Quite often, we see comments suggesting that
creative hobbies and being minimalist don't
go well together.
While we'll be the first to admit that we're
not the most creative or artsy people, I think
we can at least say that we do have creative
hobbies.
Here's our experience.
In 2012, I got into the hobby of film-making.
I bought my first camera, one of the lowest
end DSLR from Canon, two lenses, a tripod
and a microphone.
Fast forward 8 years, in 2020, this setup
is still responsible for more than 90% of
what you see on our videos today.
This starting kit has been with me all the
way back from a time when I was absolutely
clueless, to now, where I'm starting to feel
like I actually have an idea of what I'm doing.
And for all the experience that they have
given me, they have their share of battle
scars to show for it.
HL's creative hobby is drawing.
She used to draw when she was a kid, but it's
something that she just kinda stopped doing
when she was a teenager.
A couple years back, I got her a drawing tablet
for less than 30 bucks, hoping to help her
reconnect with her creative side and maybe
turning that hobby into something bigger.
Today, all the illustrations that you see
in our content are drawn by her, on this cheap,
tiny tablet.
Acquiring shiny, new gear is often a huge
temptation and a never-ending cycle in many
hobbies.
Maybe it's our sheer superhuman self-control,
or maybe it's the fact that camera gear is
so damn expensive and we're not made of money.
But for the longest time, we didn't have the
need to upgrade.
I did add one item to my kit, this smartphone
gimbal by Zhiyun.
While we don't really shoot with our smartphones
for the videos on this channel, this is a
great accessory for my personal projects.
When Zhiyun learned that we are happy owners
of the Smooth Q, they reached out to us to
sponsor this video to celebrate the launch
of their new smartphone gimbal, the Smooth X.
Stick around until the end, where we share
more about their cool new gimbal.
There have been a few advantages to sticking
with the same entry-level equipment for 8
years.
First, the more I worked with what I
have, the more I learned what I actually need.
That assures me that I'll make wiser decisions
when it comes to purchasing camera gear in
the future.
Secondly, it has forced me to be creative
to squeeze every bit of performance out of
my kit, improving my skills in the process.
And the cool thing is, I believe that there's still
plenty of potential in this 8-year old setup
that I've yet to fully tap into.
The main thing that we took away from this
is to never let collecting gear get in the
way of the hobby itself.
While my kit has largely remained the same
over the years, there's been a drastic improvement
in what I've been able to produce with this
same set of equipment.
In hobbies that require any kind of skill,
the amount of fun and enjoyment we can get
out of it is often not limited by our gear,
but how much time and practice we've put into
the craft.
Shortly after moving into our new home, we
decided to commit to creating content — turning
our creative hobbies into something more serious.
We quickly saw the limitations of our original
set of gear.
"What we need" started to change as we transitioned
from doing it as a hobby, to doing it as our
job.
First issue: Due to space constraints we couldn't
go wide enough for some of the shots that
we wanted, so we got a secondhand wide-angle
lens.
Second issue: As we rely on natural light
for our videos, it gets incredibly frustrating
when the weather is not on our side, as our
camera — relatively outdated by today's
standards — struggles on a cloudy or rainy
day where there's not as much light.
So we got this LED light, but we really only
use this as a last resort on those dark and
gloomy days.
We also got a top handle to help make any
handheld shots a little more stable, and it
just generally makes it more convenient and
efficient to move the camera around.
Strictly speaking, none of these are stuff
that we can't live without, but they make
our lives so much easier, we would say that
we need them to do our job more efficiently.
And being able to do our job more efficiently
can be the difference between uploading a
video on time and not uploading a video on
time.
Not only do different people have different
needs, a person can have different needs at
different stages of their hobby career as
well.
Perhaps due to the way that both of us were
brought up, we have the habit of using our
stuff to their absolute deaths.
Some might think that being minimalist means
we would jump at the chance to throw stuff
away, but we actually struggle with discarding
or replacing our worn out items, if we feel
that there's even a tiny bit of life left
in them.
My first camera still has some life left in
it, but recently it hasn't been very cooperative
when we urgently needed it to be.
I think it's about time for it to be demoted
to the role of a B-camera.
At the end of the day, we're less obsessed
about being minimalist, than we are obsessed
about just being happy.
No matter if you're into creative hobbies
or sports hobbies — regardless of what anyone
says, you can enjoy them and still live minimally
as long as you're happy, and you truly value
every item that comes with those hobbies.
And if you're truly happy, then there's no
need to answer to anyone or compare with the
next person who has nicer, shinier gear, or
the minimalist content creators who are only
minimalist because they're super not creative.
As they say, comparison is the thief of joy.
If you're looking to get into the hobby of
making videos in 2020, chances are you already
have a pretty capable camera on your smartphone.
That can be a great starting point, but because
a phone is so small and light, the footage
that comes out of it tends to be shaky and
not very pleasing to the eye.
That's why I got this gimbal back then, and
that's why you may be interested in the new
Smooth X by Zhiyun.
The Smooth X helps to stabilize videos shot
on your smartphone.
While it's a 2-axis gimbal, as compared to
say, a 3-axis gimbal like my Smooth Q, what
you get in return is perhaps the smallest,
lightest and most portable stabilizer that's
available.
Camera stabilizers used to be really expensive
pieces of equipment.
I remember, because I couldn't justify the
cost of even the cheapest gimbal on the market
a few years ago.
So it's quite incredible that today, you can
get a smartphone gimbal from a reputable brand
that costs just 60 bucks.
If you're interested in shooting better videos
with your smartphone, check out the Smooth X
with the link in the description.
You can also get 10% off the Smooth X if you
use the code: THOUGHT at checkout.
Keep enjoying your hobbies, and thank you
for watching!
