EASY RIDER CASE STUDY
have used them for on-bike shots mainly on race tracks before, but the newGoPro Hero7 Black is a huge step up from its predecessors. I used it for a combination of on-bike shots and walk about vlogging, and it was perfect for both. The Hero7 Black can shoot 12-megapixel stills and 4K video at 60fps. It also offers 8x slomo, water protection up to 10m and gives the kind of stunning results we’ve all come to expect from a box so small that I actually managed to temporarily lose it in my side pannier twice during the trip. The built-in HyperSmooth stabilisation is so good, you don’t need a gimbal for handheld shots. Try it – it’s incredible. The audio quality on this camera is leagues better than previous models as well, but I chose to add a wind deflector for the riding shots. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find a sponge jacket to fit the 7 model, so I bought a 5 model jacket and carefully cut out the holes to fit the lens and screen. It was a bit tight, but worked a treat. I also recommend the GoPro 3-Way for handholding, which has a dinky mini tripod inside for freestanding shots. I bought my bike mounts fromTelferizer and, while these were sturdy and easily adjustable, I still wished I’d bought the Jaws Flex Clamp, as it would have been handy to change the camera position while riding. Ultimately, I only used one GoPro, which I repositioned around the bike at various points, but it would have been nice to have several to shoot multiple angles of the same “The newGoProHero7 Black is a huge step up from its predecessors”
fits into any flight-legal carry-on. It also comes with a neat Arca-Swiss style ball and socket head, with three-way locking and a friction-controlled liquid panning facility. Finally, I needed some off-camera flash, so stop here if you’re a video-only guy. The Godox 860 VII Speedlites are compact and very powerful and, when controlled off-camera with the X1 transmitter, they offer the same power as well as TTL and HSS capability of the Sony own-brand units. The difference is that the Sony units cost around four times the price. You do the maths! To partner them, Pixapro produces superb pop up 60x60cm softboxes, which are around £60 each. These come complete with a bracket for your speedlite and even a honeycomb grid add-on. One of my favourite finds were the Phot-R Ultra Portable Studio Light Stands. However, there was a problemwith the overall folded length, and they took some finding. I bought these in a pack of four for £91.95 including a carry case. Amazing value! They’re not as solid as my Manfrotto studio stands, but they’re all you need for a small speedlite or LED unit. Overall, the trip was a great success, with three different 4K video cameras, a drone, plus an advertising-quality, full-frame stills set-up, including lighting and stands. Literally everything (plus my own personal luggage) was carried on one motorcycle. The bike I was lent was a £40,000 Harley- Davidson Ultra Road Glide Lux and, while fantastic, it didn’t have the elegance of the ‘Captain America’ bike ridden by Peter Fonda in the movie. I’mpretty sure though, Pete would probably have preferred to do the return trip to LA onmy bike. He could probably have afforded it, too.
scenes. The 7 series apparently has voice commands, but I never mastered these since its buttons are large and easy to use, even with gloves on. Tripod tests Every photographer/videographer needs a tripod, and I have stacks of them. However, not one of the pods I own would fold down to airline carry-on bag while still offering me full head-height capability. This was probably my most difficult search – the trick being to find one of only a fewmodels that fold their legs back onto the shaft, covering up the head. The MeFoto RoadTrip was a clear winner. It comes inmultiple colour options, but I bought the slightly more expensive carbon version for its light weight. Inmy opinion, it’s the best-value, most stable eye-level tripod on the market. It folds down to just over 13in long, extends to eye level and comes in a carry case that
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ABOVE Along the way, Bradbury produced stills and moving footage of the characters and locations he encountered
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SUMMER 2019 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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