• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Video Taping your own hunts

ADKMtnTrapper

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
283
Good Afternoon!

Ive been putting in some time in my AeroEVO and decided i would like to try my hand at self filming and filming others hunts. So i did a little research and decided to go with a Samsung HMX-F90 its nothing fancy, i picked it up for just over $100 and it says its good for low light and also has timelapse photography which sold me on it.

So my questions is who out there films there own hunts and what kind of things have you learn along the way to be better at it? I have heard that it is best if you have one filming the kill shot and another filming yourself or a POV shot. I will entertain buying one at a later date if i decide i like doing this.

Also any suggestions on a camera arm or something that is able to be attached to the tree? I bought a small flexible tripod that works should work well @ ground level but i am assuming wont be the greatest while up in the tree.
 
I got into self filming because I shot a buck and lost him. Being able to review your shot before tracking is a great tool. I've self filmed for quite a few years. I started out with a home made camera arm. Over time the joints wore and loosened up and made shaky video. So after I was good and hooked on self filming I decided to invest in a quality camera arm that was still packable. I got the 3rd arm adventure series. http://www.the3rdarm.com/products.htm#adventure It was built strong enough if I ever wanted to upgrade my consumer camera to a professional one, it could still support the weight. I liked that you could attach the base to the tree without the counter weight of fighting an all in one base and arm. Learned that lesson quick with my homemade arm! The adventure series also had ease of adjustment to get the camera squared and level. If it isn't squared and leveled, not only will your video look off, but when you go to swing your camera to the target, it could swing off target when you let go of it as it swings back into its balance point. It also has well made silent and fluid joints. Perfect for good smooth video. Fighting the camera and making unneeded movement to capture a deer coming in, then getting ready for the shot is tough and adds stress trying to keep it all in frame, but you got to love it. Bringing home video for my kids to watch was the best part!
Another tip: Your camera lens reflects light like a signal mirror. Just be aware of a low sun and where your camera is facing. In down time, I usually point my camera down just to be safe. Great audio makes great video. An external shotgun mic records the sound out in front of where the camera is pointing and does a great job of reducing wind noise and background noise like you pushing buttons on the camera.
I also tried the gopro thing for a secondary camera. If it could stay on in a sleep mode where all I had to do was hit record and it would be on, I'd like it, but battery life in that thing sucks and is useless for how I wanted to use it.
A tree umbrella and a big ziploc bag is a good idea for rain protection. Had to send mine in for repair do to water damage before.
This year as I was tracking my sons deer walking a grid because it stopped bleeding, I had my son holding my camera while we walked all over for an hour. I looked at him and said wheres my camera.......he put it down somewhere while he was playing. Never could find it. So I decided to get out of self filming and have the above camera arm for sale if you are interested.
 
Thanks for all the advice, i'm glad i asked i would have never thought of the sunglare and leveling the camera and stuff. How much are your looking for the swing arm? I may be interested depending on the price, im on a tight budget after buying the camera!

If i dont end up buying it i plan on going doing some self filming for turkey season and that will help my decision wiether or not to try it during deer season.

On a side thought did you self film in the saddle?? Does that effect the swing arm location since you can swing most of the way around the tree?
 
Just got my 1st saddle so I don't know. I want $200 for the arm and monteforlo head.

I didn't think if the sun glare until I left my gear in tree on edge of field and walked across field to truck. Then I seen the reflection. I was surprised!
 
Yeah that's more then what I can spend unfortunately but thank you for the offer!
 
Would definitely like to hear from more guys if anybody is self filming in a saddle. I think flininairos did a good video from his web.

I know the saddle would be great for filming for other people.
 
Hey guys! Always love the self filming topics! I've been at it for several years and started with the cheapest gear and slowly worked my way up to a pretty solid rig. Filming from a saddle isn't much different than filming from a stand, just a slightly different set up that's all. I'll list my gear and how I set it up...

Muddy Outfitter arm w/ manfrotto 128RC fluid head- set on my right as I face the tree, just above my knee in the "sitting" position. If I am facing the tree the arm is set at the 3 o clock position

Main cam is a Canon G30 w/ Azden SMX10 shotgun mic and Varizoom VZRock LANC control. This cam is IMO one of the best there is for self filming. It's still small enough to pack easy but has some pretty important "pro" level features. Other good cameras to consider that are slightly cheaper are the older Canon G10 and the G20.

