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Love the tips! What would you recommend for getting camera movement shots? Trying to find a cheap and portable slider set up for my rig to create those shots you always see on planet earth that track the animal while moving the camera

Hey James, great stuff. I'm just curious what model trail camera you have there. The footage seems to be a lot and I mean a lot nicer than what I'm getting on mine. Then again I only paid $120 bucks.

Absolutely loved this story, incredibly inspiring to hear. Ultimate dream career for sure, and I can’t wait to hear more about it!

The C400 is the most versatile out of the bunch. What you need to decide, is how much versatility you need.

Do you record on the camera or monitor?

The last 3 years I've been doing independ films and shorts. Shot Komodo X and Blackmagic for shorts, Alexa Mini for the features. Now I'm moving into Corp video and docs for 2025. C400looks like its gonna be the riggt tool. But to be honest, a used C500 M2 might be the play for me. The image is great and the price is right. I can do the type of work I mentioned on it. Still deciding though🤷🏿‍♂️

Bear and wolf: we eating good tonite boys

The Red Raptor S35 for wildlife seems like it would be perfect. Extra reach, cheaper than the full frame, incredible frame rate and resolution options

The one thing with Canon C-line that always bugged me is that the color out of these cameras is the same as from their dslr era of cameras. Don't get me wrong, they've certainly made a lot of improvements overtime, but the general idea is constant - oversaturated blue/cyan, reds are in the weird spot also. While, it could be definitely dialed down on grade, but a lot of times it's just an extra thing one has to do all the time. Also the underexposure always looked really bad on C-line, especially when shot in raw - lots of green/yellow noise in the lower stops, which are looking unpleasant. I'd still prefer C300 over C400 because it's the camera that stands out of the Canon crowd the most in terms of color and lower stops. But speaking of wildlife/doc, I suppose the c400 is a better camera to go with among those, maybe except for Raptor (and it's a matter of taste here) - it's easier to carry, operate and it's more suited to different environments than any red/arri camera. Speaking of the images I'd rate them as z-cam>c400>komodo>raptor solely by judging color that you get out of the box, the reds, yellows, and blues are much better looking on komodo/raptor, than c400/z-cam in my opinion.

Do you have any opinions on good older cameras that would still be worth buying in 2024/2025 for someone who is getting more into the doc style work? I used to be deep into photo gear when I had a good amount of work pre pandy, but have transition more into video work for my youtube channel and freelance work. Im trying to get some better gear in the next few months but dont want to, and cant afford to hop on the new gear hype train lol. Thanks! Those humming birds are beautiful! Such a cool setup:)

Great Work on video and I just have a few points 1. 16bit vs 12bit is over discussed as Arri Raw is 12bit and still holds image title over Red Raw 16bit, 2. The c400 at $8K is better value than every other camera mentioned with DR, ND’s, Triple Base, AFii and RF mount considered. 3. No such thing as perfect camera so it’s about finding perfect tool for job and based on you’re needs c400 is clear winner but you mentioned brand recognition and if your shooting narratives I understand RED premium name but wildlife which is closer to Docs, well c300’s being crushing at Sundance for years in that category and last year continued that trend and if Garrett Edward’s shot $100mil creator on fx3 for Dual base ISO I think you can justify c400 for Triple base. Finally I was you added a comparison checklist as it would have be very clear what camera you should get because DMS2 boot up times and Red Balancing, media types and serviceability should be last camera to consider among the bunch for uncontrolled environments. Thanks for content

amature here but I do film wildlife with my Sony A7siii (low light beast) But man the zcam for roughly $2500 vs canon 400 $11,000 vs red rap.$75,000....It funny how industry insist on more expensive camera where most people are watching stuff on TV and it's only now that people are getting 4k tv's....I don't know. For me I love the image of the zcam and the price.

The low light debate is kinda of a very complex one. I found the Komodo X to be a killer camera in low light. Much superior than anything under 10k on the market. The amount of details that’s camera capture at 400iso in the shadows it’s staggering and an FX3 for example can’t even come close to it.Because people think the that double or triple base ISO of a camera is important but in a professional setting they aren’t really because those image at those super high Iso don’t look good, they are mushy and will never make the cut in a professional looking doc/film. The super high iso base will give you the chance to capture an image that another camera won’t display that well, but often the image is compromised anyway , just because it looks like it’s exposed right , doesn’t mean it looks right. You can use those cameras like the FX3 or c 400 for low profile gigs ( weddings, events) where the client isn’t gonna look at that image in a professional setting and doesn’t have the eye to tell the loss in quality that shooting with those high iso comes with

Great video, very insightful. PS: Great audio as well. Even better with „hide the mic“ next time :)

I'm waiting to see what Nikon/RED announce in 2025. Hopefully something spectacular.

Amazing! Thanks.

Z cam f6 just can’t beat it for the price and the image it produce. I’ll say just keep the z cam and add other tools too your arsenal

I own the Komodo X with both Metabones PL > RF snd EF > RF Speedboosters. They are the heavy duty Cine versions. They work great and lock the lens tight. I use Canon CN-E, Sigma Art, and DZO Vespid with no issues. When I need two cams I use the V-Raptor + KX with a speedbooster and it’s a beautiful setup. I strongly encourage you stay in the DSMC3 ecosystem at this point. Quieter cameras, better audio, smaller footprint, and the iOS app is super convenient for some shoots. C400 also looks great for low light or doc work. Price is amazing. If you were considering budgeting for V-Raptor then maybe go for C400 and KX instead. Best of both worlds.

