advice on doing videos of calculator operations

[Don Shepherd]

I would like to do a Youtube video of my 17bii calculator running an equation, but my tripod is not up to the task. I essentially want the camera to look straight down on the calculator while it rests on the desk and I push the keys and talk. This device looks like it might do the job, but I was wondering if others have experience doing this kind of thing. My camera is a small digital SLR with the standard screw tripod mount, and it can do movies.

[Bill (Smithville NJ)]

Hi Don,

A copy stand is perfect for straight down video or photos. The biggest problem you may have is that the LCD may be set for slightly angle viewing and if you photograph it head on, the display may not be very distinct. You should do some tests at various angles to see what works best. If you do need a slight angle, then your standard tripod should work.

On further thinking, you could make a sloping board (ie, wedge) and put on the copy board. This would allow for straight down video with the calculator at a slight angle for a better view of the display.

Good luck with the video.

Bill

P.S. - Yippee! This is my 50th post and I am now a "member" of the new forum.

[Don Shepherd]

(07-09-2014 02:02 PM)Bill (Smithville NJ) Wrote:  Hi Don,

A copy stand is perfect for straight down video or photos. The biggest problem you may have is that the LCD may be set for slightly angle viewing and if you photograph it head on, the display may not be very distinct. You should do some tests at various angles to see what works best. If you do need a slight angle, then your standard tripod should work.

On further thinking, you could make a sloping board (ie, wedge) and put on the copy board. This would allow for straight down video with the calculator at a slight angle for a better view of the display.

Good luck with the video.

Bill

P.S. - Yippee! This is my 50th post and I am now a "member" of the new forum.

Yeah, it seems that the 17bii display works best at about a 15 or 20-degree angle. Changing the contrast may work also, I'll have to play around with that.

Hmm, this is my 100th post I think, is something magical in store?

[walter b]

(07-09-2014 02:23 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Hmm, this is my 100th post I think, is something magical in store?

Don't be afraid, it isn't.

d:-)

[Dieter]

(07-09-2014 01:56 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  I would like to do a Youtube video of my 17bii calculator running an equation, but my tripod is not up to the task. I essentially want the camera to look straight down on the calculator while it rests on the desk and I push the keys and talk. This device looks like it might do the job, but I was wondering if others have experience doing this kind of thing. My camera is a small digital SLR with the standard screw tripod mount, and it can do movies.

In general, a copy stand is a suitable solution here. However, the one you refer to looks a bit small and light to me for a "serious" DSLR. I would prefer something more solid for this task. Don't you own a decent tripod with a head that can be tilted 90 degrees downwards?

There are other aspects that are important for a decent video: in any case set focus, exposure and white balance to manual so that they will not change during recording. Nothing is more annoying than a movie with continuously changing focus and exposure due to some weird automatic control. Then, provide decent and even lighting. Never mix different light sources like incandescent and fluorescent lamps and/or daylight. Do not use sound recorded by the camera and add your comments later with a separate microphone during editing. If your camera offers HDMI output you may connect it to a computer display or TV for much better control while the camera records.

And finally: even if the calculator is less wide than high – make sure the camera is mounted in landscape orientation. ;-)

Dieter

[Don Shepherd]

(07-09-2014 03:42 PM)Dieter Wrote:  

(07-09-2014 01:56 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  I would like to do a Youtube video of my 17bii calculator running an equation, but my tripod is not up to the task. I essentially want the camera to look straight down on the calculator while it rests on the desk and I push the keys and talk. This device looks like it might do the job, but I was wondering if others have experience doing this kind of thing. My camera is a small digital SLR with the standard screw tripod mount, and it can do movies.

In general, a copy stand is a suitable solution here. However, the one you refer to looks a bit small and light to me for a "serious" DSLR. I would prefer something more solid for this task. Don't you own a decent tripod with a head that can be tilted 90 degrees downwards?

There are other aspects that are important for a decent video: in any case set focus, exposure and white balance to manual so that they will not change during recording. Nothing is more annoying than a movie with continuously changing focus and exposure due to some weird automatic control. Then, provide decent and even lighting. Never mix different light sources like incandescent and fluorescent lamps and/or daylight. Do not use sound recorded by the camera and add your comments later with a separate microphone during editing. If your camera offers HDMI output you may connect it to a computer display or TV for much better control while the camera records.

