shooting on tubes

my dad wants to try filming us from a tube this summer. he saw it in the truth and ever since that's all he thinks about. I told him that he'd have to buy a waterproof housing, instead of risking the tuber falling in the water with the camera in their hand. does anyone film from a tube? and if so, what equipment do you have?

Doh! I thought this thread was actually about firing at tubers!

yea i second that....who tubes, fatasses with innertubes arouns the old waist..waste of time and money..just my 2 cents bro

man you guys are kind...if it wasnt for a lot of those dads, alot of you wouldnt be riding, lightn' up, hes asking for advice not bashing and criticism. aint got nuthin good to contribute try silence...man just wants to enjoy his boys sport with him, seems like a good thing to me. my 2ct. :-)

check out www.epiccam.com

I would be stoked if my dad flat out wanted to shoot me from a tube! I think ryan is just jealous...

To answer your question, last summer we did if with a rope shorter than the wake line, and used a small single person donut type tube. No waterproof housing. It came out pretty crappy; water driplets on the lens and alot of turbulence from the wake causing shaking. If I could go all out, I would get a bigger, pancake style tube and run it off a line a bit longer than your wake line, and get a waterproof housing for the cam. It always looks cool when you get the boat in the same shot as the rider IMO.

All the major film makers shoot from tubes Ryan, the question was legit. Just a dad wanting to get some cool angle shots of his kids. Jeff, post some up later this summer, like to see them.

i reread my post, didnt mean to sound so harsh...but yes there is some truth to it...want aimed at jeff, just kinda bashing the tubers, not jeff persoanlly..

is shooting on tubes similar to rolling on dubs?

I have an Ewa Marine bag that I have used some over the past 4 years. Never leaked or had any problems. Cost is very reasonable at $200 I believe.

whatever housing you use make sure for starters it floats.

try different distances from the rider. Around 5 feet either in front or behind the rider is a good distance you could be further if you have a telephoto lens or closer if your shooting with a wide angle.

IF you dont have a tower or pole on your boat be careful if the tuber is in front of the rider. ropes to the neck are not cool.

if the tuber is behind make sure you can clear the rope and dont get a trip wire to your ankles then get run over by a tube.

make sure the lens of the camera housing is free of water spots or else the footy wont come out as clear because the cam will focus on the drops.

KEEP THE CAM STILL

try the tube in different spots like either inbetween the wake or outside on the landing, i dont like the tube wash messing the takeoff wake.

make sure both lines are slacked before starting

have the tuber stay in the tube when the rider falls and he can just wait and get pulled around for the pickup instead jumping in and out. id think that was obvious but whatever. just in case.

thats basically it i think. try it out and share some of the footy when you get it. get some good light

o and make sure your lens cap is off

That my friends, was some excellent advice.
Except shouldn't the lens cap comment be first?

Lookin forward to seeing the pics

a big thing is when turning around, make sure the tuber holds the wakeboarders rope or vice versa if the tube is longer
we didn't do this the first time we tried and the tube whipped out and flipped
it was some hilarious footage though

I think David hit it from A to Z . We tried it once with a throw away camera and came up with some ok shots. The worst part was the person on the tube and on the skate had way to much to drink before the shots. Thanks to Pop's for not drinking and driving then laughing for what we were trying to do.

Who makes housings for cameras? I looked at the Epic site and it looks like they are all for video cameras. Looking for something for a Canon 30D.

Although david pretty much summed it up, i figured id get my two cents in having filmed from tubes numerous times. Shooting from a tube is an amazing angle if done correctly, especially (IMO) for wakeskating. Having a good driver that pays attention is key. Also try using rain-ex on the front of your housing. Or even try to keep a small towel or something with you to whipe off the droplets of spray that obstruct the shot. personally i think this angle can be more trouble than its worth on occasion, and can be a nightmare if the proper measures arent taken. David hit it all on the head logistics wise, just get out there and give it a try, oh and it might be nice to get some arm workouts going, those housings arent light,

I have the epic and the EWA marine housings and the EWA is much better for wakeboarding. Water spray is a bit better based on the size of the front of the housing being smaller. Weight is much better and you don't bust your face if you hit an unexpected roller.... A good driver is a must and the rider must also pay attention....

Morety, try Buywake. THey have some cheaper drybag type housings for digital cameras.

http://buywake.com/catalog/Paraphernalia/waterproofAV/AquaPack

filming from the tube is a blasty...also a good way to participate if your injured.
- use a housing (like epic) so you don't lose your camera
- rain-x and try to keep it as dry as possible (i.e. don't toss it in the tube then dive in after it...sit in the tube and have someone hand it to you)
- keep the tube in the middle of the wake otherwise it will wash out
- don't fall out
- yell at the rider and try to convince him to try tricks you know he can't do
- for extra bonus fun try to toss the camera to the rider and back

go to the audio/video section, i saw something on this


i'm gonna see if we can blow up our old doughnut tube because i think it'll be easier than our flat tubes, but i'm gonna try that too!

http://www.splwaterhousings.com/
They make custom housings. They can do the Canon 30D.

It ain't cheap. Figure at least $1300 for the body and $600 more for the flash housing if you need that.

PS Flat tubes are easier to shoot from I think. I can kneel on the flat tubes and I'm gonna try standing on one.

Good luck!

We tried the throw-away camera, got some shots. It was a real cloudy day, some sun would have helped.

If nothing else, it's really cool to watch a good rider from the tube! Inverts are awesome to watch from that close-up!

http://www.islerphoto.com/wb2.html
http://www.islerphoto.com/wb4.html#angles

Here are two links from Mike Islers website that are pretty good on Tips and Tech.

One other vital tip. The tow boat driver must be able to slow down when changing direction or turning. Nothing worse than getting ejected from the tube because the driver forgot you were back there.

Just my $.02

(Message edited by solo on March 05, 2007)

For all you tube haters!

Mike Schwenne

Sick shot Hahn! Are you using a flash housing as well? (looks like you've got flash!) I've always wondered what it would look like if you slap a pocket wizard in there and have your strobe on the tow boat or even the chase boat.. or maybe both.

I am gonna find out this summer! :-)

lol one other important tip.. don't double up! :-P

Or can you? What's your tip on that?

Swami.
Strobe in a housing from the tube with pocket wizard shooting from a chase boat......

Hahn, I know what you mean about the turn around. Last summer a buddy forgot that I was on the tube and did the usual speed up for the turn, once the slack hit I was screwed! The video is funny to listen to from that...

We made our own waterproof housing from PVC and plexi glass. Worked really well, there are a ton of examples online if you do a search. (Try a WW search also)

All in all its a great way to get different angles. And people look like they are going huge when they are flying right over you!

Last note, if you have any access to a fisheye or a wide angle lens for the camera it will make the shooting much easier IMO.

Good luck!