Travelling with the Insta360 X3 and other gear choices for travel

@orestistrips recently asked:

I was thinking of buying this but I am afraid the files will be too big and heavy to process, especially while travelling which usually is my case, therefore I decided to leave it for a bit later when I will change phone and maybe my laptop too. How do you find handling/processing/exporting those videos? Thanks.

This is a very good question so, I hope this post and video helps in some way.

It just so happens that at the time of writing this post, we are in the throes of preparing to fly on Tuesday and as ever I'm always thinking about what to take in terms of camera gear, computing kit, storage, powerpacks, charging devices and whatever else I need.

Weight of course is a major factor in this decision making, it has driven my decisions in recent times when buying cameras, what is the smallest I can get away with that still captures a decent photo or video.

So for this trip, I am taking:

• Insta360 x3 with it's stick and several 128GB micro-SD cards, I'll explain why in a minute and I may not need so many, it's a new device and I am calibrating the scale of storage plus computer power it needs.
• Ricoh GR3x rather than my larger Sony system, again this is largely driven by weight, all of the stuff in this list, is going in a regular rucksack and needs to remain about the right weight
• Ipad Pro 11ish inch, no Macbook or anything else, just the ipad. I'll add to this the dongle for connecting external devices to it with
• Maybe my Lacie rugged external drive, it is very light
• iPhone of course
• Battery pack to charge anything that may need it whilst we are exploring Madeira
• The usual accessories such as cleaning clothes, a small mini tripod that I can mount the x3 on or the Ricoh

That is it, no more! I've got to be able to carry this comfortably and it must fit in the overhead lockers easily. It's worth mentioning that I may wrap some of the kit inside the rucksack with something to protect the items a little bit from the usual rough behaviour of people shoehorning massive cases into the overhead storage on the aircraft. My least favourite part of the flight!!

I'm tempted to pocket the cameras for the flight, I might even film some footage with one of them as we take off, makes for good video material and story-telling after all.

Just film it and photograph it and have fun

My focus on this trip is primarily to relax and have a lot of fun. My wife and I haven't traveled like this for a long time, 2019 was the last trip we had of this nature. My filming will be very very light in nature, there won't be much narrative from me, music will be added in the edits once back home but that may change.

I've got plans to do more constructive videos when back in the UK. So I won't be overly worried about editing or spending an awful lot of time on my computer (iPad/iPhone). I just want to explore, take photos, capture some video in a very raw way. Keep tabs on my instagram by the way, I will share reels and photos there, my social details are at the bottom. This is something I've not done in a long time.

That said, short videos on 3speak are ok? Or would you rather I spent more time crafting better videos from home as time permits? Let me know your thoughts.

I don't want to stress over it!

Storage

The question we are looking to answer though is around the file's sizes and this is where I need to go into a lot more detail for you, as there are of course a multtude of different resolution modes, camera modes, bit-rates etc to consider.

The biggest files though are absolutely huge, I'd say a Gig per minute but I need to do some testing along the way and gather some data together before writing it up here, maybe a table would be useful to help you calibrate?

I've got several 128GB microSD cards that I keep in a rugged case that has a foam filling inside to protect them. This might sound like overkill but the cards are tiny and carry your video data, so I feel that they need the best case you can afford.

The main reason for having several cards is that I know I've got around 8 hours approx. of recording time and for my needs, I think that is enough. It also means I don't need to worry about offloading the files whilst away, I can just pop in another card if I need to. If any card is corrupt, I have spares.

Backup

Since I am taking the iPad, I can connect the Lacie drive and files can be transferred to that, as a decent back-up, just in case something goes wrong. I'm now pondering whether I can have two USB devices connected to it and can transfer from the camera straight to the Lacie? Or do I download to the iPad and then transfer across?

I always prefer the path of least resistance, if there is one.

Quick edits

I'll write another post about my photography workflow with the Ricoh, that's much easier than the video stuff after all.

The X3 iOS (or indeed Android) apps enable you to edit the camera's path and POV throughout each recording, there are numerous ways of doing this and warrants another post in itself! So I am planning on playing around with this software whilst we are travelling. I can export to social media platforms easily this way, YouTube shorts, Instagram Reels and brief videos.

The reason for doing small exports, is hotel wi-fi, normally not fast enough for large uploads, unless you pay extra and I'm not going to worry whilst away.

I may start to import some bits into Lumafusion on my iPad, so that it's ready to work with but then the issue I may run into is storage on the iPad, mine is 500GB with probably 50% in use already.

Final edits

This is where I do the real video editing begins, I am back home, have very fast broadband and I'm happy to upload from home. I will also have selected the best bits by now for the videos that'll go out on 3speak, YouTube and maybe if I am still running it, my Substack newsletter.

I'll write more about my workflow sometime and why I MUST reduce the services I push stuff out to and focus on those that have yielded good results and engagement in recent times.

In summary

If you are going to be editing on the go, then you probably will need some decent storage, fast storage, external drives are great for backups but not so good for working from, the files need to be on the local drive for that.

A powerful Macbook with 2TB of hard drive might quickly become the sort of spec you really need in order to work with large 360 files, whether you are a travel vlogger or an architect documenting building projects.

Takeaways

There are a few things to figure out, I've listed them here and I will document the answers to the questions. It's my writing to-do list

• Whilst away do I end up using all of the microSD cards? Did I take too many? Not enough? [[How many SD cards should you take when travelling?]]
• [[I mentioned a new series of videos when back in the UK]]
• Is it worth publishing short videos whilst away, only to publish the same but full length content later? That is on Hive, as I could publish reels or youtube shorts whilst we're on the go, to build up some form of audience anticipation
• Testing file sizes, which modes are the most storage hungry and which eat less?
• How many hours recording did I actually manage to record whilst away on the trip and how many Gigabytes did that need? How much space did I have left?
• Can I connect the camera and Lacie drive at the same time via two USB ports? Does the hub even have two USB ports? Does the ipad list them both at the same time?
• Write about the workflow with the Ricoh and travel photography
• Where do I publish the videos to and which of the listed platforms is best?
• List the best Hive communities for talking video and cameras

Ideas for future posts and video episodes

I know in my head what I hope to film whilst we are away and you'll just have to wait and see. I will be posting to #pinmapple a great deal, #photographylovers and videos to travel communities, any you would recommend for travelogues?

I want to cover topics such as filming angles and accesories to filming underwater. There are so many possibilities, please write in the comments, if there is anything you'd like me to try out and do a video on.