Paintball Photography

mr_pojo · 03-27-2007, 09:16 PM

Hey there,

I want to start doing videos and pictures during speedball matches but I don't know what I should use to protect my camera from paint. I have heard of people putting underwater camera bags over them, does anyone know if that works or any other ideas of how I can protect my camera? Also, what about a direct hit to a camera, will the impact itself damage the camerea because of the physical impact?

Thanks!

NotYourPsycho · 03-27-2007, 09:17 PM

I shoot a lot of paintball and my camera gets hit quite a bit. luckily, mine is tough and I have a 4 year warrentee. I just keep a towel so it'll bounce off, but every so often you get a break. The waterproof things work well too, but it just depends on what you want.

tullyx · 03-27-2007, 09:35 PM

plexiglass box ftw.

The Big Chris · 03-27-2007, 09:50 PM

the underwater thing works good but sometimes the underwater plastic cover cost more than the camera. For example: my dad's friend bought a $1000 camera and then bought a $1100 underwater case for it. So just make sure you want to spend that. All depends on camera. Another good idea is taking a 12" by 12" square piece of plexi glass and putting it in front of camera:

NotYourPsycho · 03-27-2007, 09:54 PM

I'm going to move this to Photography for you. Hopefully they can better help you.

TripOGimp · 03-27-2007, 10:00 PM

big ziplock bags ftw!

the_lane · 03-27-2007, 10:01 PM

*paging tonyball*First off, what kinda camera do you have?2nd Bags

Drex17 · 03-27-2007, 10:05 PM

Yea, a nice rain cover and a filter for your front element would probably be your best bet.

jeremy_maillet · 03-27-2007, 10:14 PM

http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=2093098

We discuss this at the end here

Maybe that shall help

tonybhall · 03-27-2007, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_lane

*paging tonyball*

I knew my ears were burning.. there are a 3 really good options.

1 Kata Bag: expensive but really well made
2 Rain Sleeve: cheap but would get the job done
3 Don't get shot: my personal favorite (the one I use).

Actually, I shoot with a 30D. My camera and lenses have been hit many times and so far no damage. I've never taken a direct hit to the front element (knock on wood).

I personally find the camera bags and rain sleeve to be too restricting to be worth while.

Cliche · 03-27-2007, 10:42 PM

All of our photographers use Kata bags.

robfromabove · 03-27-2007, 10:46 PM

One of the techniques I've seen that works fairly well is to get a dish towel and cut a slit towards the end of it - you stick your lens through the hole, rubber band it as close to the end of your lense as you can, and then throw the whole towel over the camera. If the towel is big enough, you can actually throw the leftover towel over your head/shoulders and protect the camera from all angles.

(technique used by Dan Voils, if anyone is familiar with the name)

uqpimp · 03-28-2007, 10:09 AM

get a cardboard box and make cuts in it so you can put it around your video camera. Then put a towel or a sweater over the box. The towel or sweater is too soft and won't let any paintballs through or hit hard enough to damage the camera. The box's job is to make it so you can still hold the camera like normal.

Get a UV Filter for the lense too. It Won't stop a paintball from like 3 feet but it will help alot. For video I reccommend using zoom alot and just stand far enough away where the paintballs are only hitting the leg of your tripod or what not but your zoomed in so it looks like your right there.

thebigx · 03-28-2007, 10:43 AM

this topic seems to always come up so here you go...

Product
http://www.aquatech.com.au/ (look at the sports shield)
Review
http://www.nikondigital.org/reviews/sportshield.htm
where to buy
http://www.kirkphoto.com/aquatech.html
images
http://images.google.com/images?q=aq...=1&sa=N&tab=wi

its what i use to protect my gear... i dont shoot paintball, but having the product i can pretty much say that it will protect your camera from paint, splatter, and any elements mother nature seems to want to throw that day.

tonybhall · 03-28-2007, 12:31 PM

Wow. those are nice... but for the two lenses I use for sports it would cost me $482.00 plus shipping. If I had to shoot in the rain all the time it would be worth it. But generally if it's raining hard enough to ruin my gear I just take the day off.

AntiHero47 · 03-28-2007, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonybhall

Wow. those are nice... but for the two lenses I use for sports it would cost me $482.00 plus shipping. If I had to shoot in the rain all the time it would be worth it. But generally if it's raining hard enough to ruin my gear I just take the day off.

Bingo! I see no benefit in shooting in the rain other then potentially damaging something that I could wait for tomorrow. Sure it would be nice to go out and shoot some paintball with people sliding and falling in mud and water puddles while raning, but its not worth the risk for me right now.

thebigx · 03-28-2007, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AntiHero47

Bingo! I see no benefit in shooting in the rain other then potentially damaging something that I could wait for tomorrow. Sure it would be nice to go out and shoot some paintball with people sliding and falling in mud and water puddles while raning, but its not worth the risk for me right now.

i hear ya! but when i use to work as a freelance photographer for the local newspaper company... i HAD TO shoot, even if it's raining out. it's worth the investment, if your investments has a return of income.

tonybhall · 03-28-2007, 03:05 PM

I've shot two tournaments in the rain. for the first one I took an empty Anarchy bag and cut a whole in the end just big enough for my lens to fit through. I put my camera in the bag and the only think sticking out was the lens hood. And it was free.

The second time it wasn't raining very hard so i used the towel trick when it was just sprinkling. I had an assistant hold an umbrella over me for the 10 minutes that it did rain hard enough to matter.

jonny2210 · 04-14-2007, 05:43 AM

hate to bring this back up but omfg. Get a ****ing kata bag. I use the "kata 702" and it only costs <$60 shipped. All I can say is it is a necessity if shooting paintball to have a good rain coat and one or two filters on it. That other bag that is on ebay is a peace of ****. Most of the times you get hit if your lucky nothing will break. But would you rather pay a few bucks now and save your front element and the camera from damage. Seems like a no brainer to me.

You can forget all of this though if its a ****ty camera.