Testing DJI Osmo Mobile 7P Gimbal in a Canoe – Is iPhone Filming Worth It?
In my latest video, I test my new Esquif Adirondack solo canoe – but I also tried out the DJI Osmo Mobile 7P gimbal for the first time, designed specifically for smartphone filming.
If you're curious about the canoe, check out the video. In this blog, I focus more on the filming setup and how the gimbal performed in real-world conditions.
On my first canoe trip, I quickly realized I needed a stable mount for an action camera — something I could attach to the canoe's support bar to film myself. I started with my DJI Action 2, but I’ve never really been happy with its image quality. Plus, I’d need an ND filter for proper exposure in bright conditions.
So I decided to give iPhone filming another shot and searched for available gimbals. The DJI Osmo Mobile 7P looked promising: reasonably priced (around €150), includes a tracking unit, and has a telescopic arm that might even work for bike filming.
At home, the first tests went well. With just a hand gesture, the phone would start tracking and filming me – even when using the Blackmagic Camera app. But problems surfaced quickly.
First: with the phone’s rear camera, I couldn’t see myself — expected, but annoying. Worse was that even when the tracker indicated recording had started, it sometimes hadn’t. This meant several frustrating retakes. Second, the ND filter made the phone side-heavy, which unbalanced the gimbal. I fixed this by adding weight with clips, but the motor still seemed to struggle.
In the canoe, the setup worked decently for short clips. But occasionally, when I turned away, the gimbal lost power and let the phone droop. The worst surprise came at home: while reviewing footage, I found that the iPhone’s sensitive mic had picked up loud mechanical noise from the gimbal motor. This happens especially when the gimbal is on a table or stand, the hum is amplified acoustically and captured on all mic settings. The result: unusable audio.
DJI does sell a compatible microphone, but unfortunately, not the model I own. And I really want my setup to be as simple and quick as possible – no extra mics, no cables.
So what’s next?
If I want to film myself while paddling or biking, the easiest solution might be to use the iPhone’s native camera, full auto with the ProRes Log setting and ditch ND filters. That setup won’t be ideal for talking to the camera – unless I use an external mic – but for visual documentation, it’s good enough.
9 - 0
Every spring I look forward to one moment above all others: the morning when I can photograph birds from the Luhdanjoki bird tower in Lahti. This is not just a filming trip - it's an annual ritual during which I come into contact with something deeply primal.
When I arrive at the tower before sunrise, the air is often cool and the mist still hovers damply in the meadow. The Luhdanjoki River exudes something from time immemorial - a kind of quiet strength and continuity. It is difficult to describe in words the feeling that this place evokes. Maybe that's why I wrote a whole book about it once - the Luhdanjoki is not just a place, but an experience.
I have travelled through almost every corner of this region. I've photographed its birds, paddled its waterways and walked through its forests. It is more than a landscape to me - it is part of my identity.
This spring I shot a video of a morning concert of thrushes. The sounds were recorded on a small and modest Zoom H2 Essential 32-bit audio recorder, which is easy to carry around. While the device isn't much, it's good enough for quick situations - and over the two days of shooting, I caught a few brief moments when the hum of nearby traffic paused for a moment.
Unfortunately, the future of the Luhdanjoki river is not a foregone conclusion. This unique landscape and its diverse biotope are threatened by many things: increased traffic, construction, industrial expansion, deforestation and even quarrying. Noise pollution is increasing every year. What used to be quiet and sacred is becoming increasingly rare.
https://youtu.be/bC5A5Zn84II?si=YSsCt...
11 - 0
In recent months, I have been focusing on developing my own nature video products. I have repackaged the subscription options for the Tilatunnelma luontovideo.fi/tilatunnelma/ product and developed cooperation with various partners. Unfortunately, I’ve had to put nature videos on YouTube on hold for a while.
It was not the intention to take a break. I started shooting new material at the beginning of the year. I set myself a goal to focus on shooting video footage of birds this year. I thought about how many species of birds I could film (well) during the year. A couple of videos have not been edited. I might truncate them into one video. I do plan to film birds this year, but the focus will be on landscape videos and recordings. I will also make a few travel videos to a good location in Finland.
