Wow, this one is coming out of the Archives. In fact, it was shot with an HV20 (that tells you how many years ago that was). The video above finally made cut to show a little Behind the Scenes of a fun test Photoshoot I was a part of in San Francisco. I wasn't the Photographer nor the Videographer, but I did come in to supply and manage the lighting and triggers. That was fun, and I need to do more of those. So the real question now is, when's the next Model shoot? Holla!
Monthly Archives: April 2010
Searching for Best Deals 126 LED lights
Seems to be a never ending cycle trying to find the best deals on these LED lights. They are just selling like crazy. Prices have gone up for USA sellers, but you can still grab them for around $50 Dollars + Free Shipping out of China.
More 126 LED's for around $50 dollars, can be shipped from China. Check out the Auctions Here.
The Sun is Out and it’s back to Photography
Above, photo taken in Brentwood, testing out some new gear in full sunlight. The sun's back out in the Bay Area and it's looking great to get back into Photography. You just can't beat that backlighting and rim lights the sun provides on your subjects. High speed flash photography is lots of fun and helps achieve more balance in your exposure when shooting on a bright sunny day. Of course it helps to get the right setup with your Flashes to make sure you're still controlling the light being thrown.
Strobies studio kit is a cheap way to get into a variety of different flash diffusers and light modifiers. Sure it looks odd when you have the flash mounted 'ON' your camera, but if you start doing Remote Trigger 'Off' camera flash photography with Strobies, you're going to get some fantastic images.
In fact you can get into a small beauty dish, softbox, grids, barndoors, globes, and snoots for around $150 dollars. Check out the kit from Amazon (widget above) or click on this Link Here to check out other Strobie accessories for your photography needs.
Click Images
Other notable diffusers for your Speedlite Flashes are from the Gary Fong lineup. You'll see this as standard issue for Wedding Photographers.
The Power Snoot
The Gary Fong LightSphere
This is a flexible, Opaque Vinyl diffuser with an internal snap on dome. Designed to fit a select group of flashes (see list of flashes below) The inside of the Lightsphere is completely textured to make the light dispersion even more "soft" than it would be otherwise! The new cloud colored Lightsphere provides the warmest softest light possible from your on-camera flash Studio quality light, that you can carry in your gear bag, makes the Cloud Lightsphere the perfect diffuser for portrait photographers and wedding photojournalists. This soft flattering light is the same light you are accustomed to finding in your studio when using a softbox, Calumet panel or large umbrella. If you shoot outside of your studio - you will love the NEW Cloud Lightsphere. The inverted dome allows you to softly diffuseyou will love the NEW Cloud soft source without creating flare on the front of your lens. The inverted dome allows you to softly diffuse direct light with a large, soft source without creating flare on the front of your lens. The C4 Lightsphere II fits the following flashes Canon 580EX & 430EZ Sony HVL-F32X Vivitar 730AF
The Gary Fong LightSphere - Collapsible
Gary Fong introduces the Lightsphere Collapsible, the new evolution of the famed Lightsphere series of diffusers! The Lightsphere Collapsible is made from soft vinyl making this Lightsphere flexible yet durable. The Lightsphere Collapsible boasts the first mounting system of its kind. It utilizes patent pending sizing ribs to provide an equally tight fit to several sizes of flashes without the need for straps or bands and collapses down to a 1 1/2 inch thick ring allowing for easy storage. The Inverted Dome, which works with all exisiting accessories, is included with the purchase. The light output is equivalent to a half cloud.
Additional Gary Fong Flash Diffusers and Accessories can be found by Clicking on this Link.
Adobe CS5 New Features Video
If you're shooting DSLR video, you know the current workflow is to render the original files out to another format before you'll get smoother playback during editing. Well Adobe's recognized this workflow and has created the new 'Mercury Playback Engine' in CS5. Adobe's new CS5 suite of tools also includes updates to InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Flash, After Effects, and even Premiere Pro. The new applications are written for native 64bit and with the Mercury Playback Engine, it should play any video file from DSLR's to Sony XDCam super smooth.
The new Photoshop CS5 also has some awesome new features with Conten-Aware Fill, Selection tools, and a better HDR Pro tool. Whether you're a photographer or videographer, check out the videos above and below for some exciting new reasons why you should grab the new CS5 Suite.
