Why must you require an Action Camera for your travel? | Cameras & Gears
Action Camera Meaning:
Action cameras are specially built to offer easy and fast operation in most compact packages. Although it is built for video shooting, all action cameras also provide an option to have still photography.
Let’s understand the great features of an action camera point-by-point.
Time in action:
Its fast operation is not only about the frame rate of the videos, but it reduces the process time needed in between viewing the beautiful scenery and clicking the photograph or start shooting a video.
No other camera or mobile can capture the images as fast as an action camera can. This is because the action cameras are very tiny, and they offer single button operation. Whereas mobile phones take time to bring out of pocket, unlock, start the camera, adjust the mode or focus and start shooting. On the other hand, DSLR are heavy and also comparatively takes more time in action.
So if you are a frequent traveler without an action cam, you must experience one a while that we show something extremely beautiful or important, desired madly to capture the moment in camera but at the end we missed it due to the delay in the time of action.
Whereas action cam helps a great in such conditions as they are very handy to carry and require no time in starting the action. After frequent use, we may even improve in the process time.
Video Stability:
The second major important feature of the action cam is the video stability. This is where action cam beats the dslr and expensive mobile phones. As it is built for video shooting on the go, it provides a great image stabilization option without a gimbal.
Mobile phones and DSLRs are good for video shooting when they are put on the tripod, but not well while filming a video by walking or running while holding the camera. This is where the action camera required the most. Using an expensive gimbal with the DSLR or mobile may solve the issues but it adds additional cost as well weight which is not suitable to travelers except going on professional shooting.
In addition to that, charging a gimbal battery is something one will not like while traveling with so many other important portable devices to be charged.
Focus:
Most action cams provide an infinite focus with a better dynamic range to produce beautiful color and contrast. Whereas DSLRs can miss the focus of an object of interest during a quick action. This would generally not happen with action cams.
4K 60fps Mode:
Most budget action cams available in the market today provide 4k recording with 60fps or 30fps capability. This is something that can be called a value for money.
It also allows higher frame rate unto 240fps with HD resolution. Thus it is capable of shooting a fast moving object or filming from the fast moving vehicles without a glitch.
Accessories:
Today there are many accessories available for the action cams. Many accessories like helmet mount, shoulder mount and chest mount allow hands-free operation which becomes very useful to shoot the adventures even when our hands are not free to hold a camera for example during a trekking and cycling. And because of its lightweight and compact size, it's easy to carry the action cam and accessories wherever we go.
Time Lapse & Slow Motion:
Today's all action cameras come with great features like time lapse and slow motion. It gives flexibility to create more art with your camera during your travel.
Connectivity:
All latest action cams provide wifi connectivity to mobile phones with the dedicated mobile apps and pc software. Thus sharing the travel memories to your social media becomes easy and fast.
Battery Life:
Video demands more power compared to any other applications and so we generally don’t want to drain our entire mobile battery in filming the scene during travel. This is an important thing to consider for buying an action camera.
Waterproof:
All budget action cameras are waterproof or come with waterproof casings. This feature is a must for travelers who also love photography. This is where I don't wanna use my expensive DSLRs or mobiles.
Wide Angle Lens:
Most of the action cameras come with default wide angle lenses to offer the larger coverage of the field. This becomes very helpful while filming a video of self and showing a beautiful surrounding.
So there are many reasons to carry an action camera for your next trip. But you also need to understand the limitations of the gear you are using for photography.
Limitations:
Whatever an action camera promises, there is always a limitation of the image quality according to the size of the image sensor. These small cameras use tiny image sensors like one used in mobile phones.
But due to a dedicated processor, it may perform better than the mobile phone. It may also perform better than the DSLR for video stability but not for the image quality. DSLRs use APS-c size image sensors which are quite larger than the sensors used in action cams and mobile.
Full frame DSLRs use larger sensors than the APS-C size. Thus no action camera can compete with DSLRs in producing crisp and clear images. Even low light performance of such tiny sensors are not good enough to compare with the DSLR result.
Furthermore the wide angle lens of the action cam results in a curvature effect at all corners which is the thing I personally don’t like much. Higher the coverage of the wide angle lens produces a larger bending effect.
Conclusion:
DSLRs with gimbals can provide the best video footage on the go, but action cameras are the best pocket friendly gadget one needs for travel.
Expensive mobile phones do a good job for the photography hobbyist, but an action camera always wins because of their video stabilizing, infinite focus and vibrant color produced by dedicated processors. And ultimately it also saves your mobile battery which you definitely require for sharing the memories during a trip.
Here are some of the best budget action cameras available in the market today. If you wanna know which action cameras you need to purchase, write to me in the comment.
Thank you for reading. Have a good day.