Traveling to Europe with my Sony a7iii - Video help

Hello! I have a Sony a7iii with 35 2.8 & 16-35 f4.

I'm heading to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and other European destinations.

I run a travel business (I'm a travel advisor) and I am intent on getting as much content/footage as I can.

I really don't have much experience making videos.

Sony a7iii not really a great camera for walking and recording (and I've heard that most camera work shouldn't be done this way anyway).

Any advice? I have a solid Manfrotto monopod I was planning on bringing with me.

Thanks!

jpozinmiami said:

Hello! I have a Sony a7iii with 35 2.8 & 16-35 f4.

I'm heading to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and other European destinations.

I run a travel business (I'm a travel advisor) and I am intent on getting as much content/footage as I can.

I really don't have much experience making videos.

Sony a7iii not really a great camera for walking and recording (and I've heard that most camera work shouldn't be done this way anyway).

Any advice? I have a solid Manfrotto monopod I was planning on bringing with me.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

If you insist to shoot this on your own, a gimbal gidget might help to stabilize your rig. Monopod is fine too....you may need a cage too to hang a light and a microphone on it. Considering sound ? But, your biggest stumbling block/hurdle is to practice visuals (where you are) and be well enough proficient to look at the footage....and say, oh yeah this is superb/fantastic....and being able to critically look at the video. You can look at other travel videos that you like and determine what makes them great or horrible. I've seen many from safari (pick a country/region) and some shake quite violently and nearly impossible to watch.....and then they want the viewer to rate it.

Also, try to structure or create a story around the visuals....think of those that will be viewing this video....and NO, no one wants to see "hosing" of the view or seeing paint dry in one 20 min long take - that's abuse. :>) Good edit is also a must.

Unless you are confident, that you can do this well, you might want to consider this: hiring someone local (in each large city) test their knowledge and you can even ask them to shoot some extra footage before you get there. This person would know better/best spots in town and be able to obtain some incredible video footage around sunset, etc etc. Just look from the point of view that it would occupy way more time to accomplish all those visuals (sometimes efficiency simply wins). Having good equipment will also help.

I'd add, and this is incredibly important, that if you pursue such, make sure that this will play on your system (laptop or home computer)....proper frame rate (not 25 FPS) and frequency (60Hz) matches what you'll be shooting. Anyway, you can eventually combine the footage with yours....give the videographer screen credit....and hopefully everyone is happy.

My two centavos. Good luck.

jpozinmiami said:

Sony a7iii not really a great camera for walking and recording (and I've heard that most camera work shouldn't be done this way anyway).

Click to expand...

It kind of depends on exactly how you want to do it.

It's not a great camera for vlogging if that is what you mean.

But if you search youtube for "a7 III travel" or "a7 III cinematic" then you will see lots of great work done with the a7 III.

Look at Brandon Li's youtube channel:


I think most all of his videos are shot on an a7 III and on a modestly priced gimbal.

It's a great camera for use on a gimbal. It would also be great on a monopod or tripod.

It has pretty significant rolling shutter and the IBIS isn't terrific, so you do have to be careful not to jerk it around. you will have to develop your technique to be very smooth if you want to just hand-hold the camera without a gimbal or other stabilization.

On the other hand, it has really good slow motion if you shoot at 60 or 120fps and then slow it down in post (don't use the S and Q modes cause the quality isn't that great).

The important thing is to LEARN HOW TO USE THE CAMERA correctly. You will sometimes want to shoot in SLOG 2 profile or in one of the cinegammas (Cine 4 is a good compromise gamma that gives you pretty good dynamic range and is farily easy to work with).

But the important thing is to practice before you go. And if you think you might get a gimbal, give yourself plenty of time to practice.

Also, you might want to start thinking about audio now. Good audio goes a long way to making a good video. Getting a good recording of a street band playing, or unique audio from the location can go a long way.

Also, as far as lenses go, you might want something like a fast (f/2 or faster) 50mm lens. Your 35mm f/2.8 is "kind of" fast, but it is only one stop faster that your 16-35 f/4, and you already have the 35mm focal range covered with your 16-35, so...

Also, video is different from photos in that you are generally using a shutter speed of 1/50th, 1/60th, or something else below 1/250th of a second. To get a SHALLOW depth of field you are going to want to invest in either a GOOD variable ND filter, or in TWO good non-variable ND filters, such as a three-stop ND filter and a two-stop ND filter, which you can combine to make a five-stop ND filter if you need to.

