Pictures vs. Youtube In Threads

  • Come along to the amazing Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.

Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
28,374
3,356
63
~Hemel Hempstead~
I've noticed there seems to be a growing tendency for for people to post threads with videos of their trips out, activities or whatever. Unfortunately the greater majority seem to be badly made, rambling and/or go on for ages

Personally whenever I click on a thread and see it's got a video that's home made 9.9 times out of 10 I just close the thread and don't go back to it.

On the other hand if it's got pictures and a write up, even short and sweet I read all the thread and check out all of the pictures.

What do you feel about them, are you the same as me and find videos switch you off and prefer threads with pictures?
 
Personally I like photo's and a brief-ish write up, That said, Weewildycamper posted a really good trip report video today. As long as they are not too long, they can be good.
 
are you the same as me and find videos switch you off and prefer threads with pictures?

I watch most things at least to start with and see how i go. If it captures my mojo ill watch on. I think on balance i prefer photo records. A moment captured in a photo somehow gives a more peaceful image.
 
I agree with the Photo's here,

I often find that videos do go on and some You tubers are well over the top.. I know of one that is over 18 mins long and it tells you how to fold toilet paper in to a Zip Lock Bag.........
 
I'm a self confessed Y/T addict. There is a whole lot of dross out there but a good few great informative channels too.
I don't mind the badly made ones so much as long as the info is good, it's the self important, 'expert' , preachy ones I switch of pretty damn quick.
Personally I quite like a combination of the two .
Hard to beat good pictures and good clear concise text though.

Pete.
 
I'm a self confessed Y/T addict. There is a whole lot of dross out there but a good few great informative channels too.
I don't mind the badly made ones so much as long as the info is good, it's the self important, 'expert' , preachy ones I switch of pretty damn quick.
Personally I quite like a combination of the two .
Hard to beat good pictures and good clear concise text though.

I know there's a lot of good info out on Youtube along with a lot of dross but what I was referring to was members here on forum posting videos of their activities rather than what's on Youtube itself
 
I couldn't agree more with the OP, I think well-chosen photos of whatever quality combined with text tell a story and convey the essence of a trip report far better than video does; you have to be extremely professional to make film or video work even remotely well and most of us can never
aspire to that level of expertise.

There's a great report posted today from the Dublin hills in which the photos are taken on a phone and the text is minimal but sufficient; I read this and felt as if I'd been there and that never happens for me with videos.
 
I'm with you all the way mate.



I've noticed there seems to be a growing tendency for for people to post threads with videos of their trips out, activities or whatever. Unfortunately the greater majority seem to be badly made, rambling and/or go on for ages

Personally whenever I click on a thread and see it's got a video that's home made 9.9 times out of 10 I just close the thread and don't go back to it.

On the other hand if it's got pictures and a write up, even short and sweet I read all the thread and check out all of the pictures.

What do you feel about them, are you the same as me and find videos switch you off and prefer threads with pictures?
 
I watch a lot of vids on YT, mainly trip reports rather than instructional stuff, there's only so many times I can watch somebody light a fire with birch bark or setup a tarp shelter.

When it comes down to it though, you've either got the gift of the gab or you haven't, YT is full of dross but there's also some gems.

Back to the OP, I enjoy watching vids as equally as I do reading a nice thread with photos, I think they both have their benefits. Paul mentioned a picture can capture a moment, but a video can also do that, sometimes with better results. If people want to film their stuff then I'm prepared to watch it, if it turns out to be garbage I just close it.
 
personally i am mystified as to why people want to bother making videos of trips in the first place, would have thought the experience of being out there reward enough in itself.
 
I am with you Mesquite - video turns me off and I turn them off.
Not to be rude but just because someone has a video camera does not make them an Oscar winning producer, director or actor.
Bad stills are a lot less annoying and often more informative than bad video!
Add to that the poor interweb service around here is so slow that I give up in despair even if the video is well made...
 
Me personally I prefer a set of pics and write up but don't mind the odd video if its instructional and doesn't go on too long.
 
I watch a fair bit of Youtube when I want to watch a video and have the connectivity but when I come on here I prefer a short write up with plenty of pics. I think pictures and text give you more of the event and place where as most videos give you more of the personality.
 
Pictures & text for me too. Both for trip reports/travelogues and most tutorials.

There are some good video tutorials out there but finding them isn't easy. Many suffer from too much waffling and those who try and demonstrate something whilst holding the camera with one hand absolutely do my head in.
 
Last edited:
Videos are nice, may not be a great cinematic experience but OK.

Some right miserable buggers here these days.........'I can't watch a video'.......chill out. Go back only a few years on BCUK and other forums and even making a video was not easy, no smart phones etc.

I've just added this thread to my personal collection of 'Daft Threads' and saved it so even if removed I can still look and think.....Chill out lol

For those of you knocking the videos I say get off your bums and do a video showing how it should be done so as to help the poor sods your so easily dismissing in their efforts... shame on you.
 
Personally I watch a lot of videos on YouTube, not just bushcraft related. Maybe because I am from the younger generation.
However, a shaky video of somebody telling me how they lit their fire or how good their new sleeping bag is doesn't really do it for me.

I much prefer a short write up with plenty of pictures for a trip report, and a well done, cinematic style video showing clips from their adventure.
I'm not saying that people should not make vlog style videos, as everyone have to start somewhere, but I am just less likely to watch them.

Just my 2 cents,

ATB
Sam.
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE