Great work John. I'm just getting into camera trapping myself and your films have been invaluable reference material for someone just starting out in this discipline. Keep up the good work. All the best, Si 👍
Thank Simon, much appreciated. I'm glad you are finding them useful. It seems as if we have a bit in common apart from the obvious passion for wildlife photography, in that I too have connections with Preston, it's where my wife is from and a lot of her family still live. Also, both you and me have had a fall from a ladder quite recently, however I have to say you bounced a little bit better than I did 😂 my fall ended with a spell in hospital. Now I see you are living in Shropshire, I have been living near Oswestry in Shropshire for the last 20 odd years, so welcome to the county. There are lots of great wildlife areas to explore here with your camera. Good luck with your camera trapping, I will be keeping an eye on your channel to see how it goes, however, I will warn you that camera trapping can be very addictive once you start getting some results. Regards John. 👍
Great work John. Just a few more months and you can photograph badgers live in the evening. I love seeing it live, but your cam trap sure looks interesting.
Hi John, I'm loving your content, I am totally new to camera trapping. I'm trying to wrap my head around the flashes it seems like a dark art. I'd love to chat or try to understand the set up. I have 3 SB28... I will likely start wit a 2 flash set up. I'm struggling with the power/zoom setting. Look forward to hearing from you. Best Adam
Hi Adam, Lighting can seem a bit daunting but its like a lot of things where practice makes perfect. As a starting point if you set up your flashes around 3m (10ft) from your subject with the power set to 1/8th -1/16th power. with a camera setting of aperture F8-F10 and 400 iso, you wont be far off the mark and you can adjust accordingly. Remember that shutter speed only affects the ambient light and has no effect on the flash exposure. As for the zoom settings, the higher the zoom setting the more concentrated the pool of light will be and it also intensifies the power slightly, setting the zoom around 35 - 50mm will cover most situations. My best advice would be to practice at home or in your garden after dark with various settings to see how it affects the image. I used to use one of my daughters large teddy bears as a model when I was practising my lighting settings 😊 you may get ridiculed by your family but the knowledge you gain will be priceless. Also take a look at some studio lighting tutorials on You Tube as the lighting principles for studio photography are just the same for camera trapping for example (flash 1) your key/main light (flash 2) your fill light (flash 3) your backlight. I hope this helps. Regards John.
Great video, I like the idea of using a flash meter, are you setting meter to read at sync speed and then setting camera at Av and allowing what ever little bit of ambient to soak in? Sorry for the questions
That's right. The light meter is just reading the flash power output which only affects the iso and f stop settings, in Av mode it is the ambient light that dictates the shutter speed. No need to apologize for the questions. Hope this helps. 😊
Hi, There are very many variables on how long they last between battery changes. I use 4 X AA NIMH rechargable batteries and in "standby" mode, which is where the Nikon SB range of flashes come in to their own for camera trapping. I usually change my batteries after about a week. On Occasions, such as where the camera trap hasn't seen much activity or in the warmer months of the year, I could probably leave it longer as the batteries are not always anywhere near depleted after a week This time may be extended with Alkaline or lithium batteries. Hope this helps. 👍
Super video trés bien je pratiquerai aussi le camera trap pouvez vous me dire ce que vous faites tenir par un morceau d'adhésif sut le transmetteur Camtraptions?Merci encore du partage.Je m'abonne.
Merci, Le ruban adhésif sert à empêcher le rembourrage en mousse de mon boîtier d'appuyer sur le bouton de test de tir lorsque je ferme le couvercle. Merci pour votre abonnement, très apprécié. The adhesive tape is to prevent the foam padding in my housing case from pressing the test fire button when I close the lid. Thank you for subscribing, much appreciated.
