Video: Exploring Iceland by Drone

If there is a place that seems perfect for exploring via drone, it is probably Iceland. The country is filled with spectacular landscapes that include mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers, and waterfalls. Those places are all captured nicely in this short video, which was shot using a DJI Phantom 3. As you'll see, the results are fantastic, giving us views of these wonderful places that we couldn't normally get on our own.

ICELAND from modern-atelier on Vimeo.

Video: More Beautiful Drone Footage From Iceland

Just in case you need further prodding to visit Iceland, this video may help in that regard. It features more stunning landscapes captured by a DJI Inspire drone and filmed in 4k. As usual, the footage features some of the most beautiful and wild places imaginable, in a country that is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty.

One of these days I'll go to Iceland myself. As with most places I haven't been to just yet, it is definitely on my list.

Video: A Bird's-Eye View of Iceland

We'll wrap up the week with this stunning video that provides some striking imagery from Iceland. It features wonderful shots of the lakes, mountains, and rolling landscapes that were captured by drone, giving us a bird's-eye view of this beautiful place. This is once again the type of video that will inspire you to want to visit Iceland, as it looks like a destination that is made for adventure. Enjoy.

Iceland: A Bird's-Eye View from Soaring Badger Productions on Vimeo.

Video: Drone Flights Over the Mountains of Brazil

This video takes us to Pico do Cristal, the 5th highest mountain in Brazil to give us a beautiful look at a remote region of that country that is seldom visited by outsiders. The filmmakers behind this project took a drone with them to capture footage from the landscapes that surround the peak, and the results are simply stunning. There is always something mesmerizing about hiking above the clouds, and watching them drift by below. Something that we see prominently here. Enjoy this tranquil look at an amazing place.

DRONE DA MONTANHA - PICO DO CRISTAL from DRONE DA MONTANHA on Vimeo.

Video: Drone Flight Over Bolivia in 4k

Bolivia is one of the South American countries that often gets forgotten when competing for attention against the likes of Peru, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. But the country has a natural beauty all of its own, and plenty of great opportunities for adventure. This video was shot using a drone and a 4k GoPro Hero4 Black camera. It captures a variety of landscapes from Bolivia in fashion that is both oddly mesmerizing and incredibly tranquil. Shot at 3000 meters (9842 feet) in altitude, the video shows fantastic shots of the famous salt flats, as the altiplano stretches out before you. The soothing music only adds to the experience.

Flying Bolivia in 4K from Octocam on Vimeo.

Adventure Tech: GoPro Releases New Mid-Level Camera, Hints at Drone and VR in the Works

It has been a busy week in terms of news from the folks at GoPro, the makers of the ubiquitous action camera that seems to be carried by just about everyone these days. Yesterday, the company released a new mid-level camera that helps lower the barrier for more people to use their devices, and last week CEO Nick Woodman announced that the company was working on building not only a drone, but a complete package for creating virtual reality films as well.

The new entry level camera is called the Hero+ LCD and as the name suggests, it comes equipped with a touch-screen LCD that provides users with the ability to make easy adjustments to the device's settings and more easily view the footage that they are capturing. The camera is capable of shooting video in full 1080p resolutions at 60fps, and has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity options too. It comes with a waterproof case that allows it to be submerged in up to 40 meters (131 feet) of water, and it has onboard editing for making basic cuts to the captured clips without needing a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

The new Hero+ LCD falls squarely between the entry-level Hero ($129), and the slightly more capable Hero4 Silver ($399). It is expected to go on sale June 7 – this Sunday – at a price of $299.

Perhaps even more interesting is the news that GoPro is working on creating a drone of their very own. The company's cameras have been popular with the drone crowd over the past couple of years, but up until now it has been content to stay out of that market. That will change in 2016 however, which is when it will release a quadcopter model to consumers. The price and design of that drone are not yet known, but it is expected to be released in the first half of next year.


Woodman also told a crowd at the Code Conference in California last week that GoPro is diving headfirst into the burgeoning virtual reality market. With products like Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR coming to the market in the next few months, VR is expected to take off like never before. To meet that demand, GoPro is building a special housing that will allow filmmakers to use six cameras at once, capturing video in multiple directions. Specialized software will than be used to stitch the video together, creating a seamless VR environment. The new housing is expected to debut later this year at a price of between $1500 and $2000, which puts it out of reach for most consumers, but should appeal to the professionals using GoPro cameras already.

It is an exciting time for a company that has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years. It seems evident that GoPro isn't about to be left behind by new technology, and that they are working hard to maintain their crown as the leader in the action cam market.

Video: Nat Geo Drone Footage of Nubian Pyramids

You'll have to forgive me for being a bit Egypt-obsessed at the moment. Since returning from the country a few weeks back, I've been thinking about it a lot, and writing about my experiences there. This video of course caught my attention, as it features footage of Nubian pyramids in Sudan, that were captured by a drone operated by National Geographic engineer Alan Turchick. It is a great way to view these ancient monuments, which have a certain grandeur that is best when taken in from a bird's eye view.

Update: It has been pointed out that the sites in this video are actually in Sudan, and not Egypt. Sudan was actually a part of Egypt for hundreds of years, and the Nubians were a people that lived in that part of the world. It is important to make that distinction, so I thought I'd clarify the text some.

