Monthly Archives: August 2010

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Monday's mail bag contains my two Sima L Brackets referencing this article I posted not long ago http://cheesycam.com/double-l-bracket-configuration-alzo-t-pod/. I went with the Sima as it was cheaper than the Alzo L Bracket. It feels real solid and has the dual shoe mount. I'll have more information on what I plan on doing with these when I get my aluminum flat bar cut out.

Here's an image of the Canon T2i with Sima L Bracket next to my Zoom H1 Portable Audio recorder.
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Sima Video Bracket with Handle + 2 Accessory Mounts

Next up, received the package from bhphotovideo.com . No it's not my Zoom H1 Portable Digital Audio Recorder, that's coming in the mail tomorrow. This box contains some very special lenses. I recently shot at the Craigslist Foundation Boot camp, and was requested to shoot the conference event speeches with DSLR's. Normally I would have opted for a Sony EX1, or Panasonic HVX for longer running video clips, but we were able to shoot with the Canon 5D Mark II using multiple camera angles and overlapped recording. The only problem we ran into was the range of the lenses. Shooting off to the side and wanting the closest possible headshot, my Canon 70-200mm F/2.8 on the full frame just didn't cut it. With the Canon 2x Teleconverter on, we got closer, but the aperture minimum now up F/5.6 (the converter does this) plus the dim lit theater combination had us up to ISO 1600 at the least.

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So after every shoot I think about what lenses could make this so much easier and provide better quality, still keeping in mind it has to be at an affordable price. Having a telephoto lens is important for this type of coverage, so prime lenses would be out of the question. I needed to zoom in and zoom out for wider shots as they traveled the stage. For low light, I needed something that had at least a comparable aperture of F/5.6. So I narrowed down cost + functionality to two lenses. The Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L with IS & the new Sigma 50-500mm F/4.5-6.3 with optical stabilization. Yes the Sigma stops down to 6.3 at the longest 500mm, but as a comparison i'll see if I can get 5.6 at 400mm with the Sigma. Both priced roughly around $1600 US Dollars i'll have the lens vs. lens comparison up this week......
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Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens

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Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO Autofocus Lens

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ccam

There's quite a few sources talking about the huge information leak on Sony's new Alpha DSLR's named the 'A580' and the 'A560', but so far the most important feature is finally recording in 1080. I'm sure there's a few more tricks up Sony's sleeve, but unless it's doing RAW video, fixed rolling shutter, or found a way to do super slo-motion in 1080, we've seen it all. I'm not sure if they'll have special features to convert die hard Canon or Nikon fans, but if the price is right maybe they can find a way to at least get in the HD DSLR video game. I have no information on pricing and availability yet, but i'm still digging for more information. Engadgets got a bit of read too: https://www.engadget.com/2010/08/20/sonys-alpha-a580-and-a560-leak-out-with-1080i-video-recording-m/

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lcw-lightcraftworkshop-lcd-viewfinder-bigeye

Lightcraft workshop, probably best known recently for it's Fader ND Variable Neutral Density Filters, but also produces high quality optics for other types of filters is entering the Loupe Game. The new 'BiGeye' LCD Viewfinder for DSLR's is coming in under $140 for the complete setup. Yes, it's weird but they are selling parts of the loupe individually possibly if you happen to damage it, you can cheaply replace small pieces. Cheaper than the Original LCDVF viewfinder, but offering a 'diopter' I think it's priced very nicely. It's not the most beautiful design and I'm not a fan of the name nor the product images they display in their store, but I'm sure they've got the whole optics thing down and that's really what counts. Thanks to Paul Kondo for this tip, you can find the new LCW BiGeye LCD Viewfinder at this link.

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Terry Gray from LocalTVHero.com, throws up an informative and amusing review of the DSLR rig he's chosen to work with. His review is around the IndiSystem UltraCompact DSLR rig. I've listed the product details from Indisystem's website, but i'll let Terry break down the goods and the bads in his Video review. You can find more from Terry at LocalTVHero.com.

Product Description:
Under 4 pounds with handle grips and shoulder pad, the ULTRAcompact can be shoulder mounted or after removing the handles and shoulder mount, on a tripod studio-style. It has the built in miniMOUNT, a "C" bracket with handle that allows for accessories to be mounted vertically or horizontally. The miniMOUNT has enough clearance for a DSLR with battery pack or to mount a sound link device underneath. The camera is mounted to the ULTRAcompact with a quick release mount, allowing for minute horizontal adjustments as you change lenses.

