Dive into the Swamp with the FX6

[Danny_Schmidt]

Hey All --

I had the opportunity to take the FX6 to Florida this year and film in one of my all-time favorite places: The Corkscrew Swamp.  Seriously - if you ever find yourself in the Sunshine State, make the trip to Corkscrew to get a glimpse at the real wild Florida.  

I've shot here a lot and it is always a treat.  Loads of animals and birds line the trail and, depending on the time of year, much of the wildlife is concentrated in small ponds accessible from a boardwalk.  

I took my FX6 with me along with the following gear: Sony 200-600, Sony 24mm, DJI Ronin 2, Cartoni Focus 22 Tripod, and the Laowa Probe macro lens.  It wasn't a ton of gear, but it felt like a lot to haul around all day by myself!

A few things about shooting in the swamp that makes things difficult: the light can be harsh - either too dark or too bright, and often both at the same time.  I was impressed with the ability of the FX6 to handle the dynamic range.  The other element that makes any wildlife filming difficult is the fact that animals can be skittish, and often times the behavior you are hoping to capture happens very quickly.  The ability to shoot 4K 120 with a preroll function made it much easier to capture behaviors without missing too much.  

I was able to switch between gimbal and long lens pretty easily with the FX6.  A stripped down version of the camera fits well on a handheld gimbal and yet is easy to build back out with steel rails and dovetail plates to shoot proper long lens on a tripod.  This isn't possible with too many cameras that possess this feature set.  

Please hit me up with any questions or thoughts about this stuff.  Or about Florida wildlife!  Enjoy 😎

Watch the video here!

 

 

 

 

 

 #sonyfx6

 

[IamOakley]

You've captured the swamp light in such a magical way. Not at all the images my mind conjures for 'swamp'! How do you keep your cool with your rig around these 'gators? 

[Danny_Schmidt]

Thanks, Oakley!  As with all wild animals (gators especially!), film from a safe distance and stay aware of their behavior.  The pic with my tripod in the frame is a bit of a forced perspective illusion -- that gator was a safe distance out, even though he happened to park himself right on the trail!