C400. What the RED offers in slight image performance the C400 makes up for in nearly all other aspects.

I think the raptor is competing w the alexa mini lf.. in price and the mini lf beats the shit out of it, the komodo x is the best deal for the form factor , red raw, weight and image quality ratio. The c400 is great, it has some use cases, iv tried it before against the komodo X , but i wasnt blown away by it , i can see the triple base ISO being useful sometimes , but not as useful to loose R3D raw because of it.

Hi James. Thank you for posting. I use the Canon speed booster. It works well on my Komodo. I focus manually so not sure how the speed booster performs with AF. But, optically, I don’t see any issues. Canon has a list of EF lenses they recommend with their speed booster.

Canon really the most overpriced cams there are

I still prefer DSMC2 reds over DSMC3, and would really consider a Gemini for the low light ability. Would also be really curious to see how that image compares to the V-raptor or C400, especially in low light.

I've had great success using the Canon Focal Reducer on my KOMODO X, the extra stop of light comes in handy but I have zero experience shooting wildlife. I have also had a terrific experience with my RED V-RAPTOR X shooting in dark scenes it does such a superb job at retaining color information and the blacks stay black which is important to me.

whats with the blacks on C400?

Canon C400 резче

#zcam family! RUclips randomly recommended me your video and great to see more ZCam shooters...

RED komodo x with the latest price drop is really a no brainer if you is ready to work with RAW and dont need run and gun with ND and all that. If you are more all around the c400 is the clear winner. The Z-cam is super awesome and the new E6 pro with V mount is crazy cool. The komodo X is the winner because its so "cheap" and have the almost same color as the expensive raptor.

I have a C400 that I’ve been working with for around two weeks. I absolutely love it. I’ve shot with Komodo before and while the image is absolutely stunning, the lack of usability was quite aggravating. Red will always have the edge when it comes to grading. However, autofocus, internal ND, great ISO performance and custom buttons make the C400 a much more practical camera. Image is king but it’s only king if you can actually capture the image in the first place.

I gotta say it’s really great that someone so deep in the wildlife filmmaking industry is making videos like this! There was definitely a lack of this genre of content so thank you so much James for providing aspiring members of the industry like myself with the content we all want to see. I think the c400 is probably my dream camera but maybe that’s my bias talking because I already have a bunch of canon RF gear haha

Nice comparison James. I’m having a very similar debate as I look to make an upgrade from my a7s3. The Sony line up pretty much maxes out at 8k 30/ 4k 120 which leaves a little to be desired on the wildlife side and the Sony tech is starting to feel a little dated. The raptor ticks a lot of boxes (except build in ND) but I just can’t justify that price tag in this market. Komodo X with an ND adapter seems to be a decent middle ground but that low light performance isn’t ideal. I’m crossing my fingers for a competitive FX9ii in Q1 of ‘25 but that’s likely wishful thinking.

Great review - and nice to know that there are options at different price-points!

Great review, James. FWIW, the C400 is Netflix approved. Of course that's not the sole reason for making a purchase decision as there are a lot more variables going into the mix. I went with the C400 due to the triple native ISO and also because of the built in features such as ND filters. And given the features vs price, it made the decision quite a bit easier. Now to be honest, that Raptor is still calling my name but so far, no regrets going with the C400.

the mom is smaller but that ❤️ makes up for it.

Beautiful shots and some stunning behaviour too. You live in an amazing country. My only concern would be that there is maybe not enough sequence (story) building shown?

Stunning! Thank you for sharing.

What are the ways to earn by wildlife, travel film making other than youtube?

Hi James Thanks for sharing these tips, very helpful! Your videography is incredible! Stef🦊

Absolutely amazing James! Very inspiring for those of us that want to take that next step! Thank you!

I think one of the pups looks a bit melanistic. Kudos, maybe it's a silver fox❤.

Love the video, James. Great tips as always - particularly when it comes to tripods. Been using the Canon 200-800 lately but would love to do a side by side comparison with the Sigma. Obviously with the Canon you give up some mm on the short end that gets offset with the 800mm on the other end.

Love this! Great tips, thank you so much James!

I'm a little late to the party but my boys out here winning Emmy's!? Nothing short of amazing to see where life has taken you, so proud of you brother! Miss ya!

Lovely footage.

Solid information. Keep Well & Stay Safe 👍🇬🇧

Hey man, I've watched a few of your videos now and decided to subscribe. I like what you're doing with your channel. I'm using similar gear and have been looking for some advanced tips and instruction. You can check out my channel if you like. I've been a wildlife photog for a long time and just branched into video about two years ago. Anyhow, keep up the good work!

I thought I saw you using a SmallRig PH8 Professional Fluid Video Head. I just bought one a few days ago to use with a Benro Mammoth tripod. What are your thoughts on the head? I bought to upgrade from a Manfrotto 502 fluid head.