And finally, do you have a drone? Because you can get quite a lot of good footage with a drone. While I have my drone pilot's license here in the US, I have no idea about the laws in those countries you are going to visit, but if it were me, I would definitely look into them.

jpozinmiami said:

Hello! I have a Sony a7iii with 35 2.8 & 16-35 f4.

I'm heading to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and other European destinations.

I run a travel business (I'm a travel advisor) and I am intent on getting as much content/footage as I can.

I really don't have much experience making videos.

Sony a7iii not really a great camera for walking and recording (and I've heard that most camera work shouldn't be done this way anyway).

Any advice? I have a solid Manfrotto monopod I was planning on bringing with me.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Speaking from purely technical point of view,

1. The previous advice of hiring a local crew for shooting is excellent, though might be a bit costly (depending on many variables), especially if you want to include many locations.

2. Assuming that you want to shoot everything by yourself (which is economical - I understand it), your camera Sony is very good and will give great footage. In general, nowadays Sony is considered to be best in video (though I do like more Nikon - but thats not for you).


This a night Kyoto video, shot on much more modest camera than yours, with a gimbal (Moza), graded and colored. As you can see, while simple, a lot of preparations, planning and efforts went into the video. As you are going to see splendid locations in Budapest and etc, with some efforts and time you can make similar videos. That Sony probably doesn't have IBIS so some efforts to stabilize video are necessary.

3. I think that monopod is a great idea, please use it. In addition, please invest in a small travel gimbal like Ronin SC or Weebill S, which you can use together with your monopod. That will allow you to take great dynamic shots, Sony is very capable of. I don't think you need a separate mike or light (will make your gimbal setup too cluster@@@@ unless you are into full blown video production). Just use a nice background music or something you can record straight into camera.

Thank you all for the replies! Very helpful.

It's not economical for me to hire someone so i'm doing this all on my own. I don't think I need it to look like a production company filmed it.

Is there a better setup that I should be looking at instead of my Sony? I have thought of selling it for something that has better video capabilities (less rolling shutter, better IBIS). But I'd like to still have high quality stills.

I thought of the Panasonic g9 or one of the Fuji cameras. Or do I have a more than capable enough camera for all my needs?

Lastly, I will certainly practice over the next month and watch as many travel videos/filmmaker videos on YouTube.

jpozinmiami said:

Hello! I have a Sony a7iii with 35 2.8 & 16-35 f4.

I'm heading to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and other European destinations.

I run a travel business (I'm a travel advisor) and I am intent on getting as much content/footage as I can.

I really don't have much experience making videos.

Sony a7iii not really a great camera for walking and recording (and I've heard that most camera work shouldn't be done this way anyway).

Any advice? I have a solid Manfrotto monopod I was planning on bringing with me.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I have one suggestion. Make sure you check the sensor for dust. I had a 3 week vacation in Budapest/Austria/Romania and I did not notice the dust spots in the videos on the tiny back LCD until I came home and watched the videos on the big screen.

All my videos had small black spots that appeared beyond F5.6 and smaller aperture.

Make you you clean the sensor or check for dust and take great care when swapping lenses.

I can Photoshop dust spots out of photos but not from videos.

Otherwise enjoy. By the way I'm also going back to Budapest in 3 weeks but this time I'm taking a Canon EOS R which has the sensor cover when swapping lenses. Lets see how this will turn out. If you are not a vegan try the "Porkolt" from the vendors in the central market.

I'm not sure if its a Sony thing but my other Canon RP mirrorless did not exhibit dust issues in a recent Iceland trip where it was extremely windy and I had to swap lenses in the field many times.

Off The Mark said:

It has pretty significant rolling shutter and the IBIS isn't terrific

Click to expand...

I agree with pretty much everything you wrote, but Sony IBIS is down right terrible when used with a moving camera when compared to Panasonic IBIS. Sony IBIS is very usable for still photo work, but I would not try and use it with for video when the camera is moving.

LingoDingo said:

Off The Mark said:

It has pretty significant rolling shutter and the IBIS isn't terrific

Click to expand...

I agree with pretty much everything you wrote, but Sony IBIS is down right terrible when used with a moving camera when compared to Panasonic IBIS. Sony IBIS is very usable for still photo work, but I would not try and use it with for video when the camera is moving.

Click to expand...

Yeah, personally I wouldn't use it without using a gimbal if I planned to do any movement. But there are a few youtubers out there (Daniel Schiffer and Peter Lindegren (spelling)) who do a lot of "cinematic B roll" videos, and they somehow seem to have gotten pretty good results handheld with the a7 III. So I didn't want to dismiss it outright.