And finally: even if the calculator is less wide than high – make sure the camera is mounted in landscape orientation. ;-)

Dieter

Thanks Dieter. Actually, I do own a very good tripod, the Veblon VS-3, with all kinds of adjustment possibilities, but in the couple of videos I have made using it I just couldn't get the camera quite where I wanted it.

My camera is a small digital, Fujifilm Finepix S8200 series. It is rather compact and I thought it would work well with this stand. Some reviewers say you need a shutter release when using the stand, but I imagine that advice is for still pix, not videos, which is what I am doing. Yeah, I know to lock-in the focus so it doesn't keep auto-adjusting during the video.

Thanks again for the good tips.

[Geoff Quickfall]

I use a tripod with the center pole inverted so the camera platform is inside the tripod legs. I then shoot vertically downwards with a background sheet of blue.

Lighting is natural with white cardboard reflectors. Here are two youtube videos I did a while ago. My 2013 presentation at HHC2013 also used this technique.



http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=15Y9TuF-YlY

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=37BBEY4AbQs

My HCC2013 presentation also used this technique o imbed video demos in the PowerPoint presentation.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=564WxcPuGsY

Cheers, geoff

PS: remove your polarizer filter if you use one! Or rotate it so the screen is not black. The above technique was also used for all still photos in the (yes) soon to be completed manual.

[Don Shepherd]

(07-09-2014 08:14 PM)Geoff Quickfall Wrote:  I use a tripod with the center pole inverted so the camera platform is inside the tripod legs. I then shoot vertically downwards with a background sheet of blue.

Lighting is natural with white cardboard reflectors. Here are two youtube videos I did a while ago. My 2013 presentation at HHC2013 also used this technique.



http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=15Y9TuF-YlY

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=37BBEY4AbQs

My HCC2013 presentation also used this technique o imbed video demos in the PowerPoint presentation.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=564WxcPuGsY

Cheers, geoff

Thanks Geoff, I'll look at those videos.

My tripod has a black cap at the bottom of the center pole that appears to be non-removeable, and that would prevent me from inverting the pole, unfortunately.

[Dieter]

(07-09-2014 05:35 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Thanks Dieter. Actually, I do own a very good tripod, the Veblon VS-3,

Unbelievable – a Velbon VS-3 from the late Seventies. ;-) At that time a friend of mine used a DS-3 (essentially the same model with a geared center column).

The original VS-3 had a center column that could be used in a horizontal position. This would be quite useful in your case. However there seems to be a current tripod with the same name. Maybe you refer to this one.

Quote:My camera is a small digital, Fujifilm Finepix S8200 series.

?!? In your initial post you said you are going to use a DSLR ?!

Quote:It is rather compact and I thought it would work well with this stand. Some reviewers say you need a shutter release when using the stand, but I imagine that advice is for still pix, not videos, which is what I am doing.

You may start the camera a few seconds earlier and wait until the vibrations are gone. Later this part can be removed from the final video.

Stability still can be an issue if you press buttons on the calculator resting on the base of the copy stand. This may be visible in the video.

Quote:Yeah, I know to lock-in the focus

Be sure to lock the exposure as well.

Dieter

[Don Shepherd]

Quote:Unbelievable – a Velbon VS-3 from the late Seventies

Yeah, my daughter was born in 1979 and I decided to invest in a good 35mm camera and tripod at that time. I forget the camera model number, but it was a Nikon SLR, probably a low-end one. I took many great pics over the years with that setup.

Quote:In your initial post you said you are going to use a DSLR

I misspoke. I've been very happy with this Fujifilm camera, however, and my wife loves it. I bought it specifically because it uses good old AA batteries and has an old-fashioned viewfinder, but I find myself using the LCD screen most of the time.

Quote:Stability still can be an issue if you press buttons on the calculator resting on the base of the copy stand. This may be visible in the video.

I hadn't considered that, but you're right. If I get this stand I'll have to do some experimenting. I've only done a couple of videos in the past and would like to do one more, and I'm not sure I want to go to the expense of buying this for a one-time use.

[Dave Shaffer]

As an occasional teacher of digital photography at the university level, I would go with the suggestion to just use a slanted board for display (a piece of plywood, perhaps with a non-skid surface) is what you need.

