Steven_Digges

I'm glad to see Sony taking a shot at building a new forum. They have kicked it off with a bunch of you talented heavy hitters. Looking forward to learning from all of you. I am Steven Digges. I have been DBA The Corporate Show for over 20 years. My log in is very slow. I have to wait for it to redirect twice before it signs me in to the community. Am I doing something wrong or is that the way it is? Kind Regards, Steve

I did this class. My $150 dollar investment is now a total earnings of $3,000. All I do is dabble in stock with Pond5. I am lazy about it. I have more footage sitting on HDs than I have posted yet. It's kind of fun to get emails once in awhile that say you made a few bucks. I gave up on Shutterstock and went exclusive with Pond5 because Pond5 was what worked for me. Now that Shutterstock bought Pond5 I am wondering what will change but so far nothing seems to have changed. If I put some effort into it I could do much better. The whole thing is a learning experience. Before Doug's class I was just wasting my time. The class made all the difference in the world. Steve

I always enjoy your launch footage. Four cameras at once shooting live action and no external monitors? I'm sure you have a reason for this but I have no idea what it is? Steve

Thank you for the reply. I forgot all about the Catalyst option. A quick search says it is compatible with the A7 IV. I will give it a try. The rig is top heavy. But once the rig is strapped down the bottom cheese plate does not move. The 6 inch suction cup keeps it secure. The vibration cables are rated for a ronin but they have a tough time when I leave pavement. The Ronin also has a vehicle mode I use. Trial and error is the key to get everything set up correctly. Especially the Ronin settings. I will keep tweaking it to see how far I can push it. It's working well on pavement but I really want to get more out of it. Steve

Alister, great tips. I would also mention batteries, they hate the cold. Whenever possible I keep spares in inside pockets close to my body. I have even carried them packed with chemical hand warmers. I know this is a professional forum and might not be the place for war stories so forgive me if I add one more thing. Don't be stupid! In the photos you can see I am not wearing gloves. I spent over three hours in that harness suspended by riggers. I was shooting Worst Case Scenario for Sony Motion Pictures. The pack hanging off my harness had two spare batteries in it for the digi betacam. I was struggling to change the first dead battery so I took my gloves off. When I pulled the second glove off I watched in horror as I accidentally flung them both into the air and watched them fall 150 feet into a frozen river. It was brutal after that. I was fortunate that once set up, operating a Betacam does not take a lot of manual dexterity. It got truly painful by the time my feet were back on the ground. I know I have worn out these photos in the past but I'm not using them for brag shots here. Freezing conditions can be outright dangerous. Be prepared and don't do anything dumb like I did! Steve

I'm looking for advice on in camera stabilisation on a vehicle rig. I have been working the bugs out of a vehicle rig I recently built. The rig is a Ronin S mounted to a vibration stabilising vehicle mount. The camera is a Sony A7 IV. I am shooting 4K 60P @120. Most common lens is Sony FE 4/PZ 16-35G (no optical stabilisation). Both the Ronin and camera are controlled from inside the truck. It is working well on paved streets. I am also pushing its limits on off road trails. When things get rough the video tears and the artifact is ugly. Not surprising but I am still working on it because it is inconsistent. Sometimes it is there even at crawling speeds and sometimes it is not. In my test footage so far I had in camera stabilisation set to automatic. Someone suggested turning that off to prevent multiple stabilisers fighting against each other. I will try that but have not had the chance yet. Is there a rule of thumb for sensor stabilisation with vehicle mounts? Ironically my A7 III handles rough roads better than than A7 IV but it falls apart because of the 30P. Even cropped I need the 60p of the A7 IV. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Steve

Great tips. I am not in same league as the previous posters but I do have hundreds of thousands of air miles under my belt traveling with gear. Here is a tip I learned from a friend of mine that works for TSA. When kit goes through x-ray they do not like to see wires and cables in close proximity to any kind of batteries, it is a red flag for a possible IED. All of my cables travel together in clear plastic zipper bags now. I keep the essential cables in my carry on but they go in an outside pocket so they are not laying over the top of all those batteries. Sounds crazy but I am all for anything that helps me get through security without getting pulled aside for extra inspection. I also place gaff tape (low residue) over the contacts on my carry on batteries. I have been thanked by security agents for doing this. It seems to let them know I am procedure aware and they like it. Security procedures are never consistent. It also has kept me from being held up again when an agent handed me a roll of overly sticky packing tape and made me do it in front of him. A very long time ago a wise mentor taught me "Amateurs try to look like professionals. Professional photographers try not to look like photographers." I have been taking labels off of gear cases and camouflaging stuff for a long time. Like Alister said I like hard sided plain luggage. But, sometimes you need the protection of a pelican case. I have a whole bunch of old beat up duffle bags I zip over any case that might draw attention as valuable. Labels, all I want on the outside of baggage is my name and cell number. But, in the event it does get lost and need to be identified I have business cards inside every case so they have all of my information. I have been lucky, my gear has not always shown up at baggage claim, but I have always received it sooner or later. One more, I travel with the same CineBag CB25 Revolution Backpack Doug recommended. In my opinion It gets a lot of bad reviews because people do not understand it. It is a specialty bag designed to protect your gear specifically for carry on travel. It does that very well. If you need a trekking bag to suit your all around outdoor needs it might not be for you. It works well for my travel needs. Steve