All the advantages seem to be stacking up in the JVC-HD column as far as wildlife videography goes. Canon needs to come out with HD and a CMOS chip! I'll just grease up my XL-1s and keep watching these pages.

It truly is an exciting time for wildlife videographers when it comes to camera options. The JVC-HD100 does look like an interesting camera. It is bigger than I care to carry these days, but then again, in the mid 80s I used to lug around one of the high-end Panasonic video cameras that had a separate 3/4 inch VTR. Try walking through a swamp with all of that plus tripod and boom mic!

rats. my tripod head broke.

i thought before buying a new one that i'd ask around and see what sorts of travel tripods you wildlife videographers are recommending.

this would be for my GL2. for those of you who pack your camera gear, say, 3 miles or longer, what sorts of tripods do you prefer?

what i mean is, what tripods do y'all think offer the highest performance with the least amount of weight?

for longer distances, i'm giving some thought to the sanford & davis courier F10. does anyone have any experience with this?

Hi Meryem-

I use a Bogen/Manfrotto 441 CarbonOne Video Tripod with a 3443 Bogen head. To that I attach a Wimberley head which allows me to find the best center of balance for the video camera and gives me great control over fluid motion. This head is usually used for SLRs with very large lenses.

The tripod weighs less than four pounds but can support about 13 total pounds. It is made of carbon fiber and collapses to a small enough size to pack into my backpack. The Wimberley head weighs as much as the tripod! But, 7 total pounds is acceptable to lug through a forest.

I've taken it through Central America and into the Amazon. It works wonders and doesn't kill you!

I believe that this series has been replaced by Bogen's Mag Fiber Tripods.

Here are some links:

http://www.procam.com/shop/product_i...roducts_id=233

http://www.tripodhead.com/products/wimberley-main.cfm

Hey Jeff,

Good to hear a fellow traveller has been to Madagascar. I was there with a group the day Ranomafana became a National Park. We also ran into a cool group from Duke University Primate Center.

I wish I had something like my XL2 back then. The shots of Diademed Sifakas in the Spiny Forest, chameleons in Mahajanga, Ring-tailed Lemurs in Berenty, and Dwarf Mouse Lemurs in Perinet would have been amazing. That was back in my 35mm still photo days. My macro lens was working overtime. We were even lucky enough to get some great recordings of Indri Lemurs in Perinet.

Did you ever go back? I'm sure the current level of destruction is very sad.


I agree with the comment about parabolic reflectors. I have used the long-discontinued Sony PBR with my DAT for several years. There is nothing better for bird recordings. I would like to try to get the same quality of recordings on my XL2 someday. On my simple home page you can see how I recently rigged my PBR on the shoe of the XL2.

http://www.geocities.com/amjoyce2004/main.html

Hi, Andy:

My wife studied at Duke University under Dr. Pat Wright, the bundle of energy and determination behind the establishment of Ranomafana National Park. In 1989-90, we worked with Pat to help do some final baseline assessments of the flora and fauna of the proposed park area. We have not been back to Madagascar in since then, but we are thinking of doing a grand African expedition to shoot (of course with video and SLRs) wildlife throughout the continent. Perhaps we will revisit our old stomping grounds on the big island then.

We did not have great audio recording equipment at the time, but we did manage to record the Indri's dueting early in the morning. It is still one of the most beautiful yet eerie songs we've recorded. It almost pulls at your heart when you hear them dueting.

I like what you did with your PBR and XL2. It gives me some ideas!

Malaysia/Macaques
 

Hi,

I'm going to be in Tioman in a couple weeks. I was wondering if any wildlife videographers could give me tips on shooting macaques. I'm using an XL2 with the stock lens and will pick up a CO 1.6x telephoto convertor and possibly also the Canon 1.6 extender before I go. I'll use the stock mic as audio isn't a huge concern for my project.

Thanks!
Alan

alaskan wilderness preparation
 

Hello. In a little less than 2 months, i'm going deep into alaska to to film bears, and a bear hunt. I've never done anything of this sort, nor do i have any outdoor equipment. I have an XL1s w/ the ma-100, shot gun mic, and wireless lav. the temp is supposed to range from 20-50 and rain and wind are supposed to be constant. and we will spend all day hiking and searching for bears(5-10 miles a day), or sitting in a lookout. packing light is also essential since we will be flying 2-seater float planes to our destination.