Hello Mr. Formstone, I've recently become interested in camera trapping with a DSLR. My name is Rainer Ullmann and I live in Germany. Since there are no instructions on camera trapping in German here in Germany and I have seen your videos about camera trapping on You Tube, I would like to ask you which basic settings you use on the sensor and on the camera make.I would be very happy if you could help me with some information. Yours sincerely, Rainer Ullmann
Hi Rainer, I use the Camtraptions V3 sensor and my basic settings would be to have the top dial (sensitivity) set to around 60-80%. I have the middle Dial (Time dial) set fully anticlockwise to take 1 shot per trigger and the bottom dial (luminosity) depending on other settings is usually set to fully anti clockwise. As for the configuration switches, as a basic setting you set all these switches to the "off" position. As for the camera settings, a good starting point would be to use "Manual" with the s/s @ around 1/200. ISO 400 and aperture around F8. Here is a free downloadable E book from Camtraptions which has lots of great advice which may also help: www.camtraptions.com/learn/ Regards John.
When using the light meter, We're all your flashes set to 1/8 output or can you have different setting and then the light meter reads the average, in this case F9, new to your channel.
Thanks James. You can have your flashes set to different power outputs and the light meter will take an average and you can also point it towards each flash individually to get an idea of the different light ratio from each flash. I usually try to have my fill light set a with a bit lower output than the main flash to help sculpt the light. Hope this helps. 👍
I worry about it too sometimes, but as long as you have a good, solid base and be careful not to move it too much, you should be ok. I have not had any issues with this happening yet.
I've had this problem, but one that I've now learnt from bitter experience. I now ensure that the base is nice and secure before clicking the box shut. One if my clips is particularly stiff and on a couple of occasions the box moved significantly when shutting it. Its all a learning curve!
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Great work John. I'm just getting into camera trapping myself and your films have been invaluable reference material for someone just starting out in this discipline. Keep up the good work. All the best, Si 👍
Thank Simon, much appreciated. I'm glad you are finding them useful.
It seems as if we have a bit in common apart from the obvious passion for wildlife photography, in that I too have connections with Preston, it's where my wife is from and a lot of her family still live.
Also, both you and me have had a fall from a ladder quite recently, however I have to say you bounced a little bit better than I did 😂 my fall ended with a spell in hospital.
Now I see you are living in Shropshire, I have been living near Oswestry in Shropshire for the last 20 odd years, so welcome to the county. There are lots of great wildlife areas to explore here with your camera.
Good luck with your camera trapping, I will be keeping an eye on your channel to see how it goes, however, I will warn you that camera trapping can be very addictive once you start getting some results. Regards John. 👍
Great work John. Just a few more months and you can photograph badgers live in the evening. I love seeing it live, but your cam trap sure looks interesting.
I agree, you cant beat seeing them live in front of you. 👍
Enjoyable informative video John, Nuthatch added bonus.
Thanks Barry, I walk the dogs here most days and always put some nuts out for the birds. The Nuthatch is often waiting for me when I get there.
Great video John, have enjoyed the different videos on your channel covering camera traps. 👍🏻
Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated.
Great video. Good for learning more about camera trapping. Thanks.
Thank you Stein, I'm glad you found it useful.
Great photo..
Thanks John. Glad you like it.
Sorry , you are already answering my question in this video!! 😅
I hope it made sense. 😂
Nice shots
Thank you Peri.
You may have already done this but as a beginner could you do a vlog of what equipment needed to get started.
A great idea, maybe in the near future, Thanks for your input Stephen, much appreciated.
Hi John,
I'm loving your content, I am totally new to camera trapping. I'm trying to wrap my head around the flashes it seems like a dark art. I'd love to chat or try to understand the set up. I have 3 SB28... I will likely start wit a 2 flash set up. I'm struggling with the power/zoom setting. Look forward to hearing from you. Best
Adam
Hi Adam, Lighting can seem a bit daunting but its like a lot of things where practice makes perfect. As a starting point if you set up your flashes around 3m (10ft) from your subject with the power set to 1/8th -1/16th power. with a camera setting of aperture F8-F10 and 400 iso, you wont be far off the mark and you can adjust accordingly. Remember that shutter speed only affects the ambient light and has no effect on the flash exposure. As for the zoom settings, the higher the zoom setting the more concentrated the pool of light will be and it also intensifies the power slightly, setting the zoom around 35 - 50mm will cover most situations. My best advice would be to practice at home or in your garden after dark with various settings to see how it affects the image. I used to use one of my daughters large teddy bears as a model when I was practising my lighting settings 😊 you may get ridiculed by your family but the knowledge you gain will be priceless. Also take a look at some studio lighting tutorials on You Tube as the lighting principles for studio photography are just the same for camera trapping for example (flash 1) your key/main light (flash 2) your fill light (flash 3) your backlight. I hope this helps. Regards John.
