FX6: This Month In Nature - November 2022

[DougJensen]

One of my favorite things to do is to grab one of my cameras, a couple of lenses, a tripod, and them go out and film wildlife for a few hours in the evenings, on the weekends, or even for a few days in a row if I have time for a vacation. Photographing or filming wildlife is perhaps one of the most challenging yet rewarding hobbies you can take up. And you don’t need to travel to far-away exotic locations or own an expensive camera to enjoy filming wildlife.

Every time I go out shooting it’s different -- even if I’m returning to the same location I’ve been to a dozen times before. The lighting is different. The weather is different. And the wildlife I encounter is absolutely different every time. In fact, it is the variety and randomness of filming wildlife that keeps it fresh and challenging. I can get almost as much pleasure from shooting birds at a local park as I could get from going on an African safari. Okay, maybe that is over-stating it a bit, but it’s not that far from the truth – and it is a hell of a lot less expensive to film wildlife close to home.

I suppose it’s a cliché’ to say that I’m “hunting” with my camera, but that’s really what it is. The main difference being that the animals all live to see another day, and, if all goes well, I will return home with some great video to post online, sell as stock footage, or to just enjoy watching in my living room. WHAT I do with the footage I shoot is far less important to me than the actual experience of shooting it.

Although I own quite a few Sony cameras (F55, FS7, Z750 Z280, Alpha 1, a6300), my favorite setup right now for wildlife is my FX6 and Sony 200-600mm lens. It is a great combination that offers many advantages over other cameras and lenses.

A few months ago, I started posting a series of videos called “This Week in Nature” on my YouTube channel – but now that I’m back home in Florida for the season things have gotten too busy to keep up that pace! So, this month I’ve taken my favorite shots from the month of November and combined them into a single video. It’s not going to win any awards, but it was fun to shoot and a lot of the footage will sell as stock. That’s what I call a success.

Camera: Sony FX6

Viewfinder: Zacuto Gratical Eye

Lens: Sony 200-600mm

Tripod: Sachtler Aktiv8 head with Flowtech75 legs

Format: 4K XAVC-I 23.98

Slow motion: 120 fps

Shooting Mode: S-LOG3

Grading: DaVinci Resolve Studio

[IamOakley]

Dig the philosophy on shooting not "shooting the animals. Beautiful stuff!

[julienjarry]

Absolutely stunning. You're inspiring me. Where are you located? Is there an immediate place where folks like us can generate an income from natural history footage like this? I've always shot this for fun. Man that 200-600 shines.

[DougJensen]

Dig the philosophy on shooting not "shooting the animals. Beautiful stuff!

Thanks!   Go hunting with a camera instead of a gun, that is my philosophy.

[DougJensen]

Absolutely stunning. You're inspiring me. Where are you located? Is there an immediate place where folks like us can generate an income from natural history footage like this? I've always shot this for fun. Man that 200-600 shines.

Thank you for the compliment.   I have a house in Florida in for winters and one in New England for the summers, so over the course of the year, that gives me a good variety of wildlife to shoot in the evenings without going very far from home.   In the spring and fall I like to travel out to the western National Parks as often as possible. Didn't make it this year, but planning an 8-week adventure this spring as part of my NAB trip.  I have an RV so it is easy to be on the road for long periods of time and drag around whatever gear I want to bring.

I don't bill myself as a wildlife cameraman, so nobody hires me to shoot wildlife. I shoot for fun, for camera testing, and to sell as stock footage.  I feel fortunate to be doing what I love.

[MakoSports]

Hey Doug, are you able to share some info on your custom tripod pan handle?

[DougJensen]

Hey Doug, are you able to share some info on your custom tripod pan handle?

I actually get that question all the time, so I'll start a new thread in a few minutes that I can just point people to in the future.  Stand by.

[julienjarry]

I've got a 200-600 coming and some camo lens coats for it. You've inspired me to get out there once again. I'll make sure to report back. I am thinking about bringing the A1 out mostly to keep things small, allow for stills capture, have 8k and S35 4k options.

[DougJensen]

I've got a 200-600 coming and some camo lens coats for it. You've inspired me to get out there once again. I'll make sure to report back. I am thinking about bringing the A1 out mostly to keep things small, allow for stills capture, have 8k and S35 4k options.

I just coated my 200-600 and 70-200 in black over the holidays.  I sure am liking having most of that ugly beige covered up.

BTW, the A1 is a great camera, but for wildlife video, it is definitely a big step down from the FX6.  Every time I take my A1 out so I am lighter and more nimble, I end up regretting some missed opportunities that the FX6 absolutely would have gotten.  No ND, no picture cache, non-movable EVF, are major shortcomings.  

Just my 2 cents on the subject.

[Danny_Schmidt]

@DougJensen I love seeing the pix of the camera / lens build out.   There are just so many accessories that we all need to do this job so it's helpful to see how other people kit out their rigs!

[Alain.M]

Hey Doug,

Amazing shots !

Would you be able to share your setting to have the lcd screen just above the gratical eye ?

I try to find a solution but haven’t been satisfied with what I’ve found yet.

Have a nice day,

Alain

[DougJensen]

Hi Alain,

Unfortunately the plastic LCD arm that came with the FX6 proved not to be strong enough to support the weight of the LCD and my Zacuto viewfinder.  It broke a few months after I started this thread.  I replaced the arm and now use it only for the LCD, as it was designed.  I now have the Zacuto EVF mounted in about the same place as you see above, but I use some Magic Arm accessories I bought at the Kondor Blue booth last year at NAB.  I can't even tell you exact what parts they are, but the ball-socket arm attaches directly to the camera body and gives me plenty of flexibility for positioning.

https://kondorblue.com/pages/build-your-own-cine-magic-arm