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.

Video: GoPro Captures Cyclist's Collision with Kangaroo

For every jaw-dropping video that we see captured on an action camera, we also get others like this one, which are simply downright painful. A cyclist in Australia was wearing her GoPro when she ran head-on into a kangaroo. The animal comes out of nowhere at about the 20-second mark of the clip, sending the rider down hard. Apparently she suffered nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises, although one cut required eight stitches to close. The "roo" wasn't so lucky. After surviving the accident with the cyclist, it apparently was hit by a car on another nearby road. They really are like deer in Australia.

Video: GoPro Camera Accidentally Captures Great Underwater Images of Sea Life

We've seen a lot of great video captured by GoPro cameras over the years, some of it on purpose and a lot of it accidentally. You can put this clip squarely in the latter category, although the results are pretty great. The person who captured the footage was flying a radio controlled airplane over Cape Range National Park in Australia. A few minutes into the flight, he became disoriented by the sun, and lost his little aircraft. Desperately trying to find the plane, the pilot sends it spiraling into the ocean, where it soon sputters to a halt. Meanwhile, the GoPro Hero Black 3 mounted on the aircraft continues to shoot video footage, capturing images of numerous fish, sharks, a sea turtle and more. It ends up being quite a great video, although the RC airplane probably didn't survive.

The first three minutes of this clip features the aircraft flying around over the park. Some of the footage is quite nice, but if you want to skip ahead to the undersea imagery, jump to the three-minute mark.

Adventure Tech: Light & Motion Introduces New GoPro Companion Light

Light & Motion, a company known for making outstanding headlamps and bike lights, has introduced an interesting new product that I'm sure will be of interest to budding adventure filmmakers with GoPro cameras. Their new Sidekick light is designed to work as a companion to the ubiquitous action cams, providing a lightweight option for providing bright light, without adding much in the way of bulk.

The new product was introduced via a Kickstarter campaign that was launched within the past few days. L&M is looking to raise $50,000 from supporters to help get the Sidekick off the ground, and as of this writing they are already more than halfway to that goal, proving that there is already a great deal of interest in this product.

The Sidekick is designed to be a powerful light source that remains highly portable and very lightweight. The finished model will put off more than 600 lumens of light in a wide flood beam that is meant to provide plenty of illumination to help improve the image quality of the video footage captured by the GoPro camera. The light is also completely water proof, and can withstand pressures down to 200 feet (60 meters) below the surface. A second model – called the Sidekick Duo – will also provide a 400-lumen spot beam for navigation, while an accessory mount allows the light to be mounted on top of the camera specifically for capturing underwater images. Light & Motion promises a run time of up to 4 hours before the Sidekick will need a recharge as well, making it an efficient device too.

The Sidekick is expected to start shipping in March, with those supporting the Kickstarter campaign picking up the standard model for as low as $80, while the Duo light can be had for just $110. When the lights hit the market, they will probably run for considerably more than that, so this is a great way to get the Sidekick at a low price.

For  more details, check out the Sidekick Kickstarter page here.

Kickstarter Campaign: MicroJib For GoPro Cameras

I get inundated with Kickstarter campaigns these days, and for the most part I can't post all of the ones that are sent my way. But I wanted to share one particular campaign that is going on right now that might be of interest to many readers.

The MicroJib is an extension pole for a GoPro camera that allows budding filmmakers to capture shots of themselves and the landscapes they are traveling through. But unlike other GoPro extension poles, the MicroJib also allows them to pan and tilt the camera, opening up the possibilities for creative filmmaking even further. To better understand what it can do, take a look at the YouTube video posted below.

The Kickstarter campaign for the MicroJib has just two days left before it is done, and as of this writing it is closing in on its goal of raising $24,000 but it hasn't quite achieved that just yet. The designers of the product are looking to use the cash to put the MicroJib into production and begin shipping later this year. As is typical with a Kickstarter project, backers can also receive the MicroJib at a great price depending on the level that they contribute at.

If this looks like a tool that you could use, then show some support for the team behind the project. It looks like they've put a lot of thought into the design, and are hoping to create a tool that will make adventure filmmaking even more approachable.

Adventure Tech: New Action Cameras Give Adventurers Alternatives to GoPro

As mentioned yesterday, the Consumer Electronics Show is set to begin in Las Vegas, with hundreds of new gadgets and high tech devices being shown off to the public for the first time. In addition to wearable technology taking center stage, there are also a number of new action cameras on display, giving adventurous filmmakers some true alternatives to the GoPro cameras that seem to have become ubiquitous over the past few years.

Yesterday, Sony unveiled the X100v, the next generation version of their popular Action Cam. This updated model is capable of shooting in 4K at 30 fps, as well as 1080p at 120 fps and 720p at an amazing 240 fps. That puts this camera on par with the new Hero 4 Black from GoPro. But Sony also claims their camera has improved image stabilization, a wider field of view, and improved noise reduction to cut back on the sound of the wind blowing through the microphone. The X100v will also have more manual controls over exposure and white balance as well, and the ability to automatically loop its recordings over the remaining free space on the microSD card in case you start to run low on storage. A new mobile app will also give users the ability to control multiple Sony Action Cams from their smartphone too.

The X100v will run $500 and will become available in February.

If you're looking for something a bit more affordable to record your outdoor adventures, than perhaps the new MHD 2.0 Action Camera from Monoprice will be more to your liking. It's specs are a bit more modest – capturing 1080p HD footage at 30 fps – but then again so is its price. This camera is just $89.99, and features a 170º ultra-wide field of view, a 2.5 hour battery life, and a 5 megapixel sensor. It is also waterproof down to 10 meters (33 feet) without the need for a separate enclosure, and is shock, dust, and freeze proof as well. It even ships with a handlebar mount for your bike so you can start capturing the action immediately.

The MHD 2.0 is available now.

Finally, check out the new Giroptic 360º Camera that promise to do something that neither GoPro nor Sony can match at the moment. This tiny device is capable of filming in a complete 360º circle – in HD resolutions no less – at the same time, ensuring that you never miss a shot. The camera is waterproof down to 10 meters as well and weighs just 6.3 ounces. It comes equipped with GPS for geotagging photos and video, a 185º fisheye lens, built-in Wi-Fi for streaming video and remote control, three microphones, image stabilization via a gyroscope, and a universal camera mount.

This device is capable of a number of very unique things, such as streaming realtime video via Wi-Fi, as well as capturing preset timelapse photos and shooting still shots in HDR. The camera can upload videos directly to YouTube and even Google StreetView. Its ability to shoot in 360º of rotation, as well a 300º up and down, makes it a great option for creating virtual reality films, and mobile apps are available for iOS and Android, with desktop software available for Mac and PC. There is even software that supports the Oculus Rift.

This camera will run $499 and will be available by spring.

As you can see, there are some interesting new options for budding filmmakers, with some powerful tools available at prices that would have seemed unattainable just a few years ago.

Video: GoPro Camera Mercilessly Killed by Grizzly Bear

It never ceases to amaze me what a well-placed video camera can capture these days. In this case, it is some amazing footage of numerous grizzly bears near Glendale Cove in British Columbia. The cameras were set up by ecologist John Kitchen, who was accompanied by bear biologist Melanie Clapham at the time. They managed to catch the massive creatures as the wandered on to a bridge that allows the bears to look into the river below, and spot the salmon as they run upstream. At one point, one of the bears gets overly interested in John's GoPro camera, and decides to play with it a bit. The footage is both humorous, and frightening at the same time. There are truly some great shots of these magnificent animals throughout the four-minute video. If you love wildlife, you'll certainly get a kick out of this.