A year into regular smart glasses use across different kinds of shoots, I've settled into an actual decision process for when they come along versus when they stay in the bag entirely, rather than defaulting to wearing them on every job the way I initially did out of enthusiasm for new gear.
The questions I actually ask now
Will I need quick reference information, a shot list, translated text, a message, without breaking focus on a camera in my hands? That's the single strongest yes for bringing them. Is this a job where a discreet POV capture might catch something a positioned camera would miss entirely, a backstage moment, a candid reaction? Also a real yes. Is this a controlled, single-location shoot where I have easy access to a phone between setups anyway? Increasingly, that's a no, because the marginal benefit doesn't outweigh one more device to manage and charge.
What changed since my early, enthusiastic phase
Early on I wore them essentially everywhere, partly genuine curiosity and partly the pull of new gear. A year of honest use narrowed that down to specific job types where they add real value, multi-location days, anything requiring hands-free reference, backstage or candid-heavy events, rather than a blanket habit. That narrowing isn't disappointment in the device. It's just what happens once the novelty wears off and you're left with an honest read on actual utility.
- Multi-location days needing hands-free reference: bring them
- Backstage or candid-capture-heavy events: bring them
- Controlled single-location shoots with easy phone access: often skip them
The bigger lesson about new gear generally
This pattern, initial blanket enthusiasm narrowing into specific, genuine use cases, has repeated with enough new gear categories over the years that I now expect it rather than being surprised by it. The gear that survives that narrowing and earns a permanent, specific role in the kit is the gear actually worth having kept. Smart glasses, a year in, cleared that bar, just for a smaller set of situations than I originally expected when I bought them.