they really allowed us to capture not only the intensity and suspense of these moments, but also the intimacy of the characters themselves,” said Scott.

Scott’s use of GoPro in the production of the film represents the biggest cinematic integration of GoPro in a Hollywood release. “New technologies like GoPro give filmmakers the opportunity to really push the language of cinema forward and introduce audiences to new perspectives and layers of storytelling that can really be quite engaging,” added Scott.