But fully agree that there are MUCH better cameras for handheld work.

jpozinmiami said:

Hello! I have a Sony a7iii with 35 2.8 & 16-35 f4.

I'm heading to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and other European destinations.

I run a travel business (I'm a travel advisor) and I am intent on getting as much content/footage as I can.

I really don't have much experience making videos.

Click to expand...

I strongly recommend that you invest in the DJI Osmo Pocket camera, which is tiny, very easy to use, and can produce breathtaking video in the right hands. I've seen some very effective POV walking videos made with this tiny camera ( just make sure you have ND filters when shooting in the day ), and it will give you a break from dragging around your bigger and heavier A7iii kit.

The video below could use some editing, but it's amazing when you see the tiny camera that was used to shoot it...

LingoDingo said:

jpozinmiami said:

Hello! I have a Sony a7iii with 35 2.8 & 16-35 f4.

I'm heading to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and other European destinations.

I run a travel business (I'm a travel advisor) and I am intent on getting as much content/footage as I can.

I really don't have much experience making videos.

Click to expand...

I strongly recommend that you invest in the DJI Osmo Pocket camera, which is tiny, very easy to use, and can produce breathtaking video in the right hands. I've seen some very effective POV walking videos made with this tiny camera ( just make sure you have ND filters when shooting in the day ), and it will give you a break from dragging around your bigger and heavier A7iii kit.

The video below could use some editing, but it's amazing when you see the tiny camera that was used to shoot it...

Click to expand...

Fot the price of this tiny camera he can just buy a gimbal as well

Off The Mark said:

LingoDingo said:

Off The Mark said:

It has pretty significant rolling shutter and the IBIS isn't terrific

Click to expand...

I agree with pretty much everything you wrote, but Sony IBIS is down right terrible when used with a moving camera when compared to Panasonic IBIS. Sony IBIS is very usable for still photo work, but I would not try and use it with for video when the camera is moving.

Click to expand...

Yeah, personally I wouldn't use it without using a gimbal if I planned to do any movement. But there are a few youtubers out there (Daniel Schiffer and Peter Lindegren (spelling)) who do a lot of "cinematic B roll" videos, and they somehow seem to have gotten pretty good results handheld with the a7 III. So I didn't want to dismiss it outright.

Click to expand...

I notice that Daniel Schiffer lists a Zhiyun Crane 2 in his shooting gear, so I have huge doubts he's getting smooth A7iii movement without the gimbal.

Same goes for Peter Lindgren who lists a DJI Ronin-S in his shooting gear.

jpozinmiami said:

Is there a better setup that I should be looking at instead of my Sony? I have thought of selling it for something that has better video capabilities (less rolling shutter, better IBIS). But I'd like to still have high quality stills.

Click to expand...

If you sell it, you will be giving up certain things.

The a7 III has really good dynamic range and great low light ability. To get better dynamic range you are going to have to go to something like a Panasonic S1, or something like the Black Magic Pocket 6K.

I have an S1 and it is a big, heavy beast (compared to an a7 III). Plus the lenses are very expensive. The 16-35 f/4 lens for the Panasonic is $1,500 US. And it is new so it is not like you can pick up one of those lenses used for under $1,000. (If you want to use vintage manual focus lenses, it is a great camera though.)

And while the S1 has MANY benefits over the a7 III, the autofocus is NOT as good as the AF on your Sony a7 III. And lenses are expensive. However the IBIS is really good and you could possibly handhold it in lots of situations, but I wouldn't walk with it without using a gimbal like my Weebill S.

Panasonic has several M43 cameras that are lighter and smaller than the S1, have good to excellent video performance, and do an admirable job with stills. But they won't have the dynamic range and low light capability of the a7 III you currently own. And they won't have the autofocus performance of your a7 III.

You can improve the low light performance of the Panasonic M43 cameras by using very fast glass (to equal an f/2.8 lens on your a7 III you would need an f/1.4 lens on a panasonic M43 camera). Or a speedbooster, which can be an expensive hassle, since the best speedbooster by metabones is I think around $600.

A fuji X-T3 is kind of close to the a7 III in that it uses an aps-c sensor, so the sensor is kind of "big" and offers better low light and DR than the M43 cameras, and it has lower rolling shutter than the a7 III, but it has no IBIS. AF performance is better than the Panasonic cameras, but not quite as good as that of the a7 III.

A nikon Z6 is a good camera, but you will need an external recorder to shoot LOG.

So all in all, you will have to compromise with whatever camera you choose.

Bottom line, the best thing you can do is invest your time in learning how to use your equipment to its fullest and learning to work around any limitations it might have.

