I’d long planned to replace both my old GoPro and my Sony ZV1 camera with one action camera — and finally made the leap when the Insta360 Ace Pro was released December 2023.
My minimum gear for shooting video has never been lighter nor more compact.
I like HDR (high dynamic range) and shoot the same on my iPhone. Over-saturated video looks good to me on YouTube. Especially if watching on a phone.
4K30fps is the most I can shoot in HDR on the Ace Pro. (Better would be 60fps in HDR. That would be my #1 request for future upgrade.)
I export at 1080p30fps so can crop / zoom down without losing resolution.
Shooting in this setting I can quickly zoom 50% and yet still end up with 4K video whenever I want by double tapping the screen. How does 4K zoom to 4K? … Some sort of digital trickery in camera they call clarity zoom.
Their 8K is 4K with 4 small pixels replacing each normal 4K pixel. So far I haven’t been much impressed with 8K for video.
Ultrawide gives the widest possible perspective for outdoor scenery. I’ll use that mode when shooting BIG outdoor vistas.
Most of the time, I’ll use Dewarp (minimal distortion) as it most closely matches a normal camera with almost no curvature to the image.
iPhone App and Apple Watch App
I’ll be using the Apple Watch app quite a bit. It’s simple. Quick. And intuitive.
I might never use the phone app which is complicated. And really not needed for someone who plans to edit video later on laptop.
Voice Command on the Ace Pro works most of the time, even in noisy environments.
This camera has Gesture Control — but it works inconsistently, as it does on every other product I’ve tried with that feature.
Downsides of the Insta360 Ace Pro
The AcePro has no GPS. With iPhone photos and video, I sometimes look up the metadata to see exactly where and when I took the picture — very useful.
It’s possible to use the phone app — or even the watch app — to get the metadata, but that’s too much hassle for me.
The biggest problem now, however, is lack of much zoom on any of my cameras. I’d love to have something with 10x optical, as well.
Since I export at 30fps, in my normal shooting mode I won’t be able to slow down video. In reality, I don’t use much slow mo anyway, so it probably won’t be a problem. BUT I’ll need to remember to switch to slow motion if I ever want some of those captures.
I started in Passau, Germany, cycling to Ulm. About 238-miles (383km) over 5 days.
It follows the rail corridor of the Danube Valley Railway for long stretches. And alongside the river for even more.
To get to the Danube at Passau, I cycled from Salzburg mostly along the Austria / German border. Much along the Inn river, which had recently flooded. Some of the bike paths were still closed. Many more were MUDDY.
About 130km over a day and a half.
Beautiful scenery. In many ways, I liked it better than the Danube as the Inn river is less developed. And you are closer to the water more often.
I arrived Passau very tired —a long day in the saddle. Had to push my bike up this hill to get to the Youth Hostel.
Yeesh. Toughest part of the day.
The official German Youth Hostel is part of one of largest castle complexes in Europe.
After wild camping the first night on the bike, I ended up staying either at youth hostels like this one. Old. Huge. Retro. Something out of the 1960s.
OR …
… simply stopping at one of the small, crowded campgrounds. There’s always space for one more tent. 😀 Cost is less than $15 / night at most.
This one associated with the local canoe club was my favourite.
Though I did do quite a bit of sightseeing along the way, here I’ll present just a sampling of the highlights.
In my own brain 😀 it all merges into one long week of castles, churches, and pretty German architecture.
NeuburgDonauwörthDillingenLauingenLauingen
After a long, hot day into Ulm, Germany, I suffered leg cramps during the night. Decided to quit the Danube for 2023.
Friends in Munich are storing my bike and cycling gear.
As a minimalist, it’s nice to go back to travel with only carry-on luggage. 😀
I might go the other direction towards Budapest next time. OR — more likely — cycle the Rhine north.
The BIG Picture
Passau to Vienna and Vienna to Budapest are 2 of the most popular sections on Europe’s most popular long distance cycling path ➙ EuroVelo 6(EV6), named the “Rivers Route“.
Mostly I’ve been disappointed with the many limitations of Instagram. I’m not a fan of that platform. I store my best (64,000 😀) photos on a paid site ➙ Flickr by Smugmug.
