Monitoring a DSLR on a crane?

L

leejt1986

New member
Hi, I'm new to the forums and had a question.

I was thinking of investing in a crane for an upcoming film. I was wondering how do you monitor your dslr if you cant see the LCD monitor/display.

Any advice?
 
that depends on what your needs / expectations are and what camera you have.

as far as i understand, the 7D is the only canon hdslr and the panasonic gh2 is the only other one that sends an actual HD image out hdmi while recording.

next question is do you need to control the lens for zoom and/or focus while on the crane. from what ive seen, remote lens control for hdslrs is neither simple nor cheap...
 
I do it often. It's not easy.

Focus and exposure up at the crane head with a good viewfinder magnifier (you may need a ladder). Then plug in the long HDMI cable. Run to the back. Have someone hit the roll button while you watch a small monitor. Don't do anything requiring a focus pull. The IR remote is handy for an assistant to activate the cam.

If your moves are extreme, make a bracket that mounts to the control handle of the crane - the handle will move with the crane head and keep the screen at a steady angle - vs craning your neck, crouching, etc to keep the screen in view. Find a mount point for your monitor that moves/changes angles with the crane's head. Often the control handle is that point.
 
Focus and exposure up at the crane head with a good viewfinder magnifier (you may need a ladder). Then plug in the long HDMI cable. Run to the back. Have someone hit the roll button while you watch a small monitor. Don't do anything requiring a focus pull. The IR remote is handy for an assistant to activate the cam.

If your moves are extreme, make a bracket that mounts to the control handle of the crane - the handle will move with the crane head and keep the screen at a steady angle - vs craning your neck, crouching, etc to keep the screen in view. Find a mount point for your monitor that moves/changes angles with the crane's head. Often the control handle is that point.
Click to expand...

GOOD GOD. just get a video camera!

; )
 
I have seen (yet to do it myself) several projects doing this with a wireless follow focus (probably with hard stops), meticulously set marks, and a SmallHD DP6 monitor (I am hearing this one get the most rave reviews as of late). Not easy, but with a half-decent AC you should be able to do it with just a few practice takes.

Oh and if you plan on being able to live monitor at all, get a 7D, it's really more trouble then its worth on any other one with their SD live view and 2 seconds of blue screen.
 
wgzn said:
GOOD GOD. just get a video camera!

; )
Click to expand...

Im not going to keep letting just bad mouth Dslrs and tell people to get a Video Camera.... Your Post history shows that.


Look at this Music Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4TRn00mBe0



The Director Stated how they specifically used Dslrs for this shoot because of their low light capabilities when their Video Cameras were blind ( The Driving Scenes On the Highway )


Dslrs are not perfect, but how you constantly go around these forums and take jabs at these cameras honestly needs to stop.
 
Cool down son, they are stating the obvious, use the right tool for the job at hand!
There is no such thing as a free lunch. Every camera has areas where it shines, and where it lacks.
If you happen to own one of the two DSLR cameras which output full res to a monitor, and have a Preston wireless outfit, then using a DSLR camera would be easier on a jib. But in reality a wireless follow focus/iris control is many times the cost of one of these cameras and out of most people's limited budgets. If you decide to fly blind without a proper monitor and focus/iris solution on a paid gig then sorry, in my mind you are in the same class of shooter that does not wear headphones and monitor audio when shooting interviews.
Bottom line... There is nothing wrong with the suggestion of using a camera that already has the features you need for a scene.

All the Best!

Dave
 
Im not going to keep letting just bad mouth Dslrs and tell people to get a Video Camera.... Your Post history shows that.
Click to expand...
man. you seriously, seriously need to lighten up. i was actually joking (assumed the wink at the end indicated as much)

but since you brought it up. yeah. i think somebody needs to be out there to inform all those blindly worshiping at the dslr altar of the stumbling blocks they might encounter if they are transitioning from either a video-centric past. or are completely new to shooting altogether.

i still have nothing against DSLRs in general. hell i just bought a 60D and GH2 on thursday
 
Last edited:
wgzn said:
that depends on what your needs / expectations are and what camera you have.

as far as i understand, the 7D is the only canon hdslr and the panasonic gh2 is the only other one that sends an actual HD image out hdmi while recording.
Click to expand...

