Vacations can be a fantastic opportunity to have once-in-a-lifetime experiences and capture them in stills or video for you to share with others and have them get a taste of what you saw and heard. How satisfying it is to hear the "Oohs" and "Aahs" of the perfect image or the praise after viewing a well crafted film.
But can the pursuit of creating the perfect vacation memory make a photographer bring too much equipment and potentially miss out on what the vacation is really all about?
Yes it's possible because I'm guilty of doing just that.
I've Brought Too Much Camera Gear!
This past vacation road trip, I really wanted to make sure I had great video footage for YouTube and images to share on Instagram. The National Museum of the United States Air Force in Ohio was the destination and it was a great opportunity to capture some great images. I was going to bring the SLR and take advantage of the low light and optical zoom capabilities. I also had the DJI Osmo video camera and gimbal stabilizer for the video I also wanted to try and capture. Then I had a pair of smart phones: an iphone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7 Pro.
A total of four devices to keep track of and keep charged - Yep a little excessive.
There was a small voice of reason that said "Leave the SLR at home!" which I did, which left less equipment but I learned quickly that this was still too many things to use. Walking around the museum I tried shooting video and photos with the DJI Osmo, but I wound up using the Pixel 7 Pro until the battery died then switched to the iphone. They were just lighter and simpler to use...and more practical given the situation. I learned my lesson.
So with that, here's my quick tip to avoid falling into the pack-rat trap:
All-In-One Digital Cameras will set you Free!
Get yourself a smartphone! Or if that's not an option, go with a point-and-shoot vlogging (Video blog) camera like the Cannon G3 or Sony ZV series.
Yes it's understood these cameras won't be as flexible as an SLR or DSLR, but the images they capture are perfect enough to share with friends and family directly or via social media. They're also versatile enough to shoot video that's good enough to broadcast on sites like YouTube and Instagram.
The big bonus with these cameras is that they're light, easy to carry and quick to turn on and capture those spontaneous moments you don't want to miss.
I realize this tip is simple, but in most cases, simplicity is the best policy. Don't over-complicate things and actually enjoy that vacation.
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