Filming at a steel foundry, worries of camera sucking in dust and smoke.

[Joel Arvidsson]

Next week Im supposed to shoot at a steel foundry and I have a few worries about camera safty. I have shot at a foundry four years ago and that factory was just straight forward. No super high tempetures, no smoky or dusty air in the rooms. This time I know they want to show blasting wich I guess will make some dust. Red cameras are like vaccumcleaners, sucking in air to cool the system. With a panasonic hvx200 I did not have any worry about dust and smoke.

Maby someone have some here has more experience with foundrys and wouldlike to share.

 

[Nick Gardner]

Epic and scarlet just have a chimney with a heat sink in it. There isn't anything to get dirty.

Nick

 

[Joel Arvidsson]

Of course! I did not think about that. I seen a picture here with one epic that had a dustfilter infront.
After that I started to think more about the air going in to the camera. Good to get this of my heart.

Thanks Nick

 

[Robert Hart]

Hard particle and corrosive chemical content in the smoke and dust might be an issue for your lenses when next you clean them. If practical, my personal preference would be to have sacrificial clear filter glasses on the lenses. But then you might encounter an internal reflection issue between filter and lens glass. The odd stray glowing metal spark does not do optical glass much good either, probably more of a risk in a welding shop than where you will be working.

There may be more infrared as a proportion to visible light. Better brains than mine can assess that and please take heed of their comments over mine. I don't think IR has been an issue for years of video cameras shooting the fireworks in metal foundries. The modern digital cinema camera sees deeper so who knows? Flickering red or ochre tones in the deep blacks will pass as glow in any smoke present, be there real smoke or not as they will coincide with flares of visible light. Magenta flickers might look a little more unnatural.

I am probably barking at shadows because the viewing public are accustomed to visual artifacts these days and move on with the topic.

 

[Joel Arvidsson]

I googled some and found this on a forum:
Years ago I shot an industrial in an aluminum foundry that made cast pistons, for all types of engines... the above posters are correct.. it's hotter than hell in the furnace room, there's lots of dust and particulate matter in the air, and protect your self first and the camera second.... Get a UV lens, put your camera in a large "zip-lock" type plastic bag for dust protection.... DO NOT change tapes in the foundry, and don't take the camera out of the bag until you and the outside of the bag have been "de-dusted", have someone blow you off with an air compressor.. Don't worry about the video of the molten metal blowing out.... it's hot and the glowing blown out look will help convey the heat of the substance..


Is it enough protection for the camera to just use an uv filter infront of the lens (I will stand far away enough to not get any splashes of liqud metal on me or the camera) or should I try to put some plastic bag around the camera. The plastic bag would be to keep most dust away. Even if the camera don't have an issue with dusty air im thinking of stuff like the lcd display?

 

[Leo. C. Rogers]

As I understand it, the cooling system in the Epic/Scarlet brain does not allow particles to contaminate the internal workings. I'm interested in this thread as I was thinking about posting some questions about similar matters.

Obviously its a terrible idea to put the air cooled camera in an airflow restricting bag... I store and transport mine in a pelican storm case which doees an amazing job of keeping it cool. I opent that thing up in a very hot outdoor setting and its still the temp of my air conditioned office.

Clearly avoid changing lenses in any kind of dirty environment.

I have been shooting all summer in some fairly extreme environments including one set with fire and smoke present. I've shut down filming intermittently because of the intense heat in open spaces here in sc TX. I haven't got close to camera issued overheating symptoms but common sense prevails when things become hot to touch. I use umbrella shades and generally give the machine more break time to cool down. My take on it is it seems reasonable to send it in for service every six thousand miles...

edit: sorry about typos. Reduser and android phone...

 

[Elsie N]

If there's room to do it, mount a zoom lens and get as far away as you can and zoom in.

 

[Pawel Achtel]

Epic and scarlet just have a chimney with a heat sink in it. There isn't anything to get dirty.

Nick

That's incorrect. Cooling fan, connectors, sensor, lenses and other components can be damaged when exposed to elements.
We designed and manufacture a very small housing and can provide a range of sealed lenses allowing to safely film in harsh, wet or dusty environments.

 

[Joel Arvidsson]

Since people is working in this places with out gasmask. Can it really be that bad for a camera? as long as you do not get the melted steel on it or overheat it very badly.

But then again I read stuff like this:
Filming and recording there is a real challenge. Every time the steel is cast a huge cloud of carbon dust invades the air and then falls down on everything.
We had carbon dust on equipment, clothes, skin and lungs. I’ve found it even in my underwear.

 

[Dmitry Burenok]

Scuba housing would be good for that kind of environment. No kidding:sifone:

 

[Wil Wong]

I bought this filter!

I bought this filter!

I just bought this filter in August designed by a guy in Brazil named Nicholas and it's awesome! It is not too dense (so the air passes through easily) and when I used it at a warehouse recently, it did filter a lot of dust. It is washable and easy to remove (cause it's on magnets). The guy is a regular on Red and thus he is surely a user and enthusiast. I'm from Canada and it arrived pretty quickly.

Anyhow, here's the link. I'm sure it'll help.

The product is called:
http://www.gridsuportes.com/grid-filter/

Here's an older post:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?83626-Anti-dust-Filter-For-RED-Epic-and-Scarlet-Cameras

Enjoy.

Wil Wong
Toronto, Canada

 

[James T Mather]

At the very least wrap the camera in a polybag (and bring ice packs or something to cool it maybe - as there will be less ventilation) - watch out for condensation with this as it could short the camera.
Tape it all up to the mattebox (or use elastic loop to seal it there) - remember you'll be changing lenses so factor this in - tape the edges of the polybag to the edges of the monitor screen (gently). ie: seal the bag with gaffer tape. Cut a hatch in it to allow lens / media changes and tape it up during shooting. If it's really heavy cover the screen in clear plastic (optically good enough to see focus etc).
Use the redmote to run the sucker - keep it in a clear ziplock bag.
Use remote focus if possible - means no holes in the bag. Otherwise make a little airchamber during prep (with gaffer and spare plastic) that the FP has to squeeze his hand through - use elastic around it to keep it tight.
Change lenses and media outside the dusty area or use a zoom throughout. Warn production and director about this as it will cost a little time. Make sure the assistant hasn't got dusty hands when changing lenses (wet wipes)
A hot mirror on the front or a clear glass filter to keep the lens clean. Make sure rear donut is tight and sealed well on lens changes.
Bring lots of panair and use a light vacuum after the shoot to pull out anything that might have got in. Wet wipes might also be a good idea after the fact.

You can use the panair during takes (off to one side) to stop particles settling on the filter (assuming sound isn't an issue).

Alternatively an underwater bag or housing - but that will be about as slow.

If it's super heavy airborne particles - wear a paper breathing mask. Don't want to end up like Tarkovsky.

 

[Joel Arvidsson]

I just bought this filter in August designed by a guy in Brazil named Nicholas and it's awesome! It is not too dense (so the air passes through easily) and when I used it at a warehouse recently, it did filter a lot of dust. It is washable and easy to remove (cause it's on magnets). The guy is a regular on Red and thus he is surely a user and enthusiast. I'm from Canada and it arrived pretty quickly.

Anyhow, here's the link. I'm sure it'll help.

The product is called:
http://www.gridsuportes.com/grid-filter/

Here's an older post:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?83626-Anti-dust-Filter-For-RED-Epic-and-Scarlet-Cameras

Enjoy.

Wil Wong
Toronto, Canada

That is really intetesting. The good news is that steel foundry only uses a small pot which they empty 5 times which take 15-20min. They only do this twice adday. So the air was good.