Did you take many photos and videos?

[Jawad]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

 

[J Willhaus]

I don't take a lot of photos, but the ones I do take I enjoy looking at. What about getting a used phone with a functioning camera?

 

[Rebequa]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

I took a small Canon, point-and-shoot camera with me on the camino in 2021, and it worked great. It was small enough to tuck into my bum bag. It’s batteries last for many months and don’t need charging. I found it lighter than my phone, and I also didn’t have to worry about memory storage. The only downside was that it is more awkward to post a picture to Facebook or other social media from a camera.

 

[Jawad]

I took a small Canon, point-and-shoot camera with me on the camino in 2021, and it worked great. It was small enough to tuck into my bum bag. It’s batteries last for many months and don’t need charging. I found it lighter than my phone, and I also didn’t have to worry about memory storage. The only downside was that it is more awkward to post a picture to Facebook or other social media from a camera.

Can you please provide the model of the camera you used?

 

[Rebequa]

Can you please provide the model of the camera you used?

I see now that it was actually a Sony Cybershot 16.2 megapixels, 8x zoom

 

[Jotown]

I’ve always taken both a camera, and phone to take pictures/videos
both have advantages, and disadvantages…

Small camera similar to above, in a pouch on my rucksack waist belt …
easily accessible, to take pictures whenever, relies on easily purchased batteries, which are long lasting …. No location data on the pictures…

phone camera , for me it’s great advantage was location data on each pic, not as readily accessible,although I just carried it in my shorts pockets…. latest models cameras are now equal to /superior to above camera…. Disadvantages , power hungry, and may need re- charging during the day - I carry a power pack for this

I always take lots of pictures on both, and edit them down when I return home - great journeys,great memories…. And pictures help !

 

[AnneO]

Do you typically take pictures and videos when you travel? I would assume whatever someone typically likes to do is what they would also do while on a Camino.

I will be bringing my phone and an action camera (basically a Go Pro knockoff). I have entirely abandoned my point and shoot camera at this point because of the quality of my phone camera.

 

[StayHuman]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

I skipped the camera for strictly weight reasons. My phone has been great so far. My family is traveling with me by my shared album and I am having fun with the Relive app. Buen Camino

 

[trecile]

I can't imagine traveling anywhere without a camera of some kind!

 

[StayHuman]

A phone!

 

[StayHuman]

iPhone is a decent camera

 

[lettinggo]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

Hola

If you plan to use your phone to take pictures then do yourself the favor to control that the settings are set to High in - Settings - Camera.

Last year a fellow pilgrim came home after the Camino only to discover that all her pictures were in low resolution.
They looked fine on the camera, but they were in fact small and grainy.

Personally, I use my phone for snapshots and then I have a pocket camera for more composition and deliberate photos.
If you have a 64 or 128 Gb SD-card it is basically endless what you can record - both photos as well as videos.

Hope this helps.
Lettinggo

 

[IMLiege]

My son did the Camino del Norte last summer, Irun to Santiago and then walked to Fisterra. He carried his iPhone (12 or 13) and took lots of pictures and some videos. I have made 3-.mp4 videos of his travels for a total of 4 1/2 hours of pictures and videos that I culled from everything he had, which was a lot more.

He had (and I now have one) a Sandisk USB-C or Firewire 256-GB flip drive that has a USB-C or Firewire connection on one end and a standard USB connection on the other. You put the USB-C /Firewire into the charge port of your phone and the software starts up and asks if you want to move/copy files from the phone to the drive. When that's done you can just insert the other end into your laptop or other device. He just stored them there, then when he stayed somewhere that had WiFi he would upload that day's pics and vids to DropBox (free 2 gb) and I would download the next day and add to my collection for Cyberlink PowerDirector 20.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YYJL21Z?tag=casaivar02-20

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-iXpand-iPhone-Type-C-Devices/dp/B08JD2LXXG?tag=casaivar02-20

 

[Tincatinker]

I never carry a camera or take any photos because I do not want anybody to know who I am or where I have been..

.

