Any Self Film hunters out there?
New York
What do you use for a camera, camera arm, arm head, and remote?
I have been filming or attempting to film my own hunts for the last few years and found it takes a lot of dedication to get this done!
I try to pack light as I typically hunt public land and carry my stand/saddle in each time. With all of this equipment, I would never consider my pack to be "light".
Any other mobile filmers/hunters out there that can recommend more "packable" equipment?
My gear:
Small Sony HD handycam Manfrotto 501 HDV Pro Fluid head Muddy Outdoor Pro Camera arm Sony Handycam remote commander.
I've got a Panasonic HDC SD80 camera with a third arm camera Armand I don't have a remote for it. I've shot one buck on film and have done some video on elk hunts but no elk kills on film.... for now.
Where abouts are you from? I live in Utica and hunt several different areas. A good friend of mine has made some real nice videos and has a nice YouTube page. He got some really awesome elk footage in Colorado in 2013.
Josh
http://youtu.be/PYC5u9RJMAM
http://youtu.be/rRRbDuUOLJQ
Here's a couple videos I've done.
Cannon hfg10 hd video cam, muddy hunter tree arm vanguard fluid head, Azden shotgun mic. vary zoom remote controller, keyes tree locker to pack all the camera stuff in, Lone wolf sit and climb stand. 2yrs filming 2 turkey kills from double bull blind. 1 doe kill 1 doe miss. Only doe miss self filmed. all other hunts with a partner. My gear with the stand is 50lbs. and at 60 yrs old with knee surgery it a tough game. I do have 1 doe kill with me filming and him shooting filmed bowshot at 10yds that is spectacular.
How are you guys packing your set ups into the woods. I have a cannon gl2 and hunter cam cradle. I don't film nearly as often is I'd like because I haven't found a system to pack in that really works. When using my climber it's very tough and even when using lock on's it's not easy. I have a large pack but that is just enough to hold my clothes and gear. I can cram the camera in there but then I'm stuck with the arm....
I end up filming turkey hunts way more often as my tripod easily attaches to my blind, my pack attached to that and everything is carried in on my Magnus frame/ seat
Skipmaster check out a "keyes tree locker"
Here's a pic of the keyes tree locker loaded with camera gear. It has hard sides so your gear doesn't get crushed. Then I take the tree locker and attach it to the stand by its shoulder straps. Then Ive attached a heavy duty backpack leaf blower backpack straps to the stand to carry the whole mess.
Yeah. That still leaves me with the problem of the arm. I'm going to just have to come up with a way to attach the 2 pieces to my pack
I'd be worried of dumping all my stuff out of the tree locker if the tree wasnt straight. I like my pack hung on the back of the tree, so I'm not sure that pack would work well for me.
It works great never dumps and the arm fits in a long pouch on the side of the pack. The first pick shows the folded tree arm in the pack pouch
What arm is that? I may just need to get a smaller one for when I use my climber. This is what I have
What kind of treestep? I'd love to get rid of the extension!
I'm going to weld a small piece of square stock to a screw in step. That would save me a lot of weight, space and noise. I have probably 15 lock ons up, but my sticks never run high enough or I use screw in steps.
Thanks for the idea.
Hey Pat is the cradle tree arm shakey with just a clamp holding it to the stand? I looked at their site and liked the tree cradle but never saw the attachment for the tree.
Also with the clamp I envision it coming off the stand and the whole mess crashing to the ground with my 2000 worth of cam and gear on it. I bought the muddy hunter tree arm Cause of the strength of the mount "ratchets to the tree" but i have found limitations using it. such as not being able to film off the left side when mounted on the right.
Also i'm dealing with issues of the arm bushing coming out of the base however muddy seems to be backing up their product and i'm still in the middle of dealing with this issue and will support or trash them with the end result.
Oh and 1 more thing Pat I read your article here on bow site many times about self filming hunts and you shortened the learning curve tremendously for me and others and I thank you a lot for that.
And finally to all future self filmers out there. It is not an easy task by any means, carrying all that gear. The time to setup, The missed opportunities, ect. ect....ect…..HOWEVER …all that being said. When it happens and you get the shot on video….. There's nothing better than to be able to relive that moment in time forever. Maybe it means so much to me cause i don't have many hunting yrs. left. Anyway just some old man ramblings…….
Now that we have the stueben county property "Camp Evergreen" I'm going to setup way more permanent stands which will eliminate 20lbs off of the carrying in load. That will make filming WAY more enjoyable. Around home you have to pack in and out every stand or your gear won't be there when you return. So far in NY the people seem to leave what isn't theirs there. At least on private land anyway……….. Now onto turkey filming from the blind. I did try to film predator hunting but between cold, snow, and three second shot opps. it is next to impossible.
Thanks for the info guys. Some great videos out there too! Ace of Spades, I am just outside watertown. I hunt a lot of public land so I bounce around a bit as well. I'm always looking for those little places not many people like to hunt. I Just got into a camp this past season near Watkins Glen so I head that way a few times during the season too. Here is a turkey hunt I filmed and put together for my buddy this past season. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ix8f6VFZB8
Pat Lefemine,
How do you keep the quality in your videos after loading them?
As you can see from my video I just posted, I dont have the best quality film. My camera is HD and looks good directly from my camera. However, when I load it to my computer it seems to degrade the quality a bit, then it gets even more degraded after I upload to youtube.
Do I need a better computer?
Great Vid Pat...was that shot w/ the Sony Handycam?
Upstatearcher try vimeo and be sure to check the HD upload box. Ceckout some of tazmans vids from ma.
I use a GoPro for different angles but up in the tree and for B-roll. It works great. I spent the etra and got the Hero 3 plus but for what I use it for I could have probably just went with the Hero 2 and saved some money.
That is true. I use the remote and have used it on the back side of my turkey decoys. No luck with footage yet though. Hopefully in a few months!
In my earlier post I had said I had a problem with my muddy tree arm. The arm bushing coming out of the base. I said I would trash or support Muddy after the issue was resolved. I'm here to say that customer service at Muddy was second to none. It took a few emails and pictures to show the problem i was having and in the end customer service sent me a brand new complete outfitter tree arm at no charge. Thank you Muddy and I will recommend your gear to everyone I know.
I have a Muddy arm. No problems yet but, it's always good to hear if I were to have issues, I would get the support. Thanks for the info
I had a buddy make up screw in step with square stock on it. It's much smaller and quieter than the mount from the factory.
skip how is the square stock attached to the screw in step? welded?
