Already equipped with image-taking equipment? The question is whether to take it on a trip.
Is it light and compact to travel?
In my case the answer is no. The body withVc a lens alone weighs 1.7kg. By adding other lenses, flash, tripod, action cam, drone and chargers… the set rises to 10kg and is not a model of compactness. In addition, part of it is not tropicalized and will surely get tired of the dust of the desert and the sand of the beaches. The Tamron 24-70 G1 in the photo has been replaced because of grains of sand that destroyed the zoom ring.
So, what to take?
Let’s go back to the purposes and uses of these images.
Topics
- Roads. On a motorcycle road trip, sequences of the trips are essential. There are several reasons for using wide-angle lenses: vibrations are less sensitive and a wide frame puts the vehicle back in its environment, while avoiding redoing frames that would be impossible while driving anyway. An action cam is therefore well suited.
The vibrations of the twin cylinders planned for this trip are part of their charm, but are disastrous on the material of taking images. It is therefore necessary to compensate for them by a stabilization, preferably integrated into the camera (recent models all offer them). Built-in stabilizations are usually software-based.
They consume much less energy, are more reliable and weigh less than external mechanical stabilization. This stabilization limits the jello effect produced by rotary shutters (where the lines give the impression of waving), without having to lower the shutter speed too much and obtain blurry images.
Strong mounts will attach the camera to the motorcycle tubes. Handlebars, luggage racks, rearview mirrors, crash bars or frames, the mounting points are numerous on large roads. I am not convinced by the system of the ventral harness. It has the advantage of following the driver, no need to detach him at the stage. But I find that it positions the camera too low. She looks more at the bubble than at the landscape. As for the attachment on the helmet it will be tiring over long distances.
I tested a SmallRig stand like this one. With a lightweight camera, this is very suitable for attachment to a tube.
- Wildlife. Taking pictures of kangaroos, emus and other wild animals is the most complicated. This requires a very bright lens because these animals are active mainly at dawn and dusk, times when light is lacking. But also because to take a moving subject you need high shooting speeds. In addition, it takes a high-magnification lens, so as not to scare away wildlife by getting too close.
The Sigma 200-500 f2.8 opposite may seem like a perfect solution. Unfortunately, the construction of such lenses requires many lenses, which, to let in a lot of light, must be large in size. The result: an excessively heavy, cumbersome and overpriced lens, even fragile. In short, equipment unsuitable for taking images on itinerant trips. In any case, at a great distance the air movements generated by the heat of the ground decrease the sharpness.
- Diving. The Great Barrier Reef, the varied wildlife and the warm waters of the Australian coasts call divers. To bring back images, the camera must be waterproof. A lot of action cam is enough to evolve in the 20m depth. However, it is an alternative solution. Because their very wide angle lens is unsuitable for ‘framing’ a subject. The ideal is to have a box, although they are as expensive as an action cam.
- Aerial plans. The regulations concerning the use of drones are close to the French. They are heavily supervised in national parks. Two websites list allowed hover zones: ok2fly and opensky.wing. The CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) also provides links to apps.
- Stars. Atmospheric conditions and low light in remote areas are excellent for observing the night sky. Impossible to take a telescope, nor a motorized mount. It will be necessary to be satisfied with wide plans of the Milky Way.
- Landscape, camp, city… Of course there will be ‘standard’ photos. These are images that are easy to succeed, regardless of the material and the journey. And any device will be suitable. Preferably with a lightweight mounting bracket to stabilize videos.
Hardware
The DSLR is out of the race because of its weight. It is therefore a Sony RX100 VI that will be responsible for wildlife photos and videos. Its 200mm zoom is a bit limiting to stay away from animals. But it catches up with a 1-inch sensor that produces very good shots and allows some digital enlargements. Its low weight allows to add an inderwater housing which makes it ideal for underwater photography. It has one limitation compared to the RX100 VII, which is the lack of external mike entrance. So I have to record remote (on a phone for example) and merge audio and video.
As for the drone, I enjoyed the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom for several years. And I regret its optical zoom and stability. For reasons of weight and regulation, I changed to a DJI Mini 3 Pro.
The action cams (there are two in order to take shots simultaneously from several angles) are GoPro Hero 9. Their stabilization system is terribly efficient. In addition, they adapt very well to contrasts.
A Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra phone completes the set. It brings the simplicity of loading photos and video on the net almost in real time.