 

[Former member 92300]

I take a ton of photos, and a few very short video clips. First Camino - I brought a separate Camera thinking I wanted "better" pictures. It was a hassle. One more thing to make sure is charged. One more thing to make sure I didn't lose. One more thing that added weight to my pack. And - there were times when I wanted to just "share" a picture with a Camino friend and couldn't - because mine was a camera and not a phone. Also - I took pictures of signs everywhere. Why? Because I wanted to be able to figure out where a picture was taken when I got home. It was a ridiculous number of signs.

Second Camino? I upgraded my phone to one with a better Camera instead. So glad I did. I turned location on - so I know exactly where my photos were taken, so I didn't have to take pictures of all the signs going in and out of towns and such to figure out location. And my photos are great, and was able to use the "Relive" app to make a map video which included some of my favorite pics o f the day - and I uploaded each video to facebook and make a "journal" style facebook post with each uploaded relive video.

Doing the Via Francigena this summer - and only carrying my phone. I did upgrade my phone again that upgraded my camera again - and I simply make sure it has a ton of storage so I a not limited in the number of photos I take.

But yes - on big trips like this - I take THOUSANDS of photos! They make me happy!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

2015 I used a point and shoot, 2019 my smartphone. The smartphone takes quality pictures but I feel that I take better photographs using a camera.

 

[David Tallan]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

On my first camino I took a camera but either I didn't take a lot of photos or I lost a bunch of them. I also bought postcards. It was a different time. On my second camino I took a phone and took a lot of photos and a few videos. On my third camino I took a phone again and took plenty of photos, but also made an effort to take more videos. I refer back to them relatively frequently (more than most other photos I've taken). I also printed out books of the photos I took on my second and third Caminos.

I'd say it depends on what kind of photos you are inclined to take. If you are going to mostly be taking photos of the landscapes, architecture and that sort of thing, you may not want to bring the camera. You'll be able to find plenty of photos online showing the same places. What you won't be able to find photos of are the people you meet, communal dinners, etc. On the other hand, if you exchange contact info, you can ask people share their photos with you.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

But yes - on big trips like this - I take THOUSANDS of photos! They make me happy!

Exactly! I take more than a thousand photos on every Camino, and like you say...they make me happy!

 

[Anthony18]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

I took photos, videos, even took my drone for aerial shots. I'm very glad that I did. I don't remember as well as I used to, so it's great to look at some pics and videos every now and then to remember what a great experience I had. To each his own. For me, it was worth it.

 

[stevelm1]

I used a small point and shoot by Olympus, T-1 that fit in my pocket. The T stands for tough and it is. I forget how many times I dropped that camera but it kept on working. I took a lot of photos, over 15000. A German that I had met earlier walked by me one day and said that if I did not take so many photos I would get to Santiago two weeks earlier. I also recorded a short video each morning, kind of an audio diary. When I got home I had enough material to make a few videos about my walk. I am really happy I took so many photos for the memories they invoke every time I look at them. Since I was taking so many photos I used a new memory card each week. I figured if anything happen to one of them I would still have all the other weeks. I carried them in a protective holder that was water proof.

 

[AnneMarie1]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

I have been contemplating the Great Camera Question a lot lately. I am an intermittently pretty serious amateur photographer, and I own a couple very nice cameras with detachable lenses of different focal lengths, etc. I especially love having the extended exposure capability (multiple seconds of an open lens) when I want to take pictures in dark Romanesque churches, for instance. BUT. Those cameras are big and heavy, and to take those extended exposures you need a tripod or something stable to put the camera on so it absolutely doesn't move. The newer iphones have some pretty amazing capabilities (including low-light), but they are really expensive -- considerably more than my trans-Atlantic airfare. My 2nd generation SE iphone takes quite good pictures, but doesn't allow me the creative control I like from an SLR and also only has 1X zoom. So I thought I'll maybe just buy a little compact camera to take along, but it turned out those are around $450-500 to start, for the ones that are halfway decent, which still seems like a lot, especially since I HAVE perfectly good cameras at home. They're just too big and heavy for THIS trip. So my solution is that I am going to use my iphone and I've bought some of these clip-on lenses, which will allow for macro, wide angle, and at least a little more zoom (3X) (that one is not in the link below). They do make telephoto attachable lenses for phones that go up to 20X or so, but they're kind of long and heavy-looking, and I think you'd need some kind of tripod or stabilizing contraption for those. I have never used these before and don't really know how happy I'll be with them, but they're small, and all three of them came to around $100. I am hoping this will be a reasonable compromise. For me, photography is a way of contemplating my surroundings that much more. It is a form of meditation. It makes me notice things, pause, savor things, etc. I can't imagine not having a camera of some kind on the Camino, and I will be one of those people taking frequent, probably somewhat long breaks to encounter the surroundings through photography. I hope my compromise solution works well enough. Here's a link to a lens kit I bought (again, the 3x zoom one is not in this kit, but it's along these lines): https://www.amazon.com/Xenvo-iPhone-Camera-Lens-Clip/dp/B01A6D2JVI/?tag=casaivar02-20

