Photography on tour

[Cathryn]

Many apologies if this has been discussed before - feel free to direct me to the lengthy discussion I've missed

I want to improve my photography on tour. I generally use my iPhone but that involved stopping (because my bike handling skills are negligible), detaching my phone from the quad-lock where it's serving as GPS, taking the photo, reattaching it and setting off. It's tiresome, can't be done on the go and means my boys are miles ahead of me! It also uses my phone's battery. Also, the photos from my iPhone 10 aren't great and aren't high enough resolution to be printed or to be blown up as canvases.

I'm considering a GoPro Hero 10 that could be attached to my handlebars. I'm also considering a camera for my handlebar bag and I'm considering upgrading my phone. All I want is photos of a decent resolution for printing and maybe some short video clips for Insta!

Any advice? How do you take lovely pics on tour?

 

[IaninSheffield]

For a special tour I completed a few years ago I wanted a 'decent' camera which wasn't too heavy. I settled on the Canon G7Xii which i found to be light, simply enough to use quickly but with enough features for some semi-serious photos should I wish. It lives in my handlebar bag for quick access when on tour or in a small bumbag when I'm riding light. It wasn't cheap (and they still aren't) but are less than most premium phones.

Another option might be a second mobile phone? Refurbished, sim free, older phones which take reasonable photos can be picked up on auction sites for not too much. E.g. an unlocked iPhone 12 can be had for around the same price as the GoPro Hero 10.

Do let us know what you decided on ... and see the results when reporting back from your next tour

 

[roubaixtuesday]

In my view, whilst proper cameras are nicer to use, modern phone cameras are so good they don't justify the weight and bulk on tour.

I've just acquired a refurbished Samsung S21 ultra (about 30% of new price); as well as the normal camera it's also got 0.6x wide angle, 3x and 10x zoom lenses. Other brands are available!

I'd also say that a proper GPS navigation unit is hugely better than a phone on your bars. Much better in rain, sunshine, more robust and matters much less if it drops off. I've got a Wahoo Roam; again, other brands are available.

 

[chriswoody]

As above really, I use a dedicated GPS unit, so my phone is able to be tucked away from the elements in a bag and only used if I want to fire off a quick snap.

I did actually invest in a decent camera a couple of years ago now, a Panasonic GX80. It's a micro four thirds camera, so much more compact than a DSLR, but with the same interchangeable lenses and degree of control that a DSLR has. I carry that in a dedicated bumbag around my waist, so a quick stop and I can swing it around my waist and take photos with it quite quickly if needs be. I also have a small (30cm ish) Manfrotto micro tripod that I use for taking photos of me riding or other fancy shots where the camera needs to be stable.

I mostly went for a decent camera because I do enjoy a bit of photography and a dedicated camera will always take better photos than a camera phone, though in fairness, camera phones are more than capable of taking some cracking photos these days.

 

[lazybloke]

1) new phone
2) 2nd phone dedicated to photography
3) compact digital camera; maybe Lumix
4) action camera

2nd and 4th options need care to avoid poor lenses. Look carefully at reviews. If there are image samples, download and zoom in to assess quality.


All cameras have small lenses, hence action cameras and a digital camera can be a better option, but quality varies massively between models.

i'm going to try an Insta 360. Not too good in low light apparently.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Some years back I experimented with a GoPro (hero 3 which shows how long ago it was). I wasn't very happy with the results. It was a tremendous faff and not worth the effort. And the battery life was pants (may have improved since). I ended up constantly fussing about the camera and forgot to enjoy the ride.

I'd echo @roubaixtuesday and say get a dedicated GPS, keep your phone handy. Don't try to take pics on the move as they will be rubbish, and you may drop your phone or fall off or something.

 

[biketrailerguy]

I want to improve my photography on tour.

Ignoring file size, what don't you like about the IP10 pix / ie what non technical aspects do you want to improve?
Does it have a manual mode - if so, do you use it?

All cameras have small lenses,

I realise I'm taking this out of context, but best laugh I've had for a while ...

 

[Cathryn]

Thanks for all of this! I shall think and investigate!

I would very much like a GPS unit but I have a Yorkshire husband who can’t see the point of buying something when mh phone already does it! 😁

 

[Sallar55]

Another advantage of having a dedicated GPS is that it throws up a message saying you have a call, if it's unimportant you don't need to stop. A GPS is efficient power wise and the phones touchscreen is a disaster when its raining. Why use a GoPro unless it attached to you helmet?

 

[lazybloke]

1) new phone
2) 2nd phone dedicated to photography
3) compact digital camera; maybe Lumix
4) action camera

2nd and 4th options need care to avoid poor lenses. Look carefully at reviews. If there are image samples, download and zoom in to assess quality.


Edit: All phone cameras have small lenses, hence action cameras or a digital camera can be a better option, but quality varies massively between models.

i'm going to try an Insta 360. Not too good in low light apparently.

Christ. Quoting myself instead of correcting the original post... Made a right balls-up of my scribblings tonight, i shouldn't be allowed a keyboard after wine!

