Shooting in india..

codar22

codar22

Active member
Going to be traveling to india in the next month or so for a 10 day trip. I'm buying an hvx very soon. Just wanted to know what ppl have done in the past for trips like this were u will be in the middle of no where for a couple days.
I'm basically setting up 1 backpack to hold my canon 30d, macbook pro, and hvx with hopefully a matte box and some filters.
As far as storage I was thinking of getting a firestore rather then trying to dump p2 cards on locations.
Anyone have any brilliant on field work flows that would save me time ?
 
As much as it would be easier, I would NOT recommend a Firestore. You need only to look in the threads here to see all of the issues that people have with them. I tried one once, it was only for testing and the menus, settings and options are all a bit kludgy and you are staking your entire shoot on a flimsy Firewire connection.

Much more of a pain to use P2 cards and a hard drive and or laptop but more reliable, as long as you copy to two identical drives.

I would never risk such a large undertaking to a Firestore.

Dan
 
Doesnt the new HVX have a six pin locking fw connection? If so these are far more stable than the 4's. As far as the FS goes never had a problem with mine and have often used it to shoot long form for documentary.

So now you have two conflicting opinions :P Though I can say I have used FS over and over and over, which is a bit more than once. Menus and functions do take a little to understand as the manuals are rubbish.

Keep your head down in India atm, esp in Mumbai.
 
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Got the new HVX201 ....NO 6 pin FW with locking:(
Same measely 4 pin FW
I filmed in India a couple of times. I have filmmaking friends there too.
I have no problem with the FS as long as its in a protective case. Since I got the dvrig pro it sits in the back, the cable runs under the velcro straps of the shoulder pads. If I could get an agled 4 pin FW plug I would be happier. One thing for India though: DUST ! finest brown DUST ! So that can be a problem because the FS needs ventilation. Only remedy I know is a cover and daily compressed air. If you shoot besides a road with heavy traffic and dust, I wouldnt use the FS but the P2 cards :Drogar-Love(DBG):

I always hire drivers for a whole day so I always have a car and an assistant and can leave stuff in the car .

Bring lots of cleaning material

For the rest FS is ok

Ohh yes and Mumbai :( I saw the news just now! I know those hotels.....been there....terrible! I really advise you to have a local with you if you shoot in cities!! Especially when the guys with dem sticks try to run the permit number....keep some small bills handy.....
 
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I've taken my HVX200 to India many times with no real problems. The only thing I can think of is that people JUST love to crowd round infront of the camera... very annoying!

Anyway here's a link to some stuff I shot in Northern India... I'd only had the camera for a few days so had the manual in one hand and was shooting with the other... colour is a bit strange towards the end... oh and ignore the text at the beginning I got a bit carried away!

Anyway... go on to youtube and search under BedouinLFTO and watch the one entitled "Himalaya"
Cheers

Indy
 
i was in india last year shooting with the HVX and MBP/dual adapter. I would use P2 cards and dump to the mostly empty MBP hard drive. transfer to 2 external hard drives at night when your back at home base (will you have a home base?)

as for the FS, never used one.. but if you're running and gunning, P2 is much more convenient without having an extra device attached to the camera. unless you have a DVrig or something to mount to..

good luck
 
gary2yuk said:
i was in india last year shooting with the HVX and MBP/dual adapter. I would use P2 cards and dump to the mostly empty MBP hard drive. transfer to 2 external hard drives at night when your back at home base (will you have a home base?)

as for the FS, never used one.. but if you're running and gunning, P2 is much more convenient without having an extra device attached to the camera. unless you have a DVrig or something to mount to..

good luck
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Hey man, be carefull. CNN said 78 AMERICAN'S were targeted & KILLED in india today. Get a Canadian passport, please!

Wish you luck!
 
I shot in India with an HVX200 and Firestore combo. I had the camera in a portabrace cover and when it was particularly dusty i covered the top of the firstore with a platic bag - keeping vents clear on bottom.

Charging things is not too bad as people are friendly and should let you plug in for a bit wherever you are. People seem to do it with their mobiles in roadside cafes etc.

I had no problems with the firestore in terms of heat, but the firewire connection kept me on my toes. I used a zip tie from the cable to the camera to make sure it couldn't be tugged. Seemed to work.

As said above, it can be hard to shoot discreetly. The portabrace helped a little bit with this - seems to take people a bit longer to notice.
 
Yes my Petrol is going to save me from a lot of curiousity I am sure :-) Whats a zip tie ? the 4 pin FW socket is my main worry....
 
Zip-tie - A plastic fastener primarily intended for bundling electrical wiring together. A zip tie consists of a toothed plastic strip with a one-way ratcheting hole at one end. You slide the plain (usually pointed) end of the ziptie into the hole and can pull it tight, but it will not loosen up.

I wrapped it round the cable and the handstrap. It means that if the cable gets tugged, it won't pull out the cable.

All that said, if you can go P2 it is definitely preferable. Less weight, less kit to worry about, one less set of batteries to keep charged.
 
I'm off to India in a couple weeks to film and will be using a firestore as well. Although, now I'm thinking about charging a couple p2 cards after seeing the previous posts.
Ishaw300, how did you have your firestore mounted??
And we say you had a petrol cover, i'm assuming you are referring to the rain cover?
 
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