 

[Sharonih]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

I bought a smartphone with the best available camera in my price range. I love taking photos and looking at them. The photos weren’t always to the level that my bigger camera and lens would have had but the extra weight probably would have been negligible but the bulky camera would have irradiated me to no end. Bonus so many Pilgrims looked at my photos every evening and were amazed by what they missed seeing.

 

[CWBuff]

Just like @trecile I cannot even REMOTELY imagine not having a camera.

For my Frances I left the big guns at home (Fujifilm Finepix S1) and after some deliberation decided to leave my small Cannon 1Shot as well, hence solely relying on my phone camera. (it was also much easier this way to do uploads to FindPenguins)
Yes there were moments that I surely did wish that I would have at least one of the above (definitely whena good Zoom action was required) but on the overall I was satisfied.

When everything was said & done IIRC 2.5K photos and about 110 videos.

 

[CWBuff]

I never carry a camera or take any photos because I do not want anybody to know who I am or where I have been..

.View attachment 145524View attachment 145525

@Tincatinker - where is this "Icarus" statue?

 

[Robo]

I use my phone camera.
I don't take many though.

Usually about 5,000 photos and about 30 hours of video.

 

[natcire]

I think it is a personal preference to have a bulky (and heavy) camera. As an amateur photographer and artist I was one of those 'crazy' people who took along a DSLR and I am glad I had it. I had a chest harness that the DSLR easily clipped on and off to allow me for hands free walk. It was rather light and easy to access the camera. When it was raining, the jacket covered the camera easily. After culling the images I had over 6000 high resolution photos (and some videos) of the CF. I use the photos for my paintings. And I did become good friends with another Peregrino who also carried his DSLR. At Santiago and Finisterre, people recognized my as "you are the one who took all those pictures of..." Now I have a Samsung fold and am experimenting with it to see if I can just have that for my next Camino.

 

[Sherpa47]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but it’s gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

Hi,
Do take a camera with you and record your Camino, you will not regret it.
I have walked the Camino twice and both times I have put together a photo book that photographically my pilgrimage.
It is wonderful to to be able to look through the books and re-live my Caminos.

 

[CaminoGuy]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

Hello. For my first Camino (French, 2015) I took around 1150 pictures with my phone camera. I figured that each picture in the cold took about 5 to 7 minutes to take after putting my poles down, taking off gloves, finding my phone, aiming and composing the picture, reversing the process, etc. which means that I spent about 8 thousand minutes NOT being present to my Camino experience. That’s about 5- 24 hour days. I got some great pictures that I’ve looked at several times in the last 8 years. Draw your own conclusions.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

For me, photography is a way of contemplating my surroundings that much more. It is a form of meditation. It makes me notice things, pause, savor things, etc. I can't imagine not having a camera of some kind on the Camino, and I will be one of those people taking frequent, probably somewhat long breaks to encounter the surroundings through photography.

I figured that each picture in the cold took about 5 to 7 minutes to take after putting my poles down, taking off gloves, finding my phone, aiming and composing the picture, reversing the process, etc. which means that I spent about 8 thousand minutes NOT being present to my Camino experience.

Two different views. I see ones like CaminoGuy's expressed most often on the forum but, personally, I'm more in AnneMarie1's camp where I spend more time looking at things.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I only use one pole and my phone is in my waistbag with a strap I attach that hangs out. It only takes me a moment to grab it, point and click. Thankfully I rarely need gloves.
I think I am actually more observant of my surroundings as I get excited when I see something that grabs my interest and curiosity to take a picture of...which is often.

