Slow Motion Sweetlips

[liquidguru 17]

Thought I would try the 'slo mo' feature on my Sony. Juvenile Sweetlips move so fast and are so small, it's very difficult to film them satisfactorily. I was pretty pleased with the result.

 

[vimeohd]44190785[/vimeohd]

 

Kaj

[Steve Douglas 16]

Yes, they are very difficult to follow when filming. The slo mo did a great job on it. Your depth of field appears to be quite small. Were you using your lights as it did appear a bit dark to my old eyes?

Glad you posted this.

Steve

Edited June 19, 2012 by Steve Douglas

[gina 9]

Wow, that's a crazy little fish! Your slo-mo did a great job slowing him down so we could actually see him.

 

The biologist in me wonders why these juveniles move like that? Surely it can't be to avoid predation because they're staying in the same place. And the movement is such an energy waster that the fish's calorie requirement must skyrocket. Does anyone know what's up with these sweetlips?

 

-Gina

[liquidguru 17]

Yes, they are very difficult to follow when filming. The slo mo did a great job on it. Your depth of field appears to be quite small. Were you using your lights as it did appear a bit dark to my old eyes?

Glad you posted this.

Steve

 

I did use lights, but I'm turning the exposure down to try to avoid flaring the whites out. Those pesky white stripes don't like light shinning on them I'll keep trying and see if I can get better stuff for old eyes.... The DOF is tiny as I'm just about full zoom and their rapid motion makes it very difficult for anything to retain focus..

 

 

Wow, that's a crazy little fish! Your slo-mo did a great job slowing him down so we could actually see him.

 

The biologist in me wonders why these juveniles move like that? Surely it can't be to avoid predation because they're staying in the same place. And the movement is such an energy waster that the fish's calorie requirement must skyrocket. Does anyone know what's up with these sweetlips?

 

-Gina

 

I wonder this too!! They move so quickly they must burn so much energy, and they move continuously, never stopping. Occasionally I see them eat a small particle from the water. I read that perhaps they mimic a flatworm swimming, but it must be a flatworm on crack if this is the case....

 

Kaj

[Nick Hope 151]

I suppose that rapid movement might be to confuse predators. Doesn't look much like a flatworm to me.

 

What framerate does that camera use for slow motion (i.e. what ratio of overcrank)? Is it in a burst?

[liquidguru 17]

I suppose that rapid movement might be to confuse predators. Doesn't look much like a flatworm to me.

 

I read that in the DeLoach/Humann Fish ID book, so it must be true

 

What framerate does that camera use for slow motion (i.e. what ratio of overcrank)? Is it in a burst?

 

It does a burst, I think. It takes 3 secs of action at 240fps, buffers it, then plays it back a 60fps, giving me a 12 sec clip. It outputs at 1920x1080, the bitrate seems the same as my other clips, but it definitely downgrades a little. But it works well for a little fun

Edited June 19, 2012 by liquidguru

[wagsy 0]

great stuff, you would think he would get tired pretty quick swimming around like that

[JKrumsick 3]

I love how his nose and tail are transparent. My dive guide used to call him "the wiggly-bum fish". :-)

[Oceanshutter 121]

It is certainly burning more calories than I do!

 

Nice video Kaj.

 

Dustin

[DiverPam 13]

Once again Kaj - nicely done. I love this one because it is fun. Keep them coming.

 

Diverpam