Hey everyone! I'm new to the forum and would love your advice. I'll be shooting a documentary in the desert in a few weeks and wondering if anyone has any tips to pass on regarding ways to protect gear, or certain equipment I should definitely have, or any other comments regarding how to best shoot in this environment. Thanks much!
Shooting in the Desert
- Thread starter verushka
- Start date
I'm sure you have seen this: http://magazine.creativecow.net/article/running-the-sahara
It's a good read.
It's a good read.
But off cuff...
Think about the following:
Keep your camera as sand free as possible. Bring cans of air, distilled water, and plenty of UV filters. Don't ever allow your lens to be unprotected.
If you are shooting on a small, 1/3 or 1/2 CCD/CMOS camera, Consider getting a Ewa-Marine Underwater Bag. It inexpensive compared to a housing, and it is water tight, so it will keep sand away from the camera. It can be a pain, but compared with the alternative, it might just be a good idea, depending on your shooting situation.
If you are shooting on tape, try to keep your camera in the shade. I know this sounds counter-intuitively impossible, but be sure to keep a flag over it which will keep the recording heads cool enough to avoid unwarranted drop outs. Also, if you can, get your camera checked out before, including getting the camera heads cleaned (if you are shooting on tape).
Think about the following:
Keep your camera as sand free as possible. Bring cans of air, distilled water, and plenty of UV filters. Don't ever allow your lens to be unprotected.
If you are shooting on a small, 1/3 or 1/2 CCD/CMOS camera, Consider getting a Ewa-Marine Underwater Bag. It inexpensive compared to a housing, and it is water tight, so it will keep sand away from the camera. It can be a pain, but compared with the alternative, it might just be a good idea, depending on your shooting situation.
If you are shooting on tape, try to keep your camera in the shade. I know this sounds counter-intuitively impossible, but be sure to keep a flag over it which will keep the recording heads cool enough to avoid unwarranted drop outs. Also, if you can, get your camera checked out before, including getting the camera heads cleaned (if you are shooting on tape).
I'll be shooting with the panasonic dvx100b in the Black Rock Desert this time around, and then to southern Mojave next. These trips will be 2-3 days each. The film concerns a particular man whose unique experiences have led him to become an advocate for the desert. He has hiked extensively and trailblazed through the western desert states, and is a self-taught geologist and botanist.
I've done my share of hiking in the desert, but it will be a totally different experience lugging a camera around. I'm pretty much a one-woman crew at this point, so I'm also trying to be a minimalist. The cans of air and keeping the heads in the shade are good to know. Could you explain how/where to use distilled water? What would you recommend for the body if there's no underwater housing unit? What about using plastic wrap in a pinch?
I've done my share of hiking in the desert, but it will be a totally different experience lugging a camera around. I'm pretty much a one-woman crew at this point, so I'm also trying to be a minimalist. The cans of air and keeping the heads in the shade are good to know. Could you explain how/where to use distilled water? What would you recommend for the body if there's no underwater housing unit? What about using plastic wrap in a pinch?
Maybe a big zip lok bag with a hole in the other end for the viewfinder, put rubber bands over it around the lens / viewfinder. I remember reading an article about James Longley who shot Iraq In Fragments with a dvx100, he said he would gaffer tape the seams around the mini dv tape door to keep dust out and also seal off other parts of the cam. I'm not sure if you'll have have the ultra, ultra fine grit like he had.
Thanks for the ziplock suggestion, and the link to "Running the Sahara". Looks like there's some good info in there for me to digest.
Efexone
Well-known member
skip compressed air. its very bad for your camera as it basicly forces dirt further into the body. instead, I'd use a cloth/towel or mini vacuum to wipe/remove dirt and dust. I think plastic bags and weather protection are a bit overkill. I usually throw a light colored t-shirt over the cam to protect it from direct sun and keep it a little cooler. UV filters are handy as well.
CamRade Camera Desert Cover
CamRade Camera Desert Cover
Here is a great camera cover designed for the military cameramen in the Middle East. It's about $170 at B&H and is actually for the Sony EX1, but I'll bet would also fit the DVX100.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=workaround.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=627024&is=REG
Really helpful to have the white reflective cover rather than a darker cover such as rain cover. Wish I had this when I was shooting on South Padre Island, TX... But there it's the humidity that's the camera killer.
CamRade Camera Desert Cover
Here is a great camera cover designed for the military cameramen in the Middle East. It's about $170 at B&H and is actually for the Sony EX1, but I'll bet would also fit the DVX100.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=workaround.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=627024&is=REG
Really helpful to have the white reflective cover rather than a darker cover such as rain cover. Wish I had this when I was shooting on South Padre Island, TX... But there it's the humidity that's the camera killer.
Cool! I'll check it out..
j1clark@ucsd.edu
Veteran
The biggest problem the DVX100 has is that it is tape based, and as such, the tape transport mechanism is a 'dust magnet'.
I've taken my DVX100A to Burning Man for 4 fest now, and only on the first one did I have real problems, and those were only at the end of the week (I lost all of the Man burning...).
The fest takes place on a dry lake bed, and during the afternoons the wind whips up the fine dust of the lake bottom in to a 'fog' of dust.
So:
1) Never change tape outside, ever...
2) I use dust off to dust off the outside of the housing before opening up the tape door.
3) Have a cleaning tape handy. While I don't advocate frequent use of a cleaning tape, if the DVX100 emits any 'transport errors', or 'media errors', the tape could clear that up enough to shoot.
4) Log and Transfer everything at the site, inside a closed area, like your car. Wait some amount of time for major dust to settle... there's not much you can do about the fine particulate that is just 'dancing on molecules of air'... in a 'darkroom' I'd recommend a water spray bottle and 'raining' dust out... but in the desert that will just turn everything to 'mud' inside...
The closest thing I use to 'liquid' is the alcohol cleaners for LCD displays. And that is just on the camera body to remove the layer of dust that may accumulate.
I almost never clean the lens, but I keep the lens cover on unless actually shooting.
5) If the dust does kick up... stop shooting... find cover... wait it out...
6) I use a backpack to store the camera when not shooting, or even inbetween shots, to minimize exposure to dust.
If things look like this little thumbnail... stop shooting, place camera in bag, and hunker down...
Believe it or not, I find using distilled water on a UV lens and blowing it off with a can of air at the end of the day the most effective, least damaging way of cleaning my UV or Polarizer.
Unless anyone else has had negative experiences.... I once had a pneumatic squib (unintentionally) go all over a lens on an HPX-900. and Panasonic and Fujinon service both agreed that room temperature/distilled water carefully and lightly placed on the lens and blown off, gently, in short bursts.
Unless anyone else has had negative experiences.... I once had a pneumatic squib (unintentionally) go all over a lens on an HPX-900. and Panasonic and Fujinon service both agreed that room temperature/distilled water carefully and lightly placed on the lens and blown off, gently, in short bursts.