Bushwalk Australia

I've been taking a Sony RX100 m3 along with me, but looking at perhaps a more durable / lighter option. I do worry it will get beaten around and ruined. I thought perhaps I won't bother with a 'decent' camera and use my phone instead... but I don't like the idea of using my phone for pics and videos and flattening the battery when potentially you could need it to help you get out of some strife. I have started to look at a newer GoPro as an option. I have an older one (Hero 3) which I would have bought about 7-8 years ago so really not great by today's standards. I figure a newer GoPro 8/9 would be fairly close to the quality of a phone for stills, and better for video. The other option is to take along a battery pack to charge the phone up again, but I dare say a GoPro would be a much lighter option. It's all a compromise I guess. For context my training and day job is a photographer... so well away of the image quality sacrifices I'm making over the Sony. It does a great job for it's size and weight. But in reality I'm only there to enjoy the walking, and take some happy snaps with friends. Just wondering if there's an option I haven't thought of?

I use either my Sony a7, or the current Google pixel.

I'm waiting on Sony to release a new aps-c camera as I think that hits the sweeet spot as far as weight goes.

icefest wrote:I use either my Sony a7, or the current Google pixel.

I'm waiting on Sony to release a new aps-c camera as I think that hits the sweeet spot as far as weight goes.

I'm considering perhaps even a second phone. One can be an actual phone turned off, the other for pics and video. The RX100 does a good job, but at 430g, I'd rather something significantly less hefty, and easier to access.

Flagship Samsung or iPhone cameras keeps life simple and good for 3 days, no power bank required. As a photographer, how many shots are you going to take anyway?

The in-phone jpg auto-post is very good but I like to desaturate the green but happy to live with the auto-post.

There are some clip-ons with ND and CPLs on ebay. You can pay $$$ for these clip-ons but how good is the glass on these phones?



Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

crollsurf wrote:Flagship Samsung or iPhone cameras keeps life simple and good for 3 days, no power bank required. As a photographer, how many shots are you going to take anyway?

The in-phone jpg auto-post is very good but I like to desaturate the green but happy to live with the auto-post.

There are some clip-ons with ND and CPLs on ebay. You can pay $$$ for these clip-ons but how good is the glass on these phones?



Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

Not a huge amount really. And certainly not out there to do any serious photography. I've considered taking my proper camera gear before but it's just too heavy and it's not really the reason I head out walking. It's just nice to have something half decent with me if I see something nice to photograph. Mostly just taking shots to document the adventure with my friends. It's all about compromise I guess. If possibly I'd like to leave my phone turned off unless I need to make a call (if there's reception) or as a backup GPS.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

It's my birthday this week and word on the street is that I'm lucky enough to be scoring a new GoPro. I currently have a hero 2 or 3 and it does occasionally take a decent pic but mostly junk. I'll update when I've used it a couple of times.

My Oppo phone takes great photos too and I'm planning on buying a small tripod and a remote shutter to get some better photos with it.

EGM wrote:It's my birthday this week and word on the street is that I'm lucky enough to be scoring a new GoPro. I currently have a hero 2 or 3 and it does occasionally take a decent pic but mostly junk. I'll update when I've used it a couple of times.

My Oppo phone takes great photos too and I'm planning on buying a small tripod and a remote shutter to get some better photos with it.

Yeah I'm currently weighing up:

- A new phone (either and upgrade on my Pixel 3XL, or cheapy) one as a contact to the outside world, and other as a camera.
- A GoPro - great video, downgrade in photo quality from my RX100 (but obviously way more durable).
- Save my cash and stick with the less durable and heavier RX100.

The GoPro would have the additional benefit of being used on my mountain bike now and then, or stuck to my car for a bit of fun on the twisty roads.

I feel like the ultimate light weight quality camera for the trails doesn't yet exist for still photography. Technically very hard to achieve given the physical limitations of a small form factor sensor and lens combo. Phone cameras today rely so heavily on software and processing power mixed with multiply camera to get a decent result... and they are still a good way off a decent dedicated camera. I don't think there's one right answer for everyone.

Its is hard to beat the current smart phone when it comes to taking photos.
I had an Olympus TG860 great tough camera for hiking but the phone offered the same performance.
I have recently replaced it with a Nikon A1000, not a rugged/waterproof camera but the zoom range was the selling point for me.
Good Luck,
Wazza.

wazzawalkin wrote:Its is hard to beat the current smart phone when it comes to taking photos.

At the size / weight I agree with that.

