Extreme low-light hand-held night video with f1.4 lenses and the M6ii

Photato wrote:

Larry Rexley wrote:

Photato wrote:

Larry Rexley wrote:

Photato wrote:

Interesting as a challenge exercise but under such difficult conditions and more so for videos, I'd use a gimbal.
You are reaching the limits on what in-camera or lenses stabilization can do.

Very true, definitely the limits for the M series... the R7 would have some advantages here with its IBIS and higher quality video modes.

I do have a Zhiyun Crane M2 gimbal and thought it would solve all my stability problems ---- turns out for trains it really does not work, the tracking and framing needs to be far quicker and more precise than what I could get with any of the gimbal modes, even with sensitivity customizations. The camera EVF to the eye is far superior, I think. Also the gimbal was only useful for wide angle shots --- for telephoto images it was impossible to control and keep the train framed as it moved.

Good thought though..... I'll experiment with ithe gimbal more at some point. The gimbal does work amazingly well what the things it's good at, and I'm sure I'll get some good use out of it.

Interesting, I think ultimately, you could do it, but requires lots practice.
Probably would be easier with the gimbal set on a tripod.
I've been using the DJI Ronin SC with my M6ii and is a lot of fun, not just for videos.

Possibly I could improve, but the bigger problem is that i really have a hard time composing on the rear screen and tracking the action. My vision is such that only using the EVF allows me to concentrate on the subject and composition seamlessly without focusing on the camera controls.

If i used a tripod, like I do for dragon boat shooting, the gimbal is not needed.

As I chase the trains on bike and often have just a few seconds to jump off the bike and start shooting, the gimbal was also way too cumbersome and time-consuming. With it i would have to plan the shots and set up in advance and would miss most of what I can shoot now.

I have been thinking that a monopod might be a good compromise... One that was super fast to extend and clip the camera onto. Trouble is i shoot with 2 bodies in low light.... One with a fast wide, the other a fast tele.

Currently I'm putting together a PTZ setup (Pan, Tilt & Zoom)
With that I can get great pictures of all kinds of stuff with less effort.

When I have the time I'm planning to practice doing something similar, shooting planes at my local airport, here in Clearwater. Would post pictures if successful.

Ah ok, it looks like a complicated action packed affair.

I was gonna ask you how you knew the trains schedule, I thought you were using a train tracking app, like airplanes have. That way you could prepare better when the trains arrive.

Passenger Amtrak trains can be tracked at https://www.amtrak.com/track-your-train.html

Amtrak comes through Tampa twice a day, and since Tampa is a stub end station they leave the same way they come in a half hour later, making for 4 sightings a day. If on time Tampa arrivals are at 1 pm and 5 pm

Freight trains can't be tracked online. Local freight runs out of the Tampa train yards near 50th St and Adamo run on rough schedules that have time 'windows' of several hours. For example, Y295 street runs thru downtown Tampa usually Tue, Thu, Sun between about 6-9 pm returning 2-3 hours later.

Long distance trains East of the yards run on demand but there are 4 daily trains (2 inbound, 2 outbound) that run usually at times withing several hours apart each day. Intermodal I046 and mixed freight M442 usually leave within several hours of the last Amtrak train leaving town, between 5:40 and 8 pm.

You can listen to RR dispatch radio to hear when trains are active in the area but you have to know how to decipher the chicken squawk and train codes and locations. Tampa is dispatched by the CSX Valrico Subdivision. Apps like 'Scanner Radio' allow you to listen on your smartphone.