Monthly Archives: October 2010

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Wow, when it rains it pours. All i've been talking about is new DSLR rigs for most of the day, but it's good to know our options. Thanks to a tip from 'John', here's another company trying to get their lineup into the DSLR market. I have to say that these model closer to the 'blue guys' than the other company. There's a ton of different accessories already listed from basic rods, clamps, handle bars, follow focus, and shoulder pad. I haven't dug deep enough to find out pricing, but after all the previous posts, i'm not going to get overly excited. Even if they aren't rock bottom, dirt cheap prices, like we've been accustomed to with overseas products, the benefit of having more DSLR accessories in the market is compatibility. All of the accessories from different companies should play nicely together. Your follow focus from blue guys, will mount on a base rig from the orange guys, as well as handlebars from the purple guys. (I sure hope no cinema company is using purple.....) I'm a bit lazy to grab more images, so if you want to take a peek here's the link: https://www.eimagevideo.com/enproduct_largerimage.asp?id=972&cpfl=187

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Just got wind of a new company looking to play in the ever popular DSLR game. Above are a few photos, showing some new gear currently being 'prototyped'. That's about all I can say right now, as I don't have much more information (yet). Whether we'll see this on the market soon would be interesting as well, but looks like when they are ready to go they'll be offering quite a bit. Check out the gear that's in the works...

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Canon G12 10MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.8 inch Vari-Angle LCD

Just a few days ago these were only available for pre-order. Looks like Amazon has them in stock and available for Prime shipping. Means it's actually shipping from an Amazon warehouse, and not from a third party seller. This camera is a nice upgrade from the already popular G11, with new features like HD Video recording and in camera HDR photo processing. 5x Optical Zoom with Image Stabilization, flash hot shoe, swivel out LCD (like 60D), can be triggered remotely, lots of manual controls, and RAW photo capture. It's about as DSLR as you can get without going full DSLR. One question that's been on my mind is 'will there be some manual controls in video mode'? Also mentioned is that it could already be compatible with the Canon WP-DC34 Underwater Housing. I'm not bold enough to take a full DSLR under, but this G12 + housing looks like an affordable combination for Underwater HD video or RAW photos. Something my GoPro isn't quite capable of. Available now via Amazon below.

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This video is pretty sick! Using 52 Canon Cameras to create the Bullet Time effect similar to the movie The Matrix. I'm actually drawing up my own Bullet time rig and I figured out how to fire off as many cameras as needed with a single remote and no software. I just need to find enough cameras, which i'm currently looking at the G series Powershots. Hopefully i'll have more to show about that rig soon, because i'd love to try this out.

Details from YouTube:
In collaboration with Timeslice Films, Rip Curl took on an ambitious bullet-time campaign shoot in Malaysia's Sunway Lagoon Wavepool with lead surfers Mick Fanning, Stephanie Gilmore, Owen Wright and Matt Wilkinson.

The revolutionary campaign captures surfing in a way never seen before, with the final visuals baring more resemblance to a fight scene from the famous Matrix movies than a promotional surfing video.

The two-day rental of Sunway Lagoon Wavepool allowed Rip Curl and Timeslice to operate in a more stable environment than the open ocean offers. The Rip Curl surfers were repeatedly towed into the machine-controlled waves by Jetski and their operational space was determined by the 52-camera rig set up in the pool. Original Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlZPmABrLu8&feature=player_embedded

Behind the Scenes:

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After posting up information that the overseas photography equipment company Fancier is getting into the DSLR rig and DSLR support game, everyone was searching for news on pricing. These rigs by the way were shown at Photokina, so they aren't trying to come in as some sneaky blatant knock-off. I'm sure they had a bit of 'inspiration' from other DSLR rig makers, but this lineup is all theirs.

A few reliable comments have come in with some pricing that were received from Fancier themselves. Although it looks good for what you get, the fact that you can get it cheaper in the USA is really going to slow their pace. Here's the prices that are leaking now, and i'm not too optimistic about it hitting the US market. Hopefully these expected prices will change after this post.

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First up is the basic DSLR cage labeled as the FTV-100D. This unit is estimated to com in at $505.94 dollars. Outside of the Follow Focus, you can find pretty much the exact same DSLR cage over at IndiSystems for $129 - top handle and all. Hey, you can even find a popular decent DIY for under $30 bucks.

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Next up is your basic DSLR shoulder support with gearless follow focus, labeled the FTV-110A and coming in at expected $491.65. Just in the last few months there have been several US companies offering a base shoulder rig for under $300 dollars.