 

[Fortyforward]

We will be walking our first Camino next month, from La Laguna.

Like Sherpa47, we like to make photo books of significant travels and I also keep a journal. I keep a wee collection of tickets, business cards etc and glue them at some stage on the travels or later when home. Photo books and journals get looked back on and enjoyed, remembering and reliving the holidays.

The majority of our art at home is our travel photos, some of it quite large. We know we can get that quality from our Canon EOS, and we enjoy taking photos (I agree with AnneMarie1 - for me it crystallises the moment in my memory).

We will only take one lens, though, due to weight and bulk.

 

[tpmchugh]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

I like to take photos but dont bother much with videos. I find that videos tend to lie forgotton but I often go through my pics

 

[Tincatinker]

@Tincatinker - where is this "Icarus" statue?

Angel of the North - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[KFH]

I use my phone camera.
I don't take many though.

Usually about 5,000 photos and about 30 hours of video.

And we're glad you do

 

[jflorez]

I took my full frame DSLR in '18 and regretted it; just too heavy. In '21 I just used my Samsung 21 Ultra phone for all my photos, and took every photo in raw+heic format for best file size and post processing. I also took a DJI Pocket2 (built-in 3-axis gimbal) for stabilized 4k video. The form factor on the Pocket is very small, hence the name, and discrete for taking video in public places. People become weirdly uncomfortable when they see a camera and think you are taking video of them. Most people didn't notice when I was taking video. The Pocket is perfect for vlogging, too, though an additional (wireless) Lavalier mic is recommended for best sound in outside environments. I happily took ~1200 photos and ~13 hours of unedited video with this setup.

 

[Anthony Rocco]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

Photos are important. Why? It's not about the vistas, churches, etc. You can find better ones online. It's about the people you meet, whether those you walk with, dine with, host you, help you, you help, etc. Years later we see those people and ourselves, if f included in the photo, as we were. The memories will be priceless. Without those photos many of those who touched you or you touched will fade from memory, even if you keep a decent journal.

 

[Anamya]

As an outlier in this thread, I'm not a photo person. I took zero photos of my first camino (didn't have a smartphone and didn't want to carry the camera weight) and maybe 5-10 photos of the other two caminos. What you will see me doing, however, is sometimes just stopping completely on the track and looking around with a silly face. I have a very clear image in my head of how those places looked like, even years later.

But I'm not saying photos are not important: they are. My husband walks with me, and he takes some photos with his phone along the way. So we may have about 50-100 photos of each camino because of him. While I'm not one to revisit them often, they are very useful when we are talking to others to be able to share what we saw, or explain a certain place.

So... back to your initial comment: yes, it is a very personal thing. If you are not normally a photo person, you may not be inclined to document everything just because "oh, it's the camino". But there will be moments that you will see awesome places and people. Is it important for you to register those? That's the question you have to answer.

(And like others said, if you are buying a device, I'd probably buy a new phone instead of a camera... dual use.)

 

[Roscoe]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

I'm asking myself the same question. My phone is rather low spec. When I see pictures that others take with better phones, I recognise the limitations of mine. I have a Canon SX700 camera, but of course I am concerned about the weight. I've contemplated buying a better spec phone but I don't like spending a lot of money on something easily broken or misplaced.

 

[Former member 108241]

I just used my Samsung 21 Ultra phone for all my photos, and took every photo in raw+heic format for best file size and post processing.

I'm really interested to know how you do this? Is this something you control in your phone's settings? I have an iphone but I would assume the logic would be the same. Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[jflorez]

I'm really interested to know how you do this? Is this something you control in your phone's settings? I have an iphone but I would assume the logic would be the same. Thanks in advance for any info.

On the iPhone (12 or later and iOS 14.3 or later), you can take photos in raw format by turning on Apple "ProRAW". It won't, however, also capture it in any other format at the same time i.e. you will get 1 copy of the image in RAW format.

To take photos with ProRAW, go to Settings > Camera > Formats, then turn on Apple ProRAW under Photo Capture. To take a ProRAW photo, tap RAW in the Camera app, then take your shot. You can capture images at either 12MP or 48MP resolution, the latter taking much more space (10-12x larger than HEIF/JPEG) but offering more detail. Once you turn off ProRAW, it will default to whatever your default image format is, e.g. HEIF or JPEG. Hope that helps!

