Retro Sexy

First up, if you’re tired of the boring black box casing of most DSLRs, listen up. The latest batch of mirrorless cameras — particularly from Fujifilm and Olympus — offers retro cool styling. The compact size only adds to the vintage feel. If you’re looking to complete the image (literally), tack on an old school leather camera strap and toss your whole kit into a vintage messenger bag.

Lighter and Tighter

DSLR cameras take incredible photos. But their bulk means many travelers opt to leave theirs at home (and rely instead on — oh, no — their smartphone) or pack the camera in their backpack where it stays for the duration of their vacation because it’s a hassle to dig out every time the perfect photo op crops up. The size — or lack of it — of mirrorless cameras is the real win for travelers. With fewer electronics and internal guts to enclose, the modern crop of mirrorless cameras is lighter and more compact. They’re typically half the weight and size of traditional DSLRs, meaning they’re more comfortable to hold and take up less space in your luggage or backpack. Plus, without that hulking DSLR hogging your pack’s interior, you have more room for additional lenses, backup batteries, and other essentials.

Discretion Advised

Unlike “planned” photography (like weddings), travel photography often relies on being discreet. The sheer size of most DSLR cameras isn’t conducive to street photography. Most “average” strangers you encounter in your travels don’t take kindly to a three-pound camera-lens combo shoved in their face. They tense up; they get nervous; they feel too “put on the spot.” The compact size of new mirrorless cameras means photographers can be inconspicuous or, at the very least, far less obtrusive. This makes for easier, better, and more photos.

Better, Faster, Stronger

Nikon and Canon have long been the top dogs in the digital camera market. But one-time also-rans like Fujifilm, Panasonic, Sony, and Olympus have wisely shifted gears to focus on better mirrorless systems. They’re building upon tried-and-true DSLR technology, plus engineering amazing new features into current and next generation mirrorless cameras. Sony’s alpha line, for example, boasts the sharpest, quickest autofocus of any camera on the market. Plus, the same full digital sensors that provide DSLRs with their top-notch image quality can now be found in most of their mirrorless counterparts.

The Bottom Line

The current generation of mirrorless cameras is a better, faster, lighter, more stylish alternative to today’s bulky DSLRs. Unless you’re a serious photographer with ultra-niche requirements (like 600mm telephoto lenses and the like), the best bet for your next digital camera is to go mirrorless.

The post Travel Photographers: Here’s Why Your Next Digital Camera Should Be Mirrorless appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

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Meant to be paired with a Samsung Galaxy S6 or higher as well as the Samsung Gear VR, the Gear 360 is the link between viewing and creating virtual reality content. The Gear 360 is competitively priced at $210 and supports 360-degree image quality up to 7776 x 3888 (approximately 30 Megapixels), however, 360 video quality drops to 3840 x 1920 at 30 frames-per-second.

The connected Gear 360 app on my Samsung Galaxy S6 makes shooting 360 content a breeze. After I Bluetooth connect from my S6, I get a live view of what my gear 360 is seeing and I can capture images remotely without having to run away while a timer ticks to zero. The camera includes time lapse and video looping modes as well as regular photo and video.

When I first began using the Gear 360, I quickly realized that my basic camera tripod was not suited for 360 degree shots. Although the Gear 360 is built to screw into any ¼ inch tripod head, the size of most heads means that the bottom of my 360 image is blocked by an awkwardly stitched plastic mass. I ended up going with the SmaTree SmaPole (don’t know about the name), an extendable monopod with an attachable three leg base. Its only downside is it looks terribly creepy when set up in the middle of a trail, looking as if it might scurry toward you at any moment!

My favorite aspect of this little camera is the life it brings to my pictures and videos, as well as native support on Facebook. I went for a quick hike in Valley Green, a small reserve outside of Philadelphia, and captured some great shots of rocky paths, graffiti-ed bridges, and my old friend William Penn.

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When I post these photos to Facebook, I feel like friends and family can experience what it was like to be there in the woods with me. As VR headsets become more and more mainstream, I believe that demand for 360 photo and video content will skyrocket. I’m predicting a future of full length 360 movies available for rent similar to your traditional On-Demand rental system.

I’m jumping into the VR game while the water is warm. What about you?

The post Samsung Gear 360: A Virtual Content Creation Essential appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.