Here is a video link to the compilation video of the Finnish Nature Photographers’ Winter Days, which I shot and edited.
watch video on watch page
1 - 0
I’ve just published the third and final video from last summer’s project.
https://youtu.be/iiRFVI_pQX0
There won’t be any similar documentaries for a while.
What would I like to say to amateur photographers? I recommend doing projects. I recommend setting yourself a goal to work towards. The goal should be realistic and one that you can achieve in a relatively short time. It’s good if the goal is a little out of your comfort zone and new to you. You thank yourself many times over by making a promise. When you are compelled to go out and shoot and you know what you are aiming for, the quality of your photography will improve. You don’t settle for little, you want the best. You will have to surpass yourself and you will learn something new.
That new thing doesn’t necessarily have to do with photography. The new thing might be paddling, hiking, sleeping outdoors, or cooking food on a camp stove.
Last summer’s project was work for me, but it gave me new ideas for developing my own photography. I got excited about paddling and especially about moving around in terrain that you wouldn’t otherwise go to. I was surprised how much there is to photograph in an autumn swamp, for example. I found it relatively easy to photograph Cockoos which I had previously found to be very shy. When I was paddling, I was surprised to find that waterfowl are quite trusting. Paddling also gives access to remote beaches that are otherwise inaccessible. When I was filming in the forest, I found that mosquitoes can be abundant in places, but there are big regional differences.
For years I have been walking my own paths, but they have often been in areas that I am familiar with. I know how light behaves and what birds and animals you might encounter there. From now on, however, I plan to go more often to places that are unfamiliar to me. I’m going to enjoy the surprises that come my way.
Watch all three episodes and enjoy!
13 - 2
I just released the first video in a series of three.
https://youtu.be/bSVxRO8tHWg
Last summer, I got to do a lovely summer job. I shot nature-themed landscape videos for the National Museum of Finland. My aim was to simulate the view that prevailed in Scandinavia after the ice age.
In the first video, I describe how I filmed a deciduous forest. The following videos are about filming waterways and swamps.
Along the way, I came across a few things and learned how to shoot long-form landscape videos. However, all the other unexpected twists and turns that come up during the shoot are as important or even more important than achieving the goal. The most important thing in nature videography is seizing the opportunity. Moving around in areas you wouldn't normally go to at a certain time of year can lead you to find, for example a woodpecker's nest. You can go back later to film the nest at a better time. At the same time, you have to think about the whole arc of the drama - what would be the theme that the scene relates to. On location, your brain is constantly racing to figure out how the story will go from here. Nature photography is very creative work if you want to take the work to a higher level. You also have to enjoy the work. When it's a passion project, there's no need to rush.
For this project, I had to balance how far I would go to shoot. I decided to shoot all the footage at a maximum distance of a couple of hundred kilometres from home. If I had gone further, I would certainly have found quiet groves, marshes and lakeshores, but I would have had to spend time travelling and finding a suitable location. In familiar locations, I knew how the light behaved and could get to the locations quickly with my load of gear.
I started shooting the groves in Lohja in Southern Finland. I studied maps and looked for information about valuable groves. The late spring and early summer were very warm. The bright green colour of spring was fading fast. I had to hurry. In Lohja, however, the situation was different. There was surprisingly little vegetation at the bottom of the forest, and the material was not quite perfect. Nor did I remember that Lohja is a bad area for ticks. I kept my jacket on for two days in the hot foliage because of the mosquitoes. When I got home, I realised that I had still brought several ticks with me. Fortunately, I did not get Lyme disease or tick-borne fever.
I only found the right shooting technique in the groves back home. My aim was to create a slow forward and backward movement that could be repeated as a loop. It was surprisingly effortless with an old-fashioned system. The slider, which had been gathering dust for ten years, was given a new lease of life and I'll be using it more from now on. You don't always need the latest technology.
I will publish the following videos as soon as I finish the editing. There will be tips on shooting long-form landscape video and also tips on drone videography.
10 - 0
The Finnish Nature Photo of the Year Festival was held at Bio Rex in Helsinki on 19.10. Together with Jukka Lämsä youtube.com/@JukkaLamsa, we filmed all the presentations and award ceremonies. I also made this short video about the festival.