 

[Former member 108241]

On the iPhone (12 or later and iOS 14.3 or later), you can take photos in raw format by turning on Apple "ProRAW". It won't, however, also capture it in any other format at the same time i.e. you will get 1 copy of the image in RAW format.

To take photos with ProRAW, go to Settings > Camera > Formats, then turn on Apple ProRAW under Photo Capture. To take a ProRAW photo, tap RAW in the Camera app, then take your shot. You can capture images at either 12MP or 48MP resolution, the latter taking much more space (10-12x larger than HEIF/JPEG) but offering more detail. Once you turn off ProRAW, it will default to whatever your default image format is, e.g. HEIF or JPEG. Hope that helps!

Wow thank you so much for the iphone specific response, I appreciate it. I'm going to give it a try now. Thank you.

 

[NebraskaKate]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

I took SO Many photos with my phone and short 30 second videos. I didn't let it consume my journey- more just a quick snapshot and on I went. My family would ask about the different pilgrims so I started taking pictures of the people and not just scenery. Every single photo and video is a cherished memory for me as I miss it so much. Is there any way to fix your phone? I did walk with a guy who is in marketing and so he had a great mini camera and is making a video-He was hoping to have finished by now, but said its so hard bc he cries every time he's working on it. My point- you can bring a little camera and it is worth it.
I have friends all the time asking to see my pics and videos- its a great way to share the Camino.

 

[Roland49]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

Hello fellow pilgrim,

as a trained commercial photographer I was happy to bring my Canon GX7 with me.
Quite impressive quality eevn in low light situations for such a tiny camera. Quite good videos, too. Not perfect, but usable.

Despite the fact that new smartphones nowadays outperform those cameras I wouldn't miss the oppportunity to take photos in RAW and to tweak the data to the best results you can get of those cameras.

But that's just me.

If you just want to take some memorable photos and videos, a inexpensive smartphone like a Samsung A34 i.e. should be good enough.

I took 1200 photos and ~100 videoclips on 4 32gb SD-Cards.

Have fun!

 

[markie6]

Most people will be taking a phone with them without worrying about the weight. Most phones have cameras that will do a great job of documenting your camino. I take a small digital camera with my samsung smart phone. Love my photos

 

[Annetom]

I can't imagine traveling anywhere without a camera of some kind!

My main camera was too big to take on the Camino! I used Polar steps on my mobile, it produced a map and my siblings could follow my route and knew that I was safe. I will do the same on my next Camino.

 

[IMLiege]

My son found a free app called "Relive". https://www.relive.cc/?hl=en. You turn it on to track you, then add photos as you go along. At the end it turns it into a 3D terrain map with the pictures that you took along the way.

It looks like he has a selfie stick but he attached a magnetic phone holder for the car to a bicycle light older. Then he attached that to his walking stick. When he wanted to take a selfie he took out his phone and just attached it to the magnet. He made multiples. I've attached one of them.

 

[NEtrekker]

I have been contemplating the Great Camera Question a lot lately. I am an intermittently pretty serious amateur photographer, and I own a couple very nice cameras with detachable lenses of different focal lengths, etc. I especially love having the extended exposure capability (multiple seconds of an open lens) when I want to take pictures in dark Romanesque churches, for instance. BUT. Those cameras are big and heavy, and to take those extended exposures you need a tripod or something stable to put the camera on so it absolutely doesn't move. The newer iphones have some pretty amazing capabilities (including low-light), but they are really expensive -- considerably more than my trans-Atlantic airfare. My 2nd generation SE iphone takes quite good pictures, but doesn't allow me the creative control I like from an SLR and also only has 1X zoom. So I thought I'll maybe just buy a little compact camera to take along, but it turned out those are around $450-500 to start, for the ones that are halfway decent, which still seems like a lot, especially since I HAVE perfectly good cameras at home. They're just too big and heavy for THIS trip. So my solution is that I am going to use my iphone and I've bought some of these clip-on lenses, which will allow for macro, wide angle, and at least a little more zoom (3X) (that one is not in the link below). They do make telephoto attachable lenses for phones that go up to 20X or so, but they're kind of long and heavy-looking, and I think you'd need some kind of tripod or stabilizing contraption for those. I have never used these before and don't really know how happy I'll be with them, but they're small, and all three of them came to around $100. I am hoping this will be a reasonable compromise. For me, photography is a way of contemplating my surroundings that much more. It is a form of meditation. It makes me notice things, pause, savor things, etc. I can't imagine not having a camera of some kind on the Camino, and I will be one of those people taking frequent, probably somewhat long breaks to encounter the surroundings through photography. I hope my compromise solution works well enough. Here's a link to a lens kit I bought (again, the 3x zoom one is not in this kit, but it's along these lines): https://www.amazon.com/Xenvo-iPhone-Camera-Lens-Clip/dp/B01A6D2JVI/ref=sr_1_3?crid=PRJUR94DYDUW&keywords=iphone+zoom+lens+attachment&qid=1682348922&sprefix=,aps,91&sr=8-3

