There were a few themes to CES 2014 and action cams was surely one of them. You couldn’t walk down an exhibit hall without seeing a few different booths containing someone’s new action cams. Everybody wants a piece of the GoPro pie.
The Garmin VIRB action camera has been around for a while now, but I saw it for the first time at CES 2014. Spec-wise, there’s not a whole lot that sets it apart. It features 1080/30p and 720/60p video capture, which is pretty bland in the latest generation of action cameras.
The GPS feature, however, allows you to do cool things like automatically record in Skiing Mode when you are going downhill, but stops recording while you are chilling at the bottom of your run or waiting in the lift line. Additionally, it has an always-on 1.4″ chroma display that uses very little battery but allows you to frame your shot and navigate menu items. The camera itself is waterproof down to 1 meter; however, a dive housing for up to 50m is also available.
The Garmin VIRB Elite action camera retails for $399 and can be found here on Amazon.com.
