My New Toy

I just might try my hand at vlogging. (Is that a word?)

Recently, I've lamented over what a lousy videographer I am, going back to the days when I recorded DW's and my typical day in 1997, in South Korea. With our upcoming vacation in Mexico, next week, and my solo return to Korea, in May, DW and I have wanted to capture some footage of our travels.

I even want to share this footage on The Brown Knowser and some of my social-media accounts, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For years, we've owned a tiny Sony video recorder but have rarely used it. My father, actually, uses it more: he owns a track car and mounts the camera on the roof or behind the driver's seat as he speeds around race circuits. The images are sharp and give a good perspective of what it's like to drive a race car.

DW and our kids have taken the camera to the beach or to lakes, and have shot some footage of swimming with friends. But I can count the number of times in which they've actually done that on one hand.

When DW and I began planning for the Mayan Riviera, we both expressed an interest in snorkeling in the Caribbean waters and exploring the cenotes, or underwater rivers. Though our action camera has a waterproof case, it doesn't take still images.

We both purchased underwater cases for our smartphones, but I don't know that we're going to use them. We're not especially confident that they will protect our phones. I began searching for a compact underwater camera that would satisfy my needs, but either the ones that satisfied my budget didn't satisfy my search for quality, and those that were of good quality were beyond my budget.

Would I use this camera above the water?

I then started thinking about my trip to Korea, and how I wanted to capture video. I immediately thought of my smartphone and the selfie stick that I purchased. It, alone, might do the trick. But then I started thinking that if I wanted to make a full-travel video, maybe I needed something more robust. Maybe I would start creating video blogs—vlogs—on a semi-regular basis.

DW sent me a link to a review on a 360-degree camera. I had never considered such a device before but I decided to watch the 16-minute YouTube video.

It changed my life. (Well... not my life. But it certainly expanded my limited knowledge of 360-degree cameras.)

This camera solved the problem that I always had with walking and recording at the same time, where the camera shake could make a viewer dizzy. This camera had a built-in stabilization feature.

With a 360-degree camera, I could simply turn it on, secure it to my camera bag, on a selfie stick, and just walk. It would capture everything. In post-processing, I could direct the angle of view I wanted to show.

Grand Canyon as a Tiny Planet

The camera can shoot still images and video. It also shoots in RAW format. It has special effects, including the Tiny Planets effect that I sometimes like to use with some of my stills; only now, I can also do it with video.

As soon as I finished watching the YouTube review, I called DW. I told her that I wanted this camera. She had sent me the link on my birthday, and my mother had already given me some money to buy something special to mark my day. I told DW that I would apply this money toward the camera.

A link on the YouTube video also has a promotion, that if the camera is purchased through the link, the manufacturer will include the selfie stick. I already have a selfie stick but this one was special: the software that comes with the camera will recognize this stick and remove it from the captured image. The result is a video that seems to be shot by either a drone that follows the subject or by another person.

Within a half hour of receiving DW's e-mail that provided the link to the camera review, I had placed my order. Last Monday, it arrived.

It's the Insta360 One X camera. It's so cool.

I've purchased a mini tripod to hold the camera, upright, on its own. I also ordered the underwater case and will be bringing the camera to Mexico. Over this past weekend, I've experimented with the camera and created my first video. I'll share that, tomorrow.

In this age of technology, I do like my toys. If all goes well, this may change how I blog... and vlog.