I Ditched My Phone for an Actual Camera on My Adventures

I’ve spent the better part of the last five years on the road. Whether on assignment, on holiday, or indulging in a beer budget version of Eat, Pray, Love, three things have always been clear to those around me: I have itchy feet; I hate a dusty passport; and I’m pretty useless with a camera.

So far, I’ve relied on my talented friends to photograph my Aussie adventures, and in return I do a write-up – divine and symbiotic. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy photography, I’ve just always convinced myself I don’t have the experience or, most importantly, the tools to act. When I explore solo, I step behind the lens of my second-hand iPhone and, shamelessly, a disposable film camera.

So when Nikon came knocking with their latest release, the Z5II, I asked the We Are Explorers crew if Nikon was aware of my aforementioned shortcomings. With firm assurance that yes, Nikon wants a green photographer, I was stoked to jump on board.

Then, in a spicy role reversal, I rounded up the girl gang and begged them to be my models, to which they obliged with gusto. We decided to head to K’gari for a few days to see what I was made of.

Overcoming Intimidation With User-friendly Tools

Historically, someone showing me how to use a camera with a million buttons triggers the same response in me as someone explaining a complex board game – I simply shut down.

As a former ‘phone photographer’, I was relieved to find that the Z5II has familiar functional tools; like a touchscreen to navigate controls, filters that, in the Z5II’s case, are developed globally by hand-picked photographers, and best of all, USB-C charging capabilities.

This already made things feel more accessible and calmed my anxiety about ‘flopping’ as a photographer. The night before we headed to K’gari, I packed my gear and repeated my mantra: ‘You can use the touchscreen. Just pretend it’s just a phone’.

Understanding Auto and Manual Functions

I used day one of our expedition to get comfy behind the lens. At Boorangoora/Lake McKenzie, I took some happy snaps, but I was unimpressed with the cloudy day. Unbeknownst to me, the camera can more than accommodate for that – which I figured out eventually.

By the afternoon, the sun had come out and my good friend Liv let me capture her, the Maheno Shipwreck, and a packet of sour squirms. With Liv as my companion, I realised I was far more intimidated by manual functions like iso, aperture, and shutter speed than I needed to be.

I let the shots guide me and was surprised by how easily I adopted thoughts like ‘too much light’, or ‘not enough’ and adjusted my settings accordingly. This took a little bit of patience – unfamiliar to me, an iPhone girl – but it was all in the name of delayed gratification when I saw the quality of the photos.

By day two, I had a pretty good feel for the gear. We were off to Champagne Pools on the eastern side of the island with some new friends we’d acquired. The sky was blue, the pools were bubbly (waves crash over the rockpools creating a bubbling effect, hence the name), and the company was grand. I did a quick refresher of the manual functions and captured our beloved British backpacker posse inspecting creatures in the pools.

In my excitement, I often forgot to check that the horizon was level, consider the rule of thirds, yada yada yada.

So in the chaos of it all, I switched the settings over to automatic for a little while. Automatic feels like a dirty word in the photography world. But for me, who’s still figuring things out, it was a relief to know I could switch it into non-thinking mode when I needed to.

For some reason (*cough* naivety *cough*) I expected the auto mode to produce a quality of image similar to that of my humble iPhone. But no – it was crisp and delicious, and truthfully, I felt a bit sorry for my phone because from here on out, I doubt it’ll get a look in.

Using the Auto Subject Detection

As we cruised along Cathedral Beach, singing poorly to early 2000s tunes from an aptly titled playlist Girls: Road Trip Edition, I rested my arms on the open window ledge, eyes peeled for my next shot.

One verse into Hollaback Girl, and there they were – dingoes. My white whale! I’d be damned if I went to K’gari and didn’t snag a shot of one (PSA: my affectionate language is hyperbole and dingoes are dangerous, so beware).

With Summer in the driver’s seat, she slowed us down, but avoided coming to a complete stop as we were mindful of the tides and the cars behind us. Even while in motion, the camera worked its magic. I zoomed in using my Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens  – which made me feel very cool and professional – and the Auto Subject Detection swooped in to save the day. It can tell the difference between an animal and a person which is wild to me!

Then there it was, my very own, clear image of dingoes stalking the beach. And on my final day, no less.

Realising Cameras Aren’t Just for Big Trips

My K’gari trip proved that the camera is accessible, even to a newbie like me. So when I was back on the mainland, I wanted to make sure that this wasn’t just a camera for getaways, but that it could be a part of my everyday too.

After a morning of making lattes, I wanted to be reminded of life away from a coffee machine. I wanted to feel creative and refreshed. The girls and I took a trip to Searys Creek, a freshwater spot in the Great Sandy National Park, only an eight-minute drive from our Rainbow Beach home.

Where I’d usually reach for my phone to capture my life, I no longer needed to. Sans phone, and with a camera instead, I felt removed from the online world – a sweet relief. With no time pressures, we relaxed into the afternoon.

My goal was to play a bit more with the Auto Subject Detection by experimenting with both movement and stillness. After sundown, despite the depressingly glary conditions, I was impressed by the camera’s low-light performance – look at me with my photography lingo!

To the uninitiated, this refers to a camera’s ability to take clear shots in dim environments. And what’s more is, I didn’t have to do anything to make this happen. The camera did it for me… phew.

Sorting Shots With Nikon Imaging Cloud

After visiting both K’gari and Searys, I had hundreds of photos to sort through. My photography friends warned me that this was a harrowing part of the job, which I can confirm.

But the uploading portion of this ‘hassle’ was simplified by Nikon Imaging Cloud which is a totally free software that automatically uploads the photos you select in-camera to a chosen platform (for me, Google Drive). No need to plug in the old SD card, hallelujah!

The Verdict

As a writer who barely understands her own laptop, I found the Nikon Z5II genuinely easy to use thanks to the user-friendly functions, some of which I recognised from my good ol’ camera phone. Plus, I have a sweet spot for the auto subject detection. Honestly, I’m pretty devastated I have to return this camera, but I’m thrilled Nikon gave me a chance to play with it.

As a wee newbie, I’m walking away with some confidence in my sick new skills, and I must say that detaching from my phone was truly a pleasure, all the while still capturing memories. Above all though, as someone who travels solo a lot, it was really wonderful to photograph and reflect on my adventures through my own eyes… or rather, my lens.

Feature photo by Skye Newman