Well, I checked out some sample pics from a GoPro Hero 9 and they are terrible. One less option to ponder about… ended up with a friends old (not that old) iPhone that had a busted screen. She said I could keep it. And refused to let me pay for it so I bought her a bottle of gin for it. I got the screen fixed for $120. I’ll keep the SIM in it, turn it off, and pop it in my pack. I’ll use my Pixel for video and stills.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have carried my Sony RX100 on dozens of walks over the past 5 years, and I am not particularly careful with it (although I would avoid drowning it). The battery life is fantastic if you are not using the flash and don't take too many movies. I don't mind the weight as it takes great photos, superior to most smart phones, particularly if you want to blow them up and it gives you more shot control. That said I have just got a Sony 1 III phone (not sold in Oz but easy to get from Hong Kong), it has 3 Zeiss lenses including a telephoto and the photo software they are using in that is much the same as their main stream cameras. I will report back on that in the near future
BW

bluewombat wrote:I have carried my Sony RX100 on dozens of walks over the past 5 years, and I am not particularly careful with it (although I would avoid drowning it). The battery life is fantastic if you are not using the flash and don't take too many movies. I don't mind the weight as it takes great photos, superior to most smart phones, particularly if you want to blow them up and it gives you more shot control. That said I have just got a Sony 1 III phone (not sold in Oz but easy to get from Hong Kong), it has 3 Zeiss lenses including a telephoto and the photo software they are using in that is much the same as their main stream cameras. I will report back on that in the near future
BW

Interested to hear how you go.

Yep! The RX100 is far superior for print, editing in RAW, and any kind of decent photography. But the reality is that I am off the clock, and not out there to create anything more than photos and videos of me and my friends - and probably at most, used on socials. One of my friends that came along on a few walks last year is also a photographer. We went through university together and now we both work in the medical photography industry. She brought along an old school disposable camera. I was jealous of the weight, and the nostalgia to be honest. And part of me doesn't mind the idea of having limitations of the gear I'm using and accepting the challenge of creating some nice shots.

If I were out on a mission to get some cracking landscapes, I would find specific locations for those shots, take in my dSLR gear, and likely camp there for several days and hope for the right conditions and light. I remember a lecturer once tell a student to be weary of trying to combine photography with other activities. It often doesn't help. You are better off making the photographs the priority. That's not mutually exclusive though, if the photography was 100% your priority the bushwalking may be consequential. The other way around is not necessarily true. The irony is that I was first inspired to get out there into these locations for photography, and was determined to carry in a good 8kg+ off camera gear. Eventually I just realised I enjoy the experience and the photography doesn't need to be my aim. Taking the RX100 was a compromise. Perhaps I'm just getting older and lazier (while phone photos keep improving) but somewhere that level of compromise and priority has shifted again. The Sony does seem to be tough, most p&s cameras are unless they are dropped with the lens out and land on it. Maybe I'll regret not having it with me. We shall see.

I used to use a Nikon Coolpix 29 because it was very light (150g), very cheap, used AA batteries, and if it broke it wouldn't matter. It survived trips and falls (me), the occassional drop (the camera) and went underwater once (Coxs river was deeper than I thought) without ever failing. But the quality of photo left much to be desired. Portraits in daylight were OK but landscapes were crappy, and forget about low light shots. A change to a Sony RX100M2 brought a big step change in quality, and it is now what I usually take on a long bushwalk. I do have a DSLR but always blanch at the weight. I've used it on daywalks but that's it. The only other camera I have taken out recently is a Sony DSCHX90V which I bought second hand. It's small and light, and while the photo quality is not as good as the RX100, it does have a 30x zoom and a viewfinder which is kind of fun if there are animals or birds about. I still prefer the RX100 for most situations. I also have a trail camera which has accompanied me on every overnight walk for the last 6 years - it weighs 275 g and gives me something to do in the evening. I'm sorry to say I've never captured anything remarkable.

Notwithstanding the quality issues, it was the Nikon Coolpix which has given me my favourite bushwalking photo - my daughter is hanging off a couple of spikes on Tarro's ladder, and I am above her leaning out while holding onto another spike to get the shot. It needed to be quick and it needed to be one handed. I wouldn't have got it if I was using a phone and I wouldn't have got it if I was using a DSLR. I'm not recommending it but there is a place for small and quick.

It does depend on your priorities.

The RX100M3 is my go to camera for trips when I am not taking an interchangeable lens camera. It takes excellent photos - but you'd know that!

I like having it because it can still get great shots at a fraction of the weight of an ILC. I get annoyed by poor photos, even of friends and general landscapes, so the RX100M3 hits the balance for me.

