Yup. Will have something to show in a bit...
Monthly Archives: July 2011
Konova K-Slider and GoPro
Using the GoPro in odd ways. DIY suction mount to the hood of a car, on a monopod as a Golf Putter, and did you know it fits perfectly inside a Golf Hole? Playing with the Konova Camera Slider out on the course. Just total randomness and plain fun.
SmallHD DP4 – HDMI EVF
[Update] Here's a link to the unboxing:
http://cheesycam.com/smallhd-dp4-evf-unboxing/
If you didn't catch the news about the SmallHD DP4 EVFofficially on sale (as of Yesterday), then you might still have a chance. Limited supply on this item. No video reviews online just yet, except for the brief demos from NAB2011 and those were still in Prototype stages. Let's see how the official ones comes out. Other EVFs claim to be two products in one, but the DP4-EVF is larger at 4" which makes it much better to use as a small external monitor, while still providing a flip up loupe for magnified viewing. Or you can just purchase the DP4 if all you need is a small lightweight HDMI monitor. You can find more information about the new SmallHD DP4-EVF while they are available (click here).
DSLR Follow Focus Kit
Alright, I received a bit of Clarity on these new budget DSLR follow Focuses a.k.a 'RJ Follow Focus'. It's not really a one store FF, but an FF that's being sold by many different retail locations from overseas. Now if you've been planning on picking one up, here's a little inside scoop. A small amount of these will touch down in the U.S. and might be available as soon as this weekend. We'll see if that's true, and if it is, you could have an order shipped fairly quickly rather than waiting for one from over seas. Stay tuned..
4 ft. Jib (Crane) Camera Movements
So many people want to go with the biggest and baddest crane/jib ever, but later find out it's just too cumbersome to be useful. My advice is to get at least two cranes, and start with the smallest and lightest one for your camera. You'll enjoy using it more often, and if you need something bigger you can buy your second one later, and trust me you'll still end up keeping your smaller one. Also having a lighter setup will allow you to use dolly tracks for both rolling and vertical movements at the same time.
A majority of the small Jibs around 4ft. don't have tilt functions, but I specifically went to these cranes because I found myself not really using it. The video above from Vimeo member Meld Multimedia is another fine example of movements that can be had with a lightweight 4ft. jib. Unfortunately the version he has is out of stock, the version I have is out of stock, so the next best budget option would be from the ProAm line which has had excellent reviews for it's price. [Thanks Jason]
12V DC Battery with 5V USB Port
A while back I posted about some available 12V DC batteries you can use from Ryobi. They've been working great and many people have adapted them on Timelapse rigs and motion controlled sliders. Here's another option. Now I'm fairly weary about posting no name battery packs, so i've been testing these for a few weeks now before I decide if they are any good.
CCTV 12V DC Rechargeable Li-iON w/ 5V DC USB Port
I originally purchased two of these CCTV Battery packs because of the 5V USB option. These little batteries hold quite a charge and i'm able to fully bring my dead cell phone or iPad back to life (charging through USB) several times over before needing to recharge the Pack again. These USB chargers are the most handy thing when you can't be tied to an outlet (like when traveling).
They also come with a double sided barrel connector to power up 12V DC items, and those have been coming in quite handy as well. The connector fits most standard Camera accessories, but you can always get additional ones to power up other accessories that will run on 12V or 5V DC. [Note] At Radio Shack it's 'AdaptaPlug Size N', elsewhere the common plug is 5.5mm OD and 2.5mm ID Male Plug. The battery uses negative from the outside and sends positive from the inside. Just make sure you have the inside as Positive and the Outside as Negative when making your DIY plug. You can see what that looks like, and find some easy DIY tips here: 5.5mm Male DC Plug Tips
I've been able to power up the Z96 LED light, the 312 LED Video lights, the SmallHD DP6 LCD monitor (and other monitors), the 352 LED Ring Light, and the list goes on and on. So many times you'll catch one of your accessories out of AA's or Sony's, and this backup battery solves them all. [Update] The Zoom H1 can be powered via USB, just figured that out when my AA battery was dying out on location.
