long range shooting/hunting video recording

[kbrowne14]

I am looking to begin filming my hunts.  I would also like to be able to film impacts when I shoot distance.  I really enjoy photography, but I have little experience with video other then gopro.  I am considering a DSLR, and going with a zoom lens and an external mic.  What I don't know, how much zoom am I going to need, ie. 300mm, 400mm?  If I do the DSLR route, I will be getting a canon 70D.  The other route I was thinking was the Canon Vixia HF G40. 

I have tried reading everything I can about this.  The problem is, I am not finding what I need.  I see people using 300m lenses, and they say the are great, but they zoom in on animals that are 40 yards away.  I need to be able to see animals at 600+. 

Can somebody please school me a little on filming hunts, and the gear that is necessary?

Thank you in advance.

[HunterofWA]

I'm starting to film my hunts from now on, you can follow my hunting channel to see how they are this season. (Hunter's Of Washington) I would suggest you use an auto focus camera as it's a lot easier to not have to worry about the focus etc... I would suggest you get a camera such as this because it's smaller, quieter, lighter, and easier to film with. If you get a DSLR then you will have to deal with the noise it makes when it turns to video. Be sure to show us some of your hunts!
https://www.google.com/shopping/product/13615913691765349726?q=video+cameras&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS691US692&espv=2&biw=1463&bih=1005&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.&bvm=bv.129391328,d.amc&ion=1&tch=1&ech=1&psi=PEGmV4DxH-vHjwSbh52IAg.1470513468214.5&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi_w6vKya3OAhUC2IMKHdvRBeAQ8wII2AkwDQ

[jay.sharkbait]

I am looking to begin filming my hunts.  I would also like to be able to film impacts when I shoot distance.  I really enjoy photography, but I have little experience with video other then gopro.  I am considering a DSLR, and going with a zoom lens and an external mic.  What I don't know, how much zoom am I going to need, ie. 300mm, 400mm?  If I do the DSLR route, I will be getting a canon 70D.  The other route I was thinking was the Canon Vixia HF G40. 

I have tried reading everything I can about this.  The problem is, I am not finding what I need.  I see people using 300m lenses, and they say the are great, but they zoom in on animals that are 40 yards away.  I need to be able to see animals at 600+. 

Can somebody please school me a little on filming hunts, and the gear that is necessary?

Thank you in advance.

If you don't  you find what need here, try www.longrangehunting.com. They are very helpful and the "that isn't ethical, you are a dirtbag" thing isn't tolerated.

[bearpaw]

I am looking to begin filming my hunts.  I would also like to be able to film impacts when I shoot distance.  I really enjoy photography, but I have little experience with video other then gopro.  I am considering a DSLR, and going with a zoom lens and an external mic.  What I don't know, how much zoom am I going to need, ie. 300mm, 400mm?  If I do the DSLR route, I will be getting a canon 70D.  The other route I was thinking was the Canon Vixia HF G40. 

I have tried reading everything I can about this.  The problem is, I am not finding what I need.  I see people using 300m lenses, and they say the are great, but they zoom in on animals that are 40 yards away.  I need to be able to see animals at 600+. 

Can somebody please school me a little on filming hunts, and the gear that is necessary?

Thank you in advance.

I've had tv shows using the newer canons for a large part of their fiming and they seemed to do a pretty good job. Filming has limitations even with the best of equipment.

[Bean Counter]

^ that's just it: its a film crew. If you're out to get film crew results while you're hunting by yourself its going to be a difficult day in the field.

The most practical way to film 600 yards is going to be with a camera phone and adapter to your spotting scope, assuming you have one with HD/ED/ULD/etc glass. You know, that stuff that corrects for lateral color fringing ("chromatic aberration"). You're going to need obnoxiously big and ridiculously expensive (like, 5 figures) lenses if you want to film that far with a real camera. Not to mention a spendy tripod and gimbal.

70D will be good enough image quality for your video and the continuous AF for rolling video is nice. My $2,000+ 5d Mark III doesn't do that. I don't think the 70D does 4k though. What you also need to keep in mind is that Canon doesn't throw a ton of weather sealing on those xxD line of cameras. There's some but not as much as my 5d3. Even the 5d line isn't as sealed as the 1D series, but now you're talking about $6,000 for the new 1Dx Mark II. Have a weather proof camera bag and a plastic cover to put over your camera if you're planning on filming in the rain with the 70D. 

If you're going to do a lot of field interviews and trophy shots it will be best to have continuous lighting to overpower the sun lest you get those nasty high-contrast shadows on peoples faces. The cheapest and simplest way to do this will be with a 5-in-1 reflector but you'll need another person to hold it.

Let us know how it goes 

[JDHasty]

I am looking to begin filming my hunts.  I would also like to be able to film impacts when I shoot distance.  I really enjoy photography, but I have little experience with video other then gopro.  I am considering a DSLR, and going with a zoom lens and an external mic.  What I don't know, how much zoom am I going to need, ie. 300mm, 400mm?  If I do the DSLR route, I will be getting a canon 70D.  The other route I was thinking was the Canon Vixia HF G40. 

I have tried reading everything I can about this.  The problem is, I am not finding what I need.  I see people using 300m lenses, and they say the are great, but they zoom in on animals that are 40 yards away.  I need to be able to see animals at 600+. 

Can somebody please school me a little on filming hunts, and the gear that is necessary?

