Our Photo & Video Material for the World Tour

Still hesitating between going with a camera and taking a simple smartphone? Here is our opinion and our photo & video equipment.

During our first world tour, photo & video was clearly not our strong point as we only left with two has-been smartphones and a 1st generation GoPro. The pictures were pretty much OK but the colors were really disappointing. During the 2nd round-the-world tour, we realized how important it is to have quality visuals, which are able to show things as they are (realistic colors, some depth for the pictures). We don’t have a crazy budget and being still amateurs in photo/video editing & retouching, we don’t want to buy high-end equipment right away.

Our main need: to make quality photos to illustrate the blog articles. Then, the second priority is to be able to vlogger from time to time.

Priority 1: Quality photos to illustrate the blog

Sony RX100 III compact camera

Model	Size	Weight	New price	Used price	Objective
Sony RX100	10,2 x 4,1 x 5cm	290gr	500€ (Amazon link, Fnac link)	400€	24-70mmF1 .8-2.8

We bought a Sony RX100 III20.1 Megapixels. This is an old model but not the 1st generation either. Now, Sony has released version 7 and we stayed with version 3 for a question of weight and features. The rendering of the photos is really great, the colors are faithful, it’s able to take beautiful pictures even when we lack of light or if we are against the light. It is a compact camera(point and go camera) but offers manual or semi-manual modes for more advanced users. I bought it new with case and SD card for 600€ in 2018 but you can easily find second hand models for 400€.

What I like is that it can be linked to smartphones via Wi-Fi and you can transfer photos & videos to smartphones very easily. The photos taken by Sony RX100 III also feed our Instagram account. For a more detailed review of the Sony RX100 III, I invite you to read my full review here.

Underwater photos : sport camera

We don’t do a lot of snorkeling but it’s one of JB’s favorite activities so it’s normal that we are equipped with a waterproof sport camera. Having no budget to offer us the GoPro Hero 7, we have two choices: DJI Osmo Pocket & DJI Osmo Action, these two models are worth between 300€ and 360€ (depending on the condition we want: used or not).

From a strictly sporting viewpoint, Osmo action is more resistant, robust and small. But we’re not very sporty so we opted for Osmo Pocket because I don’t really like to film in wide angle.

You will find the comparison of the two models at the bottom of the article.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is the demo ofOsmo Pocket ‘s performance – in the water (only the underwater part of the dolphins was filmed by Osmo Pocket). The turtle and the snorkeling were filmed by V50X (99€, Amazon link). You can see that the Face Tracking option has not been activated but Osmo Pocket does very well and makes the movements very smooth while we follow the dolphins in the boat and there are a lot of waves.

Alternative: Smartphone

Alternatives: certainly, smartphones are now able to compete with the cameras of today and can take beautiful pictures. What I don’t necessarily like is the addition of automatic filters on a lot of smartphones, which make the colors much more contrasted and less faithful to the place. This is just for my personal opinion because I was very disappointed by some pictures from other blogs. When I arrived there, I didn’t see the same colors at all, so I don’t want to propose on my blog photos that are too retouched and disappoint those who think they see the same thing as what is shown on the photos. JB has a Huawei P30 that takes very nice pictures but I don’t put them much on the blog because you can clearly see that the pictures are much too contrasted. The disadvantage of smartphones is that you can’t take nice pictures at night – the ISO used is much too high and there’s a lot of noise.

iPhone from model 7 upwards are also praised for their exceptional quality photos and videos

Priority 2: Vlogguer

For our vlog needs, we have several choices : first, we did it with a GoPro Hero 3, but the wide angle and the bland colors didn’t suit me (cf. l’exemple).
Then, we vlogged with
the
Sony RX100M3.
les + : a very good sound, the flip screen (the screen that turns in selfie mode), stabilization OK, battery very OKles
: but unfortunately, despite its small size, it still lacks discretion





. Everybody knows that we are filming (oops).
To see an example of vlog, here is a video filmed entirely by Sony RX100M3. This camera can only film in 1080p (but the pictures are in 5472x3080px)

