Monthly Archives: February 2011

• 39 Comments

•

flycam-nano-upgrade

The Flycam Nano stabilizer has been around for years, but until recently it didn't get much steam. Now with plenty of fine examples of flying all the new light weight cameras, it's fast becoming the budget film maker's choice. Kai over at Poolfilm.com writes in about a problem with the Flycam Nano post. Turns out to have been a defective product, and then goes on to say the guys from India were nice enough to send another unit. This time though, the unit came with a different post. Gotta hand it to them for customer service, as I know we're all weary about overseas purchases.

So with the new thumb knob clamp in place (now similar to Glidecam's locking adjustment) the question is - Is this an older version or are we going to start seeing a change in the Flycam Nano's post? Anyone else get one recently to comment on this new post design? Mine is different as seen in my image below...

flycam-nano
find-price-button Flycam Nano DSLR Video Camera Stabilizer

• 1 Comment

•

There's only so many wireless microphone systems out there and If you've been wondering about this particular Audio Technica ATR 288W, here's a small clip. YouTube member creese13 writes in and shares a little test he's put together. Taking the budget wise Audio Technica ATR288W wireless system out for a small stroll it seems to be doing the job much better than the cheap Sony stuff I tried out as a backup wireless system. Flipping between Channel A and Channel B during this test, you decide which sounds better. Overall not bad sound for a budget wireless LAV going into a 7D -with AGC on. [Thanks Corey]


audio-technica-atr288w
find-price-button Audio-Technica ATR 288W - Microphone - black

• 16 Comments

•

LED-straight-on-test

I can't believe how much talk is going on just on LED lighting. In any case, just to throw in more confusion, here's a quick snapshot of what I'm going to put together as my own test. For this, i've hired a Jedi Master. Aside from the 500 LED video light panel, these smaller LED lights aren't typically used for 3 point lighting setups (although I believe they can work for small setups). The 500 LED is in there as my baseline of light quality since it's become so popular and you'll get to see how much these tiny lights compete to the larger level.

So my test will just be flat on, lighting at about eye level, with the subject about 2ft. from a backdrop. This is typically what you would do if you're mounting these small lights to the hot shoe of your camera. This will be a basic test just to see what the diffusion is like from a subject and the differences in color temperature. Unfortunately i'm guessing my subject may have a slightly green tint (sshh..he's quite sensitive about this matter), you'll be able to tell from the white backdrop. Anyways, it's a one man show in here, so i'll try to get this going...

Also not shown in the image, I might throw in the 183 LED light into the mix. By the way, I haven't had time to blog it, but i'm also throwing in the 352 LED Ring Light (second from left). Not much has been said about this light on the Internet, it's quite expensive, but it should be an exciting test to throw in to compare what a ring light can really do.

• 20 Comments

•

Half of you may have already seen Vimeo member Frank Glencairn's cheap LED Shootout video (Above), but for those who are still asking questions, this might be a good jumping off point. Frank runs through the CN-126 LED, Z96, and Yongnuo's 135 & 160 LED light. As a baseline for a good lighting example he throws in the LitePanels Micro into the bunch, but this is far from a cheap LED Video light.

Obvious pros and cons for each light, one being that none of the tungsten filters that were provided actually worked well as real balanced tungsten color. Since the Yongnuo's don't provide this, I guess that doesn't make it such a deal breaker. You'll have to work with proper gels regardless of the light you decide on. The video was done with an HVX200 so keep in mind that DSLR's may achieve better results with a bit of an ISO push. In any case, enjoy the video examples above on brightness, spotting, and diffusion. [Thanks Frank]

To save you a bit of reading, here's Frank's Verdict (from blog)

I´m a bit undecided. The NG 126 and the Litepanels Micro look outdated, compared to the newer lights. The Z96 has the best daylight balance and the nicest overall light, but the YONGNUO 160 is much more powerful. The YONGNUO 135 is somewhere in between them. Non of the provided Tungsten filters is usable IMHO with the exception of the one from Litepanels Micro. I use normal gels instead. Tricky lids, useless barndoors, mounting options, that are not exactly what you want on a professional set, are no deal breakers, but I hope they will be improved in the future. Some guys asked me to watchout for flicker. I had no flicker at all, unless the batteries getting weak, than they start to flicker.

If I have to choose one (and until I need a real strong light), I think I would go with the Z96, because of the superb light quality and it has a dimming wheel instead of that buttons.

- Frank Glencairn

• 16 Comments

•

Screen shot 2011-02-02 at 7.56.10 PM
find-price-button Ultra Bright LED Circular Panel

Mediacentric comments and is wondering what's your experience with these Circular LED Video Light panels? They are available in 276 LEDs, 380 LEDs, 645 LEDs, & 1144 LEDs. The back of the units appear to have a simple ON/OFF switch and what also looks to be a dimmer knob. [Update] Only one model has dimmer. For others, it's just a fuse. Some images also show a diffuser sock to help soften up some of that direct LED lighting. If you've got the scoop, leave a comment. Otherwise all of these lights can be found below.


