NATURAL HISTORY CINEMATOGRAPHY

[Mauricio Handler]

Carlito- what do you want to film with it?
What camera do you have?
What head and legs?
These factors will determine your lens.
Let us know for advise.
Thanks for following this thread.

 

[Carlito Herdenberg]

Hi Mauricio,

Of course I should have given you a bit more information about what I do. So here goes.

At the moment I own a Blackmagic Pocket Camera. I use it with a Canon 8-64 and a Canon 150-600. For support I use A Wooden camera rig with 15mm iris rods. They are usually mounted on a Miller Arrow 55 head with the Solo sticks.

For the future I'll most likely film with a Red One or a Blackmagic URSA (regular or mini). I may also upgrade my sticks to a cople of Sachtler Eng CF2's.

At the moment I work on two projects. One is about arctic fox. For this one there is a lot of snow mobile driving So the weight isn't to big of a problem. In the other project I'm filming large mammals in eastern European forests.

I do realize that these kind of lenses are really cumbersome to work with, but I do enjoy more of a "drama" way of filming.

And as yo here from my gear, I don't have infinite funds. I now a bunch of really nice lenses that would be perfect. But they are unfortunately out of my league.

 

[Mauricio Handler]

Carlito-
I just went through this process as well-
I am using Red Epic X + Canon 150-600 Optex converted lens on Miller 55 / CF legs...
You already have the longest most practical lens for wildlife use- the Red lenses you are after are not long enough for wildlife use (as per your subject matter).
If you are on a budget it is best to keep things simple... your 150-600 is the lens to own.
attached a photo of my set up. This lens belonged to Christian Munoz- friend and fellow cinematographer and the initiator of this thread...

 

[Carlito Herdenberg]

Ah I see. I guess that it's not a coincidence that I've got those things.

Of course the 150-600 will be perfect for 80% of the projects. But wouldn't it be useful to have a "normal" zoom for the rest? Maybe a wide prime would do for establishing shots. Id only feel a bit restricted. Maybe a Tokina 11-16 Would be better? It's small for sure.

Btw way Mauricio... Are you happy with your Solo sticks? I find them a bit wobbly. Especially when using a tele lens.

 

[Mauricio Handler]

HI Carlito

Yes- I also have wide angle and medium teles to complete the system,... 17-35 and 70-200 as well as 105 macro... I prefer a short zoom these days as I have more flexibility in my composition without having to re-locate my setup.
The T11-16 is a nice lens- might be a bit wide for most landscapes but I do like it.
Regarding my Sticks: I have a MIller two stage and love it- I got the Miller Solos so I could go low to the ground and configure it a bit easier than the 2 stage... I seldom use it high off the ground...
I above photo shows it the way I like to use it... I have designed a solid dovetail base for this lens set up- as soon as it arrives this week I will show an image of it. This will help with any vibration in a light breeze- I will though, always keep a low profile when poss. Best MH

 

[Carlito Herdenberg]

I suppose you are right about the Tokina. Perhaps the Sigma 18-35 would be a better choice. A bit frustrating that there is no light choices for the range 18-60. Only the "small" Red Zoom. But I really dislike that lens.

I saw that GL Optics convert that lens. I'm looking forward to seeing your custom dovetail Mauricio!

 

[Mauricio Handler]

Anyone here going to Jackson Hole Film Festival in WY, USA?

 

[Mauricio Handler]

Carlito and others

Here are a couple of photos of the new solid base for the configuration of this larger lens.
Camera - Red EpicX with PL Mount + Canon 150-600 Optex converted Zoom. All mounted on a Miller Arrow 55 fluid head and
pictured here on Miller Carbon Fiber legs. (I go between the Miller 2 Stage legs and these).

I was using it before with 19mm rods + a shorter 15mm Rod set up for support but it was still shaky in a breeze.
After speaking with Wooden Camera Ryan Schorman, we came up with this contraption which makes the lens and camera a solid piece - total weight (without tripod) 22lb.

Components: 18" Safety dovetail as base plus Dovetail Clamp and Bridgeplate 19mm - now the lens and camera can be quickly moved forward or back for accurate balance plus
they act as one piece..... It has proven already to be a vast improvement over the rod configuration... now- this works for this lens in particular... each lens has its "quirks" that need addressing.
I hope this helps.

Mauricio

 

[Steve Phillipps]

Certainly looks solid, and really nicely done - but I've always tended to just have a flat plate made - works out cheaper, lighter and lower. A precision engineer can make something like this for about £200.
Steve

 

[Steve Phillipps]

Perhaps the Sigma 18-35 would be a better choice. A bit frustrating that there is no light choices for the range 18-60.

