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Thread: Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Haney,BC and anywhere you can hunt in BC out of the rain !
    Posts
    8,649

    Re: Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)

    Best route to go for lightweight back packing is get a phoneskope for your Cel to use on your spotting scope that way your not switching items off your tripod
    7mm PRC soon to be the most popular cartridge in North America

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    48

    Re: Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)

    Quote Originally Posted by pg83 View Post
    You'll be hard-pressed to find anything better than a phoneskope at the price point for shooting video at long distances(assuming you have a more recent phone and a decent spotter).

    Going mirrorless is gonna save you space/weight but you do need to be(more) careful when switching lenses, especially in the field.
    There have been great suggestions in this thread already when it comes to lens choice, ultimately it all boils down to price and weight. I run a 16-35mm wide and a 24-70mm at F2.8, but they're not cheap!

    I believe having a mid-range zoom lens to be the most important for your kit as a hunter. You could easily go with a prime lens(fixed mm) for the wide/night shots, just need to make sure it's F2.8 or lower, you'll save a few bucks by doing this. I wouldn't suggest anything over 70mm unless you know you are going to use it lots as they are just plain heavy.
    I'll almost certainly run a PhoneSkope along with whatever else I choose. Barely anything for additional weight considering the phone and spotter are already in the bag. Mostly just trying to decide on what else I want to bring.

    As you say, lots of great suggestions already. Going to spend some time with some friend's cameras in the field and try to narrow down the lens selection. I am thinking I will be doing exactly as you mentioned with a mid-range zoom and a prime with a fast lens.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    48

    Re: Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)

    Thanks for all the help guys. I ended up going with the Fuji X-T3 and 18-55mm F/2.8-4 lens to start. Got out last night and tried a few night shots. Turned out alright for very minimal knowledge and basic attempts at settings. Definitely excited to get out on a few hikes and see what I can learn.


  4. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Aldergrove, BC
    Posts
    4,466

    Re: Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)

    Congrats. That camera should handle high ISO numbers pretty well while keeping the graininess to a minimum. Should be a huge help for those night time shots.

    For stars/milky way with a camera like that do:

    Tripod
    Manual mode
    ISO 2000-3200
    F2.8 (wide open)
    shutter - play with 15 - 30 sec for best exposure. After 30s you'll probably get star trails

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Lower Mainland
    Posts
    343

    Re: Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)





    Picked up a starter camera last week to see how I like it(Sony a6000). Wow, is there ever alot of learning to do.

    Was going to try making some videos, but am curious. What programs are you guys using for video editing?
    Last edited by porthunter; 01-07-2020 at 12:41 PM.
    Life begins where your comfort zone ends

    WSSBC Monarch; RMGA; 2% for Conservation Certified; WSF; BCWF

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Posts
    1,122

    Re: Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)

    I used to be a huge Adobe user when I was working regularly as a graphics guy. I'm unemployed now so I've been experimenting with free video software.

    Currently using this:
    https://www.openshot.org/

    Fairly intiuitive. All of the preset filters are kind of assy though.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    391

    Re: Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)

    Quote Originally Posted by Grakyn View Post
    Thanks for all the help guys. I ended up going with the Fuji X-T3 and 18-55mm F/2.8-4 lens to start. Got out last night and tried a few night shots. Turned out alright for very minimal knowledge and basic attempts at settings. Definitely excited to get out on a few hikes and see what I can learn.
    That's a nice camera with a great kit lens, and I'm glad you chose to go with something that's weather sealed.

    If you have the budget, I would recommend adding a fast (low F-stop) prime lens for any low-light camp photos you may want to do. I personally prefer the 28mm equivalent focal range (which would be 18mm for your camera). Something like the 18mm F2, the 16mm F1.4 or if you want to you could go 35mm F1.4 (I'd buy used from a reputable place like Henrys or wait for a sale)

    A nice lens for wildlife is the Fuji XF 100-400MM, but it's $2,500 retail. You could probably find the 50-230 XC lens for $350 used, but I have no idea how good it is. In Fuji-land XF is a higher quality lens than XC and WR stands for weather resistant.