It would appear that the OP's alternative was using the camera's built in LCD, which is not HD to start with. If that is the case, it shouldn't really matter which camera model they are using because all of them can output to an analog SD display while recording, which will give you the same resolution you would see in the camera anyway.
If a live HD monitor was so important, they'd already be using one (and it sounds like they aren't).

next question is do you need to control the lens for zoom and/or focus while on the crane. from what ive seen, remote lens control for hdslrs is neither simple nor cheap...
Click to expand...

That's what I thought the first time I saw one of these- but then I had a conversation with one of those DSLR remote helicopter camera rig operators. They have a fancy remote video feed and a separate control for a motorized camera head for tilts/pans. I asked about a remote focus wheel as well, and he said it was surprisingly not much of an issue because they shoot outdoors and the aperture is set so high to begin with. Sure enough, when using my steady cam on outdoor shoots, I find I usually can go with a wider DOF and can work just fine without a hand on the focus wheel.

Another option is something like Magic Lantern, which can actually do some very basic autofocus. Its a bit slow to respond, but it CAN refocus your shot automatically when the camera moves. I wonder how difficult it would be to have some kind of remote control for follow focus that integrates with ML (you can already use the directional buttons on the back of the camera as a digital follow focus when using ML, it just needs some kind of interface to use remotely).
 
Canon has their Console software which tethers to a laptop, would that work, or is that for still photography only?

Grant
 
ggrantly said:
Canon has their Console software which tethers to a laptop, would that work, or is that for still photography only?

Grant
Click to expand...

It could work, but I don't think it has the ability to focus, at least not while filming. You may be able to invoke AF before the shot starts, I don't recall. But isn't the idea of a crane to move the camera? And then, wouldn't you just run into the focus problem again?
 
It could work, but I don't think it has the ability to focus, at least not while filming
Click to expand...
i hate to be one of those "wouldnt it be cool" guys but:

WOULDNT IT BE COOL if there was a tablet app that was fed the EVF picture and you could just tap an area to focus on in real-time while shooting!?!?!
or better yet. tap and drag from one area to another to rack focus...
 
Laptop, Canon software and long USB cable. Cheapest solution if u already own one. Forget about focusing during the shot, too complicated...
 
amiga500 said:
Laptop, Canon software and long USB cable. Cheapest solution if u already own one. Forget about focusing during the shot, too complicated...
Click to expand...

I've experimented and found it fairly useless - even on a Mac Pro, the lag between action and what is displayed on screen was a killer for me. Refresh rate was really terrible, couldn't direct a shot like that unless I was doing effect plates or something along those lines.
 
wgzn said:
GOOD GOD. just get a video camera!

; )
Click to expand...

I have a really nice video camera for the $$ - HMC 150. Can I use it for everything? No. Do I want to mess with an adapter when I need DOF? No.

In experienced hands, a DSLR can give you things even a high-dollar "video" form factor camera can't, and they do it natively and simply with no messing around. If I want that look on a crane, the Canon goes on the damn crane. It's not simple, it's not "easy", but when I want a gorgeous shot with a gorgeous camera move - yep, stick the Canon rig, rails & FF & all, up there and throw an extra weight on the back of the crane. It's highly, highly worth the effort. Shooting talking heads? I grab the video camera and plug some nice mics in it. Shooting effect stuff? Same deal, nice 1080 without the aliasing, keys remarkably well. When I want something that just has that luscious look? It's the $800 T2i with the first Nikon primes I made money with, 20 some years ago. The right tool for the right job.
 
Michael Carter said:
I've experimented and found it fairly useless - even on a Mac Pro, the lag between action and what is displayed on screen was a killer for me. Refresh rate was really terrible, couldn't direct a shot like that unless I was doing effect plates or something along those lines.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know there's lag, I've used it on a dolly shot. Just focus my sight on the laptop screen. It was the cheapest way. Sure an external monitor will be better.
 
So apparently you CAN focus from the software. Obviously not while shooting, but still good to know!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top