Shooting Video On A Turntable

[BadBob]

I made my first actual listing video yesterday. I want to sell some extra trucks left from a recent custom order. When I first got the turntable, I did a cursory test to see if it worked, and it has been in the box since. I tried first with my Canon T7i and didn't like the results. Next, I tried using the camera in my phone. That didn't work either. Ok, I have a couple of JVC video cameras. Surely, this will work. Nope, same issue. As the toy truck rotates, it goes in and out of focus. It does this with all the cameras. It took a while, but I realized I needed to turn off the autofocus and manually focus. I could not find a way to turn off autofocus on the phone or the JVC video camera. Autofocus on the Cannon is a switch on the lens.

I used Shotcut to edit the video. I cut off the leading and trailing edges, sped it up so a full rotation fits into the 15-second window that Etsy allows, and adjusted the brightness.

The video still has some issues I need to figure out, but it is good enough for now.

 

 

[Scrappile]

HA,  I did not see any issues.  Looked nice and smooth to me.

[BadBob]

46 minutes ago, Scrappile said:

HA,  I did not see any issues.  Looked nice and smooth to me.

There is a tiny jerk every 45 degrees. It is very noticeable at the original speed and visible in the speeded-up version on my large monitor when expanded to full screen. I think it is some setting on the turn table. It is configured with a remote control with only icons. I'm going to need to read the manual.

[JJB]

Looks very nice my friend.

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I do not have one of these smart phones so excuse the ignorance but you see all the time people shoot videos with their phones. What is the difference shooting something spinning on a turntable. Could you do this and show us what it would look like. Like I  said if I had a smart phone I would have tried it. I believe the constant thing is to have the object directly in the center of the turntable which should be no problem. This way object stays in focus at all times if you keep phone steady so put on a tripod. 

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=can+you+shoot+video+of+object+on+turntable+with+smart+phone&mid=B6E50395C1522A6B7640B6E50395C1522A6B7640&FORM=VIRE

Edited September 15, 2024 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[BadBob]

Whether you can use a smartphone camera depends on the phone and the camera's software. The lens on every phone I have seen is in the upper corner, making setting up the shot more challenging. It's not impossible, but to switch cameras, I need to change a lot of things, like camera mounts.

Phone cameras have wide-angle lenses, which means the subject has to be very close or use Zoom or be able to crop the video after you record it.

I can't use autofocus with any of the cameras I tested. Why? I am shooting a rectangular object, and when the front or back comes in line with the camera, the autofocus starts to hunt. The hunting causes two locations where, for a few seconds, the object is going in and out of focus. The autofocus can't be turned off on my phone. I might be able to turn it off on my JVC video camera, but I didn't look. My Canon T7i has a switch for autofocus on the lens. There is no additional work.

In the video, he uses a phone that may have cost more than I paid for Cannon T7i. He is shooting a basically round object that doesn't cause a problem with the autofocus. He doesn't pay any attention to colors. I use white light 5500K (aka daylight) and a photo tent to defuse the light and render the color correctly. I have tried other colored backgrounds, but it is nearly impossible for me to get the colors on the object correct.

This video was shot with the Canon T7i. The autofocus is faulty in two places. The phone and the JVC video were a lot worse.

 

[BadBob]

My turntable has settings that automatically stop at different points. For example, it can turn 1/8 (45 degrees), stop, and wait for you to push the button again. I shoot a lot of my listing photos at these angles, so I think I will try using this for photos.

This is the turntable I am using.
 

I picked this one because of its size; it supports 88lb and uses AC power. 

 

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Talk to Steve Good. he shows all kinds of neat tricks when he shows his project for the day. There are tons of videos on the net using all kinds of cameras and phones. As I said years ago lots of that stuff was done with editing software. If your serious then you may have to spend money on a reliable system that is easy to set up. Good luck. 

[BadBob]

2 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

If your serious then you may have to spend money on a reliable system that is easy to set up.

I have spent more than $1000 on my current setup, which includes a camera, lenses, lighting, photo tents, stands, remote flash, backdrops, camera mounts, and assorted other accessories. Is that enough?

I was not asking for help. I was sharing my experience with anyone considering shooting a video on a turntable. If I needed help with photography or videography, Steve Good would be one of the last places I would go. I have been on his mailing list for years, and most of the projects have computer-generated photos and/or animations.

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

4 hours ago, BadBob said:

I have spent more than $1000 on my current setup, which includes a camera, lenses, lighting, photo tents, stands, remote flash, backdrops, camera mounts, and assorted other accessories. Is that enough?

I was not asking for help. I was sharing my experience with anyone considering shooting a video on a turntable. If I needed help with photography or videography, Steve Good would be one of the last places I would go. I have been on his mailing list for years, and most of the projects have computer-generated photos and/or animations.

 

Guess we struck a nerve here so I will take a back seat. Good luck. By the way $1000 in camera world is PEANUTS MY FRIEND. Look what those I Phones are today. Wow. Have at it. 

