Railfan Technology > Vibration and hi-def video

I shoot video with a consumer-grade Canon Mini-DV tape camera (HV-30) and always use a tripod (Manfrotto 458B with a 3130 fluid pan head) since I'm too shaky to get anything decent hand-held. I've had a lot of trouble with vibration if the camera is too close to a rail joint, the wind is blowing, etc. The camera's image stabilizer doesn't seem to help, and neither does stabilization software in a video editor. The distortion seems to be three dimensional, as though the optics in the camera are moving relative to the sensor rather than the whole camera just moving relative to the scene. I see the same problem in other videos, so it's not just my camera. Anybody know a good, inexpensive way to minimize vibration in situations where you can't just move the camera further from the tracks?

I've been thinking that the image stabilization wasn't designed for the camera sitting on a tripod with a speeding train within 20' on relatively soft ground. It was probably meant for Joe "Handheld, get the camera out for the kid's birthday party" shooting. We're going to see if we can neuter it.

Bill Kepner

I have a friend who would weigh down the center beam of his tripod and put foam on the bottom of the legs.

That was years ago with a VHS corder. I myself haven't tried it.

I also suspect that Image Stabilization or VR does not work as intended on moving trains. I noticed it reacting strange to the headlight.

One way to check it out would be to try a train approaching and then the same train without the headlight, or maybe turn around and check how it works going away.

It may also be related to the angle of approach, either with headlight or simple velocity. Curious how it works out.

Go to Big 5 Sporting goods and get yourself a 5-10 pound weight. Put a rope on it and attach it to the center of your tripod and hang it freely. I used this method in the past when using lightweight tripods. Keep the field of view wide and avoid zooming.

Do not use the camera image stabilization on the tripod as the movement of the train will mess it up. In the video you will see the lens pan right to left as the train passes.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

I've got the same Canon HDV camcorder as you do (and a previous model, the HV-20 too) and I get pretty good results shooting hand held (sometimes with a cheap Sima camera brace accessory). The stabilizer seems to work pretty well for me, even at the high end of the optical zoom. I rarely use a tripod, just too much trouble for my casual shooting style. Before camcorders had stabilizers my zoom shots were shaky beyond belief!

I believe I read that on my Canon digital camera with a Canon lens with image stabilization they said don't use it on a tri-pod.
Stan

Google CMOS rolling shutter effect. You can not correct it in post-production. Weighing down the tripod may make it worse not better, as it will enhance the transmission of the ground shaking to the camera. My heaviest tripod gives the most vibration when the ground shakes. Optical image stabilization may help some. You can also try putting the tri-pod legs on sandbags, although the sand may shift too much. You can also ditch CMOS and buy a CCD camera, although they are getting harder to find.

Marcam_Productions Wrote:

> Google CMOS rolling shutter effect.

Thanks to everyone who responded, and especially for the above tip. Ironically, I specifically bought a CMOS hi-def camera because I was sick of headlight smear with my lo-def CCD camera. Looks like I just traded that problem for rolling shutter wobble. Oh well - just have to take the equipment's limitations into consideration when planning shots.