I've put together a list of things I think I'll need for this expedition, here's a link:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/WishList/181403DE6C&BI=28


what I'm looking for is advice as to what I need, and what I don't as far as camera equip, for the weather, cold and wilderness. and what kind of tape, and battery requirements, cleaning/care, and things i don't even know i need yet. i'm also looking at getting the EF adapter and a 75-300mm IS lense. as well as any other hard learned lessons anyone would be willing to share. let me know.

thanks

austin

I've filmed in Alaska several times with an XL-1/XL-1s using the EF adapter and 75-300 zoom, and found the setup works well. One time, scared by a bear, I tipped my tripod and camera into a stream. Fresh, clean water, no harm done! You will need a tripod with the 75-300. If not your pictures will be unwatchable for the shake. Get a lightweight, but sturdy one (carbon fiber would be best). The head is a problem. None are light, but Bogen's 301 might do. Be sure to take a plastic cover so you can film in the rain. Fancy isn't necessary. A sack with a pull string works nicely. You will record the sound of raindrops on the plastic. Filming in a constant wind with the 75-300 is a big problem. Image stabilization looks good on paper but is pretty worthless in a stiff wind. You will have to improvise. One thing I have done, if your bear is not moving much and you can step away from the camera while the camera is running, is to stand a couple of feet away with an open umbrella, and let that break the wind. (Or cut the cheese, or whatever!). Or get as low to the ground as you can. It makes a difference. For wind noise prevention, Light Wave Systems makes a muffler for the XL series microphone that is really good (you will still have to edit out some wind noise in post). Three of the large 7.2 volt 4400mAh batteries should be more than enough if you can get back to electricity every night. The camcorder works very well in the cold. In Barrow (20 degrees) I took chemical hand warmers to warm the innards, but found them totally unnecessary. Be absolutely sure to take one or even two dry tape head cleaners. I guarantee that after a few days in the field you will get a "dirty head" message. When you are driving on dusty roads, try to keep the camcorder in some kind of a bag. If you plan to do scenery and pan with the standard lens, have a new, clean graduated neutral density filter. Any spot or scratch even teeny, tiny ones will show up in your final product if you are panning sky. Take a can of dry air, because if you inadvertently breathe on the viewfinder in cold wet conditions, it can be several minutes before you can see anything again. I always find a pair of gloves with the finger tips missing (like bike gloves) useful if it really will be in the 20's. If you are south of Denali, it may not be. Finally, take some basic tools, duct tape and lots of rubber bands. I once fixed a short in the EF adapter with a piece of a lid from a McDonald's coffee cup. You never know what will come in handy.

Good Luck

Austin,

I'll ask this just to get one of the folks that have filmed in cold weather to respond. I ask based on my prior military experience, not because of cold weather filming experience.

Would you be better served in a possibly extreme cold weather environment getting the battery off the camera and into a heated pouch with just a wire from the pouch to the camera. Extreme cold (and heat) are really hard on batteries. I think as long as you give the camera time to acclimatize to the temp and relative humidity, it'll shoot colder than you want to be out in. But batteries will drain much quicker in extreme temps. Just a thought.

Dylan wrote a GREAT article on his Arctic adventure, complete with pics.

alaskan wilderness preparation
 

ah, thanks for the replies, unfortunately i'll be in the wilderness for 15 days in a tent with nothing but a campfire, so no going home and recharging everynight. . i've read other places where people have taken a car battery and solar panel used the 12v battery charger with some success, the only problem with that is that i can only pack about 80lbs of gear out to the camp.

what kind of usable range do you get using the 75-300mm and the ef adapter?

i'm looking at getting the Bogen / Manfrotto 3221WN (055BWB) Wilderness Tripod Legs with 3433 (501) Pro Video Head

also i'm thinking about getting a polarizing filter, any advice on using one of these?

thanks

austin

The PBS HD Channel features all of its Alaska footage in high definition only. High Definition is the only format that can capture the breathtaking scenery of Alaska.

Austin:

I would suggest purchasing a Bogen/Manfrotto 441 CarbonOne Video Tripod--or whatever is their current version of this tripod. It weighs less than 4 pounds and can support up to 13 pounds. It is lighter but stronger than the one you are looking at purchasing. The extra weight savings will make a deference. See post #44 in this thread. In that post, I give more detail about what I use in terms of tripods.

By saving the extra three pounds on tripod weight, you can either bring more food or batteries!

