Shooting in the Amazon

P

Paul Francescutti

New member
I'll be filming in the Amazon this May with a dvx100A. Any tips, hints, suggestions from anyone with experience.

ie: humidity, tape stock, exposure, etc.?

I'll be shooting 24pa.

Tx, Paul Francescutti
 
Paul,

There have been several posts about controlling issues that arise when shooting in tropical and subtropical regions. Our experience driving from North Carolina to Belize at the height of the tropical rainy season:

To keep the dew indicator at bay, acclimate your camera and other electronics through direct exposure to the humid environment. Absolutely do not introduce your camera to the tropics after it has been in an air-conditioned vehicle or hotel room! Recovering from a DEW shutdown is greater than 30 - 45 minutes on the DVX100(a).

In our experience:

- Hairdryers have no effect whatever on a camera that has dewed-up
- Raw cellophane-wrapped unpacked / camera wound (packed) and exposed stock did not seem to have any issues with extreme humidity
- Cold glass fogs quickly - keep your filters and camera temperature stable whenever possible
- Wireless transmitters should only be deployed in a condom, left open to breath with a desicant packet inside, unless you plan on having your talent in the water where you would rubberband the package closed!

Go online and locate a shipping products company that will sell you desicant / silica gel packets for use in your waterproof cases. I recommend Hardigg Storm cases, though many will recommend Pelican - one thing is for sure, you don't want to skimp on the case that will hold your mics, production mixer, batteries and certainly cameras and lenses.

Have a blast!

e
 
And sun protection, lots of water and batteries.

I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil southeast, if you need something just ask !

Ulisses
 
Thanks for the help. Haven't been to the jungle since 1990 and it was betacam back then. If you think of anything else I'd appreciate it.

Tx, Paul Francescutti
 
Hey Paul,
If you give us some details on what you're shooting down there we might be able to help you further. Plus I'm just jealous and would like to know the details.

Good luck :thumbsup:

CAVEMAN :laugh:
 
Take a spare camera. Every DVX & XL-1 I know of, at least a dozen, has had problems within 2 years of purchase. Some, like mine, within 6 months. And I gave mine very little use and babied it all the time. What do you expect for $4000?
By comparison, my betacam is going on 5 years with no issues and much harder use. But it cost over $30,000. So you could take 5 DVX cameras and still be ahead!
 
I make it a habit to travel with two cameras when shooting minidv. I didn't learn the hard way but came close. Sometimes I get a deal on rentals because the 2nd camera rarely gets used.

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.
 
Hi, Paul. I live in Belem, state of Pará, right in the Amazon area. You´ll surely have to take care of your dvx, following the other guys´ suggestions, but don´t get so scared. Your camera won´t stop working when you take it out of the bag. I have a PD170 and a little single chip Canon. I never had this kind of problem. Anyway, bring the silica gel or anything that helps with humidity. Are you going to work in the middle of the forest or in one of the 2 big cities in the Amazon area (Belém and Manaus)? If so, don´t worry. The humidity here is far less comparing to the one you´ll feel if you go to the forest, between trees. And don´t forget: these 2 cities I told you about are big cities, with shopping centers, clubs, large drugstores, good hospitals, etc. If you need any help, just ask me.
 
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