How to make videos in the shop. Tutorials and process documentaries.

No worries guys, hopefully it's helpful... Obviously there's a lot more to it than what I've shown, but getting a good handle on the basic stuff will put you head and shoulders above the crowd that's for sure!
 
Any reason the canon t3i of 60d, 70d aren't on your list ? I'm curious because we use a 60d at work for production filming.
 
^ I think he was just listing the more affordable cameras that still have decent quality. Any of the canon rebel t series cameras are good, but they are not something you'd just go out and buy when for the price of the camera you could get some pretty expensive tools for the shop.
 
Alaska_Guy said:
Any reason the canon t3i of 60d, 70d aren't on your list ? I'm curious because we use a 60d at work for production filming.
Click to expand...

The T3i is reasonably priced, but it's not a great camera for simple video shooting. If you are going to adjust focus manually then it's fine, but its autofocus doesn't work without manual intervention while shooting video. This makes it an impractical camera for use in the shop where you'll largely be filming yourself at work.

The 60D & 70D are both quite expensive and are again not setup for autofocus during video. The contrast detection system that all 3 camera use is much slower than the system in the Lumix, and you'll end up with significant 'hunting' and loss of focus.

Filmakers don't care about this stuff because they're normally using manual focus, maybe even with a separate follow focus or focus puller. For us though having a usable auto-focus system is very handy...

The Lumix G6 is great in this regard, especially the face-detection auto-focus that it has. I can setup the tripod, turn the camera on in face detection mode then go stand in front of it and it will automatically focus on my face. Great setup for 'talking head' shots, and something that's not at all possible with the T3i or 60D. I believe the 70D is roughly the same in terms of focus as the 60D but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Andy Johnston said:
^ I think he was just listing the more affordable cameras that still have decent quality. Any of the canon rebel t series cameras are good, but they are not something you'd just go out and buy when for the price of the camera you could get some pretty expensive tools for the shop.
Click to expand...

Price was definitely a factor. If I wanted the 'ultimate' camera for shooting video in the shop I would get a Lumix GH3/GH4 instead of a Canon because of the focus issues with the Canons that I mentioned above. Those GH3/GH4 though are $1.5-2K+ without any lenses, which makes the other cameras a bargain, especially seeing as for our purposes they're often just as good.
 
Also another interesting point that knocks the T3i and 60D out of contention is that they can only shoot videos that are 12 minutes long at a time. The Lumix cameras on the other hand will keep going until the battery runs out or the card is full with no problem. This is handy when filming a long process, as I can just leave the camera running then use only the good bits later.

In fact I can even trim the video to the useful bits right on the camera without needing a computer! Very handy on some occasions when all the memory cards are full.

(Note the 70D will record up to 30 minutes at a time, but it costs $1100 without a lens!)
 
Excellent explanation. I mainly shoot stills and own a 40d still, had a t2i and it was a great camera for stills. This has a lot of helpful info for people looking to getting into the video world.

Thanks for all the clarification. G6 may be next on my list
 
Alaska_Guy said:
Excellent explanation. I mainly shoot stills and own a 40d still, had a t2i and it was a great camera for stills. This has a lot of helpful info for people looking to getting into the video world.

Thanks for all the clarification. G6 may be next on my list
Click to expand...

Interestingly the Canon G15 also turns out amazing footage. The lens on that thing is pretty amazing (F1.8 superzoom), and also it turns out high bitrate video which is very, very, crisp. The only problem I had with it was that I couldn't fully lock down the white balance setting. That meant if I walked into frame wearing a green t-shirt the color cast of the overall shot would change as the camera adjusted the white balance to suit my shirt. Very annoying.

If that could be fixed then I would say it's as close to as good as the G6, possibly more versatile, and it's about half the price.
 
Man, this thread just keeps getting better! Tons of great information... Thank you Aaron! :thumbup: :cool:

But now you have me looking at a new camera! :grumpy:

:p :D


I was trying to figure out why this thread doesn't have 50 pages of replies, and I think it's just because the number of guys on here that have tried/are trying to make videos must be fairly limited.

Thanks again Aaron. :)
 
I don't know how many times I've been searching youtube for videos for very specific things about knifemaking, but have not found them. If I did find them, the camera quality was total crap, or it showed the dude's face talking for like 2 hours, with a 1 minute demo of the actual process. I'm not the most knowledgeable maker out there, but I have seen some stuff that looks to be completely shoddy and shady, and full of disinformation. I've also stopped videos because it was just too intimidating to continue, and I knew that it never would apply to me and my equipment or situation.

I have been thinking to myself that I wanted to start making my own videos because of this. Just show what I know to be good info, and present things in an easy, humorous and non intimidating manner to newer and younger makers. Kind of like Goddard's $50 knife shop book did for me.

Thanks for this Aaron, I had this idea floating around for awhile, and it's great to get this help and inspiration.