I shoot iPhone photos and video in HDR (High Dynamic Range). The BIG advantage of phone cameras is the black magic used in the automatic setting. Most of the time automatic results are better than I can do manually. AND it’s a lot FASTER.
After posting myFrench Creek tribute,(2021), I declared I was GOOD ENOUGH at video editing for my purposes. Approaching “Concious Competent“. I could sit down at a table with a professional video editor and understand 75% of what they were talking about. 😀
The remaining 25% has mostly to do with colour. Skin tone. Complicated stuff. Creators who can afford it often send their own work out to a specialist for colour correction.
NEXT STAGE = STORY
Story. Story. Story.
Every edit should contribute to the STORY.
I threw this one together quickly as a teaser for my West Coast Trail survival videos. But in some weird way, it’s evocative of that wild and challenging hike.
For video I’ve switched from 24fps to 30fps as it’s a little sharper, though less cinematic.
the Ace Pro is my main camera for video.
Ignoring advice of most experts, I mostly shoot Intelligent Auto Mode. In fact, I shoot Intelligent Auto Photo Mode almost all the time — as it’s QUICK on the Sony to take a 5472 × 3080 [16:9] photo and QUICK to switch to Intelligent Auto video 4K 30fps. With 4K I have plenty of room to crop or zoom to my final product in 1080p.
The biggest risk of shooting Auto is shifting exposure during the same scene. When that happens I’ll have to crop scenes so as not to show the flickering. One exception is with the DJI drone — with the exposure is set to Auto while flying, I can LOCK 🔓 it in by clicking the small button bottom lower right of the Fly app display. That’s the case with all cameras ➙ but I often forget to lock exposure.
Shooting auto I tend to get video more saturated than reality. To that, I add even more saturation and contrast. I like that exaggerated look though it’s considered uncool in 2023.
ZV-1 Memory Recall #3 = 1080p / 60fps for slow motion (60 is better math when slowing for 30fps output)
ZV-1 Memory Recall #2 = 4K / 30fps
ZV-1 Memory Recall #1 = is for Time Lapse photos 5472 × 3080 [16:9]. This setting I use mainly for photos, choosing the best from the collection. 16:9 ratio makes for a time lapse photo that matches the dimensions of my export video.
PHOTOS
I often shoot photos in RAW and JPG both — but usually edit in RAW.
Apple’s free Photos app on the Mac is not perfect, but I’m still using it for organization. And quick edits. It’s a much better photo editor in 2023 than just a couple of years ago.
I’ve switched to Pixelmator Pro for editing the best of the best photos for Instagram.
I quit trying Sony video S-Log2, S-Log3, and other HLG profiles used by the cool kids as it was way too much hassle for gains in quality I don’t really need.
iPhone 13 Mini on the OM 6 gimbal apps: Camera, Moment, DJI Mimo, SkyFlow
the 13 Mini probably just as good as the ZV-1 in bright daylight. But I’ll use it mostly for B roll: slow-mo, time lapse, special effects, etc. (always 4K and 60fps for slow mo or speed ramping. 30 fps normal. 24 fps low light). I shoot HDR High Dynamic Range 10-bit. The better quality ProRES is not available on my 13 Mini.
I’ll probably switch to the dedicated SkyFlow app timelapse app as it’s so quick and simple.
The 13 has less stabilization than 13 Pro or Max, so I’ll use it on the gimbal as much as possible.
One great gimbal feature that finally works consistently on the DJI OM 6 is GESTURE CONTROL for tracking myself. It seems like I have a cameraman, though I’m solo. That’s only available on the DJI Mimo app.
Space on the phone is not a worry as I’ll transfer photos and videos on the fly via a tiny SanDisk 256GB memory stick.
The 13 Mini will be a dedicated camera and audio player. I’m currently carrying a second iPhone, the S.E. mini as my phone phone.
GoPro 7 is for B roll: action, water, fake drone, etc. (mostly 2.7K 60fps as 2.7 is the highest it can go with Superview (16:9 aspect ratio) enabled. I’d only switch to 4K if on a tripod.)
low light set on auto
ISO min 100, max 400 (400 might be low)
Protune off
Head mount, chest mount, handlebar mount, selfie stick, or tripod, depending on the situation.
Editing video with Final Cut Pro X on a MacBook Pro 14″ 2021 with 16 GB internal memory. That said, the cheapest MacBook Air is sufficient for almost everything I do.