[kmmcrafts]

Video looks great to me.. I need to get into doing this for some of my things at some point. 

[BadBob]

11 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

By the way $1000 in camera world is PEANUTS MY FRIEND.

Don't I know it? That was about what I spent on my Canon and lenses in 2018.  It's one of the cheaper (cheapest ?) models, but it works great.

No nerve damage here. Just having a conversation.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

37 minutes ago, BadBob said:

Don't I know it? That was about what I spent on my Canon and lenses in 2018.  It's one of the cheaper (cheapest ?) models, but it works great.

No nerve damage here. Just having a conversation.

You call that a conversation? Wow. I was only trying to help but as you said you did not ask for any and do not need any so I have nothing to converse about. Have a nice day. 

[kmmcrafts]

2 hours ago, BadBob said:

Don't I know it? That was about what I spent on my Canon and lenses in 2018.  It's one of the cheaper (cheapest ?) models, but it works great.

No nerve damage here. Just having a conversation.

Don't know the differences but the Canon I bought was clearanced out online that I bought around the same time frame. I believe mine is a T5i.. I looked at the 7 but it was double to cost and I opted for the cheaper lower cost older version. I do think there were some nicer features on the 7 but I solely bought for doing product photos.. I'm not a camera / photo kind of guy but I couldn't get the hang of it so it sets collecting dust and most my product photos now days are simply done on my iPhone XI. 

Not being a photographer I'm sure I could improve photos.. I don't notice many things as you mentioned your video jerking or whatever.. I didn't see it.. a trained eye for photographers or videographers might.. I'm doubtful the average shopper is looking that closely at your video. 

Just like with scroll sawing.. we all notice every line we may have strayed off of but remove the pattern and most folks will never see that.. Not to say we shouldn't strive for perfection.. Over the years I have done many things to improve my photos and you can sure tell a difference.. so I'm not saying you're overdoing it in any way..  in someones eyes they'll nitpick it somehow anyway. I need to and am slowly working at retaking many of my product photos.. some items are not in stock so some I'm waiting for the time to make the item to retake the photo or waiting until it has had another order.. slowly working it to be better quality.. I would like to get a turntable and do video similar to what you're doing here.. appreciate your posting this stuff.. may find some good tips for when I get around to do some of this.   

[BadBob]

The product photography threw me in a loop, and I spent far more money trying to figure it out than I should have, but I enjoyed the process. With my other cameras, depth of field gave me fits because I could not easily control the aperture. This means I had photos where some parts were out of focus while others were crystal clear. This is what pushed me to buy my DSLR. Now, it is easy. If all I need to do is set up and shoot, I can finish it in 15-20 minutes.

I have settled on an 18-135 mm zoom lens for photographing listings. In fact, that is my favorite lens overall.

I'm not a photographer. I am self-taught. There is lots of help on the internet.
 

[kmmcrafts]

Well, I started selling online back in 1998.. back then it was pretty rough getting a photo to the internet, LOL.. they've came a long way since those days for sure. I remember I bought a cheapy polaroid camera to take photo and then scan them on a scanner to get them onto the computer.. seems like I had to scan them to a floppy type disc.. I don't even remember the process now but it was the only cheap way to do it back in those days.. and the images really were pretty poor too, Got my first digital camera back in 2005 ish.. they had been out for a while.. probably were out when I first started selling but not cheap by any means.. Over all those years I've tried a lot of experiments with cameras and light box tents etc.. and what it has come down to is my cheap cell phone and a homemade lightbox made from a large cardboard box with holes cut out of the sides and tissue paper covering the holes where my tripod lighting sets. Next one I think I need to try is shining the light down from the top of the box.. I get way too much shadows.. I remove the background anyway currently because it's what Amazon required.. I think maybe they have changed that rule a some now but still requiring a white or lighter colored background anyway.   

[BadBob]

I have been on the internet since the early 80s when it was text-only, and web browsers did not exist. My first floppy disk drive was a single-sided 5.25 inch that stored 180KB. The other day it occurred to me that 99% of my photos would not fit on the largest floppy disk drive ever made. I bought my first digital camera in 2003. It was a cheap one to see what it was all about. It died within a year, and I bought a second cheap camera that didn't die, but the photos got worse and worse until it was unusable. Next, I bought a Kodak digital camera. It took good photos, but the thing with batteries was that if you had to change batteries, it lost all of its settings, and you had to start over again. Next came a Nikon E5700. The Nikon was an excellent camera, and I eventually had two. Some of the best photos I have ever taken were taken with those cameras. Next came a Panasonic DMC-ZS7 because I wanted a camera I could always carry. I still have it. It is sitting right next to me while I write this.

I experimented a lot and still do. The light tent works well for me but is too small for some things. I shoot my product photos on the dining room table and switched out the lighting to daylight LEDs. I use two LED flood lights on stands set tight against the tent. I also have several other lighting options if I need them.

There is lots of cheap photo equipment available on Amazon. You might want to check out some of them.