D800E Meets the Lions

ChasCSChasCS Posts: 309Member
edited November 2013 in Fun & Weird
I watched this on the Canadian Discovery Chanel the other day....

Video by: ChrisMcLennan

The remote controlled 4x4 camera buggy gets up close and personal as it is stalked by this curious pride of lions in Botswana.

The "Car L" project was hatched by Chris McLennan and engineered by Carl Hansen to capture unique images of lions with a Nikon D800E, fired remotely by Chris McLennan using a trigger system built into the remote control unit.

Made possible by HP and Nikon New Zealand.

VIDEO BELOW...



Pretty awesome footage!!
Post edited by ChasCS on
D800, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR, B+W Clear MRC 77mm, AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR, Sigma DG UV 77mm,
SB-910~WG-AS3, SB-50, ME-1, Lexar Professional 600x 64GB SDXC UHS-I 90MB/s* x2, 400x 32GB SDHC UHS-I 60MB/s* x1
Vanguard ALTA PRO 263AT, GH-300T, SBH-250, SBH-100, PH-22 Panhead
Lowepro S&F Deluxe Technical Belt and Harness ~ Pouch 60 AW 50 AW & 10, S&F Toploader 70 AW, Lens Case 11 x 26cm
FE, NIKKOR 2-20mm f/1.8, OPTEX UV 52mm, Vivitar Zoom 285, Kodacolor VR 1000 CF 135-24 EXP DX 35mm, rePlay XD1080

Comments

  • paulrpaulr Posts: 1,176Member
    Fantastic ````wonder what the Buggy cost
    Camera, Lens and Tripod and a few other Bits
  • MsmotoMsmoto Posts: 5,398Moderator
    My guess is the housing and buggy would come close to $3,000 or more. But, as one only needs to have the lens opening and no external controls, I am thinking a Pelican case and $500 buggy could be put together for about $1,000…like for my D4, using a shock proof housing that could be indestructible. One of the techniques is the fixed focus at 1 meter, very short focal length, and hi ISO so as to get great DOF and shutter speeds.. Maybe even my D90 could go into one of these…..with 16-35mm…..mmmmm……

    It also appeared they had more than one robot…..and the first one could be a dummy to grab the cat's attention, images with the second one. What a super idea by the boys down under.
    Msmoto, mod
  • Golf007sdGolf007sd Posts: 2,840Moderator
    That was cool :D
    D4 & D7000 | Nikon Holy Trinity Set + 105 2.8 Mico + 200 F2 VR II | 300 2.8G VR II, 10.5 Fish-eye, 24 & 50 1.4G, 35 & 85 1.8G, 18-200 3.5-5.6 VR I SB-400 & 700 | TC 1.4E III, 1.7 & 2.0E III, 1.7 | Sigma 35 & 50 1.4 DG HSM | RRS Ballhead & Tripods Gear | Gitzo Monopod | Lowepro Gear | HDR via Promote Control System |
  • ChasCSChasCS Posts: 309Member
    Yeah, pretty cool indeed, as we witness the cats come up for a peek.
    If you don't know how large is my love/respect of these giant sized cats, just glance at my avatar pic...
    Not going to guess on prices for the RC buggy used in the vid, but you can buy a decent enough electric rig for a few hundred dollars.
    I've only been into RC seriously for about one year myself. Although I do have one nitro monster car, the majority of my RC hobby involves flying with electric operated... My current project is my Align TRex 700E DFC HV helicopter.

    There are cameras on all sorts of model helicopter's and Quadcopter's these days, they come standard on many models.
    I also have a rePlay1080 HD that can be attached to any of my models.
    http://replayxd.com/cameras/replay-xd1080-camera/

    And gopro are also available for much cheaper than strapping an expensive D800 to your rig.
    Just go to any quality RC hobby shop like Great Hobbies and have a look around.


