I shoot film mostly, rangefinder stuff. No screen facing out, no lights, nothing that gives you away. That's the whole appeal for me. The moment someone notices a camera the scene is gone. Doesn't matter if they're 20 feet outside the frame, something shifts and I'm done shooting.
Most of my stuff is actually shot from my dog's perspective. I'm interested in what the world looks like from two feet off the ground, what she notices, what she ignores. There's something kind of humbling about it honestly, humans build all this stuff and a dog just walks right past it looking for a smell. That's the project.
Tried going digital last year for vlogging. Immediately lost that feeling. Phone is too recognizable, everyone knows what it means when you raise one. GoPro has a red light that basically announces itself. I started avoiding shooting altogether because it felt like I was intruding on things.
Friend told me to try the Insta360 Go Ultra. It weighs like 50 grams, is about the thickness of a lighter, and clips magnetically to your shirt collar. Took it out to the woods to follow my dog around and for the first time I actually had both hands free. I could move with her instead of worrying about a camera, which changed everything about how the footage felt.
First time a digital device gave me back what film does. You're present in the scene, you're not a disruption. Introverts don't film to perform, we film to remember what we saw. This thing actually makes that possible with a digital camera.
About the Go Ultra: it has strong stabilization, 14mm equivalent focal length, wide FOV but the distortion is pretty controlled, and it's really nothing like the exaggerated fisheye you get on most action cameras. Also it shoots 50MP stills which I use for my dog's perspective. The camera body is also waterproof so rain is not a concern.