 

[chriswoody]

Remember, the best camera is the one you have on you. It's all about the moment and capturing it as best you see it, composition is the main thing and remembering what is it that you are actually photographing? There's lots of tricks to photography, but ultimately it boils down to you and how you compose the image and that applies whether you have a smartphone camera or a fancy pants DSLR with all of the bells and whistles. There's a good article here that has some good tips on photography on tour:

https://bikepacking.com/plan/taking-better-photos-while-bikepacking/

So all that said, I would echo what's already been mentioned a few times up thread, maybe seriously think about investing in a dedicated GPS first which then free's your phone up to be the main camera. Spend some time on random bike rides taking photos before you go, experiment with composition, delve into the settings of the phone camera as well and experiment, maybe try black and white filters for example and look at what else it does.

With regards a dedicated GPS, I was given a Garmin 605 for free back in 2018, it was already over 10 years old then, but it soldiered on for another 6 years before finally dying last Autumn. It served me really well and gave me a good insight into just what I really needed from a GPS before I bought my first one last Autumn. There are plenty of good bargains to be had second hand, I think the early Wahoo Bolts and Roams are well regarded here and you could probably pick one up for a reasonable sum second hand and that would be a good way to dip your toes into the waters and see if that is the way to go.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I'm considering a GoPro Hero 10 that could be attached to my handlebars.

And...

I'm also considering a camera for my handlebar bag

And...

I'm considering upgrading my phone....

If you're doing all that conisdering, then I respectfully suggest a dedicated gps should be a part of the conversation.
Maybe let the Yorkshireman take responsibility for navigating and let his phone's battery run down. That might soften his cough

All I want is photos of a decent resolution for printing and maybe some short video clips for Insta!

You know what you want. That's good and should be easy to check.

that involved stopping (because my bike handling skills are negligible), detaching my phone from the quad-lock where it's serving as GPS, taking the photo, reattaching it and setting off.

This struck a chord with me.
I bought a spendy camera specifically for my bike adventures. It took up a fair whack of space in my bar bag between it and padding. But the killer was stopping, parking (straddling the bike to take a photo just seemed wrong), unpacking it, taking the photo and then packing it all up again. Great camera, great photos but too much faff to actually use as often as I wanted to. The trip I tested it out on is the one I have the fewest photos of.

If going down the road of a new camera have a think about charging (how many photos per charge, compatibility of cables, need for a transformer), photo storage (possible bluetooth transfer to phone?) and gps ( I ❤️ that my photos are geotagged and Google throws them together and presents me with daily reminders - most of the time!)

Personally, I'm of the opinion that there are phones out there that will do the job you want - quality enough printing and videos. I've never managed to master big zoom on a phone - I think I just can't hold the camera still enough. There are a variety of settings on phone cameras too, something worth exploring and lots of tips online for maximising them. One phone that won't do the job is the Redmi 10 And, oh, don't be tempted by one of those "clip on" zoom lenses. Been there!

When it comes to this kind of thing, I tend to think there are two kinds of people - those that want to record their travels and those that travel to record. When you know which camp you're in decisions come easier.

 

[ianrauk]

@Cathryn
Get hubby to use gps on his phone on his bike.
Get your self a phone case with lanyard.
That way you can hang the phone round your neck for easy access.

 

[lazybloke]

<snip>

Personally, I'm of the opinion that there are phones out there that will do the job you want - quality enough printing and videos. I've never managed to master big zoom on a phone - I think I just can't hold the camera still enough. There are a variety of settings on phone cameras too, something worth exploring and lots of tips online for maximising them. One phone that won't do the job is the Redmi 10 And, oh, don't be tempted by one of those "clip on" zoom lenses. Been there!

Yeah, I had a Redmi for a short while. All those megapixels were combined with a cheap lens and cheap processor; it was disappointingly slow to initialise the camera app and to decide the exposure.
Reasonable photos were possible only with patience and care, so that meant no quick spontaneous snaps.
And video was atrocious if taken on the move - lots of jpeg artefacts; presumably no image stabilisation.

MY pal had an a Iphone 13 which was so much better, so posisbly it's time for Cathryn simply to upgrade. I found similar quality at a lower price in a Pixel 7, so have been using one of them for the last year. Ticks all the boxes for me, 99% of the time.

 

[Dogtrousers]

A word of warning about "get a dedicated GPS". @Cathryn is going on tour and may be doing spontaneous changes of route and such like. A phone is generally handier for this. GPSs are best at following a set route, but a bit fiddly for on the fly routing.

If you DO go down this route:

Get one with bluetooth so you can easily load routes to it. An older unit on ebay may be a bargain, but it's no good if you need to hook it up to a PC with a cable to load a route.

Make 100% sure you're really familiar with it before you go. Being lost on tour is no place to learn how to use features of your GPS.

Be prepared to fall back to phone navigation for short term re-routes. On my last "tour" (such as it was) my friend who was in charge of navigation would switch to phone based Google maps with speaker prompts if we went off the main route. Then when we were back on track we'd revert to the route saved in his GPS.

Overall I still think a tough GPS on the bars is better than risking your precious phone on the bars. But there are caveats.