Adventure Tech: Lily the Autonomous Drone

There is no question that personal drones have been one of the hottest tools to come along for budding filmmakers in recent years. They give us the ability to capture shots that simply weren't available in the past without a large budget. But now, nearly anyone is capable of capturing stunning arial footage without breaking the bank or learning how to fly a helicopter.

But drones are still sophisticated pieces of equipment that require some degree of training to fly, and a good understanding of how they operate in order to use them properly. This has created a barrier of sorts that some filmmakers might struggle to overcome. That could change with the introduction of an autonomous drone named Lily however, as the promise of handsfree flight and video capture is realized at last.

Quite frankly, using Lily couldn't be easier. To get the drone to start flying and recording, simply toss it into the air, and it's rotors will automatically kick in. Lily is designed to follow an included tracking device, so the personal UAV will first hone in on the location of that device, and immediately start following it. That means whether you're hiking, trail running, mountain biking, kayaking, or climbing, Lily will follow you and capture both still and video images of your adventures.

The drone comes equipped with a built-in camera capable of capturing full 1080p video at 60 fps. It's 12 megapixel sensor works great for standard photographs too. The device is completely waterproof, is capable of 20 minutes of flight on a single charge, and is built to withstand the challenges of being out in the elements. The tracking device allows the user to adjust some flight parameters, giving you control over the images you capture, and it can even record sound from the ground, independent of the camera itself.

Lily is set to ship in February of next year at a retail price of $999. But a presale event for the flying camera begins today on the official website. If you order now, you can get the device for just $499, although that offer is only good for the next month, so you'll want to order soon.

And checkout the video below to get a better idea of what Lily is capable of.

Video: A Journey to Antarctica

Antarctica is the most remote destinations on the planet, so most of us never get a chance to go there. But in December of 2014 and January of 2015, filmmaker Kalle Ljung traveled to the frozen continent, and captured some amazing footage from his journey. The 8-minute video below is a compilation of his work that gives us a glimpse of the breathtaking landscapes that can be found there. Ljung says that his journey began in Ushuaia, Argentina and proceeded to Port Williams in Chile, before rounding Cape Horn and crossing the infamous Drake Passage. Over the course of 16 days in the Antarctic, he was able to film some amazing places using a GoPro camera and DJI Phantom 2 drone. As you'll see, the results are spectacular.

Antarctica from Kalle Ljung on Vimeo.

Video: Introducing the New DJI Phantom 3 Drone

Yesterday DJI, the leader in consumer drone production, introduced a new product to their line-up that I'm sure will be of interest to more than a few of you. The Phantom 3 brings a host of new features including better navigational features for both indoor and outdoor flights, built-in wireless video streaming to the remote, the option of broadcasting live video to YouTube, and an optional 4k camera as well. The video below was shot with the new drone and will give you an idea of what it is capable of. As you can imagine the footage is quite spectacular.

Drones are one of the best tools for aspiring filmmakers these days, and DJI keeps making nice, incremental steps forward. The Phantom 3 provides some very nice advancements over previous models, but does so at an affordable price too. The new Professional model with 4k camera costs $1260, while the standard model with an HD cam will set you back $1000.

Video: Drone Over Nepal

We have another short – but sweet – drone video today, this time from Nepal. The opening footage shown in the clip was shot around Kathmandu, giving viewers a sense of what that city looks like from the air. But later we head out to the Annapurna region, where the DJI Phantom 2 drone captures great shots of the countryside, as well as some beautiful looks at that far-off mountain.

Drone over Nepal from Fallout Media on Vimeo.

Video: Utah's Desert Towers as Seen From the Air

Utah's desert towers are some of the most iconic places for climbers. Stretching hundreds of feet into the sky, this rock pillars have stood for thousands of years as monuments to geological change. Recently, climbers Brandon Fisher, Ken Schulte, and Luke Humphrey traveled to the Utah desert to climb some of the rock towers that dot the landscape there. They also took a drone along with them to capture some of their adventure. The result is this fantastic short film that will leave you breathless with its beauty. This is an amazing video of some of the most incredible landscapes in the entire U.S., and it should not be missed.

Video: South America by Drone

Adam Humphrey, the filmmaker behind this beautiful short film, spent five weeks backpacking through South America, covering more than 19,000 km (11,800 miles) in the process. Along the way, he shot some amazing video – with the help of a drone – in Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru. The results speak for themselves, as viewers are treated to fantastic shots of some of the most stunning landscapes on the continent, if not the world.

South America by drone from Adam Humphrey on Vimeo.

Video: Drones Over the Serengeti

While I was in Tanzania climbing Kilimanjaro I couldn't help but wonder what kind of awesome drone footage could be captured over the Serengeti – the premiere safari destination in the world as far as I'm concerned. It turns out I didn't have to wonder for long, as this video not only takes us to the savannah of Africa, it also stops at Lake Manyara and Ngorongro Crater too. As you can imagine, the scenery and wildlife are exceptional. Great footage from one of my favorite places on Earth.

DJI Inspire 1 // Tanzania from Electric Peak Creative on Vimeo.