We shot the event with four different cameras. One camera (Canon C70) shot a general view at the top of the hall, Jukka shot wide shots of the presentations in front of the stage (Sony A1) and I shot medium shots and close-ups in front of the stage (Canon R5 + Atomos NInja V). I also shot general footage of the event with another R5 whenever I could. Some shots were also taken with my iPhone on a coffee run. We got the sound from the mixing board directly to the Zoom F3 recorder. The performers also wore Rhode microphones on their chests, just in case. We kept up the pace, and there were hardly any breaks. We had the idea of interviewing the exhibitors at the fair, but we had to save our energy and gave up the idea. Next year we will try to get more videographers on board.
The videos will be published on the Finnish Nature Photographers' YouTube channel. youtube.com/@SuomenLuonnonvalokuvaajat
----
Vuoden Luontokuva -festivaali pidettiin Helsingissä Bio Rexissä 19.10. Kuvasimme yhdessä Jukka Lämsän youtube.com/@JukkaLamsa kanssa kaikki esitykset ja palkintojenjaot. Tein festivaalista myös oheisen tunnelmavideon.
Kuvasimme tapahtuman neljällä eri kameralla. Yksi kamera (Canon C70) kuvasi itsekseen yleiskuvaa salin yläosassa, Jukka kuvasi lavan edessä esiintyjistä laajaa kuvaa (Sony A1) ja minä kuvasin lavan edessä lähikuvaa (Canon R5 + Atomos NInja V). Lisäksi kuvasin yleiskuvaa tapahtumasta toisella R5:lla aina kun ehdin. Jokunen otos tuli kuvattua myös iPhonella kahvinhakureissulla. Saimme saliäänen suoraan miksauspöydästä Zoom F3 -tallentimelle. Lisäksi esiintyjillä oli varmuuden vuoksi Rhoden mikrofonit rinnassa. Kiirettä piti, eikä taukoja juuri jäänyt. Meillä oli ajatuksena haastatella myös messujen näytteilleasettajia, mutta oli säästeltävä voimia ja luovuimme ajatuksesta. Ensi vuonna pyrimme saamaan joukkoon lisää kuvaajia.
Videot julkaistaan Suomen luonnonvalokuvaajien YouTube-kanavalla. youtube.com/@SuomenLuonnonvalokuvaajat
watch video on watch page
4 - 0
In September, I visited bird observatory for a long time. It had been 16 years since my last visit. I spent three days at Hanko Bird Station. In the past, I used to visit bird stations a few times a year.
Why have I stopped visiting bird stations in recent years? In the early 2000s I was still a fairly inexperienced birdwatcher. Back then I wanted to see new species and at bird observatories this was safer when there were several experienced birders around. Gradually, my skills began to improve and my confidence that I could find the same species inland in my own patch grew. Now that I have more birding knowledge, I want to experience nature more fully. Nowadays I appreciate areas that are peaceful, beautiful or rich in birds. It is not essential to see or photograph rare species. Experiences are more important. On every trip you also get to know new people and even in a short period of time a team spirit is created. Whether it’s a birding station or a group on a commercial trip. This kind of experience goes a long way and increases your faith in humanity.
I haven’t spent much time at sea in recent years, but I have an inner fire to get out to sea and the water. Bird stations are often located at sea and it is possible to spend time at stations in places of natural beauty where others may not have access. Although everyone in Finland has the right to go almost anywhere in nature, the shores are built full of houses and cottages. This is very sad and I have experienced a harsh reality when looking for peaceful locations on the shores of lakes and by the sea. This is not the case in neighbouring Estonia. My interest in exploring Estonia’s birding spots has gradually grown. I am also planning to buy a canoe to navigate the lakes of Finland.
But let’s get back to the bird station. Will I make more videos from bird stations? Yes, I think I will continue to visit bird stations in the coming years.
21 - 0
My latest wolverine video is, in my opinion, one of my best nature videos. Shooting in the photography hide is always limited and there may not be much time. There is a lot to do both inside and outside the booth. The videographer is always busy. In that respect, I think the editing was very successful.