Screen shot 2011-02-02 at 7.56.24 PMScreen shot 2011-02-02 at 7.56.37 PM
find-price-button Ultra Bright LED Circular Panel

I could be mistaken, but to warm these guys up (they are like Cloudy temp) you'd need a bit of CT orange Rosco E-Colour #223 1/8 CT Orange (21x24" Sheet)

• 4 Comments

•

Vimeo member Carl throws up a demo video with the Canon T2i on Hague MMC video stabilizer. Something i've shown a while so nothing new there. Jump on over to 2:18 in the video and you find out how Carl balances the GoPro and iPhone properly. I've always said if your camera is too light for the stabilizer, you need to add weight to the top. Carl achieves this by adding a small Manfrotto tripod which works well for weight and adds the function of a quick release adapter. Now that the GoPro has an LCD BacPac, we could start seeing more GoPro Flying. Watch out Tiffen Smoothee, the cheaper Hague MMC with some small mods can easily balance a Flip, GoPro, iPhone and more...[Thanks Carl]


Screen shot 2011-02-02 at 10.38.40 PM
find-price-button Hague Mini-Motion Cam Video Stabilizer

Now Carl does an excellent job with the Hague MMC, but i've used this stabilizer before and there's other (better and cheaper) options. The Hague is higher priced than the IndieHardware which I reviewed against the Hague MMC not so long ago. You can definitely save a few clams if you considered the IndieHardware over the Hague for your lightweight cameras.


indie-hardware-stabilizer-upgrade
find-price-button IndieHardware Camera Stabilizer

If you're really interested in flying a GoPro, you should also check out another version of these type of stabilizers from Lensse. Probably just as good if not better than the rest with a price that sits in between. There's also a smaller version offered by Lensse dedicated to small Cell Phones (iPhones) or PDA's. Right now Lensse is trying to grab some marketshare and some items are being auctioned off starting at .99 cents. These small stabilizers already designed to work with an iPhone without any further modification, just might be good enough for the GoPro too. A deal hard to pass up..

Screen shot 2011-02-02 at 10.48.31 PM
find-price-button Lensse i-Steady Camera Stabilizers

• 17 Comments

•

DIY-LED_Panel

Matt writes in to share an LED light panel find via eBay. Normally you'd filter down to Video or Camera lighting, so you might have missed this one (I know I did). These are LED panels used as grow lights for indoor plants or aquarium accent lighting. This particular panel holds 225 LED's spaced out to cover a decent area. With 4 of these, you'd be working your way up to a 900 LED light source that is said to be rated at 5600K. Not too bad.

There's two versions that they sell, one being an 'upgraded' Ultrathin version. No specs on actual color temperature from that listing, but the ultrathin looks pretty nice. Since these aren't stamped under video or photo, they run extremely cheap. I just ordered one to test to see if it's a DIY start, but at worst case it'll be great for my Photo Cocoon lightbox or place it over my aquarium. Nice that they already come in a housing (looks like aluminum but most likely plastic). They are offered in a variety of mixed color LED's or just plain white. Make sure you check on the ones that specify 'white only' and you can find them below. [Thanks Matt]

led-video-light-panel
find-price-button 225 LED & 450 LED Light panels

• 12 Comments

•


ikan-dry-erase-slate
find-price-button Ikan Production Slate 9 x 11

About time I had my own Dry Erase slate a.k.a Clapper a.k.a ClapBoard. I ordered this 9 x 11 dry erase slate from Amazon mainly because I had a gift card and shipping was free at the time. This one feels like it has some magnets on the top so as the clapper gets closer it actually snaps in place. Feels like a wooden top and the slate area is a thick acrylic. I personally think it also looks better than the other cheaper ones. If looks is of no concern, cheaper ones like the Pearstone go for about half the price of this Ikan over at B&H.

9x11-dry-erase-slate
find-price-button Pearstone Dry Erase Slate

Cheapest of all the ones i've found is the very generic White 9 x 11 Director's Clapboard via Amazon (below).

cheaper-dry-erase-slate
find-price-button White Directors Clapboard 9 x 11

• 11 Comments

•

Thanks to a tip from John - Twitter user @itsjohnny2, The long long awaited LCD BacPac from GoPro is now available and in stock. Not much to say here, but damn it's about time!


Screen shot 2011-02-01 at 9.50.57 AM
find-price-button GoPro HD Cameras and Accessories

This is going to open up a few new doors to what you can do with the GoPro., but it does make that lens more prone to dust and scratches. Shouldn't be a huge deal for you non-sports GoPro users like Timelapse stuff or Steadicam Flying. Here's a video of Cinevate flying a GoPro on a custom stabilizer: https://vimeo.com/16013644. I bet they wished they had the LCD screen back then.

Whoa wait wait..I think they do have a rear casing to support the LCD BacPac into the water proof enclosure. Yup, it's all there. Now you can have your LCD underwater too.

Screen shot 2011-02-01 at 9.56.09 AM
find-price-button GoPro HD Cameras and Accessories - GoPro.com

BTW, did you know some folks actually sell Polarized and ND filters for the GoPro? Makes sense, especially on super bright days found here: GoPro ND and Polarized Filters