Monthly Archives: November 2011

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yongnuo-rf603-flashtrigger

There's been some recent comments about off camera Flashes and the cheaper RF-602 or RF-603 wireless triggers. If you decide to go this route, remember that the trigger fits directly underneath the flash. Once you have this set up you can screw a light stand directly underneath the RF-602 receiver's 1/4-20 thread mount, but this means your flash can't be tilted and it doesn't provide a way to mount an umbrella.

If you want to be able to angle your flashes and mount an umbrella grab yourself an umbrella bracket for Speedlites and because the RF-602 or RF-603 receivers don't have a shoe lock, you'll need to look for umbrella brackets that have a built in shoe lock. Hopefully this will save you from buying the wrong ones. Check out the video below for more information on this. [Thanks Carl]

I'm using a few cheap umbrella holders that have locking shoes, and they start at about $4 dollars.
flash-bracket
find-price-button Adjustable Umbrella Flash Bracket

yongnuo-rf-603
find-price-button Yongnuo RF-603 Wireless Flash Triggers

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Just received my other two batteries. Now I have a nice 3pc LED light kit on all battery power. These will work on either my 600s or 900 LED panels (Video Test Here). These batteries won't work on the 1200 LED Panels (found here) because those run on 24V.

tekkeon-mp3450i

Besides using these for the 600 / 900 LED light Panels, there are several people who use them to power up accessories on their DSLR rigs. I'm waiting for some special mounts from CPMCameraRigs.com. They design a snap package that mounts to standard 15mm rails. Coupled with a special secondary battery. You can check out some of the mounting options over at their website (click here).

cpmcamerarigs
CPMCameraRigs.com Tekkeon Battery Snap Packages

Literally just two days after posting about the Tekkeon back in stock, it was sold out and back on backorder status. Today I just checked (while writing this article) and it's back in stock again! These things are hot, and they'll be sold out again very quickly. Cheapest place i've found them is at B&H (click here).

tekkeon-battery-packtekkeon-mp3450i-snap
find-price-button Tekkeon MyPower All Battery for 600 / 900 LED Panels

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Canon 24-70mm

The Canon 24-70mm F/2.8L is one of the most popular lenses for event photographers. It's also one of my favorite lenses for video since it can focus fairly close. Good range of zoom, and maintains a decent F/2.8 aperture throughout for low light shooting. I heard there was a sale going on over at B&H, but doing a basic search for the Canon 24-70mm F/2.8L only comes back with only a $100 dollar discount. I was able to track down the other URL where it shows a $200 dollar instant savings discount off normal price. That's a better deal than what they are offering on the Canon Rebates webpage (here), and cheaper than a used one on eBay, but says it expires in a few days. Here's the link (click here).

Canon 24-70mm Sale
find-price-button Canon 24-70mm F/2.8L Discount

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Vimeo member HD Cam Team or at https://hdcamteam.com, is showing off a new prototype USB Controller for Canon DSLRs. In the video they talk about how the newly announced Okii MC1 Mini USB remote can control options in the camera for both photography and video, even something as simple as starting Live View / Start / Stop Video recording. The most interesting part comes at the end of the video when they mention a unique feature 'Extra Auto-start function', which allows you to record video passing the 4GB file size limit. Say goodbye to 12 minute recording times, i'm sold already!

Actually after reading through a bit the exact words used are

"An optional automatic recording restart feature is included, which can stop and restart video recording at 11-minute intervals for long film sequences, or can act as a fail safe."

Sounds like you'll be missing a few frames in between and won't be a seamless integration of two video files. Still better than stopping all together. Hopefully we'll hear more about that too.

The USB Controller is fully compatible with the following cameras:

  • Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
  • Canon EOS 5D Mark II
  • Canon EOS 7D
  • Canon EOS 60D
  • Canon EOS T3i/600D
  • Canon EOS T2i/550D
  • Canon EOS 500D/T1i

    • Okii MC1

    The Okii MC1 mini USB Controller can be had over at https://www.okii.net/product_p/mc1.htm.

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    From Vimeo member Freddy Cordova, a look at Jag35's latest product - a video camera slider. A roller bearing block rides on two rails, requires two stands for elevated use, and optional leveling legs for ground use. Options for length are 2' and 3'. You can check out pricing over at the Jag35.com website.

    Jag35 has excellent quality and aesthetics in their products, but so far the price is on the high side, and still only has about the same functionality as the JuicedLink DIY Slider (here). The JuicedLink is cheaper because it does not come with any rods, but opens up the option for you to choose what type and length you need. Of course the Jag35 has the overall better finish. I know they were working on a motorized version a few months ago, so we'll see how where it goes from here.

    Jag35 SliderJag35 Sliders
    find-price-button Jag35 Video Slider 2' and 3' Optional Leveling Legs

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    Vimeo member HDSLR GEAR has a great review on the new gen TrustMT MatteBox. [Thanks Joel]. For those who are new to shopping for a MatteBox, this is a great video explaining options and features some lower end MatteBoxes will lack. Features such as a basic filter tray (Some don't have any. This has more than one), Rotating filter trays (important for CPLs or ND Grads filters), swing away arm (for faster lens changes), and quick rod mounts (not threaded to lens, so you don't have to worry about fit). When considering Features + Build Quality + Price in a MatteBox, the TrusMT brand always comes up in conversation. You can find the various TrusMT products at their store (click here).

    TrusMT-MatteTrusMT Follow FocusTrusMT-HandleBars
    find-price-button TrusMT MatteBox, Follow Focus, DSLR Gear

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    3 years ago, I used two cabinet rails on a DIY slider project for my Canon 5D Mark II (seen here). My version was extremely ugly, pretty large, but very effective in getting smooth movements. Now that the iPhone 4S is a hot little video camera, i'm sure people are looking for a cheap way to get some sliding shots in. Vimeo member Aron Anderson shows how to turn a basic single cabinet rail into an iPhone (or small camera) slider. Example slides can be seen in the video (below). [Thanks Aron]

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    parrot-ar-drone-quadcopter

    About a year ago I wrote an article about the Parrot AR Drone (new at the time) and how it would be fun to fly a GoPro HD on it. The biggest limiting factor at the time was that it operated over a WiFi connection to an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad. This gave very limited range and if the connection was lost, the unit would go stray.

    In the recent months there's been plenty of mods and mounts for these inexpensive AR Drone Quadcopters, including 2.4g Radio Control (no more wifi iphone). The mods allow you to fly the units further and higher. Not a perfect solution, but miles ahead of it's original intent to fly on just Wifi alone. Looks like lots of fun. With the new GoProHD Hero 2 quality should be even better. Vimeo member Chad Johnson has some good information in the video (below).

    One of the most important parts you'll need to start (aside from the Drone) is the modified Radio Control kit found below.
    ar-drone-no-iphone
    find-price-button Modified AR Drone 2.4g Radio Kit

    There's plenty of these Parrot Quadcopters being auctioned over at eBay (click here)
    Parrot-QuadCopter
    find-price-button Parrot AR Drone Quadcopter

    You can find additional information about which websites with info and camera mounts over at Chad's video page (click here).