The Sigma 18-35 is stunning! I agree with Mauricio that a short zoom will still be too short to shoot wildlife, so better to just have a wide zoom for scenics etc. and a macro lens, then go to your 150-600 for everything else. Personally I do find the Sigma 300-800 to be a step up in optical quality plus the extra 200mm always comes in handy! But have owned 4 Canon 150-600s and used them on Super 16, Digibeta, PDW700, Phantom and Varicam - a real staple of the industry for sure!
Steve

 

[Humberto Ramos]

Certainly looks solid, and really nicely done - but I've always tended to just have a flat plate made - works out cheaper, lighter and lower. A precision engineer can make something like this for about £200.
Steve

I have to try to make one of those, my 150-600 and R1 with rods, like Mauricio said is shaky in a breeze

 

[Mauricio Handler]

Hi Steve
Good to see some activity on the forum.
Of course there are many ways to skin this cat... your plate looks solid as well
I wanted quick slide in and out from my plate and I really wanted a clean- nice set up for a change...je je je . so I went for it...
This set up allows me to move from tripod to any other platform fairly quickly...

I also have a height discrepancy between the base of the lens and the base of the Epic- so a SHIM is placed above the dovetail clamp under the lens... worked perfectly.


Lets all put some clips up here and there to rally the troops and get even more inspired than we are...
Best from the colonies.

MH

 

[Carlito Herdenberg]

That looks great Mauricio! Sure it may be a bit heavy but like you said it's a bit more versitile. Which is kind of nice if you frequently use different lenses. As a matter of fact I ordered a few things from the same company a few days ago. 12" Safety Dovetail (I didn't realize they made 18" ones), 19mm rods, 19mm Bridgeplate and 19mm lens support. I guess this setup will be a bit more sensitive to wind and not as easy when changing lenses as your rigg. But I was thinking of adding one of these to support the front of the rods from the dovetail. http://cvp.com/index.php?t=product/movcam_303-1114 That should strengthen it quite a bit. Don't you think?

This thread is pretty Red centered for obvious reasons, but it's cool to see someone using an URSA for wildlife! How do you like it Steve? Would you say that it's a good camera for wildlife? Like I mentioned a few posts ago, I might be thinking of getting one. Either that or an old Red One. Does it have any kind of pre-record? How is it's battery life? The upcoming one with 4,6k sensor and 150fps really does sound nice.

Also a question about the "thing" that I'm seeing on a lot of you guys fluid head arms. I guess some sort of start/stop and maybe zoom buttons. Where can I get one? And how do they work?

 

[Steve Phillipps]

Not used the Ursa yet - as anyone using long lenses and modular ameras will tell you, it takes ages just to assemble all the bits and get it rigged up! The attraction is that it's the only camera that does 4k 120fps at anything like the price! The downside is that it's heavy and from a company that's pretty new to cameras. No he record, could happen but not much talk about it.We'll see, looks good so far though, lots to like about it.
The zoom demand I (and many others) have is a Libec one - ZC3dv, lots of folks use the ZC9 pro I only use it for start / stop.
I wouldn't even consider the RED One - the 90 second boot up time alone is enough to rule it out (or is that much less now?)
Steve

 

[Carlito Herdenberg]

I suppose that pre-record isn't a big thing to most people. And BMD doesnt seem to be so much into listening to what the customers want. Red seem a whole lot better in that aspect.

As for the Red One's boot up time. Maybe it's better today. Though I wouldn't think so. I haven't used it since quite a few years now. And for sure it was really slow back then. The plus side is that the Red One with it's 10 pounds is really (I never thought I would say this) light compared to the URSA (16 pounds!). Plus you can find them dirt cheap today.

I'll check those zoom demands out. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Steve Phillipps]

What does the RED do at 4k? Is it just 60fps?

 

[Carlito Herdenberg]

Thats very true.

 

[Alan Peterson]

I was hired to film a rookery that can only be seen from across a large stretch of wetlands, so my rig for yesterday morning included a 2X extender on the Sigma 300-800mm and a second tripod to keep everything steady. Image quality was surprisingly decent until the air started to warm up.

 

[Steve Phillipps]

I have a Canon 2x mkiii teleconverter for my 300-800 and the quality is excellent - just need to stop down 1 stop ideally as with most teleconverters.
Steve

 

[Steve Phillipps]

I have a Canon 2x mkiii teleconverter for my 300-800 and the quality is excellent - just need to stop down 1 stop ideally as with most teleconverters.
Steve