Getting started with Nature and Wildlife video

[Kaya Saman]

Hi everyone,

this is my first post! :-)

I'm coming over from a stills photography background where I have 2 systems in a Pentax and Nikon. Around 2 years ago I had a trip up to Scotland where I used 3x DJI cameras in terms of Action 4, Pocket 3, and Air3 drone.

It was so much fun and I really enjoyed creating the content though being my first time I really messed up in quite a few places including the grading as the whole thing was processed in ShotCut.

Later on I started reworking the content in Davinci Resolve and instead of using LUTs, I used 2x CST nodes and doing the "grading" in between.

So.... now I am looking at going for an R5C so that I can get the best of both worlds in terms of stills and video.

First of all does anyone have any advice or things to think about regarding wildlife and nature videography?

My road map I guess is something like getting the R5C and the 100mm macro RF lens at first coupled together with an iFootage Shark Nano II slider and DJI RS5 (Pro?) gimbal

This video really impressed me with the DZO probe which I could probably go for later:

This Rig Unlocks a Whole New World of Filmmaking - YouTube

as well as the 200-800mm RF and 1.4x TC.


The reason I want to go with Canon is that the Nikon Z range seems harder to color grade from what I read and also there is no articulating screen for vlog / selfie mode on the Z8 for example.


Currently I am trying to color grade the C50 sample footage off Canon's website as a precursor to learn but I'm really stuck with it additionally.

I am using the landscape mountain videos and created my CST nodes going from Canon CLog2 to Davinci Wide Gammut then DVWG to REC.709

These are already high contrast scenes so I'm not really too sure in terms of what to do with them?

Straight out of the box they look pretty good anyway so, so far I have just added a bit of Sharpness -> increased to 15 and Midtone Detail -> increased to 25
In the RAW tab.

I can't work out what to do from here as it seems different from the DJI DLogM....

Maybe someone can point me to a good Youtube video if there is one? I found a few which I'm watching but they're mainly studio based and not like the clips.

Thanks

[Kaya Saman]

I found this video on the C50:

First Impressions with Canon C50 for Wildlife - YouTube

using the 100-500mm which is what I saw for the R5C from both

Harry Collins:

Canon R5c - 2 Weeks in Costa Rica - My Thoughts on this Camera, R5C vs R5 II - Wildlife Photography - YouTube

and Derek Hilton:

Canon R5c for professional Wildlife filming .Tips & review - YouTube

No idea about the 100mm macro yet or 200-800mm but I'll keep searching.


I haven't found anything on color grading either. I guess I'll have to broaden my search to *any* camera and not just Canon for some ideas then see if I can adapt it

[Roger Van Duyn]

I know it's a cliche', but it's all about content. Not so much about the gear. Before I retired, my video and photo business was concerned with pleasing the clients, filming and photographing people, often people marketing products or services their companies sold. Everything from heavy construction equipment, plastic surgeons selling facelifts, real estate, training films, court related from lawsuits to murder trials. Now that I'm retired, I photograph and film wildlife.

It's much, much different. You CAN NOT SCRIPT OR DIRECT wildlife. You can't control the lighting, (I sold or donated almost all the lighting gear I had for the business). You have to adapt your approach to the conditions that are not under your control. And if you think people can be camera shy, that's nothing compared to many creatures of the wild.

It takes time learning to find interesting wildlife subjects doing something interesting. You can't control when something is going to happen, and chances for retakes are rare. If you miss the opportunity, no telling when it will come again. Still, planning helps a lot. Learn to look for likely spots with good lighting. Learn the behavior of your subjects, where and when they are likely to be where you can get some shots. Know where the sun will be and how the light will (may) be for a given location. Pay attention to the weather forecasts. Some subjects will be seasonal, some creatures live in the area year round. Learn mating seasons, nesting seasons, migration patterns, typical behaviors for the species you are looking to film or photograph. This is all far more important than the gear.

Gear does have some importance. Video cameras that have a pre-record feature help a great deal in getting shots that are over before you know it's even happening. Like gator crossings. Having camera gear that is weather sealed to protect it from the elements, a good backpack, plenty of batteries for your gear. External monitors are nice to have. Also, the weight of the gear matters when you are carrying it all around, up and down hills, through soft sand, briars, hot, cold, sunny, or rainy, high winds...

