Videoing your own hunts

[Maverick]

Going try getting some video of my hunts this year. I'm not spending a bunch of money on cameras and stuff but have a little samsung and will be getting a solvid cam setup and a gopro. looking for any kind of advice from guys that have videoed hunts. A little help so I can try to avoid a few mistakes. I'll be hiking on foot and sitting in a tree stand. What kind of mounts do you recomended for stands? What mounts for gopros? Thanks in advance.

[Holg3107]

Get a hold of the Solvid FIY guys on here. Their footage is great. As for the Go-Pro I personally think they are worthless for hunt filming. They have such a wide camera angle that something that is 20yds away looks like it 1/4 mile. Go-Pro is good for close up/ self shots but horrible for looking beyond 10 feet.

[dflip]

I have been filming my hunts for years and I would say that one of the biggest things is to totally commit to filming it. It's really tough too hunt first and film second if that makes sense. even back in the 80s we would be elk hunting in Idaho and I would have my video camera in my pack but usually only get it out if we stopped to take a break or I saw something cool. And then once one of us stuck a bull I would get the recovery on film...cool but not near as cool as getting the entire hunt!! I would also go ahead and wear the GoPro...it is true that it isn't a great perspective but it just gives you another angle to mix in when your putting it all together. I would also say just put your camera on a tripod and leave it there...If your hunting out of tree stand spend the money and get a good tree arm and a fluid head...really makes a huge difference!!

[Roosevelt]

I have used both the solvid mounts and gopro to film my hunts.  The gopro footage should be used pretty much as a backup and don't expect much out of it.  I have gotten some okay footage from the gopro, but most of it is terrible and you can't see much.  The best thing about he gopro is that it is lightweight.  The first year I filmed my hunt I got in tight on a couple of good bulls and couldn't get a shot but figured the footage would be awesome with one bull being less than 20 yards.  When I got home and reviewed the footage I could barely see that there was even an elk there and definitely couldn't make out points.  I bought a Panasonic HC-V550 and attached via the solvid system and it worked pretty well.  I opted for the 550 because I figured it was a good mix of weight, performance, and bang for your buck.  I'd say I was satisfied with the outcome.  However, as someone else posted, you need to commit to filming because I got tired of using it a few times and didn't attach it and those were some of the times I would have liked to have footage of.  I ended up not getting the bull I shot on film because I didn't wear it that day.  Hope that helps! 

[Maverick]

I'm a big fan of solvid FYI's videos. This is the camera im
Going to use. I know gopros aren't the best but for the weight it couldn't hurt to have an extra camera rolling.

[carpsniperg2]

I have been running the solvid setup for a couple years now. It's a nice system. If you are hunting the thick stuff it can get snagged and move around a bit. Most of my hunting is open country so it has been great for that. One trick to find is a happy medium on your zoom. I have videos that I was zoomed way to far in and way to far out. Without seeing the screen it hard to know so most the time I just pick a mid zoom and leave it there. I am not as skilled as some running them.

[yajsab]

This is my treestand set up.  Hope this will give you ideas.  This setup should be about $100 or less, excluding camcorders.

[Maverick]

The pic is a little cut off what's above the camera. That looks like a setup I could build on my own. Thank you for posting that.

[yajsab]

That is my sound recorder.

No need to build (unless you want to).  Just order them.

Arm:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hunting/Hunting-Treestands/Treestand-Accessories|/pc/104791680/c/104783580/sc/104649480/Pine-Ridge-Camera-Mount/944628.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse.cmd%3FN%3D1100108%26WTz_l%3DSBC%253BBRprd944628&WTz_l=SBC%3BBRprd944628%3Bcat104649480

Looks like they don't have the one I use anymore.  You can order the treestand mount from Pine Ridge or else just use as is.

http://shop.pineridgearchery.com/p/pro-bow-cam-self-climber-camera-support?pp=12


Camera mount:

I took the camera mount off and use the Nikon window mount instead.  The Nikon is much better.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/171181-REG/Nikon_7070_Car_Window_Mount.html

If you need the U bracket, you can order from Amazon or Ebay. 

[Maverick]

Yeah I saw the window mount. Just saying I could build one to save cash. The sound recorder plugs into your normal camera?

[yajsab]

Yes. 

[kglacken]

I have been filming my hunts for years and I would say that one of the biggest things is to totally commit to filming it. It's really tough too hunt first and film second if that makes sense. even back in the 80s we would be elk hunting in Idaho and I would have my video camera in my pack but usually only get it out if we stopped to take a break or I saw something cool. And then once one of us stuck a bull I would get the recovery on film...cool but not near as cool as getting the entire hunt!! I would also go ahead and wear the GoPro...it is true that it isn't a great perspective but it just gives you another angle to mix in when your putting it all together. I would also say just put your camera on a tripod and leave it there...If your hunting out of tree stand spend the money and get a good tree arm and a fluid head...really makes a huge difference!!

Weve been filming for a long time and have been doing it seriously for 3. In order to get good quality stuff you have to commit to it. Think like a producer. You may get 30 hours of footage and only use 20 minutes of it.
If youre just looking to have some cool video to look back on and watch for yourself then the solo video equipment you can get is good, but if youy want to create a solid video, you need to have a camera man with the camera recording at all times! Ive learned a lot of tricks as both a producer and a cameraman. Ive traveled all over filmign our hunts and talked to many people. Ive learned a ton of high tech tricks on my own and through other peoples advice, but the greatest piece of advice Ive ever received was, "If youre camera is not recording, you wont get it on film"
Simple but brilliant. Things happen so fast in the woods that you need to be ready to go at all times. If you have any other questions let me know. And trust me a successful hunt is awesome, but a successful hunt that you get on film is a whole different high that you will crave so be careful  I wont ever hunt without our camera gear again. We signed a television contract for an east coast cable company in November. Check out our season 3 intro and check out pur other vids on Youtube. Search ZG Outdoors  Goodluck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WV6ndckktY

[rosscrazyelk]

I tried videoing my own hunt this past year and when it came down to the moment of actually shooting I forgot the camera all together.. 
 Takes alot of work I do not know how the solo hunter guys do it all.

[Maverick]

As for right now I'm just wanting to video for something to look back on.

[huntnnw]

TRIPOD!! that should be number one and a good fluid head is a must! I dropped $400 on mine. Nothing worse than shakey camera work...even a cheaper cam can produce decent video on a good tripod and head versus a high end cam on no tripod. The fluid head is a must for following game and panning, what happens with cheap ones is you will get jittery video trying to follow a animal you will pan past it and try to correct it and pan back. You dont realize how little you have to move a cam following a animal at 200 yards thats where a very smooth head comes into play.

A good tree arm is a must it has to be easy to use and stable when filming solo. I went with Muddy outdoors cam arm and it works awesome and super easy to set up and smooth. My fluid head screws right onto it. Dont go cheap or hard to set up or you will burn out and quit filming, beacause its a hassle. I went with a cheap arm years ago and it went in the garbage.