FOR TRULY ENVY-INDUCING VACATION PICTURES, PUT THE PHONE AWAY

FOR ME, packing for vacation means tackling my own duffel and then checking my husband’s carry-on for missing swimsuits and other omissions. When we went on a trip to Antigua this spring, I made sure he didn’t leave our HoverAir x1 camera drone in our coat closet. (Again.)

I’m so glad I did. Not only did this self-flying mini drone inspire us to take sunset hikes we otherwise would have skipped, it made us realize how many holiday mementos we’ve missed out when relying solely on our smartphones’ cameras.

For a millennial couple with no TikTok or Instagram presence or photography skills, we always thought our phones were sufficient for documenting our travels. We were mistaken.

Here, three extra snappers that’ll round out your vacation documentation and produce jealousy-inducing photos for your friends, family members and followers.

1. Wait For it

Problem: You love the creative whimsy that disposable cameras inspire, but the one-time use cameras are expensive (and an environmental menace). The answer is the Kodak Ektar H35 (from $50), ideal for film beginners, complete with a built-in flash and no daunting ISO settings with which to contend. As what’s known as a half-frame camera, the Ektar H35 sizes each 35 mm film frame down by half, meaning that this lightweight model (clocking in at only 100 grams) can take up to 72 half-frame photos with a 36-exposure film roll. That makes it ideal for storytelling, since you can practice composing diptychs in the space of one standard negative. For example, if you’re hiking up a Catskills peak, you can juxtapose a prize shot of the view from the mountain’s top with a portrait of you giving a thumbs-up at the summit. When you get digital scans from your film lab, you can also just separate the images in any photo editor.

2. Fly Away

Unveiled in 2023, the HoverAir x1 ($399) pocket-size, self-flying camera drone helped us appreciate the beauty of our beachy environs from a whole new perspective. Setting up our never-before-used drone took all of 10 minutes, before we sent it flying over Curtain Bluff’s Sunset Lane—a craggy overlook at our resort framed by emerald green mountains. To get going, just download the Hover X1 app, connect it to Bluetooth and watch a brief in-app tutorial. Come golden hour, we felt giddy watching the drone take off from our palms in three seconds, and grateful that the software includes five preprogrammed flight paths that let you capture great footage with no cinematography skills. Plus, unlike all the strolling love birds around us, we didn’t have to ask anyone to take our picture.

3. See it All Around

The GoPro Max ($500), like all 360-degree action cameras, has two lenses. One on the back, one on the front. Each records just over 180-degree field of view, that is stitched together in the camera to deliver a 360-degree, spherical photo or video. (You can use the GoPro app to further edit the videos into a conventional format.) Particularly well suited to adrenaline junkies, the GoPro Max promises to be waterproof to 16 feet of depth and withstand inclement weather. To keep things steady—whether you’re flying down a ski slope in Tahoe or walking through a crowded Moroccan bazaar—the camera employs proprietary video stabilization software. FYI: You’ll need a microSD card to use, which isn’t included with your purchase.

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2024-05-01T22:05:59Z dg43tfdfdgfd