1 week ago
5
As I come to the end of my Asia trip, there has been one camera that I have used around 80% of the time. But which one is it and why?
If you follow my articles here on Light Stalking, you will know that I planned a 5 week trip to South East Asia to shoot some photography stock but primarily video stock. A few months back I wrote an article about shooting with a smartphone and how that would be my primary camera on this trip, it wasn't.
I also wrote about my big shift from Fuji to Sony, in particular the Sony a7RV. I realized that I would be missing out on some excellent learning sessions if I did not take that camera on the trip. I loved shooting with the a7RV but that wasn’t the most used camera either.
So in order to heighten the suspense, let me explain why the two aforementioned cameras were not my most used, before revealing what was. Of course you can also scroll down a few paragraphs if you are eager to know.
The iPhone15 Pro
As mentioned above, the iPhone had initially been my weapon of choice for this long trip, The reasons were several, but chief amongst them were its lightweight size, even with a video rig, and its ability to shoot Prores footage in LOG all in 10 bit. That’s a big thing when shooting video.
However, there was a problem that revealed itself on day one of my trip. Wandering the splendid Lumphini Park in Bangkok, I realized that even quite early in the morning, the screen was really difficult to see. The harsh tropical light, reflected off of the iPhone’s – quite respectable – screen, making outdoors, bright light video shooting virtually impossible.
Another disadvantage of the iPhone is taking shots that are not from chest or eye level. Seeing the screen when getting down low, required me to either get down low myself, or guess at how the framing was.
In the end, I used the iPhone a lot for stills photography, taking advantage of its 48mp sensor and ability to shoot RAW. However, for video stock it was actually relegated to third, with barely any footage shot on it.
The Sony a7RV
The Sony, even though new to me, became my favourite camera both for stills and video. However it was not my most used. As the trip was mainly shooting video stock, I took a DJI RS Mini 3 gimbal with me and shot most of the Sony video from that. However, what is an easy to use and shoot set up in the temperate climes of Northern Europe, was extremely hard work in the heat, humidity and often pollution of Southeast Asian cities.
The energy required to lift the camera/gimbal combination in such heat often drained me and resulted in much less clips than I had planned for. Combined this with a suspected Covid infection in Ho Chi Minh City, I was not able to shoot anywhere near what I wanted.
As a pure photography camera however, the Sony was an absolute joy. I had invested in an 85mm f/1.8 lens and that became my go to lens, especially for night shots. Much of the video I shot was also using the 85mm. Photographically, the Sony surpassed my expectations for image quality, autofocus and most surprisingly, low light capabilities. In fact I created a YouTube video about how impressed I was with this 61mp camera’s ability in low light.
The trip served as an excellent bonding experience with the Sony, allowing me to discover its foibles, of which there are quite a few.
The Star Of The Show
Without further ado, let me reveal my most used camera on the trip to Asia. It was the DJI Pocket 3. That might surprise many of you, in fact it surprised me. However the sheer versatility of the tiny gimbal mounted camera allowed me to get a lot of shots that I would not have taken with other cameras.
Chief amongst them were several time-lapse sequences. Combined with another “inspired” purchase, a Gorillapod 3K, I was able to set this tiny camera up on (and above) the busy streets of Bangkok to shoot both video and time-lapse sequences.
Using the DJI Mimo app on my phone, I was able to easily shoot motion in those time-lapses, with the camera panning or tilting. I could easily adjust the time-lapse duration and shots per second, giving me different looks.
However, it was for regular video shooting where the DJI Pocket 3 really came into its own. The 1” sensor can produce 10 bit video in D-Log M. Whilst this is not as high quality as the Sony or the iPhone it’s still more than good enough for stock and YouTube videos. The gimbal allowed me to create all sorts of different motion shots, ideal when shooting static subjects like temples.
Although a smaller sensor than the Sony, the DJI Pocket 3 has a low light mode that creates very good quality video in dark conditions such as nighttime cityscapes. Personally however I preferred to use the regular video mode with +1.7 EV when shooting at night. I felt the video looked more natural.
The DJI Pocket 3 Low Light Mode
The Pocket 3 is not perfect. It has a fixed 20mm lens, so you are limited to relatively wide angle shots. Because of its diminutive size, the gimbal, whilst good, is nowhere near as smooth as a large, dedicated one. Shooting in bright daylight requires the addition of fiddly magnetic ND filters to reduce shutter speed. Plus, it’s not really designed to shoot still images. It can, but the image quality is nowhere near as good as its video quality. The LCD screen however, whilst much smaller than the iPhone’s was easier to see in bright light.
Summary
Ironically the DJI Pocket 3 was probably my least capable camera, of the three, yet it proved to be the easiest to use in the heat of Southeast Asia. It truly is a pocket camera, a camera that you can take pretty much anywhere. Yet despite its small size, the video image quality punches well above its weight.
I would say that between 70 and 80 percent of the footage I took on this trip was shot on the Pocket 3. That is testament to just how good it is.
English (US) ·