Gear Crush: Nikon's Coolpix Projector Camera

With all due respect to Facebook, the most rewarding way to share trip photos is the old-school method: in person. And Nikon’s Coolpix S1000pj lets you do just that. Easily. The world’s first camera with a built-in projector, it turns any white backdrop into an impromptu slide show. Projections are clear up to 3 x 4 feet—surprisingly good for a pocket-size device. The camera itself isn’t bad either, with 12.1MP and Nikon’s Best Shot Selector, which takes up to ten frames per click and keeps the sharpest ($430; nikonusa.com). —Catharine Livingston

Adventure Filmmaking: Climber-Artist Renan Ozturk (Part I)

It used to be, if you wanted to see the most extreme places on Earth, you'd have to wait for folks like Jacques Cousteau to head out with film crews, big cameras, reels of tape, and limited power. Then they'd hit the editing room and emerge, months later, with a final product. Then, you'd have to wait for it to air on TV. Those days, like the Calypso, are a thing of the past.

Now, with compact hi-def cameras, powerful laptops, satellite modems, and alternative power sources, expeditions of any size can cut together films from the field, in near real time. This flexibility hinges on access to affordable, professional editing software, such as Apple's new Final Cut Studio, an upgrade to the preferred Final Cut Pro that's just $1,000. This fall we joined the Eddie Bauer First Ascent Everest team, led by mountaineers Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker, send in daily video dispatches on a climb of the world's tallest mountain. The remotest corners of the planet are opening up for the rest of us to see, sans down jacket.

We decided to survey our own National Geographic explorers to see how they are using improved technology to bring the world their stories like never before. First up, a climber-artist Renan Ozturk. At just 29, this North Face athlete-artist has made his unique films that combine video with illustrations from the Czech Republic's sandstone towers, the Himalaya's Tapovan Base Camp (14,000 feet), and Borneo's Mount Kinabalu (13,000 feet), as well as Argentine Patagonia and Yosemite National Park. Here, he tells us how he does it.—Mary Anne Potts

Travel Tech: Sony Debuts World's Lightest Notebook

Let's face it: While there's all this talk of going off the grid, most of us really like to stay connected while traveling. And while smartphones are so helpful—some might argue that they are even smarter than certain spouses (read the clever DVR love note in last week’s New Yorker)—something a little larger with a bit more computing power can be worth the extra, um, ounces in your carry-on. Last night Sony VAIO introduced several new products. Two caught our eye as potentially desirable travel companions. (Be sure to check out our recent review of netbooks, too.)

Leading Edge Gear Week: Pocket Rocket Mini-Projector

Each day this week we'll feature an innovative new product featured in our October issue's ADVENTURE's Leading Edge story, on newsstands now. Preview it here.

There’s no getting around the eye-straining display of an iPod or cell phone, so toy-robot maker WowWee came up with a solution: a mini-projector called the Cinemin Swivel ($349). Just bigger than a candy bar, it can beam images and videos from smartphones, MP3 players, and laptops onto a wall. The picture can stretch as wide as a 60-inch TV screen—all the better to show off those vacation slides with. 

Photograph by Joshua Scott

Tech: The Future of Mapping with LIDAR (in Radiohead's House of Cards Video)

The known world has been charted, plotted, and endlessly measured. Or has it? A groundbreaking mapping technique is changing the way we see the planet.

From hand-drawn to digitally rendered, mapping has come a long way. And now LIDAR (light detection and ranging) is raising the bar. The technique uses laser pulses to construct über-precise 3-D images. It’s kind of like radar, constantly sending out and receiving signals, but LIDAR can map nearly anything. It can image clouds and penetrate forest canopies, measure plankton blooms and cut through water to chart riverbeds. It’s increasing the accuracy of aerial maps by an order of magnitude; indeed, the U.S. Geological Survey is currently working to remap every state with LIDAR. It’s even been used to make music videos—watch Radiohead’s “House of Cards."

Read more big, record-breaking, green, disease-busting, deep-sea, crime-fighting ideas for 2009 our October feature story "Adventure's Leading Edge" >>

Our Favorite Adventurers on Twitter - Updated 9/2

Who better to follow in 140 characters or less than our favorite explorers? We've put together a roster of tweeters, from eco-activist David de Rothschild to alpinist Ed Viesturs, to keep an eye on the ever-changing world of adventure. 

