2012Operating forum
Camera options and techniques for following snowboarders at high speed on skis
14 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
What the thread found
- Mounting a camera to a snowmobile provides stable follow shots but may not be practical in terrain inaccessible to vehicles or requiring advanced maneuvers through woods
- Specialized follow-camera stabilizers designed for action sports offer smoother results than Steadicam at high speeds and require less operator training than traditional Steadicam
- Payload capacity is a limitation when using specialized ski-mounted rigs originally designed for lightweight cameras, though compact digital cinema cameras and video heads can be adapted for heavier equipment like Alexa or Red cameras
- Compact cameras with optical stabilization such as Sony NX30 or CX730 can deliver high-quality stabilized footage on skis with minimal learning curve and greater ease of use than Steadicam
- Snow spray onto the lens during high-speed shooting is a significant practical problem that can be mitigated using tear-away lens covers or spin-clear motors
- Handheld camera operation while skiing at speed with full-size broadcast cameras is physically demanding and requires significant operator experience
- GoPro cameras offer ease of use and lightweight mounting options but produce compressed footage and lack manual control features available on larger compact cameras
Depends on
- The X-Games follow-camera rig was purpose-designed for lightweight action cameras and may not accommodate the weight of full-size cinema cameras without modification
- Optical stabilization performance in cameras designed for compact sensors may be affected by wind conditions or specific environmental factors
- Compressed video formats from action cameras may not meet all production quality standards depending on final output requirements
- Experience and recommendations in the thread are primarily from commercial and broadcast productions from around 2012