    Talk about getting up close and personal with these awesome lions, it appeared the one craft was going to be partially eaten... Smile


    D800, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR, B+W Clear MRC 77mm, AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR, Sigma DG UV 77mm,
    SB-910~WG-AS3, SB-50, ME-1, Lexar Professional 600x 64GB SDXC UHS-I 90MB/s* x2, 400x 32GB SDHC UHS-I 60MB/s* x1
    Vanguard ALTA PRO 263AT, GH-300T, SBH-250, SBH-100, PH-22 Panhead
    Lowepro S&F Deluxe Technical Belt and Harness ~ Pouch 60 AW 50 AW & 10, S&F Toploader 70 AW, Lens Case 11 x 26cm
    FE, NIKKOR 2-20mm f/1.8, OPTEX UV 52mm, Vivitar Zoom 285, Kodacolor VR 1000 CF 135-24 EXP DX 35mm, rePlay XD1080

  • MsmotoMsmoto Posts: 5,398Moderator
    Some research on the photography rig. Aqua Tech sound blimp…about $1300 and the RC unit about $250. The protection for the camera is minimal as the sound blimp is primarily to reduce the shutter noise which it does by 90%. And, one can repair the RC car with spares fairly easily.

    The concept of being so close to the animals is indeed very fetching as the interaction is simply beautiful.
    Msmoto, mod
  • Golf007sdGolf007sd Posts: 2,840Moderator
    here is another remote camera

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12070732


    X_X \:D/ =))
    D4 & D7000 | Nikon Holy Trinity Set + 105 2.8 Mico + 200 F2 VR II | 300 2.8G VR II, 10.5 Fish-eye, 24 & 50 1.4G, 35 & 85 1.8G, 18-200 3.5-5.6 VR I SB-400 & 700 | TC 1.4E III, 1.7 & 2.0E III, 1.7 | Sigma 35 & 50 1.4 DG HSM | RRS Ballhead & Tripods Gear | Gitzo Monopod | Lowepro Gear | HDR via Promote Control System |
  • MsmotoMsmoto Posts: 5,398Moderator
    I am thinking about one which will survive with the elephants. A chrome moly cage with four wheels….but strong enough so if the elephant steps on it, the camera survives. :)) ;))
    Msmoto, mod
  • Mac_The_KnifeMac_The_Knife Posts: 19Member
    This one wouldn't survive an elephant, but for three hundred bucks, it's a start.
    http://www.losi.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=LOSB0104T1
    D70s
    D90
    Mamiya 60
  • PhotobugPhotobug Posts: 5,751Member
    Love the polar bear video. Certainly applied a lot of pressure to the case forcing it open. Cool.
    D750 & D7100 | 24-70 F2.8 G AF-S ED, 70-200 F2.8 AF VR, TC-14E III, TC-1.7EII, 35 F2 AF D, 50mm F1.8G, 105mm G AF-S VR | Backup & Wife's Gear: D5500 & Sony HX50V | 18-140 AF-S ED VR DX, 55-300 AF-S G VR DX |
    |SB-800, Amaran Halo LED Ring light | MB-D16 grip| Gitzo GT3541 + RRS BH-55LR, Gitzo GM2942 + Sirui L-10 | RRS gear | Lowepro, ThinkTank, & Hoodman gear | BosStrap | Vello Freewave Plus wireless Remote, Leica Lens Cleaning Cloth |
  • ChasCSChasCS Posts: 309Member
    There must be some real uncomfortable situations while doing location shoots, but this one...

    http://m.dump.com/sealstent/

    Trying not to laugh at this photographers plight... Hope that's a rugged brand!!

    D800, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR, B+W Clear MRC 77mm, AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR, Sigma DG UV 77mm,
    SB-910~WG-AS3, SB-50, ME-1, Lexar Professional 600x 64GB SDXC UHS-I 90MB/s* x2, 400x 32GB SDHC UHS-I 60MB/s* x1
    Vanguard ALTA PRO 263AT, GH-300T, SBH-250, SBH-100, PH-22 Panhead
    Lowepro S&F Deluxe Technical Belt and Harness ~ Pouch 60 AW 50 AW & 10, S&F Toploader 70 AW, Lens Case 11 x 26cm
    FE, NIKKOR 2-20mm f/1.8, OPTEX UV 52mm, Vivitar Zoom 285, Kodacolor VR 1000 CF 135-24 EXP DX 35mm, rePlay XD1080

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