Monthly Archives: March 2012

• 24 Comments

•

The Lensse DSLRPro Stabilizer has been around for possibly a few months now, and it is the latest version camera stabilizer in their product line. Here's some footage with a Canon T2i. Lensse uses a custom low friction brass gimbal in their stabilizers, and it doesn't have quite the range of motion as a Steadicam Smoothee or Steadicam Merlin.

dslrpro gimbal

The top stage of the Lensse doesn't provide you with many options for fine tuning knobs but you can slide the camera forward and back. It's not real clear in the product description or photos, but there seems to be an adjustment to shift the gimbal left/right. When not in use, the stabilizer folds down for traveling. Still with a demo video like this, it shows that it can be fairly capable. Lensse makes a variety of different sized stabilizers for different sized cameras. (Click here for Lensse DSLR Video Camera Stabilizers)

Lensse DSLRProLensse Stabilizer Video CameraLensse-DSLRPro-Demo
find-price-button Lensse DSLR Video Camera Stabilizers

• 74 Comments

•

Konova threw up a few Timelapse teasers of their Motorized upgrade kit a few days ago. With a motorized attachment, you will definitely get more consistent movement time and time again as opposed to operating by hand. One con of course is the added noise from said motor.

With all the questions coming around, I thought I would put together this video talking about the differences in the Konova sliders, and how you can get the upgrade kits to work. Basically, figure out if you're using the K3 or K5 slider. If you have the old K3 (old feet) you need the updgrade kit. Lastly, you need to figure out the length of the slider you have. The kits will mount on both the K3 or K5 slider if they are the same length.

A few people have already placed orders on the kit, and hopefully we'll get to see some reviews on this soon. Motorizing a slider is one of the most sought after DIY projects with sliders, and if you don't have the time or the knack, the new Konova Motorized upgrade kit is available, but it's going to cost you (approx $360) a pretty penny (Click here for info on Konova Motorized Upgrade Kit)

Konova Upgrade Kit
find-price-button Konova Motorized Upgrade Kit for Konova Sliders

• 19 Comments

•

I just had a back and forth comment conversation about adapting Nikon Manual lenses, and here's a video from Caleb Pike of DSLRVIDEOSHOOTER.com that might help break down some of those questions. As far as adapting random lenses to smaller sensor cameras, Nikon's manual aperture ring makes them one of the favorites. The fact that you can still buy some of these Nikon AIS lenses 'new' as opposed to taking chances on 50 year old lenses is another plus. [Thanks Caleb].

It doesn't stop there. These Nikon lenses of course can also be used on Canon DSLRs without a large adapter, just a very thin shim-like adapter (check out Nikon to Canon EOS adapters). Caleb mentions a few great places you can grab these Nikon lenses, but you can also find some 'new' and 'used' lenses at B&H Photo Video. (Click here to find New and Used Nikon Manual Aperture Lenses).

• 11 Comments

•

Can you believe? I think it was about 7-8 months ago when I posted an article about some of Sony's new cameras to be released. One of them was the Sony NEX-7 and it's finally just available on Amazon for the first time (at regular MSRP). Right now there's only one seller who has a few of the Body Only and Body + Kit Lens available.

It's been an amazing little camera and i'm still finding new things with it everyday. For instance, nobody talks about the fact that it has a built in Digital Zoom (like T3i). I can take a 35mm F/1.4 prime and make it a 70mm F/1.4 prime. Actually it can do up to 10x making it a 350mm F/1.4, but i'll have to do some tests to see what's still acceptable - At 10x you'll likely just see a bunch of blocks. The 10fps burst mode is just plain awesome and you'll never miss an action shot.

The EVF with Focus Peaking (red lines around sharp areas) will ensure you're getting focused images even if you're working with old manual lenses. I've adapted Canon EOS, Nikon, and Canon FD lenses for cheap. Yes it has a microphone input too. Unlike Canon it does offer 1080p @60fps. They are starting to trickle in, but with the long demand, they won't last long. Check out the first Sony NEX-7 cameras available on Amazon (click here).

