# Macro Videography of Watches



## naturalfractal (Jan 1, 2021)

Hey all,
I've got a Fujifilm XT30 and a macro lens coming in the next couple of weeks so I can do some macro shots of my watches.

However, I wanted to get movement while doing macro video. Like in the watchfinder videos or in this 




Does anyone know what equipment would be used to achieve this or is this done in post production by cropping in and then keyframing the movement digitally?

I've heard about motorised sliders, would this be the way to go. Or do you think you can achieve something similar with just a tripod?

Thanks for any help offered!


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## vimaljonn (Oct 1, 2012)

You can reverse mount a (prime) lens with an adapter, I'd start with still photos until you get the hang of it.

Depending on how much you want to spend on this... I did some for my corum bubble. I brought a cheap adapter from ebay but had to manually work the aperture (so yes you need a tripod for sure, and yes slider works well here but you need a good one. Cheap ones tend to shake in macro video), use a remote to control photo/video operation.

Please be wary if dust getting into inside of lens of course. Good luck!!










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## naturalfractal (Jan 1, 2021)

vimaljonn said:


> You can reverse mount a (prime) lens with an adapter, I'd start with still photos until you get the hang of it.
> 
> Depending on how much you want to spend on this... I did some for my corum bubble. I brought a cheap adapter from ebay but had to manually work the aperture (so yes you need a tripod for sure, and yes slider works well here but you need a good one. Cheap ones tend to shake in macro video), use a remote to control photo/video operation.
> 
> ...


Do you know how they get the camera movement though for video? As it's macro any tiny camera move will look huge but on the video I linked they have a really smooth pan, or can follow the seconds hand smoothly. Do you know how this is achieved?

Thanks for replying!


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## [BOBO] (May 12, 2020)

I think they use what's known as a lazy Susan (rotating with motor) and in watchfinder's case, I would bet there is a circular rig with a track for the camera to run on.

I've heard someone talking about the difficulty in finding motors with the right speed for those shots.









I also recommend starting with still shots. Get to know the equipment before adding movement.

To keep everything still is the most important part.


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## naturalfractal (Jan 1, 2021)

[BOBO] said:


> I think they use what's known as a lazy Susan (rotating with motor) and in watchfinder's case, I would bet there is a circular rig with a track for the camera to run on.
> 
> I've heard someone talking about the difficulty in finding motors with the right speed for those shots.
> View attachment 15636410
> ...


Thank you man! I'll get practising with stills first but I'll also check out a lazy susan. Circular rig sounds expensive!


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## naturalfractal (Jan 1, 2021)

[BOBO] said:


> I think they use what's known as a lazy Susan (rotating with motor) and in watchfinder's case, I would bet there is a circular rig with a track for the camera to run on.
> 
> I've heard someone talking about the difficulty in finding motors with the right speed for those shots.
> View attachment 15636410
> ...


So do you think they could be moving the watch on the lazy susan, instead of moving the camera? That would be a great workaround!

Reminds me of this video though:




lol


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## [BOBO] (May 12, 2020)

naturalfractal said:


> Thank you man! I'll get practising with stills first but I'll also check out a lazy susan. Circular rig sounds expensive!


Yeah, the track rigs aren't cheap. I think you need to be really into the hobby for it to make sense unless you are a content creator who can make some money out of it.

I know many of the big YouTubers have some extreme rigs to be able to produce the kind of quality they put out.

If you're a bit handy, you could probably make it yourself, but I would imagine it's quite a bit of work.😁


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## [BOBO] (May 12, 2020)

naturalfractal said:


> So do you think they could be moving the watch on the lazy susan, instead of moving the camera? That would be a great workaround!
> 
> Reminds me of this video though:
> 
> ...


I think they do both.


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## naturalfractal (Jan 1, 2021)

[BOBO] said:


> Yeah, the track rigs aren't cheap. I think you need to be really into the hobby for it to make sense unless you are a content creator who can make some money out of it.
> 
> I know many of the big YouTubers have some extreme rigs to be able to produce the kind of quality they put out.
> 
> If you're a bit handy, you could probably make it yourself, but I would imagine it's quite a bit of work.😁


Haha, in no way am I handy, but I could ask some friends who are more so.
Interesting information! Many, many thanks!


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## [BOBO] (May 12, 2020)

naturalfractal said:


> Haha, in no way am I handy, but I could ask some friends who are more so.
> Interesting information! Many, many thanks!


You would only need a model railway in a circle with the camera mounted on a cart to make a ghetto rig.

Kids play with trains nowadays, right?😁


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## vimaljonn (Oct 1, 2012)

Try the lazy susan hack:
Rig the camera focussed towards a watch winder which must also not move or shake easily. (don't forget, you can also manually rotate the winder if you like to control motion)

Of course you'll need decent video editing s/w and adobe cloud is great. 

Recipe to success will be to try with still photos first. Second, as much as possible, use remotes and avoid hand interactions. Do keep us posted!

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## naturalfractal (Jan 1, 2021)

vimaljonn said:


> Try the lazy susan hack:
> Rig the camera focussed towards a watch winder which must also not move or shake easily. (don't forget, you can also manually rotate the winder if you like to control motion)
> 
> Of course you'll need decent video editing s/w and adobe cloud is great.
> ...


Thanks for the tips! I'll post links here if I give it a go!


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## [BOBO] (May 12, 2020)

Some inspiration.


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## naturalfractal (Jan 1, 2021)

[BOBO] said:


> Some inspiration.
> View attachment 15636562
> View attachment 15636563
> View attachment 15636564
> ...


Lovely shots man!


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## sabot03196 (Aug 22, 2019)

I've got a powered lazy susan (3rpm) and a light box. I shoot on a Canon 7D Mk2 and I use Macro extension tubes with a variety of lenses. One lens I do use is a Lensbaby tilt shift because it allows me to set my focal plane relevant to the angle of attack which keeps a lot of DOF issues at bay. I'll probably invest in a cheap slider unit as well. The only advice I can offer is if you want to shoot video be aware of your F Stop and set your focus to manual. It's better IMHO to lock down your focus points and if the shot is rotating or moving you let that focus point slide across the subject. But hey, you're shooting digital, experiment away until you get the look or feel you want.


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## [BOBO] (May 12, 2020)

naturalfractal said:


> Lovely shots man!


Thank you, sir.


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## vimaljonn (Oct 1, 2012)

sabot03196 said:


> I've got a powered lazy susan (3rpm) and a light box. I shoot on a Canon 7D Mk2 and I use Macro extension tubes with a variety of lenses. One lens I do use is a Lensbaby tilt shift because it allows me to set my focal plane relevant to the angle of attack which keeps a lot of DOF issues at bay. I'll probably invest in a cheap slider unit as well. The only advice I can offer is if you want to shoot video be aware of your F Stop and set your focus to manual. It's better IMHO to lock down your focus points and if the shot is rotating or moving you let that focus point slide across the subject. But hey, you're shooting digital, experiment away until you get the look or feel you want.


Completely forgot about lens baby. Theh may also have some cool videos on macro shoots and can pick up their products on fleabay.

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## naturalfractal (Jan 1, 2021)

Did my first macro video today. Just a very basic test. No lazy susan shenanigans yet.
That dust is really unforgiving!


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