Whatever gear you are using, you need to be well-practiced. You can't be fumbling with settings. Creatures like bobcats briefly appear then disappear, gator's gulping down their prey, small birds lighting then darting away in split seconds. You need things like good boots, water bottles or canteens, appropriate clothing for the conditions, backpack, maybe a camping chair or stool, a good fluid head tripod that you can still carry around with reasonable comfort.

Pay attention to collecting good ambient sound to mix in later.

[Larrie Easterly]

Please do not take my comments a trying to dissuade you from your vision. The comments are based strictly on what I went through when I switched from stills to video.

Roger is spot on with his comments.

Switching is not an easy transition and has nothing to do with camera gear. It has to do being able to tell a story. When someone watches a video they are expecting to entertained on many levels; visually, mentally, aurally, and emotionally. Are you a good story teller? Here in the states there many small colleges that offer storytelling classes.

One way to look at what you want to do is that you are a documentary videographer. Luc Forsyth has a great YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/@LucForsyth, where he talks about being a documentary videographer and shares a lot of tips about the business, gear, planning, and other things that you may find useful. He went from a stills photographer to video as well.

You may want to take a look at some of the videos that Rudy Wilms has posted on this forum, https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/search....archid=8826933. Other places to see how the experts do it are the National Geographic and BBC nature and wildlife TV programs.

You do not say if you take stills for your personal use or if you do it professionally.

Changing camera systems is expensive. You may want to consider using your existing gear, with some additions, until you are comfortable sitting in the dirt waiting for the frog to turn around and look at you.

One more thing to think about is the time investment. Are you able to get away from family, friends, and work, to be able to devote the time it will take to learn the skills you need to be successful? All the camera gear in the world will not make a successful videographer. It takes a great deal of time and dedication to pull it off.

[Kaya Saman]

Originally Posted by Roger Van Duyn

I know it's a cliche', but it's all about content. Not so much about the gear. Before I retired, my video and photo business was concerned with pleasing the clients, filming and photographing people, often people marketing products or services their companies sold. Everything from heavy construction equipment, plastic surgeons selling facelifts, real estate, training films, court related from lawsuits to murder trials. Now that I'm retired, I photograph and film wildlife.

It's much, much different. You CAN NOT SCRIPT OR DIRECT wildlife. You can't control the lighting, (I sold or donated almost all the lighting gear I had for the business). You have to adapt your approach to the conditions that are not under your control. And if you think people can be camera shy, that's nothing compared to many creatures of the wild.

It takes time learning to find interesting wildlife subjects doing something interesting. You can't control when something is going to happen, and chances for retakes are rare. If you miss the opportunity, no telling when it will come again. Still, planning helps a lot. Learn to look for likely spots with good lighting. Learn the behavior of your subjects, where and when they are likely to be where you can get some shots. Know where the sun will be and how the light will (may) be for a given location. Pay attention to the weather forecasts. Some subjects will be seasonal, some creatures live in the area year round. Learn mating seasons, nesting seasons, migration patterns, typical behaviors for the species you are looking to film or photograph. This is all far more important than the gear.

Gear does have some importance. Video cameras that have a pre-record feature help a great deal in getting shots that are over before you know it's even happening. Like gator crossings. Having camera gear that is weather sealed to protect it from the elements, a good backpack, plenty of batteries for your gear. External monitors are nice to have. Also, the weight of the gear matters when you are carrying it all around, up and down hills, through soft sand, briars, hot, cold, sunny, or rainy, high winds...

Whatever gear you are using, you need to be well-practiced. You can't be fumbling with settings. Creatures like bobcats briefly appear then disappear, gator's gulping down their prey, small birds lighting then darting away in split seconds. You need things like good boots, water bottles or canteens, appropriate clothing for the conditions, backpack, maybe a camping chair or stool, a good fluid head tripod that you can still carry around with reasonable comfort.

Pay attention to collecting good ambient sound to mix in later.

This is a fantastic take, thank you!