GoPro don't have a fantastic reputation any more especially when it comes to failures and warranty issues.

I have tried phone, gopro, RX100m3, and an entry level DSLR D7200 and the best all round package and best photos come from the Sony. It doesn't have the best zoom but it does great wide and low light shots. Be careful though, mine was definitely damaged by water ingress.

Panasonic Lumix GX8 or GM5, iPhone 11 Pro, Insta360 One-R with 360 and 4K modules.

CasualNerd wrote:GoPro don't have a fantastic reputation any more especially when it comes to failures and warranty issues.

I have tried phone, gopro, RX100m3, and an entry level DSLR D7200 and the best all round package and best photos come from the Sony. It doesn't have the best zoom but it does great wide and low light shots. Be careful though, mine was definitely damaged by water ingress.

One of the reasons the older models are so great, is that they weren't trying to push the lens' focal range too far. Large optical zoom lenses come with compromise, usually variable apertures and reduced max aperture. But also increased chromatic aberration and reduced overall lens resolution. I haven't looked at them too closely lately but I do remember they increased that focal range and I was disappointed to see it.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

headwerkn wrote:Panasonic Lumix GX8 or GM5, iPhone 11 Pro, Insta360 One-R with 360 and 4K modules.

I was intrigued by that Insta360. How do you find it?

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Dexter wrote:I was intrigued by that Insta360. How do you find it?

I find it pretty awesome, quite flexible in providing interesting and unique footage. I mostly use the 360 camera module and reframe footage into 16:9, great on a long 3m pole for giving quasi-crane or low-drone like shots. It's also great for time lapses, set it up on a little tripod while we're at the summit and pan around the field of view with the clouds flying by etc. It's also great for starry sky nightlapses; has a dedicated capture mode for this. Here's an example of what I managed to capture overnight atop Mt Ossa earlier in the year during an aurora event.

https://youtu.be/sRL_vTIik5I

Bad bits: battery life is only so-so, you'll need to attach a battery bank to get it to go all night. They do an extended battery though, which one day I'll fork out for. The 360 lenses are a pain to keep clean and you have to keep them clean because the slightest mark messes up your image. Also the image quality is more "usable" than "awesome" when reframing 360 footage. Nightlapse images are a tad noisy too. Also the standard mount cage and flappy door over the mSD slot and USB-C connection are annoying.

Also you'll need to post-process your clips through the Insta360 app. Not necessarily 'bad' as the app is pretty sorted and reliable these days, but it does add time to your workflow.

That's super cool! I'd be proud of that. Seems more fun to me than a GoPro. Being able to pan through your timelapses really gives the footage a much more dramatic look.

Is there anyway to get their software to process the 360 footage into something Premiere Pro can handle? I know PP has the ability to handle 360 or VR footage if in a format it understands. Perhaps it's only because I feel comfortable in PP, but I feel like I'd want to get in there with minimal post done with the cameras software. Even if it meant outputting the 16:9 in max quality and then colour grading and cutting together in Premiere.

Perhaps some of those niggles will be addressed with the next release.



Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Well for about the same price as a current version GoPro, you get both a ultrawide action cam AND a 360 camera, so it's a pretty good value proposition. Suffice to say our old Hero 4 Black and Hero 5 haven't seen any use in ages.

There's a plugin for Premiere Pro - https://blog.insta360.com/insta360-one- ... de-simple/

Can't say I ever used it, as I quickly gave up on Premiere Pro and went back to LumaFusion and DaVinci Resolve. Insta360 also have a desktop app where you can keyframe in "moves" however it was always quicker and easier to reframe on an iPad or iPhone (hardware H.264/265 acceleration helps). Generally I used the View Finder mode which uses the accelerometers to literally frame up by moving your device around physically. Sounds weird but is actually super intuitive. Sitting in a swivel chair you can achieve smooth and natural looking pans, zooms and shifts.

Deep track is also useful for certain shots, especially when the camera is "fixed" to a person. I've stuck the shorter "selfie" pole in the side pocket of my backpack which can give an interesting snorricam effect over you. I used this sped-up to record me removing our group's confidence rope over a flooded Florentine River log crossing earlier this year. Will see if I can dig up that footage.

headwerkn wrote: Generally I used the View Finder mode which uses the accelerometers to literally frame up by moving your device around physically. Sounds weird but is actually super intuitive. Sitting in a swivel chair you can achieve smooth and natural looking pans, zooms and shifts.

What a cool feature!


Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Example of the Snorricam effect:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Uq1HyvdGfk

(Also a good reason to take microspikes when doing log crossings )