I haven't done any real battery testing to see if the 3800mah /12V DC specs they list on the website is actual, but they do hold a charge and power up all my accessories for quite some time. Fairly light weight so all it takes is a bit of Velcro to hang it on the back of your Lilliput LCD monitors, or Portable LED lights that can accept DC in (like the Z96 or 312 LEDs). Unfortunately my 900 LED lights require 14V DC to be at it's 'Brightest' setting, but these little 12V DC batteries will power them up as well. Definitely not a bad price, and I have a few more on order. Trust me, i'm still putting them through the ringer. You can find them (click here).
CCTV 12V DC Rechargeable Li-iON w/ 5V DC USB Port
[Update] Some of these items might not ship with the correct barrel adapter which is 5.5mm OD and 2.5mm ID. A comment left by Luca has links to some adapter cables. [Thanks Luca]
I found these DC cables that should fit quite nicely. The problem is, they're quite short:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300585910349&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:ITSo here is an extension cable:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390338648476&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_3613wt_1141
Feet or Stand for your next DIY Slider
This is just too clever. Chris writes in and shares a very easy addition for DIY sliders. If the slider is sitting on the floor directly onto the rail, the carrier usually won't be able to roll or slide. Most people end up using a block of wood to raise it up, but this simple solution using 'push up bars' is less of an eye sore a more stable setup as opposed to blocks of wood. Pretty self explanatory on how it all comes together, but Chris has more at his blog. Here Chris is using the IGUS rails which is the simplest DIY Slider solution, you can find (Click Here
You know sometimes the simple things that stare you in the face, end up being the solution. Trust me, I have a set of these bars staring at me every day. I just pretend I don't see them...You can literally grab a set of these bars for $10 bucks (click here)
Zoom upgrades the H2 with H2n
Zoom is upgrading the H2 with a new H2n. The black finish and retro condenser microphone styling is a big plus for my taste, but it's neither pocketable nor does it have all the features of the H4n.
I'm not sure how something like this would fit the Video Maker's toolbox with all the other Zoom options out there (no XLR inputs), but Zoom has been geared more towards musicians. It might be a handy thing to have for Video makers that record live concerts and provide a better sound than the Zoom H1. Not yet available, but there's some additional information and sexy photos following the link.
FEATURES
:Five built-in mic capsules provide Mid-Side (MS) stereo, 90° X/Y stereo, 2-channel and 4-channel recording modes
:Records in WAV up to 24-bit/96kHz and MP3 up to 320kbps
:Newly designed user interface
:Additional functions include Lo-cut Filter, Compressor/Limiter, Auto Gain, Pre-Rec, Auto-Rec, Tuner, Metronome, Variable Speed Playback, Key Control, A-B Repeat, File :Dividing, Normalize, MP3 Post-Encode, Marker and Surround Mixer
:Data recovery function protects against unexpected recording errors
:Over 20 hours of operation using two standard AA batteries
:Operates on battery, AC or USB bus power
:1.8-inch backlit LCD display with 128 x 64 resolution
:Analog-type Mic Gain wheel
:Built-in reference speaker
:High-speed USB 2.0 card reader function
:1/8-inch Mic/Line Input and Phones/Line Output stereo phone jacks
:Accommodates up to 32GB SDHC memory cards
:Includes Steinberg WaveLab LE 7 editing software, 2GB SD memory card and two AA batteries
:Optional accessory package (APH-2n) includes remote control with extension cable, windscreen, AC adapter (USB type), USB cable, adjustable tripod stand, padded-shell case and a mic clip adapter.
DIY CarrySpeed LCD VFinder Mount
Here's a clever way to get a semi-permanent CarrySpeed Vfinder view finder to mount to your camera. The LCD glass protector was an old trick to permanently glue a sticky frame or even the DSLR LCD view finder itself, but they aren't available in all camera models. If you don't have this protector available for your camera model, this DIY mounting solution could work for you. Here Aron from TrinityFXMG.com takes just the eyepiece portion and fastens it to the VFinder. I'm sure you guys can figure it out from the thorough video tutorial. [Thanks Aron].
Glass LCD Protectors for Canon, Nikon, Sony
New LCD View Finder for Canon T2i, 5D Mark II, 7D and other 3″ LCD’s