You have some serious problems. Be careful trying to charge a 7 volt battery
with a 12 volt battery without a step-down transformer. Also, sunshine for a solar panel may be in short supply in autumnal Alaska. A polarizer is nice, but probably won't make a big difference. Some polarizers change the color as well as the polarity with the XL 1-s. For something as big as a bear, you can easily shoot at 100 yards with the 300mm zoom, and probably more. It's the equivalent of a 2100mm lens on a 35 mm film camera.

packs
 

what kind of packs do yall use when hiking with video equip?

new to the xl2
 

My xl2 comes in the mail on Thursday, I am shooting ducks and geese on Saturday, does anybody have any tips as far as camera settings out of the box to get me ready for the weekend? Thanks.

xl2 settings out of the box are pretty good already, actually. if you are shooting ducks and geese to get footage of ducks and geese, i'd start with the factory settings and play with the shutter, iris, filters, speed, and other manual controls first. if you are shooting ducks and geese to learn the in-menu features, then i would suggest shooting indoors hooked up to a monitor first.

my tips:

if you can set up an external monitor, do so. even if you tweak the settings, it is not that easy to see the results in the viewfinder. in fact, if you don't have a monitor, i would suggest shooting indoors first and hooking it up to a monitor, so that you can see what all the features do.

if you do experiment with the custom features, it helps to crank them all the way up or down to figure out how they adjust the camera. just cranking them up a notch or two does not sufficiently dramatize the differences. you can get subtle after you understand them.

watch the XL2 movie at this link: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...3&page=1&pp=15

watch it again, after you've played with the camera a bit....

new to xl2
 

What would be the best lens choice for fast flying birds at 20-50 yards?

that's a whole 'nother level of experimentation....try this link.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=47753

Thanks for the info, now I just have to hope that my two 8 hour batteries arrive before my shoot this weekend!

The following site might be of use to some of you www.wildeye.co.uk.
They are particulaly keen on the xl2

this is without a doubt my favorite thread on this site. there hasn't been much action on it lately. everyone must be out shooting fall colors or something.

anyway, i am wondering if anyone else has thoughts or opinions on using the FX-1 for shooting outdoors and wildlife. i did some tests today with the FX-1 to compare it to the XL2 mounted with a 70-200mm 2.8 EOS lens today. to some extent, it is an apples and oranges comparison because one is a 12x zoom and the other a telephoto. but i fully expected the FX-1 to blow away the XL2 and it absolutely didn't. with the 35mm lens, the XL2 displays a sharpness and clarity and detail which even HDV can't match.

i would say, for landscapes, the FX-1 wins even without a wide angle. it is tremendous. the colors and detail are the best i've seen. but for wildlife and leaf/pinecone detail, the XL2 is still without peer.

for portability, the FX-1 wins hands-down, though. for the portability in outdoors shooting, measured against the still-wonderful quality of the footage, it is matchless. i need a llama or something to carry all the associated XL2 gear and the big fat tripod needed to keep the shot steady.

anyway, i was just wondering how or if the outdoors and wildlife videographers, specifically, were making the leap to HDV, and what has the experience been?

anyone?

In order for the Sony FX1 to compete with the Canon XL2 the Sony must be displayed on a name brand full high definition
television that has the complete 1920 x 1080 pixel count. These are called 1080p televisions and are available as LCD, LCOS, IDLA and Plasma. A 720p television will not have the pixel count to make an adequate comparison.

that's a really good point. i was only thinking about the image on the front-end, in camera. hm...

I think John Junor has been trying out Canon lenses on his fx1 to create a monster zoom. Look in the hdv forums.

Tripod for FX1?
 

Meryem (or anyone with a Sony FX1/Z1) - I assume your 'big fat tripod' is for the XL2 - yes? What tripod are you using with the FX1? I have a Bogen/Manfrotto 440 CarbonOne Tripod (very similar to Jeff Sayre's 441) and it's great except I'm wondering how stable that tripod will be for FX1 HDV footage. Have you noticed the need for a heavier tripod (more stable) with the FX1 just to make sure that the High-Def footage isn't shaky?

---------------------------------------------

The fact is that with the exception of some very special non-production HDTVs, the ones currently available just can't display anything near 1080 scanning lines. The dot-pitch on HD-CRT sets is too large to resolve more than 670 scanning lines and some models can't deliver more than about 570 lines. The better CRTs have a dot-pitch of .64mm and others have an .84mm size on the phosphor screen dots.
Compare that to computer monitors that commonly have a dot-pitch of .25mm, allowing for a much sharper picture to be displayed with the smaller and more numerous dots.

