We’re about a week away from heading to our Cebu trip! Our last trip to tropical islands for sun and snorkeling was 5 years ago pre-covid and at our trip to the Maldives. So, in a sense, I had a good idea already of the equipment I wanted to bring and what I probably wouldn’t need. The equipment that accompanied us that 2019 trip were:
HP x2 G2 Pro 612: the hybrid laptop that was used for blogging on the go and also photo-editing. Incredibly, this laptop is is still in use today and still working pretty well by the son for the online homework he gets assigned.
Sony A73: which I still bring out occasionally for family pictures.
Samsung Note 9: which the daughter is now using as her phone
Canon G7X II: which is still in great working condition, though the exterior now shows scuff marks and the usual wear and tear.
Olympus TG-5: which took all of the very lovely underwater pictures of marine life that trip.
GoPro 7 Hero Black: which I haven’t touched since the 2019 trip.
Insta360 One X: like the GoPro, also haven’t touched it since.
For our Cebu trip in June, the planned equipment outlay so far is:
Asus Zenbook S13 OLED: for blogging and photo-editing duties.
Samsung Tab S9: for on-the-go blogging.
Samsung S24 Ultra: I picked up Samsung’s flagship phone at launch in January this year and it’s been my daily driver device for the last several months. This is likely going to be the main photo-taking device.
Sony RX100 VII: as the backup stills camera and when I have time to be deliberate in photo-taking.
Olympus TG-5: there weren’t really aren’t a lot of dedicated underwater stills camera capable of taking photos in RAW format in 2019, and the situation hasn’t improved 5 years later in 2024. And while Olympus has released two newer models since – it’s currently the TG-7 – this underwater camera is literally seeing use once every several years. So, it didn’t make sense for me to get a new one. Hopefully the waterproof sealing is still working after these years!
DJI Action 3: to pull underwater video duties. I’ve had this for more than a year now but it’s yet to see serious use. The model has been succeeded by a newer version that corrects some of the focusing issues present in the Action 3, but hopefully the video footage from this would be usable. Importantly, the Action 3 has none of the random crashing issues that were widely repoted on the GoPro 7.
DJI Mini Pro 4: but of course, since one of the reasons why we’re going to Cebu is just so that I can do more drone videography! But it’s the Pro 4 instead of the Pro 3. The equipment check a week ago showed that the Pro 3’s Remote Controller had conked out, and it’d take 2 months for repair. I was interested to try the RC-N series controllers, but a new one would have cost SGD400+ alone! So, I decided to just bite the bullet and get the DJI Mini Pro 4 + RC-N2 bundle.
This above is a lot of gear that I’d be bringing. The DJI Mini Pro 4 drone itself and its accompanying accessories – including extra batteries, the battery docking station, a dedicated Powerbank, landing pad, ND filters, spare propellers, and tool kit – are alone already going into its own fairly large bag. But even if not, a significant exclusion this coming trip is that I won’t be bringing any of my interchangeable lens systems. Aside from that I’m already bringing a lot of gear, the reality is that this Cebu trip would be largely over water and sand, and aside from the couple of days we’d be on Cebu island mainland and also in Bohol, there’s likely going to be limited opportunities for me to bring out a full-frame or even the Sony APS-C camera and lens out for pictures.
I also considered investing in new gear for this 2024 trip to the Cebu islands – and picked up the the Sony RX100 VII for small compact camera picture taking duties a month ago.
Oh yes, and whatever gear I buy now also has to keep in mind where we might be going at year-end. Yep, we’re starting earlier this year and have prepared several itineraries on possible places to go in December this year. More to come soon!