$99 Dollar Camera Slider
Not too happy with the Fluid Head that comes attached with this $99.00 dollar slider from IndiSystems, but the rail and carrier work pretty well. It looks thicker than other Camera Slider rails out there, but it's actually hollow and very lightweight. This 2 foot version of a silder is easier for my type of workflow compared to the 4 ft. slider I show in this video. This $99 dollar video camera slider mounts well directly to the Tripod or to a Quick release plate.
I had to drill out the old fluid head mount (plastic) and make room for a 1/4 x 20 flat headed screw. I wanted to keep it at 1/4 x 20 so I still have the option of mounting a camera directly to the carrier plate. In order to mount the Bogen 701HDV Fluid head, 1/4 to 3/8 adapter like this one. I don't do a whole bunch of sliding, but now maybe I will since this is a lighter and smaller version compared to the other Igus Rail. This is the mini slider from https://indisystem.com/products/indislider_mini
You can also get the same slider for a bit more here:
Did I mention I got my new 100mm Macro IS USM lens in also?? It's awesome...Here's a few samples below I took outside in the parking lot.
vDSLR LED Video Lights Going Going Gone!
It's crazy crazy crazy. I'm getting a ton of questions and comments about these LED Video lights. Seems that the old links that I have to these lights are ALL SOLD OUT!. I've purchased 3 of these myself and i'm lovin' it. I've even started to make Barn Doors, Snoots, Grids, and other Diffusers for them. I'm using them as a Continuous Lighting Kit for interviews, and since they are hot-shoe mountable, i've even used them with my Photography Umbrella Brackets. I was able to locate another USA seller for these lights, but who knows how much longer they'll last. Click the link Below.
Update!! You Can Find the Popular 126 LED DSLR Video Light Kit Here!!
Kata VDSLR bags
Cruising the Vimeo website looking for NAB postings, (yeah I didn't make it out there), I ran across this video clip demo (shot by DSLRNewsShooter.com) of the Kata bag for Video DSLR rigs. I'm a huge fan of bags that don't look like you got a million dollars locked away. Those bright chrome polished metallic aluminum flashy hard cases are sometimes just asking for trouble if anyone sees you walking the streets. So this Kata bag looks like a softcase, but is said to be able to hold up with someone standing on top of it, that translates to protection. Lots of room for the rig and pockets to stay organized. A quick search on eBay turns up the price for this bag listed here.
Canon 7D Firmware Upgrade
If you've had problems with temp gauges on your 7D, this firmware release should help with that. I've seen it a couple of times on my camera, so i'm hoping this will help clear things up. Get the new Canon 7D firmware here.
Firmware changes
Firmware Version 1.2.1 incorporates the following improvements and fixes.
1.Extends the timing at which the high temperature warning indicator is displayed and the timing of automatic shut down of the camera due to a rise in internal temperature during Live View or EOS Movie functions.
2.Optimizes program shift when the ISO setting of the camera is set to AUTO.
3.Corrects a misspelling in the French-language menu.
4.Corrects a phenomenon in which vertical magenta-colored banding appears in still images taken in movie-shooting mode.
(This only occurs when in Manual exposure mode and when the ISO speed is set to "H". Note that this phenomenon only affects units with Firmware Version 1.2.0)
Firmware Version 1.2.1 is for cameras with firmware up to version 1.2.0. If the camera's firmware is already version 1.2.1, it is not necessary to update the firmware.
Note that cameras with firmware Version 1.2.1, 1.2.0 cannot be downgraded to a previous firmware version (such as Version 1.1.0).
DIY SpiderTrax Rotating Video Skater Dolly
The DIY SpiderTrax Rotating Video Dolly project was introduced to show others how they can make their own DIY skater mini dolly, to get video footage similar to the P+S technik Skater Mini. The team over at https://www.SpiderTraxDolly.com has made major improvements to the design that is being manufacturing. There will be a limited first run of units, so if you have any interest in the DIY SpiderTrax Video Dolly kit, check out the website and drop your name @ https://www.SpiderTraxDolly.com and complete the form.
SpiderTrax Tip::
Most people will bring out a piece of wood if you want a taller shot. Keyboard stands work great for this. Something like this tiny.cc/9f5wu
Also if you're working on carpet, tiles, or uneven flooring you can use those plastic sheets that you put on the floor for Office chairs to roll on. Like this: tiny.cc/k40xo