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Desert shoting
Does anyone have any words of wisdom/top tips for taking the likes of an HDX900 into a West African style desert shooting environment? Looks like the average temp is 98 with highs up to 107 and by all accounts its a truly dusty environment.
I was thinking about wearing the rain jacket as a dust protector but its black and might well not help with the heat? I saw Portabrace has a $400 white cover with vents for heat dissipation but would rather avoid dropping another $400 if at all possible.
Clips online at https://pages.prodigy.net/nickhigz
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7 Replies
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Are you shooting hand-held or set-up shots on sticks? I’ve shot quite a bit in Arizona with a Varicam (which is known to be a very hot camera) We did two things to help. A simple white towel over the body helps enormously. Another thought is to try to rig a tiny umbrella to the hot shoe mount. Try calling a company like F/VESCO out her in Denver, Dean Schnidner might be able to rig something up for you, they have tons of grip gear and camera mounts available. They’ve built/designed all kinds of stuff for me.
Ernie Santella
Santella Film/Video Productions
http://www.santellaproductions.com -
It’s a mostly hand held verite affair so flags and umbrellas are unfortunately not going to fly.
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Just something White will help tremendously as the darkgray color is what just absorbs the heat/sunlight. I would definitely consider that Portabrace white cover. Another thing to condsider is possibly having some type of simple white cloth cover made at a local seamstress shop. I’ve not heard of any other brands that come in white.
I bought the Kata 11 cover for my 900 which I really like, but wouldn’t use in a hot climate.
Ernie Santella
Santella Film/Video Productions
http://www.santellaproductions.com -
We just spent 10 days in Burkina Faso shooting in 100+ degree heat with a Varicam. All hand held documentary stuff. Other than trying to keep the camera in the shade when we were not rolling, we didn’t do anything special. The camera held up great!
Do bring extra padding for your gear though. I brought an 800w Joker HMI along (which I used once) and after a few hundred miles on the awfully bumpy roads, a dozen or more screws had fallen out.
Best,
Gabe
Hatfield Post/Production, Inc.
819 W. Superior
Chicago, IL 60622
312-226-3200
312-226-3211
http://www.hatpost.com -
One other thing to watch for is dust — from shooting in Ghana I can tell you it’s eveywhere. You might want to tape along the seams of the camera, and try to change cassettes when you’re in an interior space. Maybe even worthwhile to bring some kind of changing bag so dust particles don’t enter the camera when you change tapes.
The advice on a white shroud over the camera is excellent. Even a hotel towel can do a lot of good.
cheers
Tom Kaufman
Thomas Kaufman, DP
Washington, DC -
I live in Arizona and we shoot with the Varicam.
On bad days I will take a white cloth and soak it in water. Then wring it out and place it over the top of the camera. As the water evaporates, the camera gets cooler.
The direct sunlight is the real killer. I will take a golf umbrella and attached it to a pan handle of my tripod. It kept the camera in the shade even when I when I would pan the camera. -
Check out these cool vests. With a little creativity, you can adapt them to your camera and believe me, they work like a charm.
Jim Harvey
JHV Digital
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