Returning From the Mountains at DVinfo.net

Rick Spilman · January 6th, 2003, 08:24 PM

WARNING: VACATION FOOTAGE - Feel free to leave now.

Last week I got back from my first attempt at shooting while skiing and/or shooting skiiers while I stood still and tried not to slip and roll down the mountain. I can report one face plant in the snow for both myself and my PD150, the latter, protected by an EWA rain cape, came through with flying colors. The former ended up merely red in the face.

I was reminded that I am not a very good skiier and skiing with a camera is not a wonderful idea at my level of expertise. I did manage to make it down two green trails while shooting with my PD150, only to learn that while I didn't fall I also got completely unuseable footage.

In short - the armpitcam approach doesn't work. I held the camera under one arm with an attached monopod though the strap in my fanny pack, but had difficulty keeping my upper body oriented down the mountain. Unless I have a real need for footage of skiing during an earthquake, it is not stuff I plan on using.

My helmetcam footage came out better than I expected. Still a bit jerky but not terrible overall.

Two short clips:

Helmetcam (2minutes)
http://216.118.79.114/wphc.wmv

Terrain Park (1 minute)
http://216.118.79.114/wpterrain.wmv

Adrian Douglas · January 6th, 2003, 10:26 PM

Not bad at all Rick. By the looks of the conditions I can see why you did so much filming. I didn't even get to pull my camera out as it was snowing the whole time I was away which meant big fat freshies to be ripped. Plus the light and sky were flat and grey.

Scott Silverman · January 6th, 2003, 10:43 PM

Rick,
That was pretty good!. I don't know how you can feel secure skiing (sp?) with your PD-150 or even just shooting stationary like your second video. I know I wouldn't want to take my new GL2 on skiis. What's your secret? Great job!

Dylan Couper · January 7th, 2003, 12:50 AM

We don't even have enough snow to make a terrain park. At least we didn't last week. I'm going riding again Thursday but won't likely be bringing my camera.

Footage from both of those look good. I'm impressed by the helmetcam footage!

Rick Spilman · January 7th, 2003, 09:07 AM

Thanks for the kind comments. It is amazing what you can do with a little bit of sun and blue sky, especially on a reflective surface like snow.

I started with the PD150 in an EWA raincoat and shot until I got so anoyed that I took it off. I was having a hard time seeing where the camera was pointed or whether I had snow onthe lens.

The great thing about the 150 and my old VX1000 before it, is that they are both so damned rugged that I don't worry about knocking them around. Maybe I should, but so far they have both taken considerable abuse.

I was surprised how well some of my helmetcam shots turned out. I think that I had enough light to make it work. Next time I go skiing I want to try mounting the cam from a ski boot, see if I can get interesting shots from that perspective.

Rick

January 6th, 2003, 08:24 PM	#1
Rick Spilman Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Jersey City, NJ Posts: 366	Returning From the Mountains WARNING: VACATION FOOTAGE - Feel free to leave now. Last week I got back from my first attempt at shooting while skiing and/or shooting skiiers while I stood still and tried not to slip and roll down the mountain. I can report one face plant in the snow for both myself and my PD150, the latter, protected by an EWA rain cape, came through with flying colors. The former ended up merely red in the face. I was reminded that I am not a very good skiier and skiing with a camera is not a wonderful idea at my level of expertise. I did manage to make it down two green trails while shooting with my PD150, only to learn that while I didn't fall I also got completely unuseable footage. In short - the armpitcam approach doesn't work. I held the camera under one arm with an attached monopod though the strap in my fanny pack, but had difficulty keeping my upper body oriented down the mountain. Unless I have a real need for footage of skiing during an earthquake, it is not stuff I plan on using. My helmetcam footage came out better than I expected. Still a bit jerky but not terrible overall. Two short clips: Helmetcam (2minutes) http://216.118.79.114/wphc.wmv Terrain Park (1 minute) http://216.118.79.114/wpterrain.wmv

January 6th, 2003, 10:26 PM	#2
Adrian Douglas Trustee Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Chigasaki, Japan. Posts: 1,660	Not bad at all Rick. By the looks of the conditions I can see why you did so much filming. I didn't even get to pull my camera out as it was snowing the whole time I was away which meant big fat freshies to be ripped. Plus the light and sky were flat and grey. __________________ Adrian DVInfo.net Search for quick answers Where to buy? From the best in the business...DVInfo.net sponsors

January 6th, 2003, 10:43 PM	#3
Scott Silverman Major Player Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Cupertino, California, USA Posts: 301	Rick, That was pretty good!. I don't know how you can feel secure skiing (sp?) with your PD-150 or even just shooting stationary like your second video. I know I wouldn't want to take my new GL2 on skiis. What's your secret? Great job! __________________ Scott Silverman Shining Star Digital Video Productions Bay Area, CA

January 7th, 2003, 12:50 AM	#4
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	We don't even have enough snow to make a terrain park. At least we didn't last week. I'm going riding again Thursday but won't likely be bringing my camera. Footage from both of those look good. I'm impressed by the helmetcam footage!

January 7th, 2003, 09:07 AM	#5
Rick Spilman Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Jersey City, NJ Posts: 366	Thanks for the kind comments. It is amazing what you can do with a little bit of sun and blue sky, especially on a reflective surface like snow. I started with the PD150 in an EWA raincoat and shot until I got so anoyed that I took it off. I was having a hard time seeing where the camera was pointed or whether I had snow onthe lens. The great thing about the 150 and my old VX1000 before it, is that they are both so damned rugged that I don't worry about knocking them around. Maybe I should, but so far they have both taken considerable abuse. I was surprised how well some of my helmetcam shots turned out. I think that I had enough light to make it work. Next time I go skiing I want to try mounting the cam from a ski boot, see if I can get interesting shots from that perspective. Rick