[Don Shepherd]

(07-10-2014 12:32 AM)Dave Shaffer Wrote:  As an occasional teacher of digital photography at the university level, I would go with the suggestion to just use a slanted board for display (a piece of plywood, perhaps with a non-skid surface) is what you need.

Thanks Dave, that sounds like a good idea.

[Dieter]

(07-09-2014 10:59 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Yeah, my daughter was born in 1979 and I decided to invest in a good 35mm camera and tripod at that time. I forget the camera model number, but it was a Nikon SLR, probably a low-end one. I took many great pics over the years with that setup.

The only low-end Nikon SLR at that time was the brand new EM, a camera without manual exposure control (aperture priority auto only) that was exclusively available in black. Which - except in higher end models - was quite unusual at that time. It also was one of the very first cameras with a beeper. ;-)

So you got the original VS-3. In this case it should feature a tiltable center column. This could be very useful here since it allows the camera to look downward while the calculator rests on a table or on whatever you like – but without any mechanical connection to the camera. So you can do anything with the calculator without the slightest effect on the camera position. If you do a Google image search for "Velbon VS-3" you will find various pictures of your tripod with the center column set horizontally, for instance this one. The picture also shows the VS-3's second camera support (additional 1/4" screw) where the camera may be mounted pointing downwards while the center column stays in its standard vertical position.

Quote:I hadn't considered that, but you're right. If I get this stand I'll have to do some experimenting. I've only done a couple of videos in the past and would like to do one more, and I'm not sure I want to go to the expense of buying this for a one-time use.

One more reason for using the VS-3. ;-)

Dieter

[Don Shepherd]

(07-10-2014 12:12 PM)Dieter Wrote:  The only low-end Nikon SLR at that time was the brand new EM, a camera without manual exposure control (aperture priority auto only) that was exclusively available in black. Which - except in higher end models - was quite unusual at that time. It also was one of the very first cameras with a beeper. ;-)

So you got the original VS-3. In this case it should feature a tiltable center column. This could be very useful here since it allows the camera to look downward while the calculator rests on a table or on whatever you like – but without any mechanical connection to the camera. So you can do anything with the calculator without the slightest effect on the camera position.

Yeah, it was the EM, that was a great little camera and I used it for many years (maybe decades) with no problems and great pix.

This setup will work fine for my purposes, I think (I had to remove the camera from the tripod so I could take the picture!). It will record upside-down, but I think Youtube lets you rotate 180 degrees.

[Raymond Del Tondo]

(07-09-2014 01:56 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  I would like to do a Youtube video of my 17bii calculator running an equation, but my tripod is not up to the task.

Hi, as an alternative you could use Emu17B (actually Emu42S with different parameters) and capture the PC screen with suitable software:-)

HTH

[Don Shepherd]

(07-10-2014 02:58 PM)Raymond Del Tondo Wrote:  

(07-09-2014 01:56 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  I would like to do a Youtube video of my 17bii calculator running an equation, but my tripod is not up to the task.

Hi, as an alternative you could use Emu17B (actually Emu42S with different parameters) and capture the PC screen with suitable software:-)

HTH

Thanks Raymond, someone else suggested that to me as well, but I've never been a big fan of emulators. I do have one on my Nexus 7 tablet for the 17b and 65, but I'm not overly impressed with them. I prefer the original iron.

[Dieter]

(07-10-2014 02:00 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  This setup will work fine for my purposes, I think ...

Yes, the basic idea is fine. But you should move the tripod closer to that small table where the calculator is placed, so that the center column does not have to extend that much. This may be accomplished by mounting the tripod head to the other end of the column. The latter should also be set to an exactly horizontal position. If neccessary, the table / calculator stand may be lowered. All this improves stability.

Dieter

[Don Shepherd]

(07-10-2014 05:13 PM)Dieter Wrote:  This may be accomplished by mounting the tripod head to the other end of the column.

Dieter

I didn't know that was possible! But now I tried it and, yes, I see you can unscrew the head and screw it onto the opposite end of the center pole (so that's what that little screwhead thingy there is for). Amazing, thanks for that tip, I had no idea. So, in effect, it does have a reversible center pole.

You learn something new every day! Thanks Dieter.