Second cam (B roll, pics) Nikon D5300 with two different lenses. Most times I will leave this in the truck and use it when I get an animal. I do take it to the tree sometimes but it depends on how much I have to carry for the day.

Second angle cam-GoPro Hero3 Black on a gorilla flex-pod. I normally stick this cam on my rope attachment looking down at me. I use a Ropeman1 ascender on my rope attachment so I wrap the legs of the flex pod around that. That angle works good because if I need to move around the tree the cam "follows" me since the rope pivots. It's also easy to reach so I can turn it on quickly.

To carry it all I have a small cabelas backpack for the cam arm/base and fluid head and a small fanny pack for the G30 and Gopro. I wrap the fanny pack around the backpack and cinch it tight so it basically becomes one pack. If I am in my NT Evo I climb with that on my back and the only thing hooked up to the pull rope is my bow and extra jacket if I need it.

I could spew stuff on this all day but will spare you the boredom :lol: Here is some hunts I filmed last year with this exact set up. First one is a decent early season buck in the Guidos Web. The second longer video starts from a hunt in a lock on stand and then a buck kill in my web. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have because I LOVE this stuff! ;)

[youtube]3nmSdlSmQUU[/youtube]

[youtube]CdtCYeHqRUQ[/youtube]
 
I have almost the exact same filming setup as flinginairos...he is even using my old evo! ;)

Muddy pro arm (slightly different base than outfitter) with silent strap, Canon G30 with the canon shotgun mic, Manfrotto 128 rc fluid head and varizoom vz rock, Sony AS100 octopus'd on the ascender or on a ranger wrapped carabiner higher on the tether, tactacam if I run a third. No DSLR yet. All filming gear plus extra stuffed in the Horn Hunter Mainbeam pack. Backpack gets worn conventionally to the stand when using the saddle; hooked on the whale tail when using the web. I don't climb with the pack regardless of saddle or web. After pulling up the pack with the rope I may a second grap with the gear grappler grappling hook.

Camera arm position is same as flinginairos. Having the second angle on the tether is the coolest filming trick I've picked up from flinginairos. Thank you!
 
I tried camera and arm in past. To much stuff to carry and not worth it to me personally. I just use my phone on bow these days. Sometimes a wifi gopro on ground. https://youtu.be/1wti1UJKDbY

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Awaiting my first saddle...Areo Kestral.....And filming too HFG30... Rode video shotgun mic...varizoom remote controller. manfrotto ball head leveler... Manfroto 502 fluid head... Rode video link wireless mics... Fourth arrow camera arm... as well as muddy hunter camera arms... and lightning camera arms. 2 apple computers and adobe premiere elements video editing program. Here's a link to a video I shot. 8pt. Archery kill.
 
Older thread but I thought we had more self filmers on here, I'm sure @flinginairos setup has changed a little since 2015.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
I have been intrigued by self filming and wanting to get into it, however I hunt in a deep swamp. I take pirogues to my stand and getting wet is inevitable. It’s just a part of life for where I hunt. With that said, are there any video recorders that are water resistant/proof? As much as I would love to get into this I surely don’t want to ruin a $1000 recorder.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Have you seen my videos??? I'm always in the swamps. But I keep my pack and bow dry.

Sent from my Galaxy S8.
 
I have been intrigued by self filming and wanting to get into it, however I hunt in a deep swamp. I take pirogues to my stand and getting wet is inevitable. It’s just a part of life for where I hunt. With that said, are there any video recorders that are water resistant/proof? As much as I would love to get into this I surely don’t want to ruin a $1000 recorder.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Throw the important stuff in a dry bag and you’ll be good. I’ve taken my gear out in some nasty weather and been fine. I always use the drybags on my kayak adventures just to be safe. The cam I am running right now isn’t water proof but it’s water/dust resistant which is nice. It’s the Panasonic g85 m4/3 Dslr. @g2outdoors just got the same one as well. Harder to run than s regular camcorder but the quality is awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I carry two ziploc freezer bags and double wrap if it's a soaker. Less bulk than a dry bag.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
What do you guys do in the rain while hunting? Just pack up the camera gear? Tree Umbrella?
 
If its raining straight down I just use the umbrella. If its raining horizontally I leave the camera gear in the truck.
 
I figured I’d illustrate what a deep swamp is... One fumble (even at ground level) and I would have a bad day. I hunt areas like this 80% of the time, hence my reasoning for seeking a water tight camera.

855e49f77a1a800e7d6d3cdca7721c1c.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Back
Top