Camera tips for videos and photos

[PyroGyro]

I'm not sure this is the best place for this, because so many of you have great shows, but crappy videos, but here goes anyway lol.

I am trying to figure out the best way to get good video of an upcoming display I'm shooting. One that captures everything from the top of the biggest breaks, to the bottom where the mines are. Last year, I used a Samsung S8+, and even at about 200ft away with the camera only at about 4ft off the ground I was only able to capture about 50% of the show vertically, zoomed all the way out. I can use that camera again, or I have a DLSR I can use too, but I think I'll have the same problem with that one too.

Is it really just a matter of shooting video from/putting the camera much further away? I'm thinking I'll need to shoot from further away for sure, but was also thinking if I put the camera as close as possible to ground level, with it tilted upwards, that I would be able to capture more of the show vertically. Other than that I'm pretty sure I have the shutter speed, manual focus, ISO, and fstop settings etc down, but I am looking for any tips, especially tips for capturing the entire show.

Thanks!

[Icooclast]

i have never done a show, but i came across 1 or 2 on youtube that had 2 cameras on the action: 1 to catch all the ariel effects and another to catch mid-level and ground effects and they some how got both shots to play in 1 screen at the same time. it was awesome, but i don't know what vid it was. maybe someone here knows how to do something like that?

[upNdown]

One simple answer is to get a wide angle lens.
I shot this with an iphone with a $20 clip on wide angle lens from probably 60-70 feet away.
I'm checking in here because I'm eager to hear if anybody has opinions on the best settings to video record fireworks.
https://youtu.be/ot_yWYbxcJ8

[upNdown]

Correction - it was the wide angle lens in this $13 lens kit
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0179JX8GC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[PyroGyro]

One simple answer is to get a wide angle lens.
I shot this with an iphone with a $20 clip on wide angle lens from probably 60-70 feet away.
I'm checking in here because I'm eager to hear if anybody has opinions on the best settings to video record fireworks.
https://youtu.be/ot_yWYbxcJ8

A fish eye or wide angle makes sense sort of but what's confusing is despite having the wide angle lens, you shot the video with the camera vertically, which I think would've shown everything top to bottom in normal circumstances to begin with, at least from at 200ft away where I had my camera. but it would not have captured the width. I want to shoot 1080p HD 16x9/not with the camera vertically. To clarify, I want my video to look something like this one. which was probably shot several hundred ft away...https://youtu.be/qq7HeT6v7nE Problem is, I don't know what the site looks like yet so I don't know if I'll be able to do that.

I will have 3 stations, each about 25ft apart. Again, I shot 16x9 at about 200ft away and still only captured 50% of the show, vertically. I think a wide angle lense would've helped with width, but not the height. See my video here: https://youtu.be/SDiKSJjYd4Q?t=309

I think I'm sort of answering my own question. 1 is I will probably need a wide angle lense to capture the width of the show(3 stations), but I will also need to be further away to capture the height too. Ugh.

[PyroGyro]

i have never done a show, but i came across 1 or 2 on youtube that had 2 cameras on the action: 1 to catch all the ariel effects and another to catch mid-level and ground effects and they some how got both shots to play in 1 screen at the same time. it was awesome, but i don't know what vid it was. maybe someone here knows how to do something like that?


Yeah I've seen those videos, but unfortunately I'm not going to be able to shoot multicam, as I will be far to busy with other things.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

I shot my show this year (and last) with a Go Pro Hero 5 Session. It has many video modes including wide angle which is what I used. The camera was maybe 100' away and it caught everything top to bottom. I also used it to record all the PGI shows (which are MUCH larger than what I do) and it caught all of those as well.

[PyroGyro]

I shot my show this year (and last) with a Go Pro Hero 5 Session. It has many video modes including wide angle which is what I used. The camera was maybe 100' away and it caught everything top to bottom. I also used it to record all the PGI shows (which are MUCH larger than what I do) and it caught all of those as well.

I'd probably spring for a GoPro if it had manual focus. Nevertheless I already have a nice DSLR and even my Samsung S8 takes good video...just need to figure out how to capture it all...I guess there's no secret other than a wide angle lens or just being much further away. :-(

[Rick_In_Tampa]

My videos look great to me without a manual focus.

[RoosterWalt]

GoPro?s are so wide angle and the sensor is so small pretty much everything is in focus all the time. Which makes them great for lots of stuff... but the image is pretty ?bent? I call it. (Spherical looking) I think you?d need like a 12mm or so on an SLR with full frame sensor to get it all at only 100? probably. But, you can get straightened lenses that will look less bent.

There is a site called borrowlenses where you can rent special ones like that if you don?t want to buy on.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

I'm told the software that comes with the Go Pro will allow you to un-bend the video. I honestly don't know because I've never had the energy to fiddle with it. But my buddy uses a Go Pro to video his shows and his looks a lot "straighter" (for lack of a better term) than mine. So I'm inclined to believe it can be done.