My personal experience hasn't been good with Indisystem, in fact to this day i've never heard anything back from them. I don't doubt that if you can get a hold of some gear, it's manufactured really well. Supposedly some top notch stuff. Now I'm not one to rain on anyone's parade, but there was an article started on this blog a while back, and some comments that might be of interest if you choose the Indisystem route: http://cheesycam.com/indisystem-contact/

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fig-rig-stabilizer-iphone
click image to jump to Flickr

An iPhone is a small device, and so far many of the stabilizers have been short handles. Earlier this week Tate Nations showed us his version of the DSLR Cage Fig Rig painted Red. Tate probably had a lot of left over strut rail to come up with this other use. This has to be the first Fig Rig i've seen for use with the iPhone. Some might think it's overkill, but remember there is an iPhone Cinema Kit out there that will run you about $900 bucks.....now that's 'overkill'. Overkill or not, it's DIY, pure fun, and i'm sure it provides excellent stabilization. Very cool DIY which would be interesting to see people's reactions when this hits those events.

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new-cheesycam-product

I tend to share alot of information on this blog, but there are still many things I keep under wraps. One of the new ideas i've been mapping out with PhotographyandCinema.com is close to final design and should make things quite interesting. It will be an extremely versatile tool for budget film makers, and making traveling abroad much easier. This all came about from my own personal experiences packing and traveling into an entirely new product design. It's not as easy to DIY so this is another product that will retail at PhotographyandCinema.com. As usual tons of thought went into the design to keep things as cheap as possible for the budget film community. I have a feeling, you're all going to enjoy this next one...

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California/Arizona Time Lapse from Dan Eckert on Vimeo.

Dan Eckert sent me a message about being able to find some cheaper LED's through the Cheesycam website that he was able to use in one of his recent Timelapse videos. Apparently Dan used the popular 126 LED lights and modified them to tripod use. I took a look at the timelapse video Dan Eckert put together, and was just blown away. Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, this timelapse video showcases some of the most amazing footage i've seen. It's not so much about catching moving clouds that we've all seen before, but more about finding appreciation for the hard work and endurance that is involved with capturing this kind of footage day after day, most of which in the desert heat. This is some amazing stuff, you've all got to see. Shot completely with still images, yet the video seems extremely fluid, and no signs of flickering. Lots of camera movement makes this a truly amazing piece. Involved in this video is a custom dolly built for train tracks, panning shots, sliding shots, and techniques with image shutter speed. It's too bad there isn't a BTS video on his road trip, as i'm sure many of us would love to see the journey involved in creating something a piece like this. Great work Dan, looking forward to seeing more! My offer to carry some gear still stands!

A bit of BTS with Dan's DIY train rail dolly. Very cool, looks pretty smooth.

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zoom-h1-pre-order

Well, those of us who got the jump on the pre-order knew this would happen. In just one day after the extremely late official release date, the Zoom H1 is sold out from one of the largest retailers in the country - BHPHOTOVIDEO.com. The item listing now reverted back to 'pre-order' status. Amazon never even had a chance. The item on Amazon still shows for a September 8th release date. Most people, including myself should have it in by next week. I personally have ordered a total of 3, but with the pre-order list growing a little each day, I'm sure it will be a hard thing to find in stock for a while. If you're really hard up for one, check out this link to the auctions of Zoom H1 sellers who say they have it in stock. These are guys who'll buy a bunch and resell for a small profit on top of the already $99 dollars. If you're patient and still want one, you may want to get on that pre-order list BHPHOTOVIDEO.com is having right now at this link for the Zoom H1 Ultra-Portable Digital Audio Recorder.

On of the first unboxing videos to hit YouTube for the Zoom H1. It's not quite as small as I thought it would be. Just have to wait for mine.

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I cruise through the Cinema5D news articles periodically to see what Jared Abrams is up to. It seems for the past 2 days it's been down though. Wonder what's going on? Hopefully it will be up soon, Jared has been posting up some really cool 'Quick Take' reviews lately, something I haven't seen on that website before. I'm getting a few different messages depending on the browser that i'm trying to use to get to Cinema5D.

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Possibly the system was hacked? There's a harmful warning when using Google search.