GoPro will soon be manufacturing drones. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company, known for its hugely popular line of action video cameras, will release consumer drones "late next year." GoPro's drones will be multi-rotor helicopters that carry high-definition cameras likely resembling those used in existing devices like the GoPro Hero series. According to the report, GoPro is aiming to price its consumer drones between $500 and $1,000, an aggressive range that could immediately shake up the consumer drone market.

Companies like DJI and Parrot have established an early foothold in that business, but GoPro's reputation and dominance of the action cam segment will likely put its future competitors on the defensive almost immediately. Some existing drones already support GoPro cameras, so it will be interesting to see if manufacturers change their strategy once they're competing directly against the company. We know GoPro can build quality cameras, so the bigger question is about the drone hardware itself. At this point, Parrot and DJI have both had multiple tries at building quality consumer drones. And the field will likely be even larger once GoPro's drones are ready. But in many ways, it's an obvious move; you can already take GoPro's cameras nearly anywhere. Now it sounds like the company wants to become the all-in-one solution for aerial photography.