Travel Photography Tech Wishlist

After 25 days on the road across the Iberian Peninsula, I have ideas about what I'm looking for in terms of travel photography tech. The Canon SLR with a bag of lenses is too much to lug around, and the recycled 7 year old Dell laptop doesn't cut it when it comes to keeping up with modern file sizes. An agile photo tech set also works on two wheels, so here's what I'd bring along if I were going light but looking for full technical flexiblity in terms of imaging while on the road:

Zenbook S 13 FLIP OLED

An absolutely bonkers sub 2.5lb laptop with 2k of colour corrected display with 100% colour gamut. It folds away to almost nothing, offers the power needed to make high resolution photo and video edits on the road and even converts to a tablet for digital sketching.

$1899

Sony Cybershot RX10Mk4

After lugging the SLR with many lenses around Iberia for weeks on end, I'm looking for a more compact but technically robust option. The Cybershot has a massive sensor, shoots in RAW and outperforms my SLR in pretty much every area. Being smaller and less fussy (just the one do-it-all lens), it does what the best camera always does: makes it easy to have it with you. I ended up leaving the SLR behind towards the end because it was more trouble than it was worth

$2199

Ricoh Theta Z1

Simply the highest photo quality 360 camera you can get. A massive 1 inch sensor means good low light, RAW shooting, a programmable Android based OS that lets you push the limits of this emerging format by creating my own plugins.

I prefer photography to video so the Z1 is the weapon of choice when it comes to 360 photography. The only thing it can't do is rough and tumble, but I have a plan for that.

 $1349

I like a good 360 photograph (not so big on the videos), but the old ThetaSC isn't great in low light conditions, Even a cloudy day can make things muddy.

You can make some interesting compositional choices with a 360 camera that conventional photography would struggle with. A better still 360 camera would let me explore this further.

Insta360 X3

The rough and tumble option. If I'm riding, in the rain or filming under water, the X3 does the trick and it's still in the shape I prefer for 360 cameras (blocky GoPros are awkward and not so aerodynamic). The Insta360 cameras are tough and this new one has such a good sensor that it approaches the Theta Z1 for low light and detail pickup. So close in fact that I think I'd just go with this new X3 and shelf the stirng of Thetas that got me into 360 photography to begin with. Ricoh just doesn't seem that intent on pushing the genre anymore.

$600 standalone, $713 with motorcycle gubbins

Apple iPhone 14 Pro

I got an iPhone 13 last year and the camera on it is good - so good that I found myself leaving the DSLR behind because, for candid snaps, the iPhone is more than up to the job. As good as it is, I'm wishing I'd gone a bit further and gotten a 14 pro with extra lens and that bit more photographic range. I'm still struggling with adapting to iOS after owning an Android from the very beginning, but I'd stick it out for the software integration and quality on the iPhone (Apple's stance on user privacy is appealing too).

$1549

This might all seem pretty expensive (photography isn't a cheap hobby), but when a single pro 400mm lens costs you about ten grand, this entire $7665 set offers much more flexibility with a powerful all-in-one camera, two 360 specialist imaging tools and a state of the art lightweight laptop for post production, and all while taking up next to no room.

If I wanted to boil it down to essentials, I'd take the Insta360 X3 ($713) and swap out the Cybershot for a Canon SX70 ($800) - another very capable superzoom all-in-one, and then I'd round it out with the same Zenbook in an open-box sale (I've seen such for about $1100). That'd get me within inches of the rich option for about $2600.

***.

I did alright with the old DSLR (these are wild Portuguese seas), but lugging all that about wasn't very travel friendly - I think I'm ready to migrate back to a prosumer grade all-in-one superzoom camera. I just need to make sure it beats the SLR with lense and includes the specs I need to improve my imaging (large sensor, full manual controls, RAW file saving, epic lens).

I'm pretty crafty with on-bike pics from the old Ricoh Theta I've got, but with newer (and tougher) tech I could push the boundaries there too.

Good example of how capable the iPhone is at photos (and a nice way to get to the beach - on a 90s vintage Africa Twin!). This is cropped in tight from the original and is still high-rez.

More Motorcycle Photography from the end of the season...

Winter's never an easy season for a motorcyclist, and even less so in Canada where riding in it is a near impossibility.  Soon enough we'll be buried in snow and minus double digit temperatures, but I'm not feeling the weight of it like I normally do.  A positive change in my working life, an old-bike project in the workshop and a good year of riding have me in a positive place as this riding season draws to a close.  I saw a bit of prose by Milne recently that hit the target:

"Yes, I can face the winter with calm.

I suppose I had forgotten what it was really like

I had been thinking of the winter as a horrid wet, dreary time.

Now I can see other things—crisp and sparkling days, long pleasant evenings, cheery fires.

Good work shall be done this winter.

Life shall be lived well.

The end of the summer is not the end of the world."

- A.A. Milne

I got a lot of miles in on both bikes this year, but the Tiger takes it for a couple of reasons.  FIrst of all, after some satisfying maintenance over the winter, it's better than it's ever been with new sprockets getting me close to 60mpg and the ultrasonically cleaned fuel injectors that have completely resolved the stalling issues from last year.  When the Concours got a flat just before the biggest ride of the summer, the Tiger stepped up and took on that cross province trip without missing a beat.  Love that bike!

This is why the Tiger still adorns the header on the blog even though several bikes have come and gone in the meantime.

May Motorcycle Photography

 Motorcycle photography over the past couple of weeks.

Two-up sunset ride on the Tiger with a Ricoh Theta SC mounted to the rear view mirror with a flexible tripod:

Testing a new Theta SC 360 camera mounted on the windshield with a flexible tripod:

If you're curious about how to do this, click HERE!

Kawasaki Concours 14 on a sunset ride (no 360 camera this time, just the phone):

Riding Through an Oil Painting

 After a long day at work I found myself watching the sky change colours and jumped on the Tiger for a ride down the river.  It felt like riding through a Van Gogh...

All photos taken with a Ricoh 360 camera mounted on the windshield, autofiring every 8 seconds.

West Montrose Covered Bridge: one of these times I'm going to ride through and find myself in 1881!

Photos are in reverse chronological order.  Sunset was at 8:30pm - I was on the road from about 8:10 to 8:50pm.

If you want a breakdown of how to get on-bike 360 photos like this, check THIS out!  If you really want to digitally flex, you can create a 360 'tiny planet' stop motion film out of this kind of photography:

Related Links:  How to capture 360-degree photos while riding your motorbike (Adventure Bike Rider Magazine)