If you guys haven't seen them, Derrick Wulf's videos on youtube are exactly the videos I like to see. Hilarious and informative. That guy can make a video!
 
Last edited:
Also, the John Neeman videos are some of the most beautiful videos I've ever seen. Gorgeous all around, while showing some really awesome work.
 
Josh Mason said:
I don't know how many times I've been searching youtube for videos for very specific things about knifemaking, but have not found them. If I did find them, the camera quality was total crap, or it showed the dude's face talking for like 2 hours, with a 1 minute demo of the actual process. I'm not the most knowledgeable maker out there, but I have seen some stuff that looks to be completely shoddy and shady, and full of disinformation. I've also stopped videos because it was just too intimidating to continue, and I knew that it never would apply to me and my equipment or situation.

I have been thinking to myself that I wanted to start making my own videos because of this. Just show what I know to be good info, and present things in an easy, humorous and non intimidating manner to newer and younger makers. Kind of like Goddard's $50 knife shop book did for me.

Thanks for this Aaron, I had this idea floating around for awhile, and it's great to get this help and inspiration.

If you guys haven't seen them, Derrick Wulf's videos on youtube are exactly the videos I like to see. Hilarious and informative. That guy can make a video!
Click to expand...

Have you got a link, or channel name ?
I cant' find him yet, the closest I've found were roger Pinnock, linking to private videos
 
So I can only find a g16 local $499. The g6 looks like I can get it online for $600. Where is my money better spent
 
Michael Rader said:
Thank you so much.
Click to expand...

No worries Michael, hope the thread is helpful!

NickWheeler said:
Man, this thread just keeps getting better! Tons of great information... Thank you Aaron! :thumbup: :cool:

But now you have me looking at a new camera! :grumpy:

:p :D


I was trying to figure out why this thread doesn't have 50 pages of replies, and I think it's just because the number of guys on here that have tried/are trying to make videos must be fairly limited.

Thanks again Aaron. :)
Click to expand...

I have no doubt that the percentage of knifemakers making videos is low. It's understandable as it definitely requires learning a new and somewhat deep skill-set. I think it can really pay off though, as people love things with a story attached to them, and video is a great way to tell the story!

Josh Mason said:
I don't know how many times I've been searching youtube for videos for very specific things about knifemaking, but have not found them. If I did find them, the camera quality was total crap, or it showed the dude's face talking for like 2 hours, with a 1 minute demo of the actual process. I'm not the most knowledgeable maker out there, but I have seen some stuff that looks to be completely shoddy and shady, and full of disinformation. I've also stopped videos because it was just too intimidating to continue, and I knew that it never would apply to me and my equipment or situation.

I have been thinking to myself that I wanted to start making my own videos because of this. Just show what I know to be good info, and present things in an easy, humorous and non intimidating manner to newer and younger makers. Kind of like Goddard's $50 knife shop book did for me.

Thanks for this Aaron, I had this idea floating around for awhile, and it's great to get this help and inspiration.

If you guys haven't seen them, Derrick Wulf's videos on youtube are exactly the videos I like to see. Hilarious and informative. That guy can make a video!
Click to expand...

Cheers mate! Glad it's helpful!

I'd like to keep this thread living on as a place for everyone to post the videos they're working on and to discuss how to make them, if you guys are down with that I think it could become a great resource for others. I'll be happy to offer any assistance that I can!
 
Alaska_Guy said:
So I can only find a g16 local $499. The g6 looks like I can get it online for $600. Where is my money better spent
Click to expand...

If you can get the G6 with the 14-42mm lens for $600 then that's a bargain, and I'd say go for it if you can afford it! Be warned that it's possibly not as good at shooting stills as something like the 40D when outfitted with the 14-42mm lens. It's a decent lens, but it doesn't have anything on the good prime glass that's available cheap for the Canon. I'd love to get the 20mm f1.7 lens for the G6, but the lens is $500 :(

The G16 is basically just an updated version of the G15. The lens on that thing is really good for a zoom lens. My only concern with it would be the white-balance issue that I detailed earlier. I wrote to Canon about it and they said that changing to a custom white balance setting should fix the problem, but I never got the chance to try it. I'd say test it in store before buying if you're considering going that route.
 
Something I would add to Aaron's info

Support accessories are just as important as the camera


Of course lights, tripod,

Memory cards, as fast and as big as possible.
Some cards are better than others and reading some reviews can be worth it.


Something I like on a camera in the shop is a plug pack power supply

forget trying to charge batteries, having extras, losing live view on the LCD screen for low batteries, low battery power because the batteries are cold. etc.

Have a plug pack in the wall with a long cord on, full time power all the time.
 
Alaska_Guy said:
So I can only find a g16 local $499. The g6 looks like I can get it online for $600. Where is my money better spent
Click to expand...

Also if you can find the G15 cheaper than the G16 then it's probably better to take the G15. The new one has only minor feature changes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top