Camera Arms
 

Me and my buddy recently purchased a XHA1 HD camera and were wondering if anyone had an extra camera arm for cheap or no where we could get one for a good price? thanks Jake

RE: Camera Arms
 

I built my own and added a fluild head to it. Good for 30#. we use the canon as well. Cost was least than $50 and its built to what we need.

RE: Camera Arms
 

Since you spent the money to get a nice camera...I wouldn't go cheap on the camera arm. The accessories used can be just as important as the quality of camera used.

RE: Camera Arms
 

a camera arm is just another toy to have.

I'd spend the money on something that will help you take care of your camera like a clear filter for your lens, a good waterproof camera cover, better tripod & head, wide angle or lens doubler.

Dependency on a camera arm is superfluous in my opinion. Of course that's IF you're shooting video for another hunter. If you're alone then sure, you've got to use something but there are some out there that are just ridiculously overpriced. ( I won't mention any names)

RE: Camera Arms
 

I use the gorilla camera arm...30 bucks...

RE: Camera Arms
 

I believe a camera arm is a nessacity for steady footage from the tree.........but your footage is only going to be as good as the arms joints and head.......that said you need to match the weight of your camera to the correct arm ,much the same way you match it to the size of fluid head and tripod........I use the Hunter Cam cradle HD and shoot a Panasonic DVX100 which is comparable in size and weight to your camera.......some don't like that particular arm, but for the money I feel it is a good compromise between a cheap noisy arm and the most expensive (out of my budget) arm. I would suggest you find a buddy or someone that will let you play around with a couple different model arms and choose the one that works best for you.........most times you will know within a matter of minutes whether one particular arm is going to fit your style of hunting and videography.

RE: Camera Arms
 

pm69442,

I don't think I could disagree more - but that's just my opinion.

Muddy Outdoors makes the best arm for the money. Throw a Bogan 501 head on-top and you're good to go. Quality isn't cheap - and we require a camera arm for any team members on our team. I don't enjoy watching shaky footage, and won't use it.

www.muddyoutdoors.com

RE: Camera Arms
 

You guys crack me up.
the blatant & gratuitous plugs for sponsors and miscellaneous equipment is laughable.

Let me rephrase what I said: there are OTHER WAYS to get good/steady video besides using a camera arm. I also said that if you're alone you don't have much choice, do you?

I remember reading a post not long ago from one of your professionals who had just discovered the value of ballhead tripods & heads. After years of shooting video?

My main beef is the notorious misinformation that is passed along on video posts within hunting forums because of sponsorships, manufacturer plugs, or because that is what that particular poster owns/uses.

Let me say this again.........the internet is your friend/learn how to use it.

Have a good day

RE: Camera Arms
 

well said. I know I see alot of plugs here for the product as well as video sites to promote their vids of DVD's.

I try to have the best equipment I can and save money at the same time. I make my own gear if possible to suit haow I will do my vids. I do ask questions of how and what to use plus I make the best of the internet to gain knowledge of diff products. Eg. Mics those I cant make but who had the best was the question. After getting anwers and making calls I bought sennheiser mics and using them Iam more than imprssed. The deal I got was a little more than what was recommended on here to buy,but not by all that much , because I shopped and shopped and a deal came along. Iam a happy hunterlol
I bought a cradle arm and paid good money for it and it was not what I expected, from what I was told so I got a refund and made my own.

RE: Camera Arms
 

I think you all have gotten off the the question at hand.... the author of this thread wants to know where or if someone has a good camera arm for sale, not if or should he use one!!! And definitely this isn't a BIG conspiracy for the sponsors!! Now to answer the original question.... we use the Hunter Cam Cradle tree arms for our videoing with or without a cameraman. I can personally recommend the quality of them to fit the quality of the camera you are using. I've seen a few every now and then for sale on ebay used, but mostly it seems guys are keeping them. You could build your own if you are capable of doing it, or had access to buy the materials needed. I personally wouldn't recommend the cheap little arms you see for sale at the retail stores, they don't have fluid heads and also aren't really capable of handling the weight of the camera you have. They would tend to sag drastically and then you would be un level to pan around. Get good quality equipment, you won't be disappointed with the outcome of your video!!;) I might also recommend a remote LANC to go along with that setup, it will help to keep your hand movements to a concealed minimum. With this whole setup you will put yourself in great shape to seal the deal and shoot some great footage! Also mentioned before I might talk about, the lens filter.... If you do get one don't skimp, don't buy a $3,500 camera and glass and throw a $25 or $30 cheap piece of glass in front of it and expect it to be as good a quality as the original! I personally don't use a filter, same goes for photography! Use that lens cap to protect the front element when transporting, etc., otherwise get a high quality filter to use to protect the front element. ;) Good luck on your filming this season!

RE: Camera Arms
 

I'm not sponsored by Muddy Outdoors or Bogan - but think what you want. I actually designed the camera arm for Lone Wolf, and spend about as much time out filming and using this equipment as anyone I know - so yeah, I would say my opinion is worth something to a guy who is asking about camera arms.

Because Huntingnet IS one of my sponsors - you bet I use the site to promote our videos - we even have our own forum too! It can also be a great means of talking filming as well as a ton of guys who use it regularly also film. If you think I'm all about "product plugs", you obviously haven't been reading my field journals nor have seen any of our productions.

RE: Camera Arms
 

thanks for the help guys....now for the people talking about making your own did you go off instructions you found online or just kind o wing it?

RE: Camera Arms
 

Here is mine buddy...

