Joel Hawksley / joel@hawksley.org / ←home

How to rig a post remote camera

Nikon camera mounted to the post of a basketball hoop My post remote camera rigged for today’s SIU women’s basketball game.

Just a quick set of notes here on working with post remotes, probably my favorite type of camera setup to do for basketball games.

Nikon camera mounted to the post of a basketball hoop, viewed from the side The camera in position, behind the padding to protect the lens.

Gear wise, I use the same kit I use for my backboard remotes. For rigging, the same approach applies to this setup: two magic arms and a safety point above the camera. I normally use a 28mm prime lens, but anything from 16-35mm tends to work well from this position. I aim the camera straight out and focus on the net. At f/5, most of the near-basket action falls within this zone.

Live preview of post remote camera Using Liveview on my D700 to line up the shot.

With everything lined up, I trigger the remote using my near-court camera, which is usually a D3 with a 24-70mm lens.

Live preview of post remote camera Test shot with the remote. Nikon D700 with 28mm f/1.8G lens, set to f/5 1/640 ISO 5000.

Action shot of blocked basketball shot taken with remote camera Sample image: Illinois State’s Jackie Carmichael knocks away a shot by SIU’s Dantiel Daniels during the Redbirds’ 70-56 win over the Salukis at SIU Arena in Carbondale, Ill. on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. (Joel Hawksley / The Southern)