Shorebirds To The Moon at DVinfo.net

Steve Siegel · July 17th, 2022, 12:12 PM

I recently visited Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area in Kansas for the spring shorebird migration. There were plenty of birds. I had my GH6 and, and having learned that shooting flying birds at 2000 fps, even if they aren't hummingbirds gives sharper images, I gave it a try. Worked pretty well. Topaz Video Enhance improved everything, too. Marvelous software.

Doug Jensen · July 18th, 2022, 07:57 AM

Steve, there are some nice shots in there. Excellent tracking on the flying shots.

When you say "2000 fps", I think you actually mean 1/2000th shutter speed. I don't know anyone who owns a camera that can shoot 2000 frames per second, and the speed of the motion in your video doesn't appear to to be captured at 2000 fps.

You're welcome to shoot with whatever shutter speed you want, but I will suggest that 1/2000th is way too fast. I don't like the way it looks in your video and neither will a lot of people who are used to watching wildlife documentaries at normal shutter speeds. You are correct that it looks sharper, but it is TOO sharp. Video needs a certain amount of motion blur to look "correct" to the eyes of a typical viewer. You'd never see shutter speeds like this on high-end productions from NatGeo, Disovery, Nature, BBC, etc. And you probably couldn't sell it for stock footage even if you wanted to because it looks too different.

Like I said, you can do whatever you want, but I just thought I'd point out that you're way outside the boundaries of normal production settings and this doesn't look as good as it could to the rest of us.

Steve Siegel · July 18th, 2022, 09:49 AM

Sorry about the frames per second instead of shutter speed. I wrote this after coming home from a party at a brewery, and wasn't the sharpest at the time!

Yes, I know that I am violating the usual practices of video production in not shooting at 1/60 or 1/120 to get motion blur, but I have always done so. I take a lot of stills from my video to use in various ways, and since stills taken from low shutter speed video are worthless, and since I never know when I will need one, high shutter speed is the way to go for me. In the past, 20th Century Fox, The Today Show, Nature Footage and Birding Adventures TV didn't seem to mind my high shutter speeds (I was routinely using 1/500th sec in those days).

If you look at my You Tube Channel you will see that being unconventional is something I enjoy, and when I saw the improvements that Alan Murphy got in his photos by shooting at 1/4000th, I tried going fast, and was impressed. Since I don't sell footage, I can get away with it.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk5..._DmBSat8KMtZvQ

Allan Black · July 18th, 2022, 07:07 PM

Steve, that’s a professional soundtrack if I ever heard one, the script, your choice of music, the placement of the voice and the sound effects deserve a 2nd and 3rd viewing, it accompanies your great tracking video.

I certainly appreciate Doug’s knowledgeable comments, and I might be old school but I like the sharpness of your shots. I think it’s the direction we’re all migrating to - HiDef and beyond.

Cheers.

Steve Siegel · July 18th, 2022, 09:45 PM

Allan,

I appreciate your comment and support. Thank you.

Steve

July 17th, 2022, 12:12 PM	#1
Steve Siegel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Posts: 840	Shorebirds To The Moon I recently visited Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area in Kansas for the spring shorebird migration. There were plenty of birds. I had my GH6 and, and having learned that shooting flying birds at 2000 fps, even if they aren't hummingbirds gives sharper images, I gave it a try. Worked pretty well. Topaz Video Enhance improved everything, too. Marvelous software. Shorebirds To The Moon - YouTube

July 18th, 2022, 07:57 AM	#2
Doug Jensen Vortex Media Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,450	Re: Shorebirds To The Moon Steve, there are some nice shots in there. Excellent tracking on the flying shots. When you say "2000 fps", I think you actually mean 1/2000th shutter speed. I don't know anyone who owns a camera that can shoot 2000 frames per second, and the speed of the motion in your video doesn't appear to to be captured at 2000 fps. You're welcome to shoot with whatever shutter speed you want, but I will suggest that 1/2000th is way too fast. I don't like the way it looks in your video and neither will a lot of people who are used to watching wildlife documentaries at normal shutter speeds. You are correct that it looks sharper, but it is TOO sharp. Video needs a certain amount of motion blur to look "correct" to the eyes of a typical viewer. You'd never see shutter speeds like this on high-end productions from NatGeo, Disovery, Nature, BBC, etc. And you probably couldn't sell it for stock footage even if you wanted to because it looks too different. Like I said, you can do whatever you want, but I just thought I'd point out that you're way outside the boundaries of normal production settings and this doesn't look as good as it could to the rest of us. __________________ Vortex Media http://www.vortexmedia.com/ Sony FS7, F55, and XDCAM training videos, field guides, and other production tools

July 18th, 2022, 09:49 AM	#3
Steve Siegel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Posts: 840	Re: Shorebirds To The Moon Sorry about the frames per second instead of shutter speed. I wrote this after coming home from a party at a brewery, and wasn't the sharpest at the time! Yes, I know that I am violating the usual practices of video production in not shooting at 1/60 or 1/120 to get motion blur, but I have always done so. I take a lot of stills from my video to use in various ways, and since stills taken from low shutter speed video are worthless, and since I never know when I will need one, high shutter speed is the way to go for me. In the past, 20th Century Fox, The Today Show, Nature Footage and Birding Adventures TV didn't seem to mind my high shutter speeds (I was routinely using 1/500th sec in those days). If you look at my You Tube Channel you will see that being unconventional is something I enjoy, and when I saw the improvements that Alan Murphy got in his photos by shooting at 1/4000th, I tried going fast, and was impressed. Since I don't sell footage, I can get away with it. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk5..._DmBSat8KMtZvQ

July 18th, 2022, 07:07 PM	#4
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,931	Re: Shorebirds To The Moon Steve, that’s a professional soundtrack if I ever heard one, the script, your choice of music, the placement of the voice and the sound effects deserve a 2nd and 3rd viewing, it accompanies your great tracking video. I certainly appreciate Doug’s knowledgeable comments, and I might be old school but I like the sharpness of your shots. I think it’s the direction we’re all migrating to - HiDef and beyond. Cheers. __________________ Drink more tap water. On admission at Sydney hospitals more than 5% of day patients are de-hydrated.

July 18th, 2022, 09:45 PM	#5
Steve Siegel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Posts: 840	Re: Shorebirds To The Moon Allan, I appreciate your comment and support. Thank you. Steve