GoPro’s cameras have a reputation to them about how they are sturdy and rugged and can be used in extreme situations. We’ve seen the camera used during various extreme sporting activities, dropped, dunked underwater, and survive, but could a GoPro survive after being doused with lava?
Turns out the answer is yes, although we do not recommend it. Erik Storm, who is the owner and lead guide of Kilauea EcoGuides in Hawaii was on a tour about a year and a half ago when he decided to put his GoPro into a crack between the rocks to film the flowing of lava. He was telling a story when he noticed that molten lava had completely covered his GoPro, with the camera catching on fire in the process.
Speaking to PetaPixel, Storm was quoted as saying, “I was telling a story when the molten lava completely engulfed my GoPro (with housing on) and it caught on fire. I used a geology rock hammer to pull it out of the lava and thought it was a total loss.” However it seems that despite device catching on fire and the extreme temperatures (which are presumably beyond what GoPro is advising), the camera continued to function.
He took out the SD card and found that its contents were still intact. According to Storm, “The camera even still worked although not a well as it did before. Truly amazing it survived!” If you’d like to check out the footage of molten lava engulfing a GoPro, check out Storm’s video above.
Filed in . Read more about Digital Cameras and Gopro.