Beach Shooting

D

discover

Member
Newbie to the board and wanted to get a feel for the protocal... I killed a few packs of smokes and listend to some good music reading past posts and wow--amazingly useful. (Panasonic should offer a DVXUSER.com cd that is included with each new purchase...)

Question is to you all: How annoying is it to answer stream of consciousness thoughts? But wait dont tell me yet, first:

Are there any steadfast rules when it comes to shooting on a beach? How can I assure that no sand gets into my camera (via wind, big brute kicking, spunky puppy, etc), with not having the luxury of an AC, and tented staging area. Also, what's a good cleaner to keep on hand to wipe the UV filter? And please correct me if wrong, but the iris wheel is how one adjusts exposure... Si? I was on the boardwalk today, and the sky thru my LCD, and (crappy) playback monitor was way hot; zeebras confirmed. So, did all I need to do was switch to manual iris, and step it down? And I'll shut it after this-- when natrual light brightens everything white, like on a tropical beach, how can you maintain contrast? Is that were Mast Ped, Knee, Gamma, etc come into play? I experimented with that and not sure what I got...

-Peace

---------------
"We live we die and Death not ends it."
-Jim Morrison.
 
As far as keeping sand out of your dvx on the beach...get yourself some clear plastic or plastic bags, some gaffa and get to work bagging your baby up. Some compressed air and a good quality blower brush is handy for keeping crap off your UV filter. As far as Lens cleaning Fluid, have a look on google, local optomertrist (bad speller) camera store etc.

As far as your exposure blowing out on the boardwalk riding your manual iris would be a good start as well as using the ND filters on the camera.

As far as contrast is concerned. If your shooting something thats all light like a tropical beach then well theres small chance of much contrast. Now if there was some shadows of some palm trees hanging over the beach, or the sun was low on the horizon shining straight across the sand creating shadows....
 
We shoot a lot on beaches and dusty areas. Use fabric backed tape and seal all around the tape door. Do not change tape out in the open. Wait until you are inside your vehicle or as clean and non-windy environment possible before pealing off the tape and changing tape. It doesn't take much to get sand and dirt inside the camera if you aren't careful.

I'd also suggest looking into a polarizing filter. It will help your beach shots, with lots of direct sun, look better. Learn how to use the filter. You have to twist it to the correct position in order to get the best results but well worth the effort.

Stay away from the water as much as possible. The plastic bag idea will work for a few little splashes but I've never liked leaving a plastic bag on the camera for a long time because heat builds up rather fast and that's not good for the electronics. Use the bag for a bit and then take it off to let your camera "breath".

I use the zebras once in a while, but not as often as I do with my larger Betacam. The zebras on the DVX kind of drive me crazy because they are so big. I'll flip them on and off to check shots before I roll but usually I try and leave the off. Get to know your camera better and you'll know when you're getting the exposure you want.

You mentioned the iris wheel. That's another area of the camera I'm careful to protect because dirt and sand can work it's way in there and affect the rotation of the wheel if there's too much build up. It's MUCH harder to clean out too.

To clean the UV filter, we use chamis cloth (is that spelled right?) The stuff you find at auto stores made of the very soft leather normally used to polish cars. We get a big piece and cut it up into little four inch squares. Gently rub the lens with the cloth to clean it and the moment that cloth seems to be getting dirty, throw it away and use a clean one.

The best advice is to use something to cover the lens when you aren't shooting. If you limit the time dirt gets on the lens, the less you have to worry about cleaning it in the field.

Compressed air helps. The chamis cloth helps. Being careful and gentle helps most of all!

Best of luck and don't forget to clean everything, every day, after you've finished shooting so it's nice and clean the next time you are ready to roll tape.
 
I spent 5 months shooting on "the beach" in a tropical country in 05. All was good, just make sure to have plastic bags on hand in the event of a downpour, as well as a rain cover eg. Kata makes a great one. With the Kata rain cover salt and sand were not an issue at all for my camera, my tripod is a different story. My head got clogged with salt water, sand etc. so much so that I had to take the head apart to re-lube it with white lithium grease and it hasnt been the same since.

Tyler
 
indosmoke said:
I spent 5 months shooting on "the beach" in a tropical country in 05. All was good, just make sure to have plastic bags on hand in the event of a downpour, as well as a rain cover eg. Kata makes a great one. With the Kata rain cover salt and sand were not an issue at all for my camera, my tripod is a different story. My head got clogged with salt water, sand etc. so much so that I had to take the head apart to re-lube it with white lithium grease and it hasnt been the same since.

Tyler
Click to expand...

Tyler, without a doubt, is an expert in beach shooting survival!

When are you coming back down here!

The waves are up and the light is beautiful...among other things! :)

Don't forget to give me a call when you get back to Managua.

You owe me a peak at your work!
 
Hey John, I'm currently in the process of sifting through my 45 hours of video cutting together a few test trailers which i'll have online in a short while. I'll be sure to let you know when they are up!

tyler
 
Beach

Beach

I bring a can of air to spray any sand or whatever gets onto my camera. Sand, dust etc.

Also the lens cap is the first thing to loose so be careful.
 
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