One of my paddling goals this year is to work out a system of making hi-res videos a bit like those pioneered by Justine Curvegen. Her deck mounted camera has enabled many of us to, in effect, paddle her kayak and be there on her various adventures. While I have no commercial interests, I am interested in preserving my trips and share them with fellow bloggers and friends.
So while in Florida recently, I used a deck mounted Sticky Pod platform to mount a Viosport waterproof lens which was connected to my Canon videocam. I used both the standard 4 inch Sticky Pod extension pole as well as an option 12 inch extension to mount the lens. Other lengths are also available as well as a gooseneck, but I began with these. One of the advantages of the longer length is a more realistic viewpoint. Lens mounted too close to the deck level give the impression the boat is traveling faster than it is and, let's face it, none of us paddles with our chins on the foredeck if we can avoid it.
I'm working on editing the film now, but it will be a while before posting anything. The huge video files made it necessary to get an external hard drive for storage purposes! I think the working rule is about 200 mb per minute of video and I have lots of exposed film!
The only potentially serious difficulty that reared its head during the filming process was the need for a better waterproof container for my video camera and the lens' batteries which allows me easy access. I had hoped as well to be able to operate the whole apparatus using the camera's remote, but that didn't work out with my camera. These problems prevented me from filming in rougher conditions, but it was suitable for rivers and many coastal areas when it was calm. I'll be working on these areas in the coming months. Feel free to provide any advice if you'd like!
Aside: if you are reading this blog from Sarnia, Ontario, could you please send me a note? I have a question for you!
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