Lieksa and Erä-Eero are beautiful places to shoot. The ridge section of Kontiovaarantie road is perhaps the most beautiful and dangerous road in Finland. www.eraeero.com/?page_id=1155
I spent two nights in a hide at Uuronlampi. The first night I didn't sleep at all. The second night I slept for a couple of hours in the darkest hours and in the morning I dozed off a couple of times. I had a day camp at Erä-Eero's Keljänpuro. The third night I spent in the "barn" and went to the sauna. Two nights awake are enough to wear a man out, so it's not worth getting behind the wheel of a car right away. At the same time, I made the most of my time and went to take some drone footage of the surrounding landscape. On the fourth day, I drove home and filmed the Patvinsuo National Park marshes with a drone on the way. My visit to Patvinsuo was very short. I will definitely return soon. www.nationalparks.fi/patvinsuonp
I was a bit unlucky with wildlife photography. The main target was of course the wolverine and it was seen quite well. Wolves and bears had been seen the previous and following nights, but they didn't show up for me. It was a bit the same with the wolf sightings in Kuhmo a couple of years earlier. There too, a bear was unexpectedly missed. The game camera images showed that bears, wolves and wolverines were moving right around the Keljänpuro base. When I was taking a nap after the first night of filming, a wolverine was seen moving around the bird feeder next to the house. On the last night, a bear had wandered past my hut while I was fast asleep.
Sounds and music play a big part in video. In eastern Finland, recording is easier when there are few sounds of human activity. The soundscape in the video was recorded in a hide at Uuronlampi and at base camp at Keljänpuoro. I had just purchased a Zoom F3 recording device. It is a very good device. It starts up quickly and 32-bit recording is easy because you don't have to worry about gain control. The sound levels are only adjusted afterwards.
The music was done in the usual way, improvising in one night and with a few takes. As a youngster, I was a perfectionist when it came to music. Nowadays I just let it go and that's it.
12 - 2
Silent photography through a silent land
I have to admit that there's quite a conflict between the video and the title, so I'll give you a bit of background on the video. I'm a big fan of nature videos with lots of nature sounds and as little music as possible. If any nature video I watch has distracting and unstylish music (as it very often does), I have to change the channel. Most of the recordings in this latest video were made off location.
We were on a family holiday in Levi ski resort in Lapland. I knew it was the busiest resort in Lapland, but I was still amazed at the amount of noise. The noise of the highway, snowmobiles, music, ambulances, helicopters, planes, people shouting. The craziest incident was the ski boot disco at the ski cafe terrace, which suddenly started up while I was filming in a quiet bog. These locations are quiet at certain times of the day and in quiet months, but ski tourists on holiday in the spring sun make more noise than the noise pollution in my region of southern Finland. I did go to the quiet areas of the Pallas-Ylläs-Tunturi National Park, however. Some of the sounds in the video were recorded in my home area. Recording quiet nature is really difficult when there are only a few sound sources available. Even wind can sound like a vague noise.
I've been working on a recording video over the winter, but I'm not entirely happy with it. I will finish it and possibly release it at the end of the year. I've also been recording early spring birds in my neighbourhood. I managed to make some nice recordings during Easter in the early morning while people were still asleep in their homes. I'll try to get some footage of them one morning. So sometimes you can do it this way - first the sound and then the picture.
I was inspired to write this text by the videos @TuomasHeinonen shot in Kenya. It's worth checking out the truth behind the nature images. I've been on safari in Tanzania once myself and it was pretty wild at times. So not everything is always what it seems and sounds like.
12 - 0
Recently, I've been inspired to edit nature videos to make them look like they were shot on analogue film. I collaborate with the manufacturer of the Dehancer plug-in. Dehancer is a pretty expensive add-on that can emulate the process and look of film development on a film camera. Adjusting the video image with the Dehancer plug-in is quite tedious and rendering is slow, but it's a nice and rewarding job. I really like the smooth feel and grainy image of the film camera. Especially images that remind me of Finnish nature books printed on uncoated paper in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and nature documentaries shot with a film camera. Unfortunately, YouTube tries to enhance the image and it tries to remove noise from the image. The noise level therefore needs to be set a little too high before uploading, so the fine film grain does not come into its own.
Time will tell how I use this tool. I think I'll test it more in the near future and just make the best use of it. I'll tell you more about it in the accompanying film.
8 - 0
Nature photographer and wildlife filmmaker living in Southern Finland.
On this channel, I make photography trips in Finland - further afield to good locations or close to home. I will tell you how I feel and try to convey the atmosphere of the location. My passion is to present nature as a piece of art. I love bird photography, macro photography and making nature and wildlife films.
9 May 2011