The gear • May 2017
Tech that social media influencers swear by
When it comes to perfecting the art of Instagram on your travels, it’s not as straightforward as snapping a quick picture, picking a filter and pressing upload. Blogger and social-media darling Alice Tate shares her insider tricks and clever pieces of kit that will help you gain plenty of ‘likes’ on your next trip
Smart snapping
Ever wondered how Instagram stars manage to capture perfectly crisp photos with a beautiful depth of field simply by using their phone? Don’t be fooled. A lot of the snaps you see are shot on Wi-Fi-enabled cameras, allowing high-quality photographs to be transferred across to smartphones at the tap of a button. Get ahead of the game with the Olympus Pen E-PL8 (£549.99), the latest update to a firm favourite of the blogger and vlogger community. Or – if your budget allows – try the LEICA D-Lux (from £800), which has the fastest lenses of all the Leica compact cameras.
Splash out
Capture every holiday moment – waves and all – with a waterproof phone case that allows you to splash about without bother. The LifeProof’s Nüüd cases (from £79.99) form a tight seal around your iPhone, meaning that water (and dirt) stay firmly out, but without affecting its touchscreen functionality.
Map your travels
Social media influencers don’t just share, they advise too. Keep followers updated on your travels with Esplorio (iOS, free), a brilliant functional app that automatically traces your footsteps like a ball of string, without the app having to be open – a godsend for saving your battery power too. You can even upload photos after your trip to create a private travel journal.
Spin right round
Raise your travel videos and Facebook snaps to new heights with the Kodak Pixpro SP360 Action Camera (£249.99). The compact 360-degree HD camera is adventure-ready with waterproof casing and a set of mounting brackets, which can be used to attach to surfboards, helmets and handlebars. Best of all, you can instantly upload your footage to Facebook and YouTube thanks to its in-built Wi-Fi.
Fully charged
Keeping track of all your kit can be a challenge on the move, but storing it in a smart carry-on is the key. The Bluesmart One suitcase (£399) is ideal, with its built-in digital scales to check you’re not over your allowance, remote locking device – you control it from your phone – a GPS location tracker, and the best bit, an inbuilt charger (with two USB ports) that can restore your phone to full power up to six times.
Filter, filter, filter
Take your pictures to another level with some artful editing. VSCO (iOS and Android, free) and Snapseed (iOS and Android, free) are two of the most relied upon apps out there. VSCO is great for simple one-click filters that will transform your feed with a cool, moody vibe, while Snapseed is terrific for editing specific parts of an image – think upping the saturation of an orange juice on a table or sharpening a figure in the forefront.
Blurred lines
For really stand-out photos that will get plenty of likes, invest in a fixed lens for your camera, such as the Olympus Pen M.Zuiko Premium Digital 45mm Lens (£249). With its fast 1:1.8 aperture, the high-power lens will give your snaps that beautiful background blur and stunning depth. It can be used for shooting top-quality videos too.
This article has been tagged Technology, Travel Tips