Cameras & Editing Software

[TheFishosGrill]

Good Evening Fishos!

Some of you may have watched our Darwin fishing trip on our youtube channel TheFishosGrill. It was our first video for the new venture with many more videos to come. I want to explain on the equipment we are using, along with the editing software we use.

Myself and Hoda are using 3x cameras, 2x GoPro hero 11's and a Fujifilm XT-4 w/ 18-55mm lens. I also use a Manfrotto video tripod, a table top Manfrotto tripod, along witih chest mounts, head mounts, car mounts etc for the GoPro.
We have about 8x spare GoPro enduro batteries which gives us 4 hours each for filming on the GoPros, and 2x spare fujifilm batteries which gives me roughly 5-6 hours filming.
All content is shot in 4K, depending on what content can range between 25fps to 120fps.

Ill start with our videography, Yes there are a lot better cameras on the market but for the price and our needs, this suits us fine. I personally have a wish list which includes a new 30mm F1.4 lens, a Gimbel, drone, underwater drone, ND filter and the list goes on!
Have I lost anyone yet? let me explain why.
The 18-55mm lens does a good job for what it is, although having a nice prime lens with an aperture at 1.4 will increase the depth of field so more of the field of view from close to far will be in focus! Great for outdoors and fishing videos

Now just to let you guys know a bit of our background. Hoda is a former Masterchef contestant from Season 10, she does a "sort of" regular segment on studio 10's breakfast show (depending on availability). She is very use to having the camera on her and her communication is fantastic.
I am her videographer for all her social media content and ambassador work if she has current contracts to fulfil video content. I am no expert in filming, this was a hobby I picked up a long time ago and video editing is something that I'm still learning along the way, in other words I'm self taught!

From anyone here who does content creation will know the worst part about it is... VIDEO EDITING!!!!
I personally use Filmora 11 (one off payment) as its very easy out of the box to use. It doesn't have a lot of features and actions that adobe premier pro has, although premier pro you have to pay a monthly subscription of about $30 AUD off memory. Filmora is great, its easy to use and easy to create a video of good quality.

Blackmagic also have their own software (Australian owned company) which is Davinci Resolve. This is what ill be moving too very shortly as one, its totally FREE but you can also purchase action packs that does all the hard work for you.
We both have lots of other jobs to do, plus we both have young families so lots to juggle, anything that makes life easier is fantastic! I would definitely recommend having a look at Davinci Resolve and watching some YouTube tutorials to help along the way. If anyone uses Filmora and needs any help please feel free to DM me or add me on Instagram to have a chat.

I'm going to leave this topic open for discussion, what does everyone else use? and do you have questions that you need help with? The reason why I decided to hit the ground running with this youtube channel is because I want to follow a passion and in my head ... it works! I'm happy to help anyone along the way from the part timers who do this for fun, to other content creators trying to get off the ground.

 

Thanks Fishos! Tight lines!

[DerekD]

44 minutes ago, TheFishosGrill said:

The 18-55mm lens does a good job for what it is, although having a nice prime lens with an aperture at 1.4 will increase the depth of field so more of the field of view from close to far will be in focus! Great for outdoors and fishing videos

Hi TFG.

Enjoying your posts so far and welcome on board.

Wait.... what.... I'm running a Canon camera with several prime lenses for photography. I like the 1.8 aperture 50mm and 85mm lenses for portraits but in my case the depth of field reduces dramatically when I'm using them at 1.8. I get that the larger aperture lets more light in but I've got to reduce it to improve depth of field. How does this work with videography?

The photo below was taken with an 85mm lens at 1.8. I've used it to reduce depth of field. I'll have to get out my 24mm and 40mm prime lenses but they are both 2.8.

[TheFishosGrill]

23 hours ago, DerekD said:

Hi TFG.

Enjoying your posts so far and welcome on board.

Wait.... what.... I'm running a Canon camera with several prime lenses for photography. I like the 1.8 aperture 50mm and 85mm lenses for portraits but in my case the depth of field reduces dramatically when I'm using them at 1.8. I get that the larger aperture lets more light in but I've got to reduce it to improve depth of field. How does this work with videography?

The photo below was taken with an 85mm lens at 1.8. I've used it to reduce depth of field. I'll have to get out my 24mm and 40mm prime lenses but they are both 2.8.

Amazing photography I love it.

About 15 odd years ago I had a Nikon D80 with several lenses, and portrait photography was my favourite.

So the only way I can get the depth of field with 1.4 is if I use a ND filter, otherwise I won't be able to get the aperture down. I think it comes down to personal preference, using a prime 30mm for me is great for the style of video I shoot which is more cinematic (to an extent).
I will be purchasing a 16-55mm lens as my primary lens as I have to often film myself talking to the camera.

What do you use to edit your photos? back in the daily I used Adobe Photoshop when it was ahh.. free? if you know what I mean. Now i'm using GIMP but its just not the same

[DerekD]

Hi again @TheFishosGrill,

Hadn't thought about the use of an ND filter. I think I've got a few floating around but not something I've played around with yet. I do have circular polarising ones I use more often.

Editing is not the part of photography I enjoy or more accurately I enjoy the photography aspect more than the editing. Problem is that I was finding that good photos just needed a bit of colour correction (usually white balance) to make them pop. Canon has some software called DPP4 (Digital Photo Professional 4) which is available free to everyone that buys a Canon camera. I started using it when fellow Fishraider @big Neil reached out for help to make the photos of his pottery more accurately match the actual colours. He has since gotten some white lights at home which makes the process a lot easier.

