Seen above is a really basic DSLR rig. Two rods, follow focus, front handle, rear shoulder pad, and top handle. Most rigs you find on the market will have just basic rails and clamps so you can build different shapes depending on your needs. Looking at a standard rig from any manufacturer like Zacuto, Cinevate, [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

The Manfrotto Fluid heads have two sides to mount the Pan bar, so why not use the spare to mount an accessory? The problem is that the threads aren’t standard 1/4×20 which most camera accessories require to mount. YouTube member YourVideoTips shows a simple DIY to make an adapter for that extra threaded port turning [...]

Constantly poking around for a good set of lenses for the Sony NEX-7, this eBay seller takes old vintage lenses and modifies them to fit (without adapter) to most Micro Four Thirds, Sony NEX (e-mount), and Leica cameras. That’s right, no adapters needed. He seems to always have some interesting modifications for these small sensor [...]

I get it. Sometimes you fly a stabilizer around and need to take a pause for a long static shot. These things can get quite heavy, so being able to stand on it’s own could be beneficial for event shooters. Varizoom offers a Monopod / Stabilizer called the FlowPod (seen here), but when used as [...]

I still get questions about affordable LED light panels, and these 500 LEDs are still a good option. The only problem is that the cheaper versions were never offered with a battery power solution, so they can be used off-the-grid on location. That’s a huge part most people consider when shopping for LED lighting. Some [...]

So after the prototype DIY Jib Brackets touched down in the studio, I visited my local hardware store (Representing Orchard Hardware Supply, you know WestSide! Throwin’ up the ‘W’). Anyways, that’s what my shopping cart looked like with plain super lightweight AL square tubing on the left, and perforated square tubing to the right. The [...]

Sometimes I have the craziest ideas, and they don’t always pan out very well. Here’s one i’m quite excited about, but i’m not sure how others would feel. For the past few months i’ve had the idea of working on a ‘DIY Crane Kit’. I went through the process of building a few Jibs myself [...]

It was only a couple of weeks ago I posted information on how to modify a Steadicam Smoothee, essentially making it a mini Steadicam Merlin stabilizer (a.k.a Baby Merlin). If you have a small camera, and you’re a fan of the Merlin steadicam, this mod will come in at about 1/5th the price. In the [...]

I originally picked up this Nikon 50mm F/1.8 E Series Pancake lens for use with the new Sony NEX-7, but I thought I would remind others that are just starting out in DSLR video, that these very inexpensive lenses can be used with your Canon DSLR cameras as well.

One of the first lenses most [...]

Duane assembles a 1200 LED Light panel made from the super cheap flexible LED strips found in an earlier article (here). This is the first build out of two he’ll be using to throw some light onto the backdrop, and he mentions he’s pretty happy with his build and results. 4 different switches in the [...]

Aron Anderson of YouTube channel TrinityFXmg, is a big fan of shooting video on the iPhone. In this recent episode he manages to assemble some common spare parts into a folding stabilizer. I’ve touched on the Shoulder Brace and the Folding Flash Bracket earlier in this blog, but never together in this type of setup. [...]

Made some slight mods to support a heavier camera and lens. Now it’s a Canon 7D + Tokina 11-16mm on a Giottos quick release plate. I needed to pull the front heavy camera a bit backwards. Threw on some extra counterweights from a Flycam Nano, and then performed a slight test. Brings me back to [...]

We thought we would have a little fun at MacWorld this year, so we covered the entire event with the iPhone 4s mounted on custom PhotographyandCinema Pistol Grip rigs. I already shared a little BTS footage of crowd response with our custom iPhone rigs from our Macworld coverage with Olivia, but we also brought out [...]

So the goal was to modify this Steadicam Smoothee for lightweight cameras, but it was surprising to see it fly my Canon 5D Mark II + 50mm F/1.4 Lens. Getting back to the real reason for the mod, I tested out a smaller setup with the GH2 + 20mm Lens (total 1.2lbs). It took [...]