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C A S E S T U D Y
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I n f r a r e d P h o t o g r a p h y F u n c t i o n
Use it for nature photography!
We’ve come to understand the nocturnal habits of the screech owl.
The observation area during the
day. The Daito screech owl lives in
dense forest. The camera is set
up about 10 meters away from the
nest.
Researchers in the animal ecology field make extensive use of video
equipment. It is important to keep a video record of animal behavior.
Furthermore, it is now the accepted practice at academic conferences to
incorporate video clips into presentations.
The birds of Minami Daito Island, Okinawa, such as the Daito screech owl
have evolved in distinctive ways. Researchers' work involve the use of
several video camera-recorders. Most of them used to be Hi-8 models, but
lately they have been transferred to DV.
The video shot with the Hi-8 camera-recorders can not have sufficient
definition to allow researchers to make out the colors of the birds. This
sometimes made it hard to tell them apart. Whereas the superior picture
quality of DV has really been a godsend.
But there were still some problems remaining. Nature photography often
involves setting up a nesting box, or the like, and then mounting a camera-
recorder nearby. Ideally, it should be possible to leave the camera-
recorder running for four or five hours continuously, without the need to
change tapes. But using an 80-minute DV tape in the LP mode only yields
two hours of video. This is where the Synch Backup function of the AG-
DVC30 turned out to be a real lifesaver. When the CHAIN mode on the
setting menu is selected, recording continues automatically on a backup
DV device when the AG-DVC30’s tape runs out. This results in a
continuous recording time of four hours.
Using an Infrared Lamp to Photograph Nocturnal Animals
The infrared photography function and infrared lamp of the AG-DVC30 made it
possible to shooting groundbreaking images. The Daito screech owl is a
nocturnal creature, and it is difficult to observe its behavior during the night,
when it is active. In the past, using infrared photography would have been a
major undertaking. But with the AG-DVC30 all that was necessary was to slip
the optional infrared lamp (battery powered) onto the camera-recorder’s
mounting shoe.
This image was shot with the optional infrared lamp mounted on the AG-DVC30.
A Daito screech owl can be clearly seen in the nest hole. (The distance was about 10
meters, and the spotlight mode was used.) For use in nature photography, the ability
to superimpose a date and time stamp directly onto the video signal (rather than
adding time codes later on) is essential. The AG-DVC30 has this function with a
resolution down to the second.
Nighttime
Daytime
