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Video Cameras

Have always carried some type of video camera when in the field whether elk hunting or sitting in a tree stand whitetail hunting in Wyoming but became very frustrated with the small one that I have packed the last few years. Love the idea of the SD cards but the quality and focus issues with the one I’m using now has lost me a lot of great videos opportunities. Would like to hear about the cameras you are using and ease of packing all day especially during elk hunting. Thanks in advance.

It all depends what you are trying to achieve. Are you wanting video to document your experience or create a cinematic feel to the video? If you are wanting just simple video, most cameras will do. Now the cinematic aspect is much harder and more time consuming to achieve, and will require a certain type of camera.

I carry a canon vixia on a Tripod around. Can be a pain but when the action is good I love capturing it. Takes great video and uses SD card. I just leave it on auto focus.

I second 808 Canon vixia takes great video, works well in lower light situations, and wont break the bank. Ive had mine in canada, wyoming, twice to mexico, and countless trips to my treestands here at home. A good tripod or camera arm for stand hunting and you are good to go.

I have two different models of Canon Vixia, and they've been great. They're small, have great auto-focus and produce good quality HD video. I'm not sure if they have a 4K version yet, but they probably do. I decided to use my Nikon D7500 SLR to take 4K video for this season, but it won't be as thought free and bullet proof to use as the Vixias have been. I would also recommend using a tripod whenever it is possible! It will make a huge difference to how "watchable" your video is versus the shaky unwatchable video that many hunters produce by hand holding their camera the entire time.

Thanks for the ideas. I agree on bad videos from hand held devices but when chasing elk not sure how well a tripod would work as I’m usually by my self and don’t think I would have the time to get set up. The camera I’ve used has auto focus but at long distances it will not focus at all and there is no way to manually focus it. I’m thinking I need to go to a store like Best Buy and try out different models and see what would work best for what I’m asking it to do. What tripods are you using and or tree mounts fo a camera during whitetail season

I have the Canon Vixia series as well. Great camera, very light and small. I use it to video my hunts with and mount it on the front of my bow.

That looks like a very good idea but for me I shoot traditional and cant my bow and the added weight up front would probably mess up my shooting.

Stryker, You are correct. It would be nearly impossible to do with trad equipment. And you have to learn to shoot different with the camera in front. Very difficult and I forget all the time.

Here is an example of the bow mounted camera idea in action. It's not as good as a tripod, swing arm or cameraman but a great low budget operation option.

https://youtu.be/9_y10iIqBbM

Sorry for the double post. Still learning.

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