“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity,” said Albert Einstein.
I’ve followed this saying over the last 57 days when we were locked inside our homes, with loads of time at hand.
My job requires me to spot interesting stories, shoot stuff and then go through multiple rounds of edits, before I can put it up on my channel.
Now, without the services of a dedicated camera person, I was at a loss through this period, and that is when I decided to turn this adversity into an opportunity. An opportunity to acquire a new skill.
Much to the chagrin of my videographer friend, I decided to don the role of the cameraperson, but the mighty DSLR isn’t easy to navigate. The ISO settings and ‘f’ values look like algebra to me.
That’s when the Galaxy S20+ came to the rescue.
Abhishek Telang: I decided to don the role of a cameraperson
Smartphones are handy, easy to use and you can download plenty of apps which are very helpful for ‘not so talented’ novices like me. And then, to make a good video or a vlog using a smartphone, all you need is a tripod, that’s it.
The smartphone’s features and the dozens of built-in AI tricks take care of everything else. No stress of figuring out the ISO or aperture settings. The auto setting on the camera app takes care of pretty much every other detail. What I loved most about the Galaxy S20+ is the almost magical audio recording.
The phone allows me to shoot videos in 4K resolution, and sometimes even in 8K, giving content creators like me a lot of freedom to experiment.
Through this lockdown, I have created 70 videos for my YouTube Channel, using my Galaxy S20+. The total DSLR videos I have shot so far are 21!
In fact there is one more video that I am already working on, about my latest hobby, of making kulfi at home. When Samsung Newsroom India first spoke to me to write the article, I planned to make a video about how to make kulfi at home in my Samsung refrigerator, but I gave up that idea as it became difficult to procure all the right ingredients to make the perfect kulfi for this summer, with all the right flavours. I promise to come back with my video on my kulfi making attempt soon. And I will use the Galaxy again.
I know my cameraperson friend isn’t going to like this. Sorry buddy, I have found new love, in my ‘cameraphone’. And I just can’t get over it right now.
[Abhishek Telang is a former Tech Editor turned YouTuber who has been covering technology since 2007. He wrote this piece at the request of Samsung Newsroom India]