Something that I was considering is different scenarios in terms of when filming with a big heavy lens for example and perhaps lots of other gear attached like battery and external monitor, having a proper video tripod like a Sachtler which is big sturdy and heavy would be great

However, something like that is not practical when going on a multi day hike through dense forest or mountains so perhaps a much lighter setup like a sturdy travel tripod (I have a Coman TreeRoot which is pretty good) with a smaller video head
- I do understand that it won't be great for micro jitters but for wider focal lengths and perhaps a lens like the 100-500mm or 200-800mm it might just suffice
Perhaps I could sacrifice to a 75mm "pro" tripod base like a Novoflex (I also have the standard camera version called the Triopod) and use a lighter head?

This is why the R5C is so appealing to me as it can double up as stills and video camera in one to save space and weight.

The learning of animal behavior is going to be the biggest challenge for me.... I live in a city and am quite detached from the Natural Environment
Recently I have been traveling around many wildlife or nature reserves for my stills photography and started learning a lot by talking to people much more knowledgeable then myself.

I think your take on gear is spot on as it's about knowing how to use it rather then having the latest greatest most expensive stuff and not being able to understand how it works and get the best out of it.

Sadly I don't think my Pentax K1 and Nikon D500 are any good for video. I have tried and the results are pretty poor.


Audio wise, my second university degree was in Audio Engineering but mostly based in music studios and not in-field stuff.

I absolutely have been thinking about this and thought of going for a multi channel recorder and some in-field mics.
I'm more knowledgeable about music studio microphones but having something to be able to record ambient sounds with will be great
Sennheiser has a small stereo microphone that I have been quite interested in but I will probably need to study up on what type of other mics would be useful in this situation

[Kaya Saman]

Originally Posted by Larrie Easterly

Please do not take my comments a trying to dissuade you from your vision. The comments are based strictly on what I went through when I switched from stills to video.

Roger is spot on with his comments.

Switching is not an easy transition and has nothing to do with camera gear. It has to do being able to tell a story. When someone watches a video they are expecting to entertained on many levels; visually, mentally, aurally, and emotionally. Are you a good story teller? Here in the states there many small colleges that offer storytelling classes.

One way to look at what you want to do is that you are a documentary videographer. Luc Forsyth has a great YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/@LucForsyth, where he talks about being a documentary videographer and shares a lot of tips about the business, gear, planning, and other things that you may find useful. He went from a stills photographer to video as well.

You may want to take a look at some of the videos that Rudy Wilms has posted on this forum, https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/search....archid=8826933. Other places to see how the experts do it are the National Geographic and BBC nature and wildlife TV programs.

You do not say if you take stills for your personal use or if you do it professionally.

Changing camera systems is expensive. You may want to consider using your existing gear, with some additions, until you are comfortable sitting in the dirt waiting for the frog to turn around and look at you.

One more thing to think about is the time investment. Are you able to get away from family, friends, and work, to be able to devote the time it will take to learn the skills you need to be successful? All the camera gear in the world will not make a successful videographer. It takes a great deal of time and dedication to pull it off.

Now you've got me thinking in a totally different way :-)

This is great!

Actually what prompted my interest in the first place was watching many Attenborough videos even from the early black and white days. I am not that old but through archives.

The more modern hi def color graded stuff from BBC Earth and Blue Planet really got my tail wagging.


This is my first ever set of videos using just DJI cameras... Action 4, Pocket 3, Air3 drone:

Scotland Road Trip - Part 1 - YouTube

It kind of was inspired by a few "overlanding" videos I saw on Youtube. One of them from Alaska from the LifeStyle Overland channel and a few other European channels like: Lewie and the Rover, or Lucas T. Yahn's channel


Unfortunately my health went pretty much downhill after that as I have Autism and ADHD so auDHD as it's known. Somehow my nervous system got shot probably through a mixture of "Burnout" and CPTSD and I've been struggling to do anything for the last 2 years and have been sadly pretty much couch bound.

Currently I'm trying to work as hard as I can to get back to what I used to be and like I wrote above, I live in the middle of a city which is causing too many issues for me so getting out and about in the wilderness is going to be a fantastic move. (provided I can actually make it out there - but I really don't want to give up so please don't judge me and deem me as completely useless)

My stills photography has been purely for my self and non profit.