Thank you in advance.

If you don't  you find what need here, try www.longrangehunting.com. They are very helpful and the "that isn't ethical, you are a dirtbag" thing isn't tolerated.

If you want to slip a little snark into the thread and take a dig at me, keep this in mind:  I have archived this post, and others, advocating long-range volley-fire at big game animals which was made by an individual you were defending who along with you and others were posting apologetic for shooting at elk with an AR-15 at ranges approaching a quarter mile and at deer at distances 50% longer.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,188644.75.html

Wouldn't want the "Ethical" club to show up with their poster child.

My opinion is. Two is one, one is none. A AR would be perfectly suited for shooting a Elk into the ground. This "One shot, one kill" is stupid movie crap! Even the hot rod, evil *censored*s that lurk in the dark currently so we can enjoy our freedom know better to pull the trigger more than once. I don't care if I pop a Elk 5 times as fast as I can pull the trigger or work the bolt.

Some clowns refer to it as "Dumping Mags" those usually have never had a reason to dump a mag. So don't understand the mag dump thing isn't hunting related and very seldom used in its other text.

5 rounds from a AR is faster than some shmuck can say U-N E-T-H-I-C-A-L!

Deads,dead. I can care less if he has one hole or five through the ribs, who cares. It hits the BBQ just the same.

Sure Bang-Flops are cool! With on a moving running shot in the thick timber, I like to stick it to them.

***************

This post was made as part of a discussion that went on long after midnight, hours after I was in bed.  It is just one example of what I could not believe had been posted when I got up @ 05:00 and was reading Hunt WA while eating my breakfast. 

Knowing that once those who posted this stuff sobered up and realized that they had let the cat out of the bag and would be deleting like demons I archived them for posterity.   
   

[Magnum_Willys]

Huh ?

[jay.sharkbait]

I am looking to begin filming my hunts.  I would also like to be able to film impacts when I shoot distance.  I really enjoy photography, but I have little experience with video other then gopro.  I am considering a DSLR, and going with a zoom lens and an external mic.  What I don't know, how much zoom am I going to need, ie. 300mm, 400mm?  If I do the DSLR route, I will be getting a canon 70D.  The other route I was thinking was the Canon Vixia HF G40. 

I have tried reading everything I can about this.  The problem is, I am not finding what I need.  I see people using 300m lenses, and they say the are great, but they zoom in on animals that are 40 yards away.  I need to be able to see animals at 600+. 

Can somebody please school me a little on filming hunts, and the gear that is necessary?

Thank you in advance.

If you don't  you find what need here, try www.longrangehunting.com. They are very helpful and the "that isn't ethical, you are a dirtbag" thing isn't tolerated.

If you want to slip a little snark into the thread and take a dig at me, keep this in mind:  I have archived this post, and others, advocating long-range volley-fire at big game animals which was made by an individual you were defending who along with you and others were posting apologetic for shooting at elk with an AR-15 at ranges approaching a quarter mile and at deer at distances 50% longer.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,188644.75.html

Wouldn't want the "Ethical" club to show up with their poster child.

My opinion is. Two is one, one is none. A AR would be perfectly suited for shooting a Elk into the ground. This "One shot, one kill" is stupid movie crap! Even the hot rod, evil *censored*s that lurk in the dark currently so we can enjoy our freedom know better to pull the trigger more than once. I don't care if I pop a Elk 5 times as fast as I can pull the trigger or work the bolt.

Some clowns refer to it as "Dumping Mags" those usually have never had a reason to dump a mag. So don't understand the mag dump thing isn't hunting related and very seldom used in its other text.

5 rounds from a AR is faster than some shmuck can say U-N E-T-H-I-C-A-L!

Deads,dead. I can care less if he has one hole or five through the ribs, who cares. It hits the BBQ just the same.

Sure Bang-Flops are cool! With on a moving running shot in the thick timber, I like to stick it to them.

***************

This post was made as part of a discussion that went on long after midnight, hours after I was in bed.  It is just one example of what I could not believe had been posted when I got up @ 05:00 and was reading Hunt WA while eating my breakfast. 

Knowing that once those who posted this stuff sobered up and realized that they had let the cat out of the bag and would be deleting like demons I archived them for posterity.   
 

Get a grip dude.

[Don Fischer]

From the for what it's worth Dept; I would not spend the money on a DSLR for that. I'd go with a video camera, a decent one.

If your gonna carry around something the size of a D7, go a bit more and use a camera dedicated to what your doing.

[jay.sharkbait]

There will be a bunch of professional video at the Bull Hill shootout. I'll try and see what those guys are using.

[kbrowne14]

Thanks for the tips, I think I am leaning towards the vixia g40.  I think the 70D with mic and lens is going to be too much to pack around.  And by the way, WTF is up with that dude JDHasty.  I think he needs to relax a little.  Did I just get archived?

[Bean Counter]

I think someone was deep in the bottle       

[yajsab]

For long distance shots, I would recommend the HFG40.  I have the HFG30 and it can zoom in more than a 300mm lens.  Not much difference between the G30 and G40. 

[mountainman]

Digiscope? Get some pretty amazing footage...

[nalley112]

If you are wanting to get great footage worth watching get something with a manual focus, if you get auto focus you will pick up every branch or piece of brush in the animals direction.. I use a canon xa20 it is a great video cam and is very light and compact..