This list is by no means final, so keep checking back to see who's been added. And, as always, tell us who we left out in the comment section below. We're particularly interested in adding gear manufacturers, conservation groups, and outfitters that are tweeting, so if you're out there, let us know.

Of course, you can also follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/ngadventure

See the full list after the jump.

NextGen Cameras: Sneak Peek at Canon's G11 Point-and-Shoot

Today, initial shots and details leaked on Canon’s latest camera—the G11. Pretty much everyone here at ADVENTURE drooled over the G9 and G10 models, which are hugely powerful, semi-professional point-and-shoots. Why should the G11 be any different? Well, these are interesting times in the mid-range, semi-pro camera market, with very viable, interchangeable Micro Four Thirds lens models emerging from Olympus and Panasonic. 

Olympus’s EP-1 has been getting serious buzz (and I took one into the Yosemite backcountry with me last week, so more on it shortly). The EP-1 offers what may be a true bridge between point and shoots and high end DSLRs. 

The G11 has a fixed lens, like its predecessors. So it’s smaller, but the images may be flat. Even so, it’s got some ridiculous features, like shooting up to 12800 ISO and a Quick Shot mode that promises to be damn near instantaneous (something the G9 and G10 lacked). It should be available Oct. 1 and will likely cost around $500.—Ryan Bradley

How to Use Your iPhone Travel Apps While Abroad

Text by Laura Buckley

After reading our Top 20 iPhone Travel Apps story, many of you responded with a very logical question: These apps are great, but how can I afford them when I’m, you know, actually traveling abroad? Or as reader Brenda Fritz put it, “Is Wi-Fi covered by my standard contract with AT&T or will it be $100 for me to find a great steak place in Melbourne?” After three customer service reps, two hours, and one hang up (us, not them), we think we cracked how the confusing international charges work. The short answer: It’ll cost you extra to use these travel apps outside of the U.S., Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands.

First and foremost, the only surefire way to avoid crazy international rates that’ll give you nightmares is to turn off your data roaming. (Settings → general → network → data roaming OFF.) This will disable all of your data features, such as email, Web browsing, or apps—pretty much everything that makes an iPhone an iPhone. But, as reader Ra Williams put it: “I found it's cheaper and more enjoyable to simply ‘ask somebody’ when traveling abroad.” Absolutely, if you are not chatting up the locals to learn more about your destination, you might as well stay home.

But you bought an iPhone for a reason and you want to search the Web and use the nifty BuUuk travel app to find a great restaurant while in Beijing. Here are some pointers:

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Travel Tech: Cell Phone Gadgets Good Enough For 007

Text by Christian Camerota. Also read our review of rugged, adventure cell phones.

An old adage says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. But these are a few strides you might consider beforehand to prep yourself and your cell phone adequately.

1. Dial With A Green Thumb: HYmini Solar/Wind-Powered Phone Charger

What a drag to be in the middle of the Gobi Desert with full bars, ready to call home and brag about the killer sandstorm you just survived, when your battery runs out. Luckily, you eschew feeling powerless and always pack your HYmini. One of the cooler looking little handheld green gadgets around, the HYmini harnesses wind or solar power (or both) and can be used to juice up anything from your cell to your ipod.

Continue reading this story >>

Travel Tech: Online Video Sharing - YouTube Vs. Vimeo

Text and video by West Coast Editor Steve Casimiro.

There are heaps of video sharing services, but for practical purposes it comes down to two, YouTube and Vimeo, and there’s a clear choice between them.

1. YouTube
If you want access to bazillions of viewers and are willing to sacrifice resolution, uploading to YouTube is faster, easier, and unlimited. The down side? Even the site’s “high quality” mode seems fuzzy, and expect lots of mindless comments.

Lyngen Alps, Norway from The Adventure Life on Vimeo.

2. Vimeo
Vimeo, on the other hand, limits your free uploads to 500MB and one HD video a week, but your work appears brighter, sharper, and better. The site is cleaner, the videos slicker, the environment closer to indie film fest than the street brawl that is YouTube.

Read Casimiro's reviews of affordable new video cameras (Flip, Sony, Kodak) here.

Photograph by Joshua Scott