VLOG_025: Getting A New Camera In The Gray Market Of Taipei

VLOG_025 is about shopping for a camera in Taipei. I needed a camera that could take both good still images and video, and I went for a Sony a6000. This is a mirrorless camera that is FAST. I’m a journalist; I have a need for speed when it comes to my cameras. There are no second takes — if I miss the shot, it’s gone.

But, ultimately, this shopping trip derived from the folly of trying to use an iPhone as my main still camera. It’s possible, but the value of what I can produce with it is severely limited.

I explain a little of my financial strategy in this video. Basically, I must publish in many different formats on many different platforms in order to make enough money to keep traveling. I call it monetizing the experience, and this is a strategy that I’ve been working on, adapting, and improving for the past 15 years.

Core to this strategy, is using high quality cameras. The more your cameras can do for you the more you stand to profit from them. Cameras are not toys: they are investments. They are a calculated expense that’s based on how much I believe I can make from them. With better quality still images and two standard cameras (a Canon camcorder and the Sony mirrorless) that can shoot from multiple angles concurrently, the quality of the package that I can produce has the potential to rise dramatically. This should, ideally, increase its value.

Also, pragmatically, carrying the smaller, mirrorless camera slung over my shoulder at all times gives me additional versatility and the ability to get shots that I otherwise couldn’t from the larger and more resource intensive camcorder.