Video camera for Alaska

[WesternWisconsin]

I posted this in a different channel but maybe I’ll have better luck here. I’m going to the Wrangell Mountains in Alaska in September moose hunting. I’d like to buy a videocamera that I can bring to document my hunt for my kids. I’d like a lighter weight one since we’ll be flying in on a cub plane. I’d also like one with long distance zoom capabilities. I do like the idea of a camera style vs a standard video camera style. Recommendations ?


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[Silveroddo]

The camera you're most willing to carry and use is the best camera to take.
For the sake of discussion cell phones have come a long way these days. I believe the Higher level Samsungs and Iphones have some decent zoom capabilities. My cousin had a Samsung with a bunch of digital zoom a few years ago, I had my P900 nikon on a tripod. She free handed and I shot some video of a house about a half mile away across the lake. The Nikon was better, but not by much, and she was free hand.
I just got back from a snowmobile trip out west, I left all of the cameras at home and just brought my Iphone and a Selfie stick with a tripod base. I kind of did the same thing on an archery elk hunt this fall and was satisfied as far as recording the memories went.
I'm just a hobbyist, I've got GoPro's, a DSLR and some decent lenses, and a P900 Nikon I have a lot of fun with.
If I wanted more capabilities than a cell phone, I'd Bring a Gopro for the closeup stuff and I'd bring my Nikon or a similar Bridge camera for the distance stuff.
Back to my original thought though, when weight is an issue and you want to keep it simple, maxing out the capabilities of a cell phone and having a battery pack to charge it off of might not be a bad option in this situation.

 

[cfdjay]

I'm in a similar boat. This cam has been the one recommended to me by multiple people who have experience in filming their hunts.

https://electronics.sony.com/imaging/interchangeable-lens-cameras/aps-c/p/zve10m2b?srsltid=AfmBOopz3UgHPJkoR1MTvDGBOGlK56dVEGHogDrNGWBUB8nYZbLEwMcK

 

[jaypope]

You might want to look into a 360° camera. You can mount it on your pack and it captures everything around you. Better for up close filming (50 yards and in) most likely. I don’t have one but I’m thinking seriously about buying one. You can use your cell phone for everything else.

 

[LookinforDirt]

If you want to use a mirrorless camera and interchangeable lenses be prepared to dive into how to get the best out of it. Or at least good enough to justify the expense. Just setting it to auto and then recording won’t get you much better, and in some cases worse, video than a good Android or iPhone or camcorder. I just went through the process of deciding on equipment for filming hunts but also general photography and videography. Landscapes, wildlife, astrophotography are my main interests. I was nearly set on a high quality camcorder (e.g. Canon XA70) because I was focused on filming a hunt. If I were strictly filming hunts, and only interested in video, then I’d have a camcorder, phone, and likely an action cam (DJI, GoPro, etc.). But I realized I’m looking to do much more than film hunts. I wanted good photo and video capability too. So I went with a hybrid mirrorless camera. Hybrid meaning equally good at photo and video. I did this knowing it would be much more difficult to use for filming hunts, especially getting kill shots on video, more expensive, higher learning curve, and more cumbersome than a camcorder. To me, documenting a hunt is different than filming a hunt (to include the kill shot). Documenting a hunt means you have more time to compose shots and get equipment setup and you are capturing the whole hunt. More than just the animal coming in and shooting it. Kill shots require simplicity. Quick, limited, quiet, limited motion controls access and setup to get the shot. If you are willing to learn how to use a mirrorless camera and lenses then I think that platform has much more to offer than a camcorder for documenting a hunting trip.

I went with a Sony A6700. Sony has the best autofocus in the business and autofocus is very important to me. Initially I was looking at Canon because of image quality. I like it better. But that doesn’t mean Sony’s isn’t top notch also. Canons AF is very good but, they don’t allow third party lenses and they don’t have much to offer for APS-C specific lenses. I went with APS-C vs a full frame sensor because of size and weight and cost. APS-C is much more compact and affordable and still produces very high quality, professional level, photos and video. I feel Sony is more dedicated to this format than other brands. Fuji is pretty good with APS-C offerings too. APS-C also has a crop factor of 1.5x (1.6x for Canon) that gets more range out of a lens that a full frame format. E.g. my 70-350mm is the equivalent of a full frame 105-525mm lens. But you can shoot full frame in crop mode to get some extended range out of it.

Zoom is a feature where a camcorder stomps mirrorless cameras because there is no switching lenses involved, it’s internal and powered zoom, and you get a very wide zoom range in a compact package. I have a 17-70mm lens, a 70-350mm lens, and looking for something around 11-18mm for wide angles. I’d need at least the 17-70 and 70-350 with me to get the same zoom as the canon XA70. You can get that cinematic look with a mirrorless camera but it doesn’t happen with just point and shoot. There are many things to consider. Shutter speed, aperture, ISO and how they all work together for proper exposure, depth of field, motion capture, etc. A camcorder with good autofocus, you pretty much point and press record. You’ll get camcorder looking video (which can look very nice). But you’ll get the video. Camcorders don’t offer much at all for pictures. But your phone will likely handle that.

I guess it comes down to your expectations on how your photos and videos will look, ease of use, and how likely it is you will use what you have with you. Cost too. I’m approaching $3500 invested already and that’s with being cost conscious.

 

[Luke S]

Definitely I'd get an adapter to take pictures through your spotting scope with a phone. I finally did that and I like it a lot. Say you are watching a moose? You can easily get lots of cool still shots or videos before you stalk in. I like that because its not really disrupting the actual hunt. Minimal weight/cost.

For action shots, having someone else along to play camera man will be better whether they use a camera or a descent phone. If not, a Gopro that you can stick on your head is a compromise. You'll at least get action shots of the kill.

With all this you obviously need to think batteries. I think I normally have 5-6 Gopro batteries. I typically don't need that many but occasionally you find out your camera was left on for 30 minutes of crawling through the brush. Also I sleep with my batteries in my sleeping bag. If I think I'll film in the morning I keep the Gopro or phone in my chest pocket so it's warm when I use it.

Get lots of slow scenery shots and shots of packing up, setting up camp, cooking dinner , etc. A hunt is a journey not a kill shot. You'll have a better video if you document that part well.

For ideas I'd watch Limitless Outdoors. From what I can tell they typically hunt in pairs trading one rifle and camera back and forth. Occasionally they use a Gopro but usually only if it's a solo hunt or the second person is a kid. Gives you an idea what works better. Also they are a good example of making enjoyable videos that ate 90% about the journey not the kill shot.