Good Luck

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_49534?cm_mmc=froogle-_-400-7-6-_--1-_-38-881-641-00&hvarAID=46KY&mr:trackingCode=EC8F513D-CB04-DD11-AA92-001422107090&mr:referralID=NA

RE: Camera Arms
 

I came across this arm at a show this past weekend, It will be my next arm without a doubt : http://www.skipenterprises.com/hunting_products.html#rocksteady_arm scroll to the bottom of the page.

RE: Camera Arms
 

I saw that arm from Skip Enterprises this past weekend at the WI Deer Expor, and it looks pretty sweet. However, the $600 price tag is probably a wee bit high for me right now. For $200 the arm from Muddy Outdoors looks very similar and for most people I think will work great. In my case I have a GL2 that doesn't weigh much so I don't need the beefiest arm in the world. If I was to ever step it up to a bigger camera I believe Skip's arm would be the way to go. I really liked the dovetail feature he was working on so that the base folded down nice and small. That was pretty slick.

As for the guy who says you don't need an arm, he's right. You don't NEED an arm to film hunts, but from personal experience I will atest that it is much easier to get better quality footage with a good arm than without one. A more economical option for some people would be a shoulder mount, but the footage definitely has a tendency to be a little bit more jumpy. In my opinion, having a good arm and getting steady footage makes more of an impoact on the quality of your footage that stuff like a wide angle lens or even a better quality camera. If the footage gives me motion sickness when I watch it, I don't care how clear it is. :D

RE: Camera Arms
 

If you are looking to be economical. Screw a realtree bow hanger above your head. Tie a rope to it and then to your camera. You will be amazed at how well this can work. Especially compared to freehand.

RE: Camera Arms
 

That Muddy arm looks decent, but it doesn't look like you can use a ballhead mount in it. That's too bad because that looks like a solid arm for the price.

RE: Camera Arms
 

With all the adjustment, why would you need a ball head?

RE: Camera Arms
 

http://www.shopatron.com/product/part_number=2547/101.1.5331.0.0.0.0
heres the one i use for now.......what do you buy to make an arm?

RE: Camera Arms
 

Do you mean a ball head



Or a pan/tilt head?




In any case, you should be able to screw either onto that Muddy arm.

RE: Camera Arms
 

I think he means a bowl interface.

RE: Camera Arms
 

hey every time i click on that link it says were sorry but the page you requested cannot be found and i wanna see this muddyoutdoors arm

RE: Camera Arms
 

its ok....I would reccomend www.windevice.com THEY DON'T ONLY MAKE WIND CHECKER BUT TREE-ARMS AS WELL!!

RE: Camera Arms
 

The windevice arm looks okay if it was priced for about 1/3 of what they want for it. IMO you can get the same or better performanceout of either the Pine Ridge Pro Bow Cam or the Lone Wolf Strong Arm for much cheaper than the $230+ that they want for that arm. Also, at that price point the Muddy Outdoors arm looks 100x better and IMO is going to be the arm to beat for this year.

RE: Camera Arms
 

That is correct. I have a 75 mm half ball adapter on my fluid head for my tripod. If I were to use that same head I would need a tree arm that has a 75 mm bowl adapter. I can't stress how nice having the half ball/bowl adapter is for outdoor filming. It is rare that you can find a surface that is level and with the half ball you loosen the head, level, and tighten.

RE: Camera Arms
 

hey spikeman im just wondering how and what materials you used to make your own camera arm?

RE: Camera Arms
 

Sent you a PM forgot to say cut the tubes to the lenght you want I went 10 inches

RE: Camera Arms
 

I use the half ball on my tripod too. Its great when you don't have a lot of time to set up when you're running and gunning. Like elk season or turkey season. On the tree arm, it has so much adjustment, I don't need one. I just run a 501hd head on it. I also have a kick @$$ mono pod from bogen manfrotto that has a panable head on it. It is great for spot and stalk or packing way, way back. Not as good as the tripod though.

RE: Camera Arms
 

where do you get all this stuff like the bogan head and the 501 hd head....i googled it and it went to this naked girl that was drunkidk but hey i guess it wasnt a total loss

RE: Camera Arms
 

B and H is a great place. You may be able to price shop and find cheaper, but to me its not worth it. They usually have everything in stock, ship fast, and have great customer service. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

RE: Camera Arms
 

X2, but if you're on a budget check Ebay. There are a lot of good used tripods for sale there. You can usually find a good number of the 501s there as well.

RE: Camera Arms
 

Guys you may say that I am pluggin a sponsor but I like hte Huntercam Cradle line. I use the HD and the Pro model and love them both. Everyone talks about the price of an arm but do you really want to hang a prosumer or professional camera on a $30.00 arm. I don't and for what I need the Huntercam Cradle products work and they also have great customer service.

RE: Camera Arms
 

www.gomuddy.com

RE: Camera Arms
 

o wow! i really like the looks of that muddy arm

RE: Camera Arms
 

If you have intentions on commercially producing your footage, you better have a camera that is more freehand friendly, AND be one heck of a cameraman, to even consider not using a top end treearm and/or tripod when laying down footage.

I don`t care how neat the footage is, if I see camera shake, I am done watching.

But hey, if you are just taping for your own personal enjoyment......do what you feel comfortable with.

Also, when using a high quality arm/fluidhead/remote controller setup......capturing quality footage is much, much easier.:)

RE: Camera Arms
 

Justin, you are 100% correct. You do not need an arm near the size of the Skip arm for your GL2. There are many arms out there that will do a bangup job with a camera of that size/weight. If you upgrade cameras though.....you will have a unit that is heavier, and then that 600 might not look so big.;)

BTW, I do not use the Skip arm, but I did check it out pretty thoroughly, and it is a heck of an arm for all but the biggest cameras.

RE: Camera Arms
 

Excellent machining and quality! Unfortunately they are not even close to being able to correctly handle any decent sized camera. And I have tried them.