Leupold BX-4 Rangefinding Binoculars

Self film archery rig

esracerx

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So I'm looking to film my own archery hunt in the fall. I've seen videos from the stabilizer cameras and while they work I'm looking for a better quality when the arrow is released. Those cameras usually turn to fuzz from all the vibration. I have the small go-pro with the chest mount. I know they make a mount for the top of your head, but that won't really work for archery. Anybody have any suggestions?
 
Fair enough. Don't really want to carry a tripod and a bow while elk hunting in the mountains though.
 
I try to film a lot of my hunting/fishing, but it is a labor of love. I really like to look back on old stuff but sometimes pulling out/setting up gear when you just want to go hunting is painful.

I take a camcorder and tripod or tree arm when stand hunting, but I have no desire to pack in extra gear in a long hike in or backpack hunt. Especially as I've yet to get a mule deer or elk I'm more focused on the hunt.

With that said I want to get the new GoPro and will take that and my cell phone with me. I think the head attachment works better for archery than the chest rig because you can angle it as you stand canted with bow draw. Your shots are going to look far away but that's the give and take of POV camera vs real camcorder which would require a tripod. Wearing the solvid or having a camera you're wearing zoomed in seems like it is just going to make your viewer sea sick as the point of aim is going to bounce around all over the place. The new GoPro allows you to change your field of view to take away the "fish-eye everything further than 10 yards away looks like a mile" appearance and strike a balance. Also the actual shot is just a little piece of the hunt. A good video has so much stuff you can film with a GoPro or cellphone to tell the whole story. True an actual camcorder or dSLR can make you look like a pro but until I'm getting paid for it or become a proficient western hunter I'm not going to pack those in.
 
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Today my camera crew did the first in a series of videos to help answer some of these questions. Things to do or not do, how to find good gear to do what is needed and not break the bank in the process, and how to focus on a story rather than just a kill shot.

We have plenty of GoPros. You will be disappointed in most anything they film out past 10 yards. I wouldn't bother with them, except for certain shots. A small handheld handycam is a better option. Lay off the zoom and find a way to stabilize it. We use a lot of Joby tripods for fast action set ups of small cameras. Doesn't always get the shot you want, but far better image than the GoPro.

Not sure when we will release these "filming your own hunt" videos. The guys are so worried about covering every issue, it might be a two-hour vid.
 
I tried to solo film my mule deer hunt last year. Since it was a rifle hunt, I expected to glass deer in the morning and hopefully set up a phoneskope/spotter on the deer for my stalk. It didn't work out like that at all, as I could not find any deer in the open come opening day (even though they were around the evening before). This meant into the timber, where things can happen _fast_ (they did - I jumped my buck in super thick aspens on the way to pick up a gear stash), and it was really hard to keep motivation to keep filming. It didn't help that I was solo (my father was nearby but we weren't actively hunting together) and had never taken a mule deer.

I filmed with a combination of my phone, a gopro, a gorilla pod and my phone on an ancient spotter + tripod. Its not HD quality, but I still enjoy watching it. For creating the video, two things really jumped out at me. 1.) Shots from a tripod are sooo much better. 2.) Sound is important, and it sucks without a mic. Really gave me a lot of respect for Tim Burnett and Remi Warren ( and I know Randy has a few solo episodes, too! )

I would honestly think an archery elk hunt would be one of the hardest hunts to film, at least where I archery elk hunt. Encounters usually happen quickly, and I personally don't have enough brain power to distract from the important thing: making the shot count while paying attention to all the little details (where I am standing, where the elk is standing, where the arrow hit, the angle of the animal, the elk's reaction, the direction the elk ran, etc). Maybe you have enough experience that is all second nature / automatic, but after 6 years of archery elk hunting I don't have the confidence that trying to film wouldn't be a critical distraction.

Total amateur :D : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHhOe9QntS8
 
Today my camera crew did the first in a series of videos to help answer some of these questions. Things to do or not do, how to find good gear to do what is needed and not break the bank in the process, and how to focus on a story rather than just a kill shot.

Oh, I can't wait for this.


I have found there are two keys factors that have helped me in filming hunts. 1) Get the camera stable. A cheap camera will do a decent job if held stable and very good cameras are just average if held in shaky hands (or gun mount, bow mount, chest mount, head mount, ect). 2) Filming is a commitment. Every hunt, every animal, every time no exceptions. You have to want to film, because it often is a pain in the ass, and it will cost you shot opportunities, and make it tougher to fill tags.
 

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