Sony-NEX-7-NEX7
find-price-button Sony NEX-7 24.3 MP Compact Interchangeable Lens Camera with 18-55mm Lens

• 7 Comments

•

Not long ago I posted an article about how Mark added a friction arm to the side of a Manfrotto Fluid, and here YouTube member XCFloresX shows you how he's added it to a Fancier 717 Fluid Head Tripod. You can see how useful it would be to have something like this available on your Fluid heads. [Thanks Chris]

I'm not sure why these tripods are rare to find these days, but they do seem popular. I have several of these in the studio, because they work great and were very affordable for multiple cameras that remain mostly static or have slow pans. I have a short intro on these Fancier 717 Bowl Mount tripods (video found here).

• 29 Comments

•

Panasonic 14mm Lenses

Ray writes in and shares an interesting link to some very cheap Panasonic 14mm Lenses. [Thanks Ray] These lenses are found for over $300 dollars on Amazon (seen here) and B&H (seen here), but at the listing it sells for just $164. Seller has excellent ratings and checking the feedback shows the seller has sold several of these lenses in the last month. Everything seems to check out fine and it's a hell of a deal. (click here for listings)

panasonic-14mm
find-price-button Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F/2.5

• 13 Comments

•

5GHZ Wireless HDMIWireless HDMI Streaming DIY

I've been successfully using the Asus WiCast device powered up with my Tekkeon battery packs for a DIY Wireless HD Video stream from my DSLR to a remote LCD monitor (as seen in video here). Those Asus units have been discontinued for quite some time. These rebranded 5GHZ Wireless Streaming HDMI devices have been around, but has now been upgraded with a smaller transmitter. One downfall is that the transmitter has a built in male HDMI connector which needs to be stepped down to a mini HDMI if it's to be used on a DSLR camera. It still requires a 5V power source for both the transmitter and receiver. I remember someone using this brand at some point, any comments on this new version?

WHDI-5GHZ-WirelessHD
find-price-button 5GHZ Wireless HDMI Streaming Video Transmitter Receiver

• 11 Comments

•

[Update] Kit doesn't come with Autopoles. Thanks guys.

Your typical background support comes with two tall stands and a horizontal support bar. Most of us have a set, but there are a few things that can be annoying. For one, the legs on the stand seem to take up extra space. Secondly, when you need to roll the paper up or down, you might have to drop the stands on each side.

Telescoping-ceiling-background-support-rollerBackground Stand

This clamping background support kit might save you from some of those hassles if you're working in a room with a ceiling. By using telescoping auto poles to push up between the ceiling and floor you can practically push your backdrop flush against the wall. There are no legs on auto poles so they'll give you more room to setup your lights on each side, especially when you're trying to move in that boom or hair light.

Chain Roller Background support
Chain rollder support background

When it's time to roll up/down your background, the clamping background support uses a chain roller normally found on wall mounted background support kits. Cons are that you need to have a ceiling to work with this (does not come with Autopoles), so it might be better suited for those who want to setup a quick change backdrop area in a small studio or in your home without drilling into your walls. Available in both single and triple background support clamps (click here).

Three Roller Support Background StandTelescoping-ceiling-background-support-roller
find-price-button Single and Triple Roll Clamping Background Chain Roller Support

Real Auto Poles for a background stand run a pretty penny (click here to find AutoPoles).

They do look pretty similar to telescoping poles found in indoor Bike Racks, and would be interesting to see if the clamps could work.
Swagman Bike Rack
find-price-button Swagman Hang It Bike Hanger

• 8 Comments

•

If you didn't catch it already, Olivia has some sample footage from the Sony NEX-7 on Varavon's latest mini Slidecam Lite video slider. I have yet to put my own montage together as soon as I can find something interesting to shoot with it.


Varavon SliderVaravon Bearings
find-price-button Varavon Slidecam Lite Video Camera Sliders

Sony had some major problems manufacturing the Sony NEX-7 camera, and it has been extremely delayed with very limited inventory. The good news is that Sony has ironed out some of their production issues and this awesome new camera is starting to ship and orders are being filled. You can order one from B&H (click here for Sony NEX-7 order), and if you're the impatient type there's a bunch already showing up on auction (click here for Sony NEX-7 auctions)

Sony-NEX-7-NEX7
find-price-button Order Sony Alpha NEX-7 24MP Digital Camera