This is some of the stuff I did while volunteering:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BBVJ416mDcEnHZo8A

Mainly macro using my Nikon D500 and Sigma 105mm with Godox MF-12 flash kit


Here I had just bought the 200-500mm f/5.6 lens and might have been the second time around with it:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gSPeWz5gh9LK8qES6

at that time I was still learning about processing too so some of the images are a bit odd



I'll check out your link but something I discovered recently was Morten Hilmer's channel vlogging is wildlife photography


Sure there's a lot to learn but it really seems to be where I need to go in life especially as it's going to be beneficial to my mental health too and combines my passion in addition.

Some nightscapes and astro stuff if you're interested:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AyBiMWWpqMumXSmd8


Trying to locate the Leo Triplet trio of galaxies:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iMa4ETkv2EzpRmRNA

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hCko5QetemEWxgrD7



https://photos.app.goo.gl/Tcm5Gf8DiEmpQ7uM6

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TeChyxhMkkmhp1zC6

[Doug Jensen]

Introduction to Wildlife Cinematography:
https://youtu.be/2JmUZeQZYLE?si=AV46--Ax8FsXWxOM

Stills vs. Video for Wildlife
https://youtu.be/WagKfGTewJU?si=G_gWC0QBf441AjE1

Choosing a Tripod for Wildlife Cinematography
https://youtu.be/zbZHbnwmQBI?si=Jg6w4yztUFCZ2H48

[Roger Van Duyn]

Originally Posted by Kaya Saman

This is a fantastic take, thank you!

Something that I was considering is different scenarios in terms of when filming with a big heavy lens for example and perhaps lots of other gear attached like battery and external monitor, having a proper video tripod like a Sachtler which is big sturdy and heavy would be great

I sometimes take my full camcorder-tripod-external monitor rig along with my mirrorless camera for stills and hand held video, mixing stills into the edited videos. But most trips I just take the mirrorless with its telephoto zoom. Neither rig is all that high end. In fact, the mirrorless was bought used after my dslr died. And I chose micro-four thirds both for smaller size, less weight, and less expense. Plus I can no longer deduct depreciation from my taxes like when I had my business.

Being retired, I'm hiking for exercise but bringing a camera for what I encounter on the hikes. But there are certain times in my area when unusual, interesting wildlife activity is likely to occur. For instance, when the alligator eggs start hatching, when the flocks of spoonbills start showing up, when the gators start bellowing, walking the trails, feeding and fighting. When the Great Blue Heron, Anhinga, Owls, Hawks and Eagles are building nests, and then after the eggs hatch. Even see tug of wars with two chicks fighting over an eel. Those times of year I tend to take both rigs and pick a known spot. I'm still hiking out to the spot and back, but spend time waiting until something happens to shoot. I say it again, if you can get a video camera with a pre-record function you won't regret it. It's hard to know when a monster alligator just laying there beside the trail is going to get up and start walking. Sometimes I've missed the start of the crossing by pushing the button too late and miss the most of the action, until I got in the habit of making sure I had the pre-record function activated.

I wouldn't be too quick to get rid of that D-500. It's a better camera than my old DSLR was before it died.

Here's a video where I used both cameras

Alligators and Wading Birds Feasting at Circle B Bar Reserve - YouTube

[Kaya Saman]

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

Introduction to Wildlife Cinematography:
https://youtu.be/2JmUZeQZYLE?si=AV46--Ax8FsXWxOM

Stills vs. Video for Wildlife
https://youtu.be/WagKfGTewJU?si=G_gWC0QBf441AjE1

Choosing a Tripod for Wildlife Cinematography
https://youtu.be/zbZHbnwmQBI?si=Jg6w4yztUFCZ2H48

Thank you so much!! I'm just heading on to Chapter 2 in your tutorial and it's amazing so far....

I also appreciate how you being a professional in the video industry are talking about doing this for fun and actually enjoying it rather then doing it as full time job. This takes the pressure of me totally

Apologies for not being able to thank you sooner, my mental health has been really bad the last few days and I've been curled up in a little ball shaking most of the time.