Great video, I like the idea of using a flash meter, are you setting meter to read at sync speed and then setting camera at Av and allowing what ever little bit of ambient to soak in? Sorry for the questions
That's right. The light meter is just reading the flash power output which only affects the iso and f stop settings, in Av mode it is the ambient light that dictates the shutter speed.
No need to apologize for the questions. Hope this helps. 😊
@@JohnFormstone Thanks so much, these videos are a great help.
Hi John ! i made a big mistake buying canon flash! I only get 12 hours use! just got a sb28 from ebay,was wondering how long they last?
Hi, There are very many variables on how long they last between battery changes. I use 4 X AA NIMH rechargable batteries and in "standby" mode, which is where the Nikon SB range of flashes come in to their own for camera trapping. I usually change my batteries after about a week. On Occasions, such as where the camera trap hasn't seen much activity or in the warmer months of the year, I could probably leave it longer as the batteries are not always anywhere near depleted after a week This time may be extended with Alkaline or lithium batteries. Hope this helps. 👍
Super video trés bien je pratiquerai aussi le camera trap pouvez vous me dire ce que vous faites tenir par un morceau d'adhésif sut le transmetteur Camtraptions?Merci encore du partage.Je m'abonne.
Merci, Le ruban adhésif sert à empêcher le rembourrage en mousse de mon boîtier d'appuyer sur le bouton de test de tir lorsque je ferme le couvercle. Merci pour votre abonnement, très apprécié.
The adhesive tape is to prevent the foam padding in my housing case from pressing the test fire button when I close the lid. Thank you for subscribing, much appreciated.
Merci Excellent
Hello Mr. Formstone, I've recently become interested in camera trapping with a DSLR. My name is Rainer Ullmann and I live in Germany. Since there are no instructions on camera trapping in German here in Germany and I have seen your videos about camera trapping on You Tube, I would like to ask you which basic settings you use on the sensor and on the camera make.I would be very happy if you could help me with some information.
Yours sincerely, Rainer Ullmann
Hi Rainer, I use the Camtraptions V3 sensor and my basic settings would be to have the top dial (sensitivity) set to around 60-80%. I have the middle Dial (Time dial) set fully anticlockwise to take 1 shot per trigger and the bottom dial (luminosity) depending on other settings is usually set to fully anti clockwise.
As for the configuration switches, as a basic setting you set all these switches to the "off" position.
As for the camera settings, a good starting point would be to use "Manual" with the s/s @ around 1/200. ISO 400 and aperture around F8.
Here is a free downloadable E book from Camtraptions which has lots of great advice which may also help: www.camtraptions.com/learn/
Regards John.
When using the light meter, We're all your flashes set to 1/8 output or can you have different setting and then the light meter reads the average, in this case F9, new to your channel.
Thanks James. You can have your flashes set to different power outputs and the light meter will take an average and you can also point it towards each flash individually to get an idea of the different light ratio from each flash. I usually try to have my fill light set a with a bit lower output than the main flash to help sculpt the light. Hope this helps. 👍
I am so maniac that when I close the protective box I would be extremely afraid to modify the frame. I see that this is not your case.
I worry about it too sometimes, but as long as you have a good, solid base and be careful not to move it too much, you should be ok. I have not had any issues with this happening yet.
I've had this problem, but one that I've now learnt from bitter experience. I now ensure that the base is nice and secure before clicking the box shut. One if my clips is particularly stiff and on a couple of occasions the box moved significantly when shutting it. Its all a learning curve!