Marrakech has been long on my wanderlust list of places to visit and we managed to squeeze in five days on our recent trip. Walking through the labyrinth of the medina, you’re instantly confronted with an overload to all of your senses, which is intensified by the overwhelming heat.
Exotic sights, intoxicating smells, unique sounds and rich tastes – you won’t encounter anywhere else in the world quite like it. Each tile more intricate than the next, each souk more chaotic as you draw closer to Jemaa el-Fna, the main square of Marrakech.
I’ve focused a lot on still content these last few months, but decided to switch the focus to video for this particular leg of my trip. As you know I’ve been using the Sony RX100V for the last few months and thought I’d share with you one of my favourite features that we had lots of fun playing with in Marrakech – slow motion.
I should first let you know that it took me a few goes before I got the hang of the ‘end trigger’ function, but once you do, it’s almost second nature to use it. If you’re used to using the slow-motion function on your iPhone then you’re probably thinking you’ll need to hit record once the action starts…but it’s the reverse on the Sony RX100 V. Once you place the camera into what’s called ‘standby’ mode, it will start recording. It’s once the action is complete – whether it be diving into a pool or running down a sand dune – that you hit record. The camera will take the previous few seconds of action and save this to the memory card using high frame rates.
True story, it took my partner three runs down steep sand dunes before I actually got the hang of the function. Let’s just say by the fourth run, he was ready to give up on me after breathlessly climbing back up the dune and on the verge of an asthma attack (which is hilariously what I ended up getting footage of). Lesson for the day: play with the function before you send your partner sprinting down the hill. The things to note with using the high frame rates function on the Sony RX100 V is that it works best with an abundance of natural light and that you will need to allow 20 seconds between shooting clips to save to your memory card.
When you’re in a city like Marrakech it’s hard not to want to take pictures of every corner of the Medina. Culturally Moroccans dislike having their pictures taken so being mindful is incredibly important and having an inconspicuous camera like the RX100 V can be incredibly handy.
My biggest worry when I previously travelled with large SLR cameras was the portability and how tediously heavy it gets after walking around for a whole day through crowded streets whilst trying to protect the lenses. Having a small camera that sits comfortably around your wrist and slips in and out of your bag quickly can make an incredible difference to your travelling experience. I’ve heard stories where people have had things stolen out of bags or fall out whilst rummaging for their cameras and here’s my quick fix – switch to a compact that can either sit around your neck or wrist without causing aches.
What camera do you like to travel with?
Check out the first post of my Colour series with Sony here in Hong Kong.
This post has been created in collaboration with Sony.
