Want To Play The GoPro And Action Cam Craze? Look At Facebook

GoPro Inc GPRO is the hottest name in the action camera space, but investors may not have to own the stock to take advantage of its success.

"You know who action cameras help the most? Facebook," Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Feinseth told Benzinga. "The whole point of GoPro is to share experiences, and the number-one platform to share these experiences on is Facebook."

Facebook Inc FB is not typically linked with GoPro, but Feinseth said that investors "gotta own Facebook" if they like any of the action cameras. Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group, told Benzinga that Facebook is typically the place where consumers go to share their videos.

"Where you record it is on YouTube," said Enderle. "So it just depends on what you want to do. Facebook is the place where videos and pictures are often shared."

If GoPro is a catalyst for Facebook, could the opposite also be true?

"The more people that are sharing videos, the more it drives customers to whatever's capturing them," said Enderle. "It would be an indicator of potential growth. But it could be anything from videos you take on your cell phone to videos you take on your GoPro. It shows interest in the medium, but it doesn't show interest necessarily in the mode."

Related Link: Is GoPro The Apple Of Its Sector?

Where Smartphones Fit In

Analysts have dispelled the myth that Apple Inc. AAPL could pose a threat to GoPro. That hasn't stopped manufacturers from building attachments that turn iPhones and other mobile devices into makeshift action cameras.

"You need a durable camera if you want to use it for what you're doing with a GoPro and the risk that you take that it could break or you could lose it," said Feinseth. Enderle agreed, adding that the overall expense could be quite steep if the user gets into an accident.

"The nice thing about the GoPro camera is it's really sturdy, and if you break it, you really only lose the GoPro, you're not gonna lose your phone," said Enderle. "I think it's pretty foolish to take a $600 to $800 iPhone and use it like you would a GoPro. If that thing falls off and gets damaged, you're out that $600 to $800 -- and you don't have a phone that works."

To make matters worse, Enderle said this is typically the time the user needs to call for help.

"I think this is really a dumb idea," Enderle added. "The GoPros aren't that expensive, and if you don't want to spend that kind of money, there are cheaper cameras that are sturdy that you can buy from a variety of vendors. They don't break as easily. And if they break, you're out the camera, you haven't lost your phone."

Feinseth said he likes the new VIRB XE from Garmin Ltd. GRMN.

"You can record all sorts of other data, like GPS data, height, speed, and then they have all kinds of add-on sensors, so it can be a useful tool in tracking a lot of things and examining a lot of things," said Feinseth. "I happen to have the older one. I'll put it in my car [and] drive around when I go on a trip. It'll show me on the map all the places I've been."

Feinseth wasn't sure why Garmin chose not to include 4K recording in its latest action camera.

"I don't know how important that is or why Garmin chose not to incorporate 4K," Feinseth concluded. "Still, to me the best play on action cameras is Facebook."

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.