    Some suggestions on operations:
    I can't remember if that camera has two card slots, but if it does I'd suggest shooting in RAW + JPG (fine). The Raw files will allow a high level of post processing (think photoshop - if you get into that) and the JPGs are something you can share immediately. This MIGHT slow down your burst speed a bit - don't skimp on cheap cards.

    Spend some time taking the same shot at higher and higher ISOs - then look at the photos and decide at what level they become too "grainy" or noisy for your tastes. You can then set the maximum ISO in the camera to your tastes.

    Get to know shutter priority - most people focus on aperture priority, but shutter priority is IMO more important for wildlife. You need to learn at what shutter speeds you want to take pictures of what animals in order to freeze motion and avoid blur e.g. a hummingbird might need 1/1000th or higher, but a sloth could go down to 1/60th.

    There are good and bad folks on youtube, but dpreview.com is probably the best camera forum to start learning/asking questions/reading articles on.

    Edit:
    Poop - I just realized I said basically the same thing as TwoSeven0 - so either he is really smart or I am
    In all seriousness there were 2 or 3 decent wildlife photographers on this website but I forget who they are.
    Last edited by David; 01-07-2020 at 01:07 PM.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    391

    Re: Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)

    Quote Originally Posted by silveragent View Post
    I used to be a huge Adobe user when I was working regularly as a graphics guy. I'm unemployed now so I've been experimenting with free video software.

    Currently using this:
    https://www.openshot.org/

    Fairly intiuitive. All of the preset filters are kind of assy though.
    Fuji cameras come with Capture One free if I remember right - you can then apply the Fuji film simulations in post.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    48

    Re: Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)

    Quote Originally Posted by David View Post
    Some suggestions on operations:
    I can't remember if that camera has two card slots, but if it does I'd suggest shooting in RAW + JPG (fine). The Raw files will allow a high level of post processing (think photoshop - if you get into that) and the JPGs are something you can share immediately. This MIGHT slow down your burst speed a bit - don't skimp on cheap cards.

    Spend some time taking the same shot at higher and higher ISOs - then look at the photos and decide at what level they become too "grainy" or noisy for your tastes. You can then set the maximum ISO in the camera to your tastes.

    Get to know shutter priority - most people focus on aperture priority, but shutter priority is IMO more important for wildlife. You need to learn at what shutter speeds you want to take pictures of what animals in order to freeze motion and avoid blur e.g. a hummingbird might need 1/1000th or higher, but a sloth could go down to 1/60th.
    Thank you for these tidbits, this will be the stuff I am working on for the next while. It does have two card slots. Additional cards and batteries are on the shopping list in addition to an extra lens. I have been playing with the ISO already, I need some "live action test subjects" to really figure it out though. Good to know about shutter priority, most of the stuff I read discussed aperture priority, but it wasn't geared towards wildlife shots, so I was curious on that front.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Burnaby
    Posts
    325

    Re: Hunting Photography / Video (for backpacking)

    In my experience, ultralight backpacking and backcountry photography don't mix, pick one or the other. I pack all my gear in, camera gear easily adds 10lbs+ to my pack and can make a simple weekend hunt a 55lb load going in. Not one trip goes by that I don't contemplate saying forget it next time and leaving it all at home, especially when I go multiple trips without using my heavy ass 70-300mm. When that magic moment happens and you have the option between controlling your shutter speed, ISO, depth of field etc or just taking a point and shoot photo with your phone you'll thank yourself for lugging all that in not just in that moment but every time you look at that photo for years to come. Do yourself a favor and don't even weigh your pack if you want to take awesome photos and videos out there, just get in the gym more and do a few extra sets of squats.
    "You can learn more about hunting with a bow in a week than you could in a lifetime of gun hunting" - Fred Bear

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