Every year, hundreds of innocent 360 cameras
face an unfortunate and tragic ending.
Some are drowned,
dropped,
smashed,
taken by the wind,
some have their lives cut too short because of well,
pure stupidity.
And to that I say, enough is enough.
I didn't want to have to make this video.
So by this point, I've seen hundreds and hundreds,
if not thousands of 360 cameras posted about
in the Facebook groups, that have had their lives
cut tragically short.
It seems like every time I open up Facebook,
I see a photo of a camera with a smashed lens.
And after I get past the sick satisfaction of knowing
it wasn't me, I feel sorry for the person.
And now, after seeing so many 360 cameras tragically lost,
it's time to admit it...
We have a problem!
And I speak as someone who is part of the problem.
I'm not perfect, I can admit it.
I've killed one, two, three...
Five 360 cameras in my time.
And even though I'm a careful guy,
there's no getting around the fact
that these things are delicate.
People from outside the 360 community,
call 360 cameras disposable, which I think is silly.
But, they are delicate, yes, I can admit that.
So let this video be a summary
of all the things I've learned
after going through five 360 cameras.
I'm gonna call it Ben's Top Ten Tips For Not Breaking
Your 360 Camera.
Because I love you guys and this breakage has to stop.
I just got the brand new Venture case for the One X,
and look how pretty this thing is!
No, I'm just kidding.
(laughs)
Not pretty, but I guess if it does its job,
it doesn't matter.
To be honest, I prefer not using something like this,
because it's big and clunky
and it very well could get in my 360 shots.
However, I will test it out by the end of this video,
so we'll know for sure.
So before you go out
and buy something like the Venture case,
here are 10 things you might want to try.
You need to protect the two lenses at all costs.
This means always keeping it in the camera case
or pouch when you're not using it,
and keeping it there as much as you can.
Only take it out when you're ready to shoot.
Since it's kind of hard to make a lens cap
for a 360 camera, this is the equivalent of a lens cap.
You've got to make sure nothing ever touches the lens.
This includes your finger,
and especially don't put it face-down on a table
or a hard surface.
Always use a small tripod when putting
your 360 camera on the ground,
otherwise, it's just a matter of time until it falls over
and scratches the lenses.
Even if you're shooting indoors where there's no wind,
it's better to be safe than sorry.
If you don't have a small tripod, even a selfie stick
will do the job, because at least that way,
you have control over it and you can make damn sure
the camera lens doesn't go anywhere near the ground.
Use extreme caution with do-it-yourself selfie stick
and tripod combinations.
I know it seems like a great idea joining lots of selfie
sticks together, but the higher your camera goes,
the higher the risk factor is too.
The end shot probably won't even be worth it,
compared to just buying yourself a really long
selfie stick to begin with.
Especially if you're using cheap selfie sticks,
there's a much higher risk of them snapping and breaking.
Also, don't attach a really long selfie stick
to a really high tripod, because it only takes a poorly
made base for it to break and your camera to fall.
If you own an extra long selfie stick
you'll know what I mean.
Instead, try holding the selfie stick
and painting yourself out from the bottom later.
If it's windy out, don't go further
than arms length from your camera.
You may think it's stable, but it's not.
Ouch.
If you really must leave your camera so you can go hide,
use a weighted monopod, that way you have extra security
at the bottom of the monopod base.
That will fight it from tipping over
just that extra bit more.
The windier it is, the heavier it will need to be.
Here, I'm using my Bushman monopod with a double
counter-weight setup, but still,
this is only good for medium wind.
In strong wind, it still stands a small chance
of falling over.
So if you were shooting a virtual tour outside,
and you had to get the shot,
because it was an essential part of the tour,
then you're gonna need to weigh this down even more.
So try and find something big and heavy to cover
the legs, to give it extra stability.
And if you can't think of anything,
or if you shoot virtual tours a lot,
you might want to consider getting a shot bag,
which they use in cinematography and video,
to weigh down heavy light stands.
This will do the same job for your 360 monopod.
There's no way anything's moving
with the weight of this thing.
Always be cautious in extreme heat or cold.
Your camera will freeze or it will overheat.
So be sure to check on it as often as possible
when shooting in extreme weather,
and turn it off and give it a break as much as you can.
Even a well-made camera can overheat
in extreme circumstances and I've almost done this myself.
And it was caused by me turning the camera
on without me realizing, and it starts shooting
5.7k video in my bag for like, an hour straight.
That's gonna put stress on any camera,
and combine that with it being really hot,
and the camera could actually like melt.
You might think I'm over exaggerating,
but it did happen to one person.
Woah, cool! But sad at the same time.
It looks like the exact same thing happened to him.