Plasma and LCD sets with a display of 720 progressive lines are somewhat sharper than the best CRTs and some of them use up to 760 scanning lines. This is as high a number of scanning lines that the plasma and LCD sets can display.

Because of this, a 720-line source can look just as good on most HD sets as one that has 1080 lines. Only when they start producing HD monitors with smaller dot-pitches, will you be able to see all the resolution from a 1080-line source. For now, those 720p camcorders will display just as good a picture on most home HDTV sets. I'm not familiar with how fine a dot-pitch is available on expensive broadcast HD monitors.

The bottom line is that for the masses, HDTV is not yet all that it's cracked up to be.

shawn: before i purchased the fx-1, i owned a bogen 701rc2 head on 3001pro legs and a bogen 516 head on 3246 legs. the smaller head still runs the XL2 using the 20x or 3x lens but not the 35mm lens (too much shake) and is also not good with the XL2 in wind. but i can carry it pretty far. since i am female, i can't carry the same weight as jeff's set-up, which he considers light for him, but would not be light at all for me.

the tripod/camera weight question is always a big trade depending on how far/how vertical/how ugly the hike in is. i feel like i'm constantly experimenting with sacrifices of quality measured against the weight and distance i can carry.

as far as the fx-1, i think it works pretty well with the lighter set-up, which is one reason i am so happy to have found it. i can take it up the big peaks around here, which i hope to do next summer. it is actually more stable in some ways than the XL2, because with its 12x lens, it has less available zoom, so the zoomed-in footage has less range, but therefore requires less stabilizing as well. i shot a bunch of footage using mostly a beanbag and a velbon DF-10ML, which is as minimalist as you can possibly get, and i don't think it is too bad at all. my conclusion with my first FX-1 camera test is that the FX-1's reputation for shake is absolutely undeserved, and it is a breakthrough for outdoors shooting, because its quality in some circumstances, exceeds the XL2 (even though the XL2 with a 35mm lens is unbeatable in other circumstances). but since i almost only take the XL2 35mm set-up to places where i can drive the gear in, which is preferable? if anything, shawn, i'm absolutely delighted with how little i can get away with, in terms of a light tripod, and still get nice footage.

anyway, these are the issues that i'm recently grappling with and some current thoughts. i used to prefer my GL2 over my XL2 for portability, but the FX-1 is almost as easy to carry and use as my GL2, which is why it is such a miracle. and the footage is fabulous.

if you're inclined, my FX-1 upload can be viewed at:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=52904

but i'm interested in whether anyone else is doing comparisons of the FX-1 versus XL2/35mm set-up. if i had to choose between an FX-1 and an XL2 with a 20x stock lens, i'd take the FX-1, i believe, for both portability and quality. but the 35mm option puts the XL2 in a whole different class for sharpness and vibrancy. (but also for anti-portability....)

so if anyone else has any ideas or experiments with the FX-1 versus XL2 with a 35mm set-up, i'd really be interested to hear or see them.

Hey Jeff - Have you noticed that B&H still sells a CarbonOne 3445 (shown here at B&H) that has a 75mm bowl. Does your 441 'video tripod' have a bowl or does it look like the photo in the procam link you gave? The reason I'm asking is because I have Bogan CarbonOne 440/3444 (4-extension leg version of what you have - probably a little less stable than your 441), and it has that same "center column that can be converted to lateral arm" (which is really cool for photos - do you use that for video?). Anyway, I'm mostly curious if you have ever tried removing the three hexnuts underneath the legs to see if that would fit a 75mm bowl somehow? Or does Bogan sell anything that will allow a 75mm bowl to fit in there? I can't imagine that the 3445 is anything more than the same basic tripod with a slightly different piece to fit the bowl. Do you think that would be a benefit if the tripod could be converted to a bowl design? - or do you prefer the center column design?

Also, have you ever used the "snow shoes" (part #230) and if so, do they work well?

Thanks, Shawn

Hey Meryem - thanks for the very helpful post. This makes me think that carrying a CarbonOne might be overkill! :) I assume you're shooting on top of available rocks with the beanbag and a velbon DF-10ML - or doing ground level work?

As far as the experimenting goes, you've probably heard of RedRock micro's 35 mm add on for the FX1/Z1 (http://www.redrockmicro.com/). I almost won one of these at a Sony Vegas/FX1/Z1 group (I was picked as one of four people from different cities where DSE toured, but lost in the final drawing - many tears ...). Anyway the adapter is $500 I think and you can make use of your 35mm lenses, but I have no idea how good it is - also the image is inverted. Have you considered using one of these or checked them out? If so, I'd be interested in your reveiw of it for the outdoors. It's one way to get a long lens going into HDV.