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Third on the list is the FTV-110B, which pretty much looks like a bigger version of their FTV-110A (minus follow focus). This rig is expected to come in at $571.02. Wow, that's a pretty penny considering you can already get several nice basic support rigs for half the price. There's definitely room for more companies, but if you're late in the game, you'll have to bring something more original (or cheaper) to grab some attention.

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Fourth configuration is labeled as the FTV-200D coming in at a price of $1,553.15. This adds a matte box, their micro follow focus, and top handle to the base rig. Coming in at a price similar to a Redrock EyeSpy Deluxe bundle which I really love shooting with, at this price, it's going to be hard to penetrate the US market. Sorry Fancier, I really like your (other) products, but if this is really the prices you're heading for in DSLR stabilizers, you have a tough road ahead. Any comments on these 'possible' prices?

You can find more information about their rigs here: https://www.chinafancier.com/enShoulder-Bracket.html

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Nate Horowitz writes in with a kick ass DIY DSLR stabilizer rig. A bike mechanic and film maker, Nate used parts from a Titanium bike frame, aluminum seat posts, and aluminum bar stock. I'm hoping Nate will fill us all in with more information about the exact parts used and how much modification was needed, as this looks like one sweet DIY project. You can find more detailed photos over at his Flickr gallery here https://www.flickr.com/photos/54515193@N05/5049491205/in/photostream/, and feel free to leave some comments on this article. [Thanks Nate]

[Update from Nate] Here's the breakdown of parts in this rig.
The BIKE PARTS:
I hacked off the seat stays and a chain stay off a crashed $1000+
Titanium road bike frame. FREE
I used a bolt on axle on the rear to connect the chain-stay to the two
rails. FREE
The grips are two seat posts with BMX Oury grips slid over them. $10

The HOME DEPOT PARTS:
Aluminum bar stock. $!5
Nuts and bolts. $4
PVC cap and toilet O-ring. (used as a compression ring) $5
Plumbing clamps? (for the rear shoulder). $5

The AMAZON PARTS:
Manfrotto Quick Release Plate $45
USPS Shoulder Strap $7

The PAINT:
Grey Primer $5
Matte Black Spraypaint $5

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John Lo over at John-Lo.com decided to try the Cheesycam DSLR Cage / Fig Rig as first DIY project. He's submitted some behind the scenes footage of how it can be used to provide some extra stability to your video shots, while still adding a mounting point for accessories such as the Z96 LED video light. Looks pretty good, and definitely a huge improvement over traditional hand held shots. He's also posted his own writeup on the DIY over at his website John-Lo.com, or you can find the original DIY article I posted here if you're interested in building your own: http://cheesycam.com/cheesycam-exclusive-diy-dslr-cage-stabilizer/

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After posting up my BTS footage of the Glidecam HD4000 with the Steadicam Merlin vest found here: http://cheesycam.com/glidecam-hd4000-bts-with-canon-60d-steadicam-vest/, I've been getting quite a bit of emails on how these two different products 'mate'. I'm sure this blog is quite cluttered with random articles, so here's the DIY video dug up from the archives posted 8 months ago. The reason I have this setup is because I used to fly a Merlin, so I had the vest already. I found the Glidecam design to be more flexible and the HD4000 can also carry a heavier load. The Glidecam was very heavy and I didn't want to invest into another Vest. It turned out to be a great cost saving idea since you have a 'dual arm' (two spring things) vest for about $1499 + Glidecam HD4000 for about $600. If you were shopping for a Glidecam Vest, the Dual arm for Glidecam runs more than the Dual Arm of the Steadicam Merlin. Some also argue that the Steadicam Merlin vest is a better design, much more slim profile, and of course cheaper cost. That's all opinion, and I just want to make it clear that I was just trying to make products I already owned work together. So even though it wasn't pre-meditated, there's a bit of cash savings using this method and as you can tell i've been very very happy with my whole system for a very very long time. You'll catch my reference to 'mating' the Steadicam Merlin arm with the Glidecam HD4000 Handle in this video..... Enjoy.

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find-price-button Tiffen Steadicam Arm and Vest

Steadicam Merlin-Vest Glidecam Hybrid DIY adapter
find-price-button Glidecam HD-4000 Hand-Held Stabilizer

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I saw this a few times today, but was reminded again by Kevin about the new Canon Instant Rebates. There's plenty of rebates for Canon gear, but the ones to be excited about are the DSLR bodies. The 7D kit, 7D Body, and T2i are on the list. No mention about the 5D Mark II. You can find more information here: Canon Instant Rebates BHPhotovideo.com