Start Self Filming Your Hunts On a Budget!
Starting Out Filming Your Hunts Can be tricky, especially for anyone that has never taken this route when hunting. Where do you start, What do you need, how much will it cost? In this article we break down the Bare Necessities to Start Filming Hunts on a Budget!
Why Start Filming?
Everyone Has Different Reasons on why they want to start Self Filming. It could be Sharing what happened during your Hunts, because you want to start a YouTube channel/tv show, look back on your hunting memories, use it to review shots & Learning opportunities!
Even if you don’t get to shoot an animal, you can at least capture it, review it, share it! One of my favorite reasons to film hunts is to share that memory with my Friends, and Family! Those are the people that I love to film the most! Being able to watch that footage back together and reminesse on the memories of that Hunt! I can promise once you start filming your hunts, you will not be able to stop!
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Use your Smartphone
Using Your Smartphone is the easiest and most budget friendly way to start filming your Hunts! It is perfect for bowhunting especially. The animal is naturally going to be closer to you when you are taking a shot. Most Smartphones have 1080p–4k Resolution capabilities. The best perk of a Smartphone is that most people already have one! Take advantage of the camera function and Boom you can start filming your Hunts!
One Downfall to the Smart phone is the limited zoom capabilities, but even now a days phones are being made with 2-4x Optical Zoom! You can find some aftermarket lenses that help with the zoom on phones Here on Amazon! This is a great way to get your toes in the water for self filming, or even filming for Friends and Family pleasure!
Used/Refurbished HandyCam |Alternative Option|
The More Expensive, but alternative route is to buy a Handy Cam. Your and Either go for something new or used to get your feet wet in the Self Filming Hunts game! With a Handy Cam you’re going to be spending a little more money, but you’re going to get better Zoom, Zoom quality, and low light performance. Pay close attention to the cameras sensor size when you’re looking to buy your first one! You can also follow along with our Best Camera For Self Filming Hunts HERE!
Remember that The bigger the sensor size, the better the low light performance will be. Just make sure you do your research before buying a camera for self filming your hunts. Good places to look for Pre-Owned Cameras is Facebook Marketplace/Groups, Craigslist, E-Bay, and Even Amazon has some good New/Used Cameras!
Here are a few great New Cameras that you can take a look at as well:
Inexpensive Camera Arms
Choosing a Good Camera Arm is the most Crucial part of your Self Filming Set-Up! You can have as nice of a camera as you want, but if you don’t have a good camera arm to keep your videos stable and smooth, them your videos will not be fun to watch!
As will most things, you get what you pay for in a camera arm. If you are recording with a smartphone you can get something lightweight and cheaper. The Muddy Hunt Hard Camera Arm is a perfect option for someone that is just starting out and filming with a Phone! It is a good camera arm for under $100, and it comes with a camera head! Perfect for starting to film hunts!
If you are using a Handy Cam or even want to ensure that you are getting the most stable video footage with your Phone, you can use the alternative option, which is actually the camera arm we film with here at FeatherNett Outdoors, which is the Muddy Outfitter Camera Arm!
These are the Bare Necessities when it comes to Starting to Self Film Your Hunts. We included some optional Options below so that you can help build your Filming Set-Up! Everyone has different budgets, but starting out it could be as cheap as $55 with a Single Camera arm and $10 For a solid Phone mount to go with it!
As you get into higher budget ranges, you will get higher quality filming gear, and build a better Filming Load-out!
Used GoPro for 2nd Angles |Optional|
Catching a 2nd Angle during your Hunt Helps show your Surroundings, makes the video more personable, and helps tell the story of what is happening! The 2nd angle camera market is Flooded! Your can Find Go-Pros, Tactacam, or even use your Cell phone For a 2nd Angle!
There are a variety of ways that you can use a 2nd angle Camera to elevate your videos. You can mount the camera facing back at you, to give the video a more personable view or you can have it mounted on your bow to get a wide angle of the shot, or use tactacams bow mount stabilizer system as well! The Versatility of a 2nd angle camera such as a GoPro is worth the purchase!
One Critical Tool that we use with our 2nd Angle Cameras is a Flexible Spider arm Tripod! This easily wraps around tree branches, your bow, your tree stand, or anything else that you could wrap the legs around! Its also a good selfie stick and tripod for interviews!
Mic To Improve Video Audio |Optional|
Audio can make or break a video! Good audio will enhance the overall video quality, and make it more enjoyable to watch and listen to. There are a few ways that you can improve the overall audio, one is getting a lapel mic to capture your conversations, or you sharing information with the audience. This will make it sound like you’re inside the camera, and give a good crisp sound in your video.
The 2nd Option is to get a shotgun mic for your camera! Agin this will help enhance the overall sound of your video. The shotgun mic is great for catching leaves crunching when that big buck is walking in. When you are out in front of the camera talking it will pic up your audio better as well. This is the best option when you are Starting out!
Fluid Head |Optional|
A Fluid Camera Head is A necessity as you advance in your filming experience. A good stable Fluid Head will help support and stabilize your camera to give good stable footage! It also changes the game for smooth panning footage when you are showing off the scenery of your Hunting Location!
Lanc Camera Remote |Optional|
When it comes to using a smartphone, you probably won’t be using a camera remote, but for using a Handy Camera, a camera remote can make a world of difference especially when self filming your Hunts! You can easily navigate some of your cameras basic functions with one hand, and without making a bunch of movement. This makes you a stealthy film maker in the woods and will help you to capture more professional footage! I personally use the StealthZoom by Varizoom!
Itemized Breakdown:
- Phone/Camera $0-$300
- Camera Arm $60-$100
- 2nd-Angle Camera |Optional|$50-$200
- Audio Mic |Optional| $60
- Fluid Head |Optional| $60
- Camera Remote |Optional| $100
- Cheapest Set-Up With Phone–$60
- Loaded Set-Up With Phone–$480
Our $100 Set-Up:
Camera: Smart Phone (FREE/Already Purchased)
Camera Arm: Muddy Hunt Hard Camera $50
GRAND TOTAL: $103.44
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Did you Like this Article? Checkout: The Best Camera For Self Filming Hunts HERE!
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