Here in Pal land I have just finished shooting the red deer rut. I used a the ZX1 with a 1.6 centuary tele plus a Miller trekker with 75mm bowl. I managed to get all the shots I required with this combination, but of course the had to be patient.

The results are great with excellent autumn colour.

Steve - can you share a little more about your 1.4X, 1.7X ad 2.2X telextenders - like the brand/model#/cost and your feelings about the quality of each of them? Would really appreciate that.

I maybe wrong but adding low cost/quality tele converters to a lens designed for HDV is going to produce poor images.

I did some tests and opted for the century 1.6 VS-16TC-HDS, and I certainly would'nt try more than one.

hi shawn: i may be wrong about this, but the 35mm adapter you are describing is primarily for close-in, studio use, to obtain shallow DOF and a more film-like look from objects closer to the camera. i don't think they are really designed for telephoto use, although maybe someone else has done some experimenting of this nature and can talk about this.

Shawn:

I have noticed that B & H is still selling the CarbonOne 3445. My tripod does not have the 75mm bowl and I have not tried removing the hexnuts. Niether have I tried the snow shoes. I usually have no problem in snow.

By the way, Shawn, I now have a Sony Z1 and it also is very stable on my CarbonOne 441. I use this field tripod for both video and digital still photography.

Jeff

Here's a general backpacking question related to video gear. When you all go on overnight trips, where you'll need to pack camping gear and video gear into remote locations, do you use a typical backpacker's backpack (like a Gregory, Dana, Arc'Teryx, etc.) or do you use a backpack specialized for the video gear (like a LowePro Trekker II or a Kata HB-207) or something else (not including a Sherpa!)? The reason I ask is because I have Gregory Wind River (6000+ cu-in pack) and I plan to do some backpacking with the FX1 into Sequoia NP, but I'm sure it'll be either a solo trip or with one other person. Most likely, I'll have to carry the bulk or all video and camping gear. My Gregory should be able to handle that much gear (legs may be a different story), but I'll have to figure out how to pack the FX1 safely among the other gear. Right now I'm thinking of foam around the FX1 in a large stuff sack (like a Granite Gear bag). The thing I notice about the LowePro Trekker is that the backpack is so heavy by itself, and I'm not convinced that it overs that much padded protection (though clearly some) - it pretty much seems like it's just for day-hikes. So, for those of you planning something similar, how do you plan to pack, carry, manage your gear? Thanks, Shawn

Hey Jeff - glad to hear you got the Z1! It's a geat camera. I just saw that you are from Northern Indiana. I am from the outskirts of North-East Indy (GO COLTS!), and most recently from farming country, but have been in CA for a while now. Do you video around Lake Michigan in South Bend or do you take your gear on the road quite a bit? Also, regarding the 441/Z1 combo, what head are you using on that?

Shawn:

I do some shooting around Lake Michigan but most of my stuff is done in the tropics--the rainforests of Panama and Amazonian Peru. So, tripod weight and portability are very important to me.

As far as tripod head, my Bogen/Manfrotto 441 CarbonOne Video Tripod has a 3443 Bogen head. To that I attach a Wimberley head which allows me to find the best center of balance for the video camera and gives me great control over fluid motion. This head is usually used for SLRs with very large lenses. The Wimberley head weighs as much as the tripod! But, 7 total pounds is acceptable to lug through a forest.

Visit this link to see the wimberly head: http://www.tripodhead.com/products/wimberley-main.cfm

Sorry to have you repeat all that on your head-setup Jeff. I remembered reading that post earlier and had looked at the web page, but forgot that it was your post. Very interesting head setup and even more interesting locations for shooting.

your idea of foam around the cam plus a stuff sack seems workable. i have only ever packed my camera once for multi-day use (primarily, i drag it around on long day trips in a weird backpack designed for EMS, which is equipped with internal compression straps which i use to stabilize the camera in the pack), and i just stuffed my sleeping bag around it in a larger stuff sack (also waterproofed it with a heavy duty trash bag) and then corded the whole thing to the top of the pack so that nothing sat on it. this worked fine with a GL2, which is a smaller cam. it is a good question, though, and i wonder how other folks have handled this....

should work for an FX-1 and maybe save you some room and weight. for a tripod on a longer trip, i am trying to perfect my beanbag technique. now *that* is a huge weight savings.