[jamisonlm3]

My videos look great to me without a manual focus.I agree. I know people probably get tired of hearing it, but they really do make decent cameras to record firworks with. Used GoPros aren't expensive. Earlier in the year, I got a Hero 4 Black for just under $100 with a couple of batteries, case and other accessories. After last night's show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2BMp9jAV7Y), I'm not worried about focus. It stayed pretty focused even with all the smoke coming at it. It might not look like it in the video, but there was quite a bit. I sat it ~125ft away and started recording about a minute before the show. Depending on what FOV and resolution you use, you will have the curve you see in the video. It may or may not bother you but, that lens lets you capture quite a bit.

[PyroGyro]

My videos look great to me without a manual focus.

IMHO your 2019 video is good, but not great, due to no manual focus. A lot of the stars are blurry, especially when you go full screen with the video. That said I'd probably put up with that if I had to, but I have a DSLR with manual settings that will give me better focus and better exposure. The problem is a super wide angle lense is $400 and that's just too much bread. Looks like I'll just have to move the camera back another 150ft to capture everything, but I have no idea if I'll be able to do that. I'd try buying a cheap wide angle for my Samsung S8, but I'll be using that for cues during the show.

[PyroGyro]

I agree. I know people probably get tired of hearing it, but they really do make decent cameras to record firworks with. Decent yes, great no.
After seeing a bunch of super high quality fireworks videos online there's no doubt I have to use my DSLR, the sucky part is I'll probably have to have it 300ft away to capture the entire show, and getting the manual focus just right will suck too, because I'll have to do some test fireworks first. Nevertheless, I agree that GoPros do a decent job. If they did a better job focusing I'd pull the trigger in a heartbeat.

[jamisonlm3]

PyroGyro, please link some of those videos. I'm interested in seeing them.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

IMHO your 2019 video is good, but not great, due to no manual focus. A lot of the stars are blurry,

Lol.... Well, the phrase "champagne taste on a beer budget" comes to mind. If you want to make sure you have crystal clear focus of every individual star in your show, then you're going to have to un-ass the cash to make that happen. Otherwise you're going to have to settle for good enough like the rest of us. I have a neighbor who is a photographer and he documents my shows every year. Maybe you have one near you that you can ask for help.

[esgrillo]

PyroGyro, please link some of those videos. I'm interested in seeing them.

I agree with Rick. I use gopro Hero 5's

I also say it is by far better at producing a clear video than another video camera with that has manual focus capability that you have locked in a fixed focus position. Also my experience in adding wide angle lenses to video cameras is not good. The have a lot of flaring when I used one. I thought it was not good quality.

I am not sure why you think a gopro does not have very good focus. Have you used one? I have for both fireworks and other action photos and they are great. They are an industry standard that is used in all kinds of applications with great results.

I would suspect that any issue with "focus" on a gopro fireworks video is more due to smoke than anything else. If the smoke is blowing towards the camera you will have the impression of it not being focused even with pretty low levels of smoke. That has nothing to do with the camera however IMO. If the smoke is blowing away from frame, you can get some spectacular video. You can see what I am taking about in my 2019 video because I had a Hero 5 upwind and another downwind. Not sure what the drone was using that year. https://vimeo.com/347225074

I think my 2016 video shows the quality of a gopro as well. You can see around the 5 min mark the shot switches from a down wind sony camcorder to a gopro on a drone. The difference is pretty dramatic and much better on the gopro https://vimeo.com/297319945

Here is the same Hero 5 when I did some snowmobiling, pretty good I think... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfal4EX-xcc

[PyroGyro]

I agree with Rick. I use gopro Hero 5's

I also say it is by far better at producing a clear video than another video camera with that has manual focus capability that you have locked in a fixed focus position. Also my experience in adding wide angle lenses to video cameras is not good. The have a lot of flaring when I used one. I thought it was not good quality.

I am not sure why you think a gopro does not have very good focus. Have you used one? I have for both fireworks and other action photos and they are great. They are an industry standard that is used in all kinds of applications with great results.

I would suspect that any issue with "focus" on a gopro fireworks video is more due to smoke than anything else. If the smoke is blowing towards the camera you will have the impression of it not being focused even with pretty low levels of smoke. That has nothing to do with the camera however IMO. If the smoke is blowing away from frame, you can get some spectacular video. You can see what I am taking about in my 2019 video because I had a Hero 5 upwind and another downwind. Not sure what the drone was using that year. https://vimeo.com/347225074

I think my 2016 video shows the quality of a gopro as well. You can see around the 5 min mark the shot switches from a down wind sony camcorder to a gopro on a drone. The difference is pretty dramatic and much better on the gopro https://vimeo.com/297319945

Here is the same Hero 5 when I did some snowmobiling, pretty good I think... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfal4EX-xcc

Your video looks a bit clearer than Rick's. Maybe focus isn't so much of the issue with GoPro as much as exposure is, because for the most part your show looks a bit crisper and you have no control over the focus either. Overexposure will cause some comets, stars, and tails to look more like blobs of light with less definition. It can be caused by too high of an ISO setting, too low of a shutter speed, aperture being too open, or all 3. I believe some of these settings can be adjusted on a GoPro, so maybe it's a matter of getting the right combination of settings? On the other hand with a DSLR if you know what you're doing you can adjust for all of this manually, including focus, but it takes more trial and error to get it right. My biggest problem though is still not having a wide angle lense for my DSLR. I'll experiment with it this weekend. If I can't get any cleaner looking than video than what I've seen in your video, I'll probably just spring for a GoPro which essentially gives me the wide angle lense and is more set it and forget it.