Comparative Osmo Action vs. Osmo Pocket

In order to be able to film at any time, quickly and discreetly, we shortlisted two candidates: Osmo Pocket and Osmo Action. Here is their comparison :

The positive points of both models :

• Osmo Action :
  • a near-compliant copy with better stabilization than GoPro Hero8 Black (429€, Amazon link) for less money
  • 4K videos & HD photos
  • Good sound, nice colors, stable videos
  • front screen allows you to film well in selfie mode
  • lots of GoPro-compatible accessories and vice versa
• Osmo Pocket :
  • super discreet camera, small: suitable for those who are a little ashamed of vlogging / filming because it will hardly be visible
  • proven camera (it is the same camera used on MAVIC drones of the same brand)
  • physical stabilization (gimbal), which has proven its worth (it is the same as the one used on MAVIC drones of the same brand)
  • Nice colors, very stable videos
  • screen allowing to see oneself in selfie mode
  • face tracking” mode allowing to follow a person or an animal
  • no distortion of images because there is no wide angle

The negative points of both models :

• Osmo Action :
  • misleading advertising: not necessarily waterproof, many people have drowned their Osmo just by snorkeling. It resists to the small rain but there are some traps that do not close well if one isn’t extremely careful. But then, the same problem has been reported with the GoPro
  • the wide angle is less “wide angle” than GoPro
  • software stabilization, so it may be a little blurry at times, especially if it shakes too much, but the same goes for GoPro
• Osmo Pocket :
  • disadvantages related to the structure
    • gimbal a little fragile, a little dust or a fall can be fatal
    • not waterproof at all
    • non-changeable battery
    • heats up during intense use
    • you have to buy a lot of accessories (fortunately unofficial accessories exist): can’t be in Wifi/Bluetooth/remote control mode, or be screwed to a mount without accessories
    • no wide angle, or you have to buy an extra lens
  • drawbacks related to functionality, but can be fixed if DJI does an update:
    • as it is rather adapted to a vlog use, the microphone only records the voice of the person who wears it (about 40cm)
    • no livestream possible
    • the auto-focus isn’t very precise
    • CPL filter is recommended because in strong light, the video may appear burnt
    • videos in hyperlapse or timelapse are only in 1080p. If you want 4K, you have all the photos taken by Osmo Pocket, and you’ll have to use a program to group them together and make a 4K video
    • the face tracking only works in 4k50p and not in 4k60p so think to put on the right setting if you make a lot of videos in selfie mode

Conclusion

We recommend you, if you have the same expectations as we do:

• for photos: a quality smartphone(Huawei P30, 500€ or iPhone 7 -> 11) or a compact camera like our Sony RX100 III (from 400€)
• for videos :
  • if you spend more time underwater: an Osmo Action can be a good choice
  • if you spend more time vlogging than underwater: an Osmo Pocket can do the trick
• the essential accessories:
  • protective lenses for screens and lenses
  • storage cases if not included – no need to have hard cases, foam cases are sufficient
  • it is recommended to use in addition, for underwater videos, a perch (11€, Amazon link), you will be able to film the fish more closely and the movements will be smoother. With this perch, I was able to dive my camera in the water to film the turtle in Mexico (see video above) and it’s with this one that I do vlogs with my Sony
  • as few mounts as possible: I just have an adapter to fix to the bike and just enough to fix my devices to the pole
  • to opt for powerful memory cards that can record 4K videos and have a large capacity like the Samsung U3 256GB micro SD (44€, Amazon link). 256GB is good, these devices don’t support larger memory cards anyway
  • to make a backup of our photos (when we don’t have a computer on us), we connect an adapter to our iPad or iPhone and then the photos are automatically synchronized with Google Photos (read more here)

As for us, we have chosen Sony RX100 III for photos, and Osmo Pocket for videos (vlog and underwater) because we spend more time vlogging than snorkeling.

Did you like this article? Learn more about our digital nomad hardware here