This Pocketable Camera Gear Will Change the Way You Take Travel Photos

Updated June 30, 2016 2:37 p.m. ET

Passport? Check. Swim shorts? Check. Massive honkin' DSLR? Check.

For years, the Big Important Camera™ was always on my packing list for any vacation, be it to the ocean, city or country. Sure, it would have been more relaxing to hike to that secret beach on Vieques without a five-pound camera strapped to my neck, but I'm a romantic. I've always believed vacations need to be documented with the best equipment possible. How else am I going to get picturesque laptop wallpaper?

But what I've realized lately is that, as technology allows us to relive our time off in entirely new dimensions, the best way to document your vacation in the 21st century isn't to carry one amazing camera. It's to carry three.

Cue record scratch.

Did I just say that you should carry three cameras on your next vacation? Yes. But hear me out.

One of those cameras is the smartphone that's practically a part of your hand, outfitted with special lenses. Also, the setup I'm proposing isn't about improving the quality of your images; it's about creating more surprising and immersive pictures and videos, which you can't do with one device, no matter how many megapixels it flaunts.

To find the ideal vacation-photography arsenal, I toured New York City for a week with three devices: the LG 360 CAM, a 360-degree camera; the Narrative Clip 2, a wearable cam that automatically snaps photos every 30 seconds; and the Moment smartphone lenses and case, which equip your phone to shoot like a full-fledged camera. All three items combined were lighter, smaller and less expensive than the kind of DSLR "serious" photographers lug around. Plus, I didn't have to wear a fanny pack.

Entering a New (Virtual) Reality

The LG 360 CAM looks like an asthma inhaler, but it's among the most futuristic pocketable cameras. Its dual wide-angle lenses capture a 360-degree view of its surroundings, which it renders as a spherical image that you can explore using your smartphone, computer or a virtual-reality headset. You can look all around a scene—to the left and the right and even above and below. (The experience is similar to using Google Street view.) As of a few weeks ago, you're now able to share these images on Facebook FB -0.08 % as easily as snapshots of your cat.

I took it to Grand Central Terminal—whose vastness is hard to capture in ordinary photos, especially for an amateur photographer. At the center of the Concourse, I launched the camera's companion app on my phone, then held the device above my head and tapped a button in the app to take my first shot and video. Even viewed on a 5-inch screen, the results were more eerily immersive than anything snapped with my iPhone. Watching the video later with my phone docked in a virtual-reality headset like Google Cardboard only amplified the effect.

Using the 360 CAM feels a bit awkward. People will stare quizzically as you pose like the Statue of Liberty in the middle of crowded pedestrian intersection, but as 360 cameras become more ubiquitous, this gesture will seem as normal as, if no less narcissistic than, stretching out your arm to take a selfie.

It's a Wide World Out There

Smartphone cameras have gotten really good, but the y're still limited by their lenses. Tall monuments get cut off unless you're shooting from a significant distance, and it's hard to fit much into the frame when shooting in tight quarters. But with the Moment Wide Lens, I was able to capture the entirety of the iconic Flatiron Building while standing across the street. (With the standard iPhone lens, I had to move about half a block farther back.) Down at the Union Square Greenmarket, the lens helped me photograph the bounty of vegetables splayed across tables while standing directly in front of them—no worries about folks walking into the shot.

While you can find other wide-angle lens attachments on the market, what sets the Moment lens apart is that its heft and build quality makes it feel and perform like a miniature DSLR lens. It made me feel better about leaving the big ol' DSLR at home.

Life Unfiltered

Designed to be attached to your shirt or bag, the Narrative Clip 2 automatically and discreetly takes pictures every 30 seconds—or more often, if you prefer. It has no screen and few controls (to turn it off, slip it in your pocket). Only when you connect the camera to a power supply do the hundreds of photos it's snapped get uploaded to the cloud. You view the cache of images using the Narrative app, which uses algorithms to highlight the ones worth keeping.

Wearing the Clip did make me feel self-conscious at first, but I didn't sense people were staring at me incredulously, as I did when sporting Google Glass years ago. I mostly forgot I was wearing the Clip at all, which is the whole point of the device.

At the end of the week, I looked at the photos the wearable had taken: fly-on-the-wall shots—graffiti on a Lower East Side door, the purple and orange sky as I emerged from a bar. There were a few artful shots—one froze my daughter's reflection in a storefront window. I imagine that years from now, even the duds will gain significance.

In a way, that's the beauty of these new forms of photography. One evening, I showed my wife the 360-degree photos and videos that I'd taken. It was mostly a greatest hits of crowded tourist attractions throughout the city: Times Square, Madison Square Park, Grand Central Terminal, Central Park. They were photos of nothing and everything at the same time—the video equivalent of people-watching in a cafe. "This is so cool," she said. "It's almost like I'm there."

And isn't that the entire point of travel photography?

SHOOTING STARS

After testing our favorite cameras in Manhattan, we asked Liz Kuball, a West Coast photographer, to try them in the wilds of Santa Monica. Her verdict: They made taking impressive shots like these a snap

For Going Wide (and Close): Moment Lenses and Case

What it is: A line of high-quality lenses—wide-angle, telephoto and macro—that you screw onto your smartphone (newer iPhones and a handful of Android models). An optional case gives your iPhone an ergonomic grip and a feel closer to a traditional camera. Attach a wrist strap to feel confident you won't drop your phone into a scenic gorge.

What it's great for: Making the camera you always carry with you more versatile. The lenses let you snap a greater variety of shots and can be used with many cases, not just those made by Moment.

Pro tip: While you'll probably get more out of the wide lens on the road, the 2X telephoto lens is worth the extra investment for taking portraits with artfully out-of-focus backgrounds and getting closer to faraway subjects without using the camera's low-quality digital zoom. Lenses, $100 each; case, $70; wrist strap, $30; momentlens.co

For Automatic Snapping: Narrative Clip 2

What it is: A tiny 8-megapixel camera that clips to your shirt or a backpack. The Clip automatically snaps a photo every 30 seconds, then uploads them to the cloud when you plug it into a power source. The Narrative app saves you from sifting through hundreds of photos by analyzing each pic and highlighting those with, say, in-focus faces, ignoring any blurry ones. Photos are stored in the cloud so they won't clog up your phone's memory.

What it's great for: Atmospheric shots and serendipitous snaps you wouldn't take otherwise. Collectively, the photos create a visual diary of the day, letting you capture the feel of a vacation without even trying.

Pro tips:You don't have to be the only one to wear it. Attach it to the handle bars of a bike or hand it over to your traveling companions to get a different point of view. If you're watching a sunset, attach it to a fixed surface and set it on time-lapse mode to create a memorable video. $199, getnarrative.com

for virtually being there: lg 360 cam

What it is: The power of virtual reality in your pocket. This simple-to-use device with two fisheye lenses takes 360-degree photos or videos.

What it's great for: Capturing the sights and sounds of bustling attractions or expansive landscapes. (It even records video in surround sound.)

Pro tips: While the 360-degree images are fun, the videos are even more compelling. Shoot longer than you normally would so you have enough time to explore different angles of a scene. While a tripod isn't necessary, something like the Joby GorillaPod, whose flexible legs can wrap around a railing or street sign, will come in handy. Share the photos on Google Maps, videos on YouTube—or both on Facebook. $200, lg.com

Source: This Pocketable Camera Gear Will Change the Way You Take Travel Photos