I really wish that there was an easy fix to this for me so I could just simply get out there and start enjoying life again. I guess the biggest fix will be getting out there into the wild and just capturing the environment, through my eyes and cameras - though easier said then done as I am now

But this series of videos was exactly what I was looking for :-)

[Kaya Saman]

Originally Posted by Roger Van Duyn

I sometimes take my full camcorder-tripod-external monitor rig along with my mirrorless camera for stills and hand held video, mixing stills into the edited videos. But most trips I just take the mirrorless with its telephoto zoom. Neither rig is all that high end. In fact, the mirrorless was bought used after my dslr died. And I chose micro-four thirds both for smaller size, less weight, and less expense. Plus I can no longer deduct depreciation from my taxes like when I had my business.

Being retired, I'm hiking for exercise but bringing a camera for what I encounter on the hikes. But there are certain times in my area when unusual, interesting wildlife activity is likely to occur. For instance, when the alligator eggs start hatching, when the flocks of spoonbills start showing up, when the gators start bellowing, walking the trails, feeding and fighting. When the Great Blue Heron, Anhinga, Owls, Hawks and Eagles are building nests, and then after the eggs hatch. Even see tug of wars with two chicks fighting over an eel. Those times of year I tend to take both rigs and pick a known spot. I'm still hiking out to the spot and back, but spend time waiting until something happens to shoot. I say it again, if you can get a video camera with a pre-record function you won't regret it. It's hard to know when a monster alligator just laying there beside the trail is going to get up and start walking. Sometimes I've missed the start of the crossing by pushing the button too late and miss the most of the action, until I got in the habit of making sure I had the pre-record function activated.

I wouldn't be too quick to get rid of that D-500. It's a better camera than my old DSLR was before it died.

Here's a video where I used both cameras Alligators and Wading Birds Feasting at Circle B Bar Reserve - YouTube

Hi Roger, thank you again and apologies for the late response... like I responded to Doug above I haven't been well so this is the first chance I'm getting :-)

I didn't quite understand... did you say that you took your camcorder rig and MDSLR out with you making this video or did you take the Nikon D500?


Don't get me wrong I love the D500 as I do my Pentax K1 II and intend to keep them both!! As stills cameras they are very different... the D500 is an Autofocus beast while the Pentax is a Manual Focus monster.
The D500 is difficult to focus manually as it doesn't have focus peaking or Edge Detect etc... where the Pentax does but the AF isn't accurate and slow
Basically both systems complement each other nicely ;-)

As Doug put in his video Masterclass that I'm watching right now and on Chapter 2 - it's totally amazing for me as it was exactly what I was looking for. Little hints and tips which I would never be exposed to and especially find through some ridiculous waffle by some young Youtuber who hasn't got a clue

The D500 for video only records in mp4 and can't do Log so no color grading capability and the content is exceptionally noisy.


I'm gona check if the R5C has pre-recording as that was something he made a point of which I think is well worth it.
I could of course go for the Z8 which would make things cheaper as I could reuse my current lens setup but Z to F adapter and then the lenses aren't really optimized for video either.
The Z8 also doesn't have like a "selfie" mode for vlogging so finding something more suited is better.... just a shame that it's going to be another investment but I guess it can't be helped.

Actually this is my first ever experience taking wildlife stills using my D500 and actually the first time out with the 200-500mm lens:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BJuUzeGtFm7Y4sQi6


Sadly this isn't the middle of nowhere but a re-provisioned quarry that is around 40-50 minutes from my house and just outside of the city.


I'm really appreciating all the input so far. It actually puts a big smile on my face and due to many factors I haven't been able to smile for a while now :-)

[Doug Jensen]

Originally Posted by Kaya Saman

But this series of videos was exactly what I was looking for :-)

Thanks for the nice comments, Kaya. I'm glad to hear that my videos have been helpful. I hope you enjoy your venture into wildlife video as much as I do.

[Doug Jensen]

I just uploaded this video yesterday that I shot a couple of weeks ago with my Z200. As you investigate different camera options for wildlife, don't overlook just how capable and well-suited traditional camcorders are for this type of shooting. I rarely use my FX6 anymore outdoors, and mostly shoot wildlife with the Z200. The ability to get extreme wide (establishing shots) to extreme close-ups, and everything in-between without changing lenses is a godsend.

Sunrise at Orlando Wetlands. https://youtu.be/CwQVgiIeRSw?si=sPt-mqsJBTRR7dWq