The main problem was that both of the the stairs up to the bell tower are only 2ft wide and on a very tight spiral, and the only thing to hang onto was a thin rope on the right and carrying my Sony AX53 camcorder on a side handle in my left hand. I should have taken a video light up with me to cope with the back lighting rather than opening the lens a stop or two, but it was more difficult to walk down than up to go and get one !!  I do occasionally use my phone, but I certainly wouldn't use it for a complete video as my particular mobile is very limited in the control department.

No, I wouldn't find it easier because

- My video camera, which took around half of the shots, doesn't have that facility
- I usually take several shots and use the best for checking on the net
- I do the checking when editing or researching for my narration usually several at a time.  Most sites let you do four for free
- I prefer to do the identification from the comfort of my pc with its decent sized screen.

Further comment - My phone is a Samsung Galaxy A16 which is a relatively low end camera which cost around NZ$400 which is approx 200 pound sterling.  As you've seen it's good for closeups and has great image stabilisation although the stabilisation does degrade the image.  My video camera has the advantage that it only takes a second to switch into manual focus to ensure I get what matters sharp.  With my phone you can tap the screen to freeze focus and exposure on a particular point but it's fiddly, doesn't always seem to work and my hands aren't as steady as they used to be.  Also a phone doesn't fit on a tripod like a video camera although I don't recall using a tripod for any of my video camera shots in the video, apart from a few taken from my balcony.  With flower shots there's usually not people or vehicles in the shot so I frequently when editing slow the shot down to half speed.  It helps make the image more steady.  But if you get into extreme closeups then a tripod is essential.

I also did a piece on a bell tower at the Denham Parish Church.   This from 13 years ago now.  If you watch the whole thing or skip to the last two and half minutes, we actually ring the bells. 

Bells of Denham Parish Church.  10 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aniat5vLucs&t=289s

Thanks Paul.  Your stairs looked even harder to cope with carrying video gear than Gordon's stairs.  Your guides comments added to the video.  The part about the weight of the bells and their swinging damaging the tower was interesting.

Hi guys, we are in Spain for 7 weeks and I have loads of video work to do for local bands. I have tried several video programs over the years but keep coming back to X6,the only thing that I find wrong with it (apart from the limited memory) is the slow exporting time ! Is there any tricks on speeding it up ? without loosing quality ? By the way it's hot down here as well!

Cheers ericlnz, I have got a pretty fast laptop anyway that I had upgraded "again" when I went with windows 11.
It's very rare that I use 2.7k when exporting videos with MVPX6 and mainly use 1080p as most of the people only view them on a phone or a tablet. However 1080p HD does look brilliant on my decent sized TV ! My main problem is I get a lot of the bands down here that want up to hour long videos with loads of editing involved. My local computer geek has done all he can to help me over the years by doing things to the processing unit that certainly made it better (he must have done as the fan runs flat out when exporting ) !!! I might bite the bullet and get one of those "Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition" laptops as I know that MVP6 still works fine on windows 11.

ericlnz I do have Handbrake that I do use from time to time for various things, but never like you mentioned ! I'll give it a go cheers.

Hi, well I was asked to video the annual HIPPIE PARTY down here in Mojacar last weekend that is done for a local charity and we raised 4500 euros £3,893 !  It used to be up in the hills years ago but unfortunately the original organiser has gone to that great Hippie party in the sky! and it is now down on the playa. It isn't the easiest thing to film with blinding sunlight and shade when moving about (that's my excuse anyway). I filmed lots of the people involved as I know most of them from over the years and so it's probably too long and boring for outsiders watching. Also the entertainment supplied was the wrong style of music for the era that I grew up in, so I put some in at the start. I know that you in the UK have been having a heatwave but it's been 30c at night down here !!!  https://youtu.be/Hwcu1vuq1uo

Thank you Albert !  It was certainly energetic by the dancers considering that most are OAPs, but it helps keeping them fit !   I must admit that when I am down here I do seem to have more "get up and go" and so do a lot of others even though the ambient temp is often up to 30 plus for a lot of the year.        We have been coming here since the early 70s and never regreted buying a property, and always look forward to our return. We spend about 6 months of the year here since we both retired. PS at least Sue and I didn't need a wig !!!!!

My barbershop doesn't cut hair any longer !

Yes I did but I often get them with the type of videos that I make, However I don't think I'll worry too much about this one !

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Thanks Gordon.  At least the lady wasn't covered in tattoos.