Need advise on camcorder 4 hunting

[KelTecian]

Anyone else film hunts? Well my best friend and I are planning to start this year. However, I wanted some advise on the best camcorders for hunting. Of course it needs to be dead quiet/silent and have a clear picture. Is zoom really important or not when filiming hunts? Do some camcorders pick up on sounds any noticibly better then others?

I have some expierence editing films on the ol' computer, so I'm real excited to load some great film and make it look snappy.

Help me out guys and gals!

Thanks!

 

[HunterGirl]

Last year I bought a Sony HC38 for a Wyoming hunting trip. You can turn off the menu sounds so it doesn't beep - it's not overly noisy and I didn't have any problems with it sound wise (not even when I was bowhunting). I even got some great footage of a beautiful bull Elk from 50 yards away about 15 minutes after sundown. For $300 - it was a good deal but I'm sure you can find one with better light capturing if you drop a little more cash....

I highly suggest getting the gorilla grip (I think that's what it's called) camcorder mount. This thing has three grippy twisty legs and you can mount your camera on anything from your tree stand to a branch or flat on the ground if you wanted. So no matter which camcorder you go with - get this mount - you'll love it!

HG

 

[KelTecian]

thanks for the advise

 

[welshgrouser]

I've been filming my own hunts for about 5 yrs now.. There are a few good lessons...

Are you bow hunting or gun hunting? From a tree stand or from a ground blind? Handgun or rifle/shotgun?

 

[KelTecian]

Both, Both, NO pistols...Very little rifle, lots of shotgun and bow

 

[welshgrouser]

Here's some advice...

If you spend money on a cam ($$$$) think about it... You (esp. in a tree stand) are going to have that thing in miserable conditions. Rain is possibly the easiest problem to solve.. it's the condensation and temperature changes in the day that will ruin a camera(not to mention batteries).. Cant give much advice on waterproof cameras or housings.. but if u spend $$$$$ on a camera spend $$$ trying to protect it from the elements.. the other important advice is protect that camera (microphone) from muzzle blast. I hunt w/ported pistols and have absolutely trashed the mic's on two cameras.. what a dumb way to waste money.

find a way to keep that camera behind you.. if you dont you to might blow $$ away also.. i've got one that records no sound at all and one that records only the sound of closing a potatoe chip bag (scrunch/crackle/scrunch).

this lead to my next lesson.. when you move that camera away from the gun.. you and that camera dont see the same angles.. shot a really nice 6pt that i thought i had nice film of only to discover i only had the running away after the shot on film. the camera was about 4 ft from where i was shooting..

the last tip is when you get that great days adventure on film... dont rush into the house or cabin to watch it... let that camera gear warm slowly. the colder it is out the more important it is to do.. can give you i nice story on almost ruining camera and video of a 1/2 rack 10pt I passed on that i couldnt help but run home to show the 30 or 40 minutes of video to the family-- 10 degree woods meets 70 degree house is very bad.


one more thing.. all of my best filming has been from the ground.. good solid tripod on good solid ground.. get a portable blind with the black interior and close all but 1/2 window for u and 3/4 for the camera.. lets u move to adjust camera and move to shoot.

 

[KD5NRH]

Yes, my daddy gave me my first gun when I was 12 and he bought me a lifetime hunting license for Minnesota.....

What size gun do you use to hunt a Minnesota?
Presumably the bag limit is 1, so the lifetime license might be a bit much.

 

[welshgrouser]

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