Export in 1080p
master file using ProRes 422
export ‘Computer’
export H.264 Faster Encode
Shoot 120 fps only for smoke, fire, fast moving sports, etc.
As little hand held video as possible. Use tripods. Handheld would only be used to show ACTION. Close-up motion. I don’t shoot much of that.
Shorter the better for my videos.
No ads. I gave up trying to monetize anything on the internet years ago.
Shoot in 4K. Crop as small as 1080p. Export 1080p.
Keeping electronics powered while on the road is one of my bigger problems.
For hikes where weight is critical, the only essentials are phone and drone.
For bikepacking, I’ve taken EVERYTHING on some long trips. Weight and bulk are not really issues.
For the GoPro, I’ll carry at least two 3.85 Volt batteries and a tiny charging case. I find these batteries die too quickly.
In 2024, I’ll likely upgrade to a better GoPro or Insta360.
I sometimes carry a solar panel. And I’m increasingly interested in the Shine ultra-compact wind turbine. An even better solution for me than solar — but it’s still a bit too expensive. And too heavy at 3 pounds.
The Sony is my favourite camera. But when it breaks I’m planning to continue using only an Action camera and iPhone, with or without gimbal. Both cameras are small, light and durable.
The top hiking blogger, Kraig Adams, recently sold his big camera and shot only iPhone and drone. UPDATE ➙ Kraig went back to carrying an expensive camera. But he really wants to dump it. He calls himself a minimalist.
That’s ODESZA. Indeed, my favourite YouTube music 2022 were tracks from that duo.
Once I decide on music, I find it fairly quick and easy to decide the sequence of clips. And do the editing. I have an ✔ EDITING CHECKLIST on Apple Notes app I continually update.
Of course the future of video editing and creating is AI.
Well established for images, artificial intelligence for video is just getting started.
Give it the music track. Drag in all video and/or photos you want to include. And the software creates an edit for you. Normally, you click again to watch a different edit. And you can change the length of the music track quite easily. The software tries to find a good place to cut the song.
It’s mainly intended for short, fast cut Instagram, TikTok, and Reels.
BeatMark Pro is amazing. But far from perfect.
To keep it simple I tried a photo slide show. Got a decent result. Then did an additional hour of editing to come up with this.
Only twice so far has YouTube promoted any of my videos, even though the quality is conspicuously better than hiking videos with far more views. YouTube is terrible at search, I’d say. 😀
… And you may find yourself in another part of the world … And you may find yourself in a beautiful house … And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”
photo – Diego Delso
A Canadian College / Gymnastics friend has lived in Munich for decades. He runs his own health Club called AJs Fitness.
While I was fading on my Norway cycling adventure, AJ offered to have me house sit while he and his husband were gone for vacation. I jumped at the chance.
Great location close to the edge of the city. Hot tub. Fancy coffee machine.
Paradise. 🙏
House sitting was a terrific break from weeks cycling Norway. And I then used Munich as a base for cycling and hiking trips.
I had the Deutschlandticket — 49-Euro / Month for all regional and municipal transportation. Brilliant.
Munich is a fantastic tourist city, of course. I cycled all over town.
All together over 22 days, I covered the west coast from the Lyngen Alps to the Storseisundet Bridge over 2 summers. Of course not all of that was on bicycle. Some was train and much was on ferries. Perhaps 20 ferries, most of them free for cyclists.
Day 11 — July 11th, 2023
I caught the long, free ferry from Lofoten to Bodø, a town I really like. The jumping off point for Lofoten.
I’d spent quite a few days there over my 3 visits to Lofoten.
Like Canada, Norway is a land of lakes. Hydroelectricity.
Waterfalls are everywhere.
There are even more electric cars. About 80% purchased recently are at least hybrid. But that might drop as subsidies are withdrawn.
Expensive, I avoid restaurants in Norway, instead cooking for myself on a camp stove.
A rare exception was getting this burger with onion rings while waiting for a ferry. I wanted to charge my electronics, not always easy while cycling.
Ferries are excellent in Norway. In a land of fjords and bad weather, they have to be.
You can sleep. Eat. Charge batteries. All while enjoying amazing vistas.
