So... I made a terrible mistake...

Hello friend,

I wanted to make a quick update on something that’s been burning on my mind.

Yeah, as the title said, I made a terrible mistake and I’m reverting it back.

Last email, I talked about how the ZV-1 seemed to be the superior choice for me for my solo filmmaking endeavor.

Variable aperture, convenience, focal lengths for story telling, yada yada.

Yeah…

I’m re-living the trauma here, but I guess public shaming is a good way for me to learn from my mistakes.

It turns out, none of the things on the spec sheet matter if the output footage is utterly… shit.

Like, damn.

The jelly effect and the rolling shutter and the shitty electronic stabilization is just… unbearable. I’ve heard about this problem with electronic stabilization and slow shutter speed (1/50th for 24fps footage), and I guess this is that.

It’s like the antithesis of a calm and peaceful video that I intend to make.

Turns out you can’t beat physics with computer tricks in the end.

Here’s a gif to demonstrate what I’m talking about.

Anyways, this pretty much ruined most of the footage I recorded for this solo photo hunting adventure, so that’s fun. I’m trying to salvage whatever is left, but… yeah. The photos I sprinkled in this post are mostly from this run.

I could… put the camera on a tripod instead of walking around. But then what’s the point of a run and gun setup anymore.

So… yeah. Compared to whatever this shit is, the DJI Pocket 3 footage looks like some Roger Deakins shit in comparison. So I’m coming back to it.

If anything, I’m even more convinced now that the Pocket 3 is the “best” pocketable solo filmmaking camera ever. Turns out gimbal stabilization is pretty fucking good if I want to ditch the tripod.

I can even stand still and fake a stationary shot anytime I want (which is mostly what I want). And it has the horizontal lock mode with always make vertical line straight, which is literally all I want most of the time anyways. I like straight lines, as evidence from my photography I guess.

And yeah that includes the new Canon Powershot v1. That thing is so gimmicky anyways. It’s like a ZV-1 but they put a pointless bigger sensor in, which, if anything, hampers the video performance. What’s the point. The lens in equivalent is slower than the ZV-1 lens anyways. And it’s still going to have the wonky electronics stabilization. Aaand it’s more weight than a mirrorless apsc camera. What’s the point, really?

Oh and last post I talked about the annoyance of swapping ND filters for the pocket 3, but I’ve figured something out since then anyways.

It’s called a variable ND filter. Yeah, these existed the whole time and I didn’t know about it. 

This thing has a pro-mist effect built in too, so that’s fun.

Anyways, now I don’t have to swap filters everytime things become a bit dim anymore. A 1-5 stops pretty much cover most situations anyways. I still wish it was like a 1-8 stops. Then it’d be perfect. But beggars can’t be chooser I guess.

So… yeah. My dumbass story of finding the perfect pocket camera to compliment my film photography journey is over… for now.

I guess it’s good that DJI doesn’t have to worry about cannibalizing their bigger and more expensive cameras, and they really do set out to make the best camera they can. And it shows. Recently Sony made the zv-1II, which if we’re honest here is just a downgrade from the previous version. And Canon just made the Powershot v1, which I was intrigued, but it just falls apart the more I think about it.

I’ll wait for a DJI Pocket 4 with variable aperture/built in variable ND and zoom lens, but otherwise… this Pocket 3 is pretty unbeatable.

Until next time,
Peter.

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I hope I can grow this thing, whatever this is, to something more sustainable, so I can have more time doing more art 🤷. Especially now that I’m back to the path of lighting money up on fire anytime I fire a shot 🙏👌.

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