AnneMarie1,
I have had the same quandry. This is my first camino and I’m struggling to get my pack weight to 10%. Anyway, after much consideration, I’ve decided to bring my fairly large mirrorless and two lens. Of course, this will also necessitate batteries, chargers, etc. As you said, I can’t imagine not having my camera. Yes, my iphone is great, but it’s not the same. For awhile, considered carrying a small pladypod as well, but have decided against.

 

[WGroleau]

Do you typically take pictures and videos when you travel? I would assume whatever someone typically likes to do is what they would also do while on a Camino.

Second that; everyone is different. I take FAR TOO MANY photos and videos.

 

[Robertb345]

Hello fellow pilgrim,

as a trained commercial photographer I was happy to bring my Canon GX7 with me.
Quite impressive quality eevn in low light situations for such a tiny camera. Quite good videos, too. Not perfect, but usable.

Despite the fact that new smartphones nowadays outperform those cameras I wouldn't miss the oppportunity to take photos in RAW and to tweak the data to the best results you can get of those cameras.

But that's just me.

If you just want to take some memorable photos and videos, a inexpensive smartphone like a Samsung A34 i.e. should be good enough.

I took 1200 photos and ~100 videoclips on 4 32gb SD-Cards.

Have fun!

Is that a canon G7 X mark ll or lll, or something different?

 

[Roland49]

Is that a canon G7 X mark ll or lll, or something different?

It was a Mark II.

 

[Phoebe]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

I do enjoy taking photos. They bring back such fond memories down the road. And you can share them with potential Camino walkers who query you about the journey. For both of my caminos I took a small camera, Lumix. I just find that a camera takes better pictures. I was able to carry it in a small case which attached to the waistbelt of my backpack. But, if you just take the odd picture or selfie a phone is good enough.

 

[Donna Sch]

For those of you contemplating bringing a dSLR especially if you like big lenses, take a look at the latest Olympus mirrorless and associated lenses. Compared to the equivalent Nikon or Canon it is MUCH lighter. Some very clever design. According to my photographer other half it is not as good in low light but otherwise is fantastic. It has become his travel camera and he does mostly wildlife and aviation photography.
I have taken Canons with me on both caminos I have done. It is really nice to take some photos that you know will be good quality. I do use my phone quite a bit because that is the easiest for social media.

 

[Roland49]

For my upcoming CP - litoral I will use a Sony ZV-E10, a small vlogging- and photocamera, weighing ~450gr., 21MP, APS-C sensor.

 

[Robo]

Helloo,

I was debating whether or not to buy a camera since my phone's camera is broken. What was your experience, is it worth taking a lot of videos and photos. I can take some good ones with my phone but its gonna be a hassle every single time. I know this is a personal thing, but I would like to hear your opinions on documenting the camino. I am not a big fan of photos but do not want to forget all the things that happened on the camino

What did you decide?

I was a bit slack on my last Camino (been home 3 weeks)

I only took 3,500 photos and videos..........

 

[Sharonih]

I took my phone, though not as good as a DSLR especially with a telephoto lens. My many many photos I have taken have brought myself and others much joy. As well there was no added weight or bulk to my pack plus I could do many more unintrusive photos since the sound was off as well.