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STEADY TELEPHOTO SHOTS
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STEADY TELEPHOTO SHOTSUsing my cam with a X2 tele-converter gives me some powerful enlargement but an unbelievably shaky picture. The built in optical image stabilization does little if anything and the lit recommends turning it off when panning. (I use a Panasonic GS400.) In watching TV, especially PBS's Nature and Discovery HD's Planet Earth, somehow the pros take exceptionally steady telephoto shots which are amazing and, in my opinion, must be hand-held (not sure how to use a tripod for birds in flight, for example). Does anyone know how they do this? Stabilized lens? Stabilized mount? In post using something like After Effects. Guess the bottom line is I'd like to do some nature shots as well but they seem to be beyond my capability at the moment.
Re: STEADY TELEPHOTO SHOTSMy guess is that the shots you mentioned probably are from a tripod, a very slick professional tripod with a fluid head. Manfrotto makes some of the best, but for that kind of fluid motion you'll spend at least $300 and maybe closer to $1000. You could use a body-mounted stabilizer like the Varizoom Aviator but it's not really designed for taping birds in flight and it's a heck of a lot more expensive than a good tripod.
There's also motion-tracking software in After Effects and other apps, but it's not as good as a steady shot to begin with. ASRock Z77 Pro4, Xeon E3-1230 V2, Windows 7 64-bit, 32GB RAM, 3GB GTX 660 ti, 240GB SSD for OS/programs, 3x640GB in RAID0 for projects
Panasonic GH2; Adobe Creative Cloud http://www.CMDStar.com http://www.FamilyTreePhotography.co
Re: STEADY TELEPHOTO SHOTSThere are many tools that will add up to smooth video under a high zoom;
TriPod, MonoPod, SteadyCam, Software: TriPod http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3 ... lack_.html MonoPod http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4 ... nopod.html SteadyCam http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/ (this really does work!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steadicam http://www.steadicam.com/steadicam_gallery.html Software http://www.arcsoft.com/products/videostabilizer/ http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/artic ... _guide.htm 1. Thinkpad W530 Laptop, Core i7-3820QM Processor 8M Cache 3.70 GHz, 16 GB DDR3, NVIDIA Quadro K1000M 2GB Memory.
2. Cybertron PC - Liquid Cooled AMD FX6300, 6 cores, 3.50ghz - 32GB DDR3 - MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 4G, 4GB Video Ram, 1024 Cuda Cores.
Re: STEADY TELEPHOTO SHOTSThen there is the Jib or Crane, lots of great shots you can get with that
From close up to far away an with a lot of zoom, still getting great motion and steady video all at the same time. A small version http://www.bargain-camera.com/store/pro ... 275&page=1 This is pretty cool http://www.blackdogjib.com/ I get to use one of these for our church services on occation http://www.jonyjib.com/jonyjib_pics.htm We use a 24' boom, that is a lot of fun to work with 1. Thinkpad W530 Laptop, Core i7-3820QM Processor 8M Cache 3.70 GHz, 16 GB DDR3, NVIDIA Quadro K1000M 2GB Memory.
2. Cybertron PC - Liquid Cooled AMD FX6300, 6 cores, 3.50ghz - 32GB DDR3 - MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 4G, 4GB Video Ram, 1024 Cuda Cores.
Re: STEADY TELEPHOTO SHOTSTalking of steadying shots, Mercalli expert software is going for 50% off at Digital Juice.
http://www.digitaljuice.com/products/pr ... sp?pid=591
Re: STEADY TELEPHOTO SHOTSWow, great deal Paul. I knew I was forgetting something.
There is another stabilizer software program that I can't think of anymore either, but I think it is the one that Doreen uses. 1. Thinkpad W530 Laptop, Core i7-3820QM Processor 8M Cache 3.70 GHz, 16 GB DDR3, NVIDIA Quadro K1000M 2GB Memory.
2. Cybertron PC - Liquid Cooled AMD FX6300, 6 cores, 3.50ghz - 32GB DDR3 - MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 4G, 4GB Video Ram, 1024 Cuda Cores.
Re: STEADY TELEPHOTO SHOTSHere's an example of Mercalli I posted a while back:
[wmvvideo]http://muvipix.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10181/Rock_Climber.wmv[/wmvvideo]
Re: STEADY TELEPHOTO SHOTSThanks for this post. I will keep this in mind as well, as I am hoping to improve on my bird shots and about to post a Q's about camcorders that might be suitable for my budget and the sort of things I want to do with a video. Will definitely bookmark this topic.
Robyn
Re: STEADY TELEPHOTO SHOTSThanks for all the input. Mainly I saw tripods and other such devices, and software. First a question about software. Is this really what the pros use as their primary means of stabilization? I really don't know, but in my still photography world, fixing is post is always considered the last resort - in other words, get it as close to right in the cam before thinking about post. As regards tripods, booms, etc., perhaps that's the key. I have to admit I have difficulty seeing many of these devices hauled out into the wilds of Patagonia in someone's backpack. Perhaps. I was thinking the pros focus more on sophisticated stabilized lens systems though I would think this would interfere with random pan and tilt shots when following a moving animal. I'm looking forward to any other thoughts out there. Does anyone know a good book on shooting animals in the wild? Dale
Re: STEADY TELEPHOTO SHOTSYou're right, fixing it in post with stabilization software is a last resort. Those programs are designed primarily to fix poorly shot video. Your best bet is a tripod with a fluid head; that's what the pros would use. A good head will allow smooth panning and tilting through a wide variety of angles. That's really the best way to shoot long-zoom birds in flight. The one that Chuck linked in his post is a good example of what you'd need. As far as portability, many pro tripods will collapse down to 3' or less, and weigh under 20 lbs. And as with any piece of gear, practice makes perfect.
ASRock Z77 Pro4, Xeon E3-1230 V2, Windows 7 64-bit, 32GB RAM, 3GB GTX 660 ti, 240GB SSD for OS/programs, 3x640GB in RAID0 for projects
Panasonic GH2; Adobe Creative Cloud http://www.CMDStar.com http://www.FamilyTreePhotography.co
10 posts
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