And I would really recommend a high quality variable ND filter. If the price is off-putting, you can look to buy one used and then re-sell it after you are done with the trip.

LingoDingo said:

Off The Mark said:

LingoDingo said:

Off The Mark said:

It has pretty significant rolling shutter and the IBIS isn't terrific

Click to expand...

I agree with pretty much everything you wrote, but Sony IBIS is down right terrible when used with a moving camera when compared to Panasonic IBIS. Sony IBIS is very usable for still photo work, but I would not try and use it with for video when the camera is moving.

Click to expand...

Yeah, personally I wouldn't use it without using a gimbal if I planned to do any movement. But there are a few youtubers out there (Daniel Schiffer and Peter Lindegren (spelling)) who do a lot of "cinematic B roll" videos, and they somehow seem to have gotten pretty good results handheld with the a7 III. So I didn't want to dismiss it outright.

Click to expand...

I notice that Daniel Schiffer lists a Zhiyun Crane 2 in his shooting gear, so I have huge doubts he's getting smooth A7iii movement without the gimbal.

Same goes for Peter Lindgren who lists a DJI Ronin-S in his shooting gear.

Click to expand...

Yes, but I think that for some of their "cinematic B roll" shots, they are just using it handheld. I didn't see a gimbal in use in their BTS videos.

On the other hand (sorry for the pun), they are usually shooting those clips at 120fps and slowing them down, so I guess that does help reduce the apparent shakiness / jello of the a7 III.

But I fully agree with you that an a7 III handheld without a gimbal is most likely a very bad idea; one of the reasons I bought the S1

StoneJack said:

LingoDingo said:

jpozinmiami said:

Hello! I have a Sony a7iii with 35 2.8 & 16-35 f4.

I'm heading to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and other European destinations.

I run a travel business (I'm a travel advisor) and I am intent on getting as much content/footage as I can.

I really don't have much experience making videos.

Click to expand...

I strongly recommend that you invest in the DJI Osmo Pocket camera, which is tiny, very easy to use, and can produce breathtaking video in the right hands. I've seen some very effective POV walking videos made with this tiny camera ( just make sure you have ND filters when shooting in the day ), and it will give you a break from dragging around your bigger and heavier A7iii kit.

The video below could use some editing, but it's amazing when you see the tiny camera that was used to shoot it...

Click to expand...

Fot the price of this tiny camera he can just buy a gimbal as well

Click to expand...

...But, the Osmo Pocket is truly a pocket camera that you could store in your jacket or shoulder bag as you travel around.

When I shoot professionally I have to commit to dragging around a much larger camera kit that can be a hassle to carry with you as you travel about.

When I shoot as a tourist I bring a much smaller camera kit ( the largest camera I would consider for this is my GX85 with the two tiny consumer zooms : 12-32mm and 35-100mm ) and most of the time I barely notice I'm carrying the equipment.

The DJI Osmo Pocket is about the size of a mobile phone, so there's no commitment or hassle when taking it with you.

It's also so small that you could easily pass as a typical tourist when you are filming. ( there's no way you are going to pass as a tourist when carting around the A7iii on a Zhiyun or DJI gimbal )

I am not familiar with ND filters at all. I’ll have to look this up.

I bought the 16-35 f4 so I could shoot real estate photos on the side. Any recommendations on a good filter? And what do they do? (I know, probably a dumb question here)...

I keep going back and forth with selling my camera and buying into another one but I dont think I’ll do that. If anything, I’ll add another camera in the future (if needed).

Is having a gimbal with me a good idea?

You should be able to get good video with the Sony A7III - looking at other models is not going to be the silver bullet.

Yes a good gimbal will help if doing dynamic shots but it is not essential.

Key thing is to spend time planning / visualising the shots, take care in framing / what you are trying to achieve or what story you are trying to tell. That will have more impact on the final product rather than the gear. Dwell longer on subjects that you are filming - ie if you want 5 secs of a certain view then film for 15 secs - as you will always find you never have enough footage of what you want when you come to edit.

I shoot 4K but only to allow me to crop down with my final export in 1080. If you don't anticipate cropping then just shoot 1080P - unless you really want 4K final output.

Watch how you pan - many people getting in to video start panning the camera around and wonder why they get jittery footage - it's not the camera, its the technique. You have to pan slow, or with a central subject to focus on to distract form the background panning. Watch other videos online similar to what you want to achieve and see what does and doesn't work.

I'd strongly recommend totally avoiding Slog picture profiles unless you really know what you are doing and are using it for the right reasons. Cine 2 and Cine 4 are easily your best bet.

Overall have fun.