Most often it’s overcast in Norway. But that’s quite comfortable weather for cycling. Not too hot. Not too cold.
Day 13 — July 13th, 2023
This was the only day I could go shirtless.
Here we are crossing the Arctic Circle.
Still north of most of Iceland, Alaska, and Yukon.
We stopped at the Grønsvik coastal fortress, Lurøy. Much like others I had seen around the world — but this one was built by Hitler’s troops.
The Nazis occupied Norway from 9 April 1940 until the end of the war in Europe, 8 May 1945.
You can understand why Norweigans don’t want Putin occupying Ukraine.
Unfortunately, the museum was closed.
I considered camping here — but ultimately moved on.
Day 14 — July 14th, 2023
The day began in lovely weather.
In a few sections, many sheep opted to rest on the pavement. As trucks zoomed by, they were mostly not bothered.
It later turned out to be my rainiest day in 2023.
Actually, over many summer weeks in Norway, I’ve had very little hard rain. Wind is a bigger problem for the cyclist.
The north is relatively dry compared with Bergen, wettest city in Europe. So I’m expecting more rain as I ride south.
I booked a room in Sandnessjoen for about US$85. My favourite site is booking.com (Priceline) as it’s working far better than any other I’ve tried. Even for hostels.
In 22 days I paid for accommodation only 3 nights. And of 19 nights in the tent, almost all were excellent. Free and easy tenting in Norway is what lifts it to the top of my best bikepacking destinations anywhere list. 😀
I got the room mainly to finalize a change in plans. Rather than continue cycling through Norway and on to the Faroe Islands and Iceland, I’d — instead — fly to Munich and house sit for a friend who’d be on holiday in Canada visiting family.
In fact, Germany is my #2 bikepacking destination after Norway.
I had to book a train to Oslo with bike. Accommodation Oslo. Flight Oslo to Munich. Etc.
My favourite street art of this trip I found in Sandnessjoen
When I saw hard rain coming, I decided to set up up the tent and have a siesta. Wait it out.
Unfortunately, this wood pile yard was infested with no-see-ems. I couldn’t leave the tent.
Overall, there are very few biting insects on the west coast of Norway.
Happily, a cyclist going the other direction tipped me off to an excellent shelter campsite a short distance from the route. Perfect. And no bugs.
Day 17 — July 17th, 2023
Packing up the tent and bike in the morning typically takes about an hour. Including several cups of coffee. 😀 ☕️
Bike and gear excellent. My load a bit heavier than average for Norway.
Uneventful.
A long cycling day.
Not many photos.
I was beginning to lose motivation.
Day 18 — July 18th, 2023
My least happy day.
Few photos. Again.
The roads are narrow. And local traffic was getting busy as I approached Steinkjer. Trucks, trucks, and more trucks. Many northern roads are not busy — but when they are, you realize you have no shoulder.
Steinkjer was the first rail station since Bodø. I decided to catch the train to Trondheim.
Waiting was a friendly German cyclist who was on a 5 month bikepacking trip, finishing close to the Russian border where he’d start a hotel job in September.
He was backtracking to Trondheim due to a mechanical problem with the bike. Bicycles are still notoriously unreliable. They break down a lot.
Happily, I’ve had no problems with my bike in Europe.
The name Hell stems from the Old Norse word hellir, which means “overhang” or “cliff cave”. It has a more common homonym in modern Norwegian that means “luck”.
We arrived Trondheim in the early evening.
Camped in a city park across from the golf course. Totally legal and normal in Norway. 🙏
Day 19 — July 19th, 2023
I caught the private fast ferryTrondheim to Kristiansund, planning to finish my cycling at the famed Atlantic Ocean Road.
Kristiansund is quite charming. A small city with still a fishing village vibe.
This impressive church appealed, so I found my way around the harbour to check it out.
I finally rode up to the start of the 5.7km NO CYCLING undersea tunnel, hoping to find some way to cross to the Atlantic Ocean Road.
No luck. I saw no taxi. No bus. No sign. Nothing.
Defeated, I set up my tent in a nearby city park. After scaring away a deer. 😀
Day 20 — July 20th, 2023
First thing in the morning I cycled BACK to the tunnel and found 2 Norwegian cyclists waiting on a bicycle taxi. Happily, they invited me along.
Rick McCharles 