Has anyone used this device? It's an 8-foot metal pole that allows you to immerse your camera and Gates housing into the water from topside. It weighs about 6 pounds and you can adjust the vertical tilt of the housing with a lever. I would be using it in very shallow freshwater streams with the HC7 and Gates housing and an external topside monitor. Snorkeling may be an option in some of these streams, but I would be a large enough interference in these waters to scare my subjects into hiding or 30 yards downstream. The HC7 housing with camera weigh about 10 pounds above water, and I would guess maybe a couple of pounds when submerged (in fresh water). I'm wondering how unwieldy the setup might be. Of course, comments from Gates staff are always welcome. Anyone used this device for filming sharks?
Cheers
Pat
Pole camming is very useful . It does take a bit of practice to get the movement (panning etc) correct. The trick is to translate your composition into movement with the pole. Of course a big monitor helps.
Yep they sure are.
Never used a GATES one but we used a home made one and got this
I have to say you retreated rather quickly. So much for the bravado of ozzies.
Wags's video reminds me of my own homemade pole. Made from the broom! Photo from a Wetpixel trip:
And here is some of the footage. Rather lower quality, I am afraid.
Alex
Why weren't you in the water Wags....
'Blue Water White Death' Part II
Firstly...
Get in the bleeding water you chickens... Thats the freaking point...
Alex had better W/B on his than Wags... Well according to my monitor...
And Alex.. Why the Elvis / Billy Idol impression...??? "Uh har har"... "Thank you very much"...
Dive safe
Dean(Commercial diver)B
Well if the Great White was not feeding on a dead Whale I might of thought about it getting in
That side pontoon went down after that so we thought we would call it a day.
Alex you need to give yourself a pat on the back for designing that. What a work of art......
Great shot as well I must say.
Dean I think the water in the Bahamas might be a tad bluer than here.
Alex you need to give yourself a pat on the back for designing that. What a work of art......
Yea and the photo evidence would suggest that it was not even beer assisted - I would need beer myself to come up with a creation such as that.
The gaffer tape at the bottom....
I've used broom handles and duck tape and got some decent results. Last summer I went really upmarket and used some steel tubing! weeheey!
You can get some shots with a pole that you wouldn't otherwise get, so I'd definitely recommend giving it a go. Like some of us have already mentioned you don't need to spend a fortune, although it would be nice to be able to see what you're actually filming via a monitor. Perhaps I'll try that myself this year!
Cheers, Simon
I have a Gates pole and never leave home without it. The monitor is a must.
OK you have me curious - what are you taking pictures off that you don't want to be in there with it ?
The great white ate my boat shot - fair comment, despite Dean the man's bravado I don't want to be that close to the business end.
And taking pics of the local outfall be it nuke or sewerage - also understandable.
So what remains?
I have some gaffer tape somewhere in the shed......
Simon - I seem to recall you are big on sharks as well?
Paul C
Paul, it is not a case that I wouldn't want to be in the water (as personally I'd always want to be in the water) but sometimes its simply not possible. The best examples I can come up with is if you were not allowed to enter the water (lack of permit, local protection etc) but still wanted to film or if you wanted to film a subject that wouldn't hang around long enough for you to film it if you yourself jumped in. Of course there are also the purely practical occasions when for safety reasons you probably don't want be getting into the water like bad weather or when you have a GWS feeding on a whale carcass(!), but you also don't want to miss out on any footage so a pole can be a great alternative.
There are other thoughts on using polearms as well. I can recall Peter Scones at one of his talks saying that he prefers to use a pole as he feels that he is getting more natural behaviour without his subject being affected by his own presence. It's not just film either - there are quite a few famous photographers (particularly shark photographers) who have rigged up a pole system to get some spectacular shots that they probably wouldn't have been able to get without loosing at least one appendage!
Hope this gives you an idea
Cheers, Simon
Peter scones ??? If your going to quote the Scoones meister get his name right...lol..
well i didn't realise he was chicken... Natural behaviour.... My Arse !!!!
Dive safe
DeanB
Thanks guys.
Look at the thousands of posts that have been made by the guys who fashioned their own pole-cams and lived to tell about it. Maybe it's a behavior that leads to a long life!
I want to use one in small, cold, icy mountain rivers where sometimes there won't be room for me and the fish in the same pool, for tide-pooling, and for filming some very small skittish fish in freshwater creeks. The 8-foot Gates Pole may be overkill for these uses, and I'm starting to get inspired about making my own. After I pay for the bulkhead video-out retrofit on the housing and a decent monitor, I may be looking at a nice $10 broom stick myself.
Cheers
Pat
Alex do I spot a cable tie or two in there as well? My motto is "if it can't be built with gaffer tape and cable ties it ain't worth building".
I would love to use a pole for shooting dolphins riding the bow wave and cruising around the boat. Over here they always vanish when anyone enters the water. But my last 2 housings have been so big it just isn't practical.
Thanks for the reply's - I will head off back to the stills section where I belong before I start getting ideas.
We had a large pod of the black and white spotted dolphins playing in the bow wave last year - that would have been cool to see on video in the water. Not a hope of getting in there with them.
mmmm.
Paul C
We had a large pod of the black and white spotted dolphins playing in the bow wave last year - that would have been cool to see on video in the water. Not a hope of getting in there with them.
mmmm.
Scoones did a great shot for the BBC's Seatrek in 1991 = where he got the polecam out in front on the dolphins - so they were bow riding towards the camera, with the boat behind.
Alex
Peter scones ??? If your going to quote the Scoones meister get his name right...lol..
well i didn't realise he was chicken... Natural behaviour.... My Arse !!!!
Dive safe
DeanB
Oooops. It's amazing the fact that dropping one 'o' from a name can turn someone from a legendary cinematographer into a Cream Tea. Profound apologies Mr Scoones!!
Cheers, Simon
I'm sure Scoonsie wouldn't mind too much, Mr Pear.
