Video: A Winning Downhill Mountain Bike Run

Ever wonder what a winning down-hill run looks like at a UCI mountain biking event? Than take a look at the footage captured by Rachel Atherton's GoPro camera this past weekend. With this ride she not only won the event she was competing in, she collected enough points to become the overall season winner as well. See what she has to deal with out on the course from her own perspective as she bombs down a run that includes tight curves, jumps, banks, and a host of other obstacles. It looks like a lot of fun, although I don't think I'd be going quite so fast.

Video: GoPro Elephant Encounter

One of the best things about GoPro cameras is that they are small and tough, and can be placed just about anywhere. Take this short clip for instance. It was created after one of the action cams was placed on the edge of a field where a herd of elephants comes to play. Elephants being curious creatures knew that the camera was something new in their environment, and proceeded to check it out. The footage that was captured from that encounter is enough to put a smile on your face.

Video: Climbing the White Mountain in China

With this video GoPro takes us to the White Mountain of China, where we meet climber Ting Xiao and her boyfriend Abond. Both wear GoPro cameras as they scale the rock faces of the White Mountain along a rock climbing route that is estimated to be a 5.14B in terms of difficulty. Of course, the clips gives us an up close look at the challenges of the climb, which this former city-girl works hard to overcome.

Video: GoPro Cameras Capture the Best of the Tour de France

Ever wonder what it is like to ride in the peloton of the Tour de France? Than check out this video from GoPro that captures video from the race unlike any you've ever seen. This year, many of the riders have GoPro cams on their bikes, and the footage that has been shown so far has been dramatic to say the least. This is a view of the race that we haven't seen before, and it is pretty amazing.

Video: NBC News Discovers Wingsuit Flying

It is always interesting when the mainstream media discovers an outdoor or extreme sport, and gives it some exposure. Last night, NBC News did just that with its brief exposé on wingsuit flying, which you'll find below. While this video, which features the GoPro Bomb Squad, was part of the nightly news, it was also part of a documentary that aired on CNBC last night entitled "The New High: Extreme Sport," which took a look at a number of the activities that many of us follow or participate in. The one-hour special not only examined wingsuit flying and BASE jumping, but also obstacle course racing, kiteboarding, and other "extreme" activities. The show is likely to air again over the weekend, so if you get a chance, give it a look. I haven't seen it myself, and I'm curious as to how it came out. In the meantime, you can get some solid ariel footage from the clip below.

Video: 33,000 Feet Above Mont Blanc

The Soul Flyers are a team of skydivers, BASE jumpers, and wingsuit pilots who make precision jumps all over the world. In the case of this video, three members of the squad jumped out of a plane at 33,000 feet (10058 meters) over Mont Blanc in Europe. Their descent was captured on GoPro cameras, with some beautiful scenery of both the sky, and the mountains below, making an appearance throughout the clip. This is high altitude sky diving over an iconic mountain, and thanks to their tiny action cameras, we get to go along for the ride.

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: 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.

Adventure Tech: Garmin Virb X and XE Action Camera Challenges GoPro

We all know that the GoPro cameras are the kings of the action cam category, but that doesn't mean there aren't worthy challengers to that crown. In fact, when I reviewed the Garmin Virb Elite camera a year ago, I found it to be an excellent alternative to the GoPro hegemony, offering up some excellent features that had yet to be implemented in Hero line.

But a lot has changed in a year, and GoPro continues to refine and improve their cameras. Last fall, the company released its Hero 4 line, improving an already great product with some excellent new options. But Garmin hasn't been standing still either, and earlier this week they announced an outstanding new addition to the Virb line-up in the form of the X and XE models.

The new Virb cameras come with a completely redesigned body that more resembles a traditional action cam. Previously this product was elongated in shape, but now it is a bit more rectangular, making it easier to grip. The body is ruggedized as well, and built to take the inevitable punishment we'll throw at it in our outdoor pursuits. It is even waterproof down to 50 meters right out of the box, without the need to add an additional housing.

While the standard X model of the Virb maintains the same tech specs as last year (1080p video @ 30fps), the XE received some nice technical upgrades. It is now capable of shooting 1080p at 60 fps, or even 1440p at 30 fps. That is a nice upgrade of course, but falls short of the 4k video that the GoPro, and some of its competitors, are capable of.

The XE does have a new "Pro" mode that gives the user more manual control over the settings, and both models continue to include Garmin's impressive data collecting capabilities which track speed, distance, elevation, location, temperature, and a whole lot more. That data can than be incorporated directly into your videos using the Virb's free editing software.

All in all, this looks like a worthy update to an already impressive action camera. If you don't need 4k video – which is difficult to edit or watch in full resolution at this point – than the Virb delivers some other impressive features that are certainly worth a look. Check it out in action in the video below to get a better idea of what Garmin has delivered here.

Video: Astronaut Takes a GoPro on a Spacewalk

Over the years we've seen the tiny and ubiquitous GoPro camera go just about everywhere. But in this video it takes us some place we have seldom seen in the past. Astronaut Terry Virts wore a GoPro camera when he went for a spacewalk, and as you can imagine the video he captured was pretty spectacular. Take a peek at what it is like to step outside the International Space Station, and go to work 250 miles above the Earth. I'm sure the view was exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time.

Video: GoPro Camera Falls 3000 Meters While Recording

This video was actually found on a GoPro camera that someone stumbled across in their backyard in Sweden. When they took it inside they found the memory card was undamaged, so they examined the footage. Apparently it was dropped by a skydiver from about 3000 meters (9842 ft). The camera then plunged to Earth, recording the whole time. It also began to spin at ever increasing speeds until the ground looks like a mesmerizing pattern without any distinguishable features. That is, until it smacks into the ground, and continues to record while sitting in blades of grass. I guess this clip is a testament to how tough the cameras are, but be warned. Some may find the long drop to the ground to be a bit dizzying.

Video: Climbing the Monolith in France

The Monolithe de Sardières is a massive rock tower located in Savoie, France. It stands 93 meters (305 feet) in height, and is a good challenge for rock climbers. Recently, Laurene Sibue and Xavier Gaboriaud climbed the Monolith and carried a GoPro camera with them as the went. As you can imagine, the views were pretty amazing, as you'll see in the video below. Drones were also used to collect some dramatic shots, which only makes the clip that much better.