Excellent! Thanks! I will absolutely prepare ahead of time and watch videos to better my technique...

jpozinmiami said:

I am not familiar with ND filters at all. I’ll have to look this up... Any recommendations on a good filter? And what do they do? (I know, probably a dumb question here)...

Click to expand...

An ND filter will let you slow your shutter speed down / open your aperture up when shooting video.

In video shooting, you generally want to use a shutter speed that is twice the frame rate. So if you want to shoot at 24fps (which is pretty common), then you will need to slow your shutter speed down to 1/50th of a second to make motion in your scene look more natural.

Using a fast shutter speed like 1/250th or 1/500th of a second when using 24fps will make the motion look jerky.

If you use a camera with a LOG profile (which I highly recommend for contrasty daylight scenes), you also have to raise your ISO up. This makes it even more necessary to use an ND filter because now your shutter speed is nearing 1/1000th or 1/2000th of a second.

jpozinmiami said:

I bought the 16-35 f4 so I could shoot real estate photos on the side.

Click to expand...

It's a very good lens for travel and is a GREAT lens for shooting real estate.

jpozinmiami said:

I keep going back and forth with selling my camera and buying into another one but I dont think I’ll do that. If anything, I’ll add another camera in the future (if needed).

Click to expand...

Again, ANY camera you buy will have compromises.

jpozinmiami said:

Is having a gimbal with me a good idea?

Click to expand...

Only you can answer that question. If you end up doing real estate VIDEO you are going to want to get a gimbal to use with an a7 III and the 16-35 f/4.

But for your trip, it does mean one extra piece of equipment to haul along and that means added weight. And they can be a hassle to use. And they take several minutes to set up and balance your camera on them. And there is a little bit of a learning curve to using them. You can't just slap a camera on them and expect that it will make your footage excellent. And they can be heavy.

But you have to decide what type of video shots you want to take. Before deciding on whether you NEED a gimbal or not, you need to understand what type of shots you can take on a monopod / tripod, what type of shots you can take handheld, and what type of shots a gimbal would allow you to take, and then decide if you WANT to shoot the type of shots that a gimbal would allow you to take.

jpozinmiami said:

I am not familiar with ND filters at all. I’ll have to look this up.

I bought the 16-35 f4 so I could shoot real estate photos on the side. Any recommendations on a good filter? And what do they do? (I know, probably a dumb question here)...

I keep going back and forth with selling my camera and buying into another one but I dont think I’ll do that. If anything, I’ll add another camera in the future (if needed).

Is having a gimbal with me a good idea?

Click to expand...

I think that we (you) should apply Occam's razor's principle here (I am using it in wrong way, but anyway).

Don't make things more complicated than it should be. You absolutely do not need ND filters, you don't need to sell your camera, you don't need to buy another camera.

A new camera is NOT going to magically record the beautiful video of Budapest you envision in your mind.

It is all gear and, to be honest, it doesn't matter that much. You may heard of Hollywood directors shooting movie by iPhones - the actual camera means not so much, as the overall shooting process planning.

My advice: just use your Sony, use the lens you have already, DO NOT invest in ND filters and other fancy things.

Just plan your shooting, make a simple script (will be helpful - like having 7 main chapters as 1.Flight; 2.Arrival; 3.Getting to Hotel; 4.Visiting main places; 5.Food; 6.Impressions; 7.Departure to new location).

Each chapter will be 1 min. long; there will be 5 shots (scenes) in each chapter, each scene 12 seconds long; so you have script with 35 scenes, total length 7 minuts.

Your task is now structured in a straightforward way: you need to shoot 5 nice video shots in some sort of sequence, telling the Chapter's story. Sample sequence for Flight chapter: you are departing at New Jersey airport; entering plane; having a lunch; preparing for long flight; a smiling flight attendant gives you whisky - ain't international travel fun?-, you sit near smiling Italians, who are waving to camera, you waking up at Budapest airport.

All chapters together tell an arch story of your visit to Budapest. Next story is about Prague.

And each stories together will tell a story of the European travel.

The only investment you may need is gimbal. But even gimbal is not necessary per se. If you can shoot handheld well, use your monopod, use your brain (sorry) well, you won't even need a gimbal but still will get nice stable shots using just a monopod.

So concentrate on main things and, please, forget about ND filters. They will not magically transform your video into a great story. Instead, think what you want to tell us about Budapest in your video. Is it the great river view, old Austrian buildings, incredible Hungarian girls, great food?

And the crucial thing we even not discussing here is post processing. This is arguably most important thing after video shots themselves. And it does need its own place.