Here is a video shot by Firecat8. He uses a DSLR, and this is basically what I'm hoping to achieve quality wise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzCPdyVWZ7I

Btw, I stumbled upon this while looking for fireworks videos. Posting this not for the video quality but instead for the WTF finale. How many shells do you think this is? I'd probably be fall over laughing if I shot this show. https://youtu.be/ndVhgq1yHdA

[PyroGyro]

PyroGyro, please link some of those videos. I'm interested in seeing them.

Your video is on par with Ed's. It's good to very good, but I think the Firecat8 video has better overall color and definition. He's using a Panasonic GH4.

[esgrillo]

Your video looks a bit clearer than Rick's. Maybe focus isn't so much of the issue with GoPro as much as exposure is, because for the most part your show looks a bit crisper and you have no control over the focus either. Overexposure will cause some comets, stars, and tails to look more like blobs of light with less definition. It can be caused by too high of an ISO setting, too low of a shutter speed, aperture being too open, or all 3. I believe some of these settings can be adjusted on a GoPro, so maybe it's a matter of getting the right combination of settings? On the other hand with a DSLR if you know what you're doing you can adjust for all of this manually, including focus, but it takes more trial and error to get it right. My biggest problem though is still not having a wide angle lense for my DSLR. I'll experiment with it this weekend. If I can't get any cleaner looking than video than what I've seen in your video, I'll probably just spring for a GoPro which essentially gives me the wide angle lense and is more set it and forget it.

Here is a video shot by Firecat8. He uses a DSLR, and this is basically what I'm hoping to achieve quality wise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzCPdyVWZ7I

Btw, I stumbled upon this while looking for fireworks videos. Posting this not for the video quality but instead for the WTF finale. How many shells do you think this is? I'd probably be fall over laughing if I shot this show. https://youtu.be/ndVhgq1yHdA

lol that San Diego show was an epic fail. Entire show went off at the same time.

[esgrillo]

Your video is on par with Ed's. It's good to very good, but I think the Firecat8 video has better overall color and definition. He's using a Panasonic GH4.

Keep in mind especially regarding the color, 1.3 shows are going to have better color fireworks to start with than almost any consumer show. I have only found a couple of exceptions one being a new dominator fan cake I used this year.

[Icooclast]

Yeah I've seen those videos, but unfortunately I'm not going to be able to shoot multicam, as I will be far to busy with other things.

would getting 2 camera stands work for you? if i ever get the chance to do something i've been thinking of doing it that way. this way no one has to bother to hold the camera(s) and can sit back and watch the show

[PyroGyro]

Keep in mind especially regarding the color, 1.3 shows are going to have better color fireworks to start with than almost any consumer show. I have only found a couple of exceptions one being a new dominator fan cake I used this year.

OK but the biggest difference I see is in your blacks and your whites. Your blacks are very black which means you're not overexposing and your brightest fireworks aren't being blown out. And this will affect color quality as well. Same with Firecats video.

[PyroGyro]

would getting 2 camera stands work for you? if i ever get the chance to do something i've been thinking of doing it that way. this way no one has to bother to hold the camera(s) and can sit back and watch the show

It would work for me if I was filming someone else's show, but honestly, when I'm shooting my own show things are always so hectic that filming the show is almost an afterthought, and I usually have little time to spend on that. Maybe eventually as I do more of my own displays and film more shows it will become easier but for now 1 camera getting good video is what I'm striving for.

[PyroGyro]

Thanks for all the replies in this thread. All of this has helped me figure out what to do moving forward. I figured out that quality GoPro fireworks videos are possible, so if I can't get good quality video out of my DSLR and/or also have to buy a $400 wide angle lense for it to capture everything in my show, it will make more sense for me just to pull the trigger on a new GoPro. I may buy one down the road anyway, just because there's very little you have to tweak. I also found some GoPro 7 black fireworks videos online and they look great. https://youtu.be/MNaXyV0FiJY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ROjcYpsr-U

[RoosterWalt]

PyroGyro - there is A LOT you can do in post too... as long as you start with decent video you can adjust the blacks, the whites, the saturation... even add sharpening. You can't save stuff that was out of focus or over/under exposed, but you can do quite a bit. Have you used Final Cut Pro or Premiere? Those apps have pretty much all the professional tools you'd need to really spice up your video.

[PyroGyro]

PyroGyro - there is A LOT you can do in post too... as long as you start with decent video you can adjust the blacks, the whites, the saturation... even add sharpening. You can't save stuff that was out of focus or over/under exposed, but you can do quite a bit. Have you used Final Cut Pro or Premiere? Those apps have pretty much all the professional tools you'd need to really spice up your video. Yep, totally aware. I used to work for AVID. :D

[PGH_Pyro]

this has been discussed numerous times, prior.
please look it up .