While not as extensive as Lightroom or Photoshop, DPP4 is very good with Canon images and is often the starting point for editing the colours after which it can be dropped into other editing packages. There are several excellent instructional videos out there for it. Apparently DPP4 is able to do some video editing but I haven't looked into that so I could be completely wrong about that. You could get a cheap Canon to then get the software. I've included some links in one of the other sections on this site.

Same friend in the other photo wanted to build up her modelling portfolio. This was our first session together just getting her comfortable (hence the wine glass) interacting with me and my camera. Firstly, the photo straight from camera:

Now corrected for white balance and a few other minor tweaks:

Another straight from camera photo:

Now the colour corrected photo. This is probably a little too warm but the difference between the two is pretty dramatic:

She started to get more and more confident during the day and some concepts I was explaining (resetting and challenging me to take the photo) clicked into place. We ended up with images like these (the black and white is straight from camera and I was using sunlight reflected upwards off the concrete floor at the carpark of a Supercheap Auto to get the soft light for the following three photos).

Edited January 9, 2023 by DerekD

[GoldenHourFishing]

Hey mate, I just recently switched from Sony vegas to Davinci resolve. Probably took me a day to get up to speed and edit. I use an insta 360 one rs to film but I also have a gopro session which I sometimes mount to the kayak for close up shots. Ive recently purchased the 18-55mm kit lens but jbhifi has seemed to have lost my fuji xt3 in transit so Ill be looking elsewhere. I know nothing about mirrorless cameras but Im a fast learner and the addition of high quality B roll to my videos should compliment them well.

Ive subbed to your channel, looking forward to see what you create.

[TheFishosGrill]

On 1/10/2023 at 6:47 AM, DerekD said:

Hi again @TheFishosGrill,

Hadn't thought about the use of an ND filter. I think I've got a few floating around but not something I've played around with yet. I do have circular polarising ones I use more often.

Editing is not the part of photography I enjoy or more accurately I enjoy the photography aspect more than the editing. Problem is that I was finding that good photos just needed a bit of colour correction (usually white balance) to make them pop. Canon has some software called DPP4 (Digital Photo Professional 4) which is available free to everyone that buys a Canon camera. I started using it when fellow Fishraider @big Neil reached out for help to make the photos of his pottery more accurately match the actual colours. He has since gotten some white lights at home which makes the process a lot easier.

While not as extensive as Lightroom or Photoshop, DPP4 is very good with Canon images and is often the starting point for editing the colours after which it can be dropped into other editing packages. There are several excellent instructional videos out there for it. Apparently DPP4 is able to do some video editing but I haven't looked into that so I could be completely wrong about that. You could get a cheap Canon to then get the software. I've included some links in one of the other sections on this site.

Same friend in the other photo wanted to build up her modelling portfolio. This was our first session together just getting her comfortable (hence the wine glass) interacting with me and my camera. Firstly, the photo straight from camera:

Now corrected for white balance and a few other minor tweaks:

Another straight from camera photo:

Now the colour corrected photo. This is probably a little too warm but the difference between the two is pretty dramatic:

She started to get more and more confident during the day and some concepts I was explaining (resetting and challenging me to take the photo) clicked into place. We ended up with images like these (the black and white is straight from camera and I was using sunlight reflected upwards off the concrete floor at the carpark of a Supercheap Auto to get the soft light for the following three photos).

Love the style of your photos mate honestly awesome job.

Thanks for advising on the programs to, I'm in need of a new photoshop program as GIMP I'm not a fan of.

Will check them out and keep the photos coming!


 

[TheFishosGrill]

14 hours ago, GoldenHourFishing said:

Hey mate, I just recently switched from Sony vegas to Davinci resolve. Probably took me a day to get up to speed and edit. I use an insta 360 one rs to film but I also have a gopro session which I sometimes mount to the kayak for close up shots. Ive recently purchased the 18-55mm kit lens but jbhifi has seemed to have lost my fuji xt3 in transit so Ill be looking elsewhere. I know nothing about mirrorless cameras but Im a fast learner and the addition of high quality B roll to my videos should compliment them well.

Ive subbed to your channel, looking forward to see what you create.

Cheers for the sub, checking your vids out also!

BTW with your XT3, did you have any auto focus issues? I absolutely hate the autofocus on the XT4 and was wondering if you had any tips on improving?

I haven't played with Resolve yet, its on the list...

[DerekD]

55 minutes ago, TheFishosGrill said:

Love the style of your photos mate honestly awesome job.

Thanks for advising on the programs to, I'm in need of a new photoshop program as GIMP I'm not a fan of.

Will check them out and keep the photos coming!


 

Here is the link I prepared earlier:

 

There is a channel on Youtube where a lovely gentlemen has taken the time to put together DPP4 (how to use videos). This is just one of the many DPP4 videos on his channel

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by DerekD

[GoldenHourFishing]

8 hours ago, TheFishosGrill said:

Cheers for the sub, checking your vids out also!

BTW with your XT3, did you have any auto focus issues? I absolutely hate the autofocus on the XT4 and was wondering if you had any tips on improving?

I haven't played with Resolve yet, its on the list...

 Nah I ordered it online 26th December and still havent received it, currently going through it with paypal. I only have the lense as of now.

So I couldnt tell you much about the performance....yet.