HDSLR Support Gear: The Basics.

Since the release of Vincent Laforet’s “Reviere” last summer we have been overwhelmed by still cameras shooting video. In the world I travel we rarely use these still cameras to shoot anything but video. So I wanted to get back to basics. It is a still camera after all. If you are a still photographer and have not been asked to shoot video yet, then you would be one of the elite few.

Now that many clients are requesting the camera by name what does a Nikon shooter do? Well for one you can pick up a nifty Nikon to EF adapter and make great use of the glass you have, but your 720p anything will not be good enough. 1080P is the new standard for video.  The buzz around the Canon 5d Mark II rivals RED and eclipses almost any other video camera on the market. In it’s short two-year life span it has created an entire support industry that feels like we are dealing with Harley’s not Canon’s. Everything from Zacuto shoulder rigs (pictured in the video) to wireless remote follow focus systems have been designed to “enhance” the camera’s ability to shoot video.

If you are a still shooter there are a few basics that will help you get the results we take for granted in cinema. In cinema we try to shoot as wide open as possible. That means we will be in the f2.8-f4 range most of the time. That is a far cry from the f8-f16 that most still shooters use. In most cases a variable ND will do the trick. Light Craft Workshop makes a very affordable one at $150 US. This reduced DOF helps tell the story, as we are able to isolate the subject by using only focus. We also move the camera while recording. Motion plays a very important role for a cinematographer. Counter motion can be very dramatic if used properly. Steadicam is a great example of this. Try walking towards a subject, even a little motion feels big. Sliders are also very popular. These work like mini dollies. Kessler Crane makes a very nice Cine Slider to achieve this effect.

Another difference between stills and video would be to follow the subject and keep it in focus at all times. This is the biggest hurdle for any still shooter. We use an apparatus called a “follow focus”. It is a knob that has a gear on one end that mates to a gear attached to the focus wheel on the lens. (I apologize if this is rudimentary but you never know.)  This gives the camera operator the ability to smoothly follow the subject. A follow focus will also give you more travel than the usual two inches on a still lens. We also recommend manual focus lenses for this reason. It is very difficult to follow a subject from 10’ to 2’ with only a 1/8 of an inch of travel on a still camera auto focus lens. Zeiss makes a great line of lenses for both Nikon and Canon though a few other mounts are also available. They have almost 360 degrees of rotation. This makes a huge difference. You will also have to deal with dreaded audio. A separate audio track is highly recommended but in a pinch, an on camera microphone like the Sennheiser MKE 400 will do the job just fine.

Finally, we live with monitors instead of the nifty eyepiece still shooters are so accustomed to. Most cameras come with a tiny 3” LCD for this reason. To help we will either use a eyepiece of some kind like the Zacuto Z-Finder or an on board monitor like the Marshall Electronics 7” HDMI. Monitors help dramatically with focus and give the director and client something to drool over. This should explain to some degree why we are such gear heads. We dig the images but we really love the gear that makes it all possible.

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