The camera was rolling in his bag,
as he was onboard a plane.
Maybe the battery expanded or something like that,
but it caused the camera to overheat,
and the plastic started melting.
That's a really extreme example,
and it probably won't happen to your camera,
but you still do need to be careful
to not accidentally trigger the camera.
Give it space in your bag so nothing accidentally presses
the button and turns it on.
And if you're traveling with it, take the battery out.
Be careful not to get dirt or sand
into your camera or camera gear.
If you're shooting somewhere like the beach,
this is gonna happen pretty quickly.
And who wants sand in their stuff?
Sometimes it can take months to come out.
Just like it does with my underpants.
So if you're shooting somewhere like the beach,
only get the camera out when you really need it.
If you have good quality 360 camera accessories,
like the Bushman monopod, I wouldn't take them to the beach.
Have a backup, a cheaper version of everything.
So whenever I'm not at the beach, I shoot with this.
When I am, I shoot with my much cheaper selfie stick.
This is like 10 bucks, I think I got it for free
actually with my One X.
And I use a cheap tripod as well.
That way I know I can get it wet,
I can get sand in it, and if it breaks,
never works again, doesn't matter.
Don't use a camera in the water if it doesn't explicitly
say it's waterproof.
Water resistant doesn't count.
(loud feedback)
Another one bites the dust.
If the camera isn't waterproof, or water resistant,
keep it a minimum of two feet from the water at all times.
Just trust me on this one, I speak from experience.
I've drowned not one, but two 360 cameras.
It's over here.
I see it, yeah, just here.
Huh.
Wow, two years ago, I was here on Bondi Beach
having a swim with my friends on a hot summer day.
Just finished catching waves for the day
and I was gonna go home, but I thought you know what?
I'm gonna get my Theta S out
and get one of the most amazing shots ever.
Just on the edge of the water here, so I did it.
I grabbed my camera, and I went back into the water.
I thought, you know what?
I'm only gonna be 10 seconds, what could go wrong?
And I held the camera up,
I jumped as a wave came towards me,
and the wave ended up being twice as tall as me.
My Theta S got dumped.
So I ran to shore, I toweled it off, wiped it clean,
turned it off, turned it back on again,
and it didn't turn back on.
Theta S, (sniffs) I'm sorry.
I did everything I could.
I put you in a container of rice for a week,
and you just wouldn't come back to life.
(sobbing)
(gentle piano music)
So if it's important to you to shoot in or around the water
or you like taking lots of risks with your camera,
and you think there's a good chance you could damage it,
then I would definitely recommend getting a case like this.
Because the case, yeah, it's cheaper than a new camera.
Here's a sample photo shot with a Venture case
and as I look around, I'm thinking, what Venture case?
It's like it was just taken with no case at all.
I can see some very faint imperfections around
the seam line, but I've got to say, this is incredible
given how big the Venture case is, for it to completely
stitch itself out of this photo.
I've got to admit, I completely dismissed it before
taking this photo, but now I'm a believer.
Since it was too cold to swim at Bondi Beach,
I took the Venture case into the heated pool at my gym,
and look, it worked.
The case didn't leak, I was able to take this video,
and this photo and it worked just fine.
I'll put a link to the Venture case,
the camera and everything else you saw in this video
down in the description.
Finally, I'm going to give you some counterintuitive advice,
and that is, get the money shot.
If you think you can get it, and it's not too risky, get it!
You have the Ben Claremont blessing my child.
Sometimes, you just know there's an amazing opportunity
sitting there right in front of you,
waiting for you to take your epic 360 masterpiece.
And yeah, it's a little bit risky.
Your head says no, your heart says yes,
and your wallet also says no.
But you're willing to override that for the small chance
you might break your camera,
in exchange for this amazing shot, you deem it worth it.
You put your camera at risk, you say hey, okay,
if this doesn't work out, I'll have to buy myself
a new camera, but I'm willing to take the risk.
Then I say yes, if you think the shot's gonna be that good,
go for it, but do keep in mind the 10 rules you just heard
before you attempt this epic, amazing money shot.
All right, I'm here at the end of my shoot,
and we just got the thumbnail for this video.
Chris took a photo of me in the water,
and I got almost 100% drenched,
trying to get this damn thumbnail of me fishing
with my One X.
Don't do that!
Don't try making a thumbnail like that.
Not safe.
I literally almost fell in the water to get that thumbnail,
so that's a sign of how far you can go
if you want to take that risk of getting the money shot.
(kazoo music)
If you have any other safety tips you wanna add,
leave them down there and while you're down there,
hit that subscribe button and also ring the little bell
to get my videos sent to you instantly!
Magically, poof!
And that's it, I'll see you next time.
(gentle piano music)