Video Test

Yesterday I carried out a kit test to get to grips with all my equipment prior to commencing shooting of 'Why Do We Do It'. I wanted to see how my Pentax K-5 DSLR camera held up in bright sunlight and what features there were for shooting video; I also wanted to practice using

the camera and identify any additional equipment I may need to buy to make shooting easier.

To test my kit I went the the Lincolnshire Bombers training ground in Lincoln and filmed their Sunday morning training session. This would all be uncontrolled action, which is a challenge to shoot due to its obvious unpredictable nature. When I film 'Why Do We Do It' all the action will be directed and controlled by me so I can get the best possible shots and make shooting as smooth as possible, but for a test of my equipment this uncontrollable session would be perfect and would push the equipment to the limit. I decided to shoot with two lenses, a 28mm 1:2.8 prime and a 135mm 1:3.5 prime, which are old film lenses that have vastly superior quality to the majority of the modern day cheap equivalents. I have more lenses, however these are my two main choices. Both worked well, but I had issues with focussing as these aren't auto focus lenses and all focussing has to be done manually. This isn't usually an issue as I always focus manually during filming, however due to the fact I had to view the action through the 2.5" LCD screen and not through the viewfinder, it was difficult to determine if the picture was 100% sharp. As a result I have identified that I require an LCD viewfinder mount so I can look closer at the screen and focus easier without any glare on the screen; problem one overcome.

 

The second issue I had was the skipping of the exposure during the shot. You will notice this in my scond video diary "Video Test". This will obviously become distracting during outdoor filming, but I have already over come this issue by locating the Auto Exposure Lock (AE-L) button. So far so good!

 

The only other minor issue I had was the comfort of filming and keeping it steady. I have tripods

and monpods which I will use for shooting, but hand held shooting is awkward so I have decided to invest in a shoulder mount as I want the fluidity of movement from hand held shooting, but I also want stability in my footage to make it watchable!

All in all it was a succesful test. The only other piece of equipment which is a neccessity prior to shooting is lighting which I shall be purchasing in the coming weeks.

 

If you would like to see my footage from my test click here, and please keep up to date with all my social media and email me your reasons and stories for doing sport to whydowedoit@danielherrick.com and they may be used in my book.
If you would like to learn more about the Lincolnshire Bombers American Football team, visit www.lincolnshirebombers.com.