Sony DSC-RX100 and GoPro Hero3

So I have been wanting to have my own camera for a few years now and have taken a bit of interest in photography (I'm not sure how much Instagram had anything to do with that). I always like looking at pictures of landscapes, animals, and nature and would love to take some amazing photos and videos on our trip!

So for my Birthday, my family gifted me with an Sony DSC-RX100!!! Wow! This Sony camera is the top of the line, best compact camera you can buy. What else should I have expected my Dad to get though. Although I was kinda expecting a Sony NEX5R if it were to be a camera as my Dad and I have been talking about them recently.

This is the camera the Pros choose when they need a small compact camera. The camera features a massive 20.2 MP 1" Exmor CMOS sensor, compared to the average point and shoot sensor size of 1/2.3". This allows the sensor to capture more light from your scene and reproduce every stunning detail. The camera is also equipped with a legendary Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens. Despite its compact dimensions, this extraordinary lens offers supremely accurate performance, 3.6x optical zoom and an enormous F1.8 circular aperture for gorgeous defocused backgrounds. It can also shoot amazing clear videos in Full HD 1080/60p at 60fps. This will come in handy for the video compilation that I would like to produce. Now I just need too learn how to even shoot a camera with all of the features and settings...

I was also very fortunate to receive the newest GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition package from Rebecca for Christmas! It is such an Awesome present! Rebecca knew that I was kinda interested in it by all of the nature and extreme sports videos I've sent her, saying that I would love to do those things such as scuba diving, and skydiving/wing suit diving. So now I need to start doing more adventurous activities to make use of it! The camera is quite small but the Black Edition has some amazing specs!

• The HERO3: Black Edition captures professional, cinema-quality video at 2X the resolution and 2X the frame-rate of previous models while delivering 2X better low light performance. Slow-motion aficionados and industry professionals will love the HERO3: Black Edition's 1080p-60, 720p-120, WVGA-240, 960p-100 and 1440p-48 video modes while those desiring a cinematic look will appreciate the ultra-high resolution 2.7KP-30 fps and 4KP-15 fps (Protune only) video modes.
• The HERO3: Black Edition's photo performance is 3X improved, now boasting 12MP burst capture at a staggering 30 frames per second with 2X better low light performance compared to previous models. Still Photo and Time-lapse Photo modes remain the same but are now joined by a new Continuous Photo mode that captures continuous 12MP stills at a steady 3, 5, or 10 photo-per-second rate, up to 30 photos at a time. (PERFECT for making my time-lapse videos in Thailand and Cambodia! Keep an eye out for the videos to come!) 

So I pretty much have to learn how to use a camera properly and all of the basics in less than a month..which is not going to happen. So it will be a good learning experience and hopefully I can get away with using the pre-set scene settings and playing around with them a bit for this trip. The GoPro is pretty good at capturing true colours automatically and will be great for time lapses and underwater video footage!

I am pretty excited to take a bunch of photos and videos of our trip. I already have some ideas of what I want to capture for my video. I do not have any experience editing but Rebecca said she will help me. I'm sure if I record a bunch of small clips, I can put together 3-5 second segments for a solid videos. You will all find out how it turns out in June.

Posted by Steven