Cheesycam Skater Dolly

Videos or Articles related to the Cheesycam Skater Type Video Camera Dollies.

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zoom-h1-in-stock-bhphotovideo
click image to buy Zoom H1 $99 + Free Shipping

Ok, it is official. Comments and emails are flying in that UPS tracking updates are being sent out for Zoom H1 orders at BHPHOTOVIDEO.com - here's the link to order. I did the pre-order thing from another vendor and just received an email from them that they only received 20, and are waiting for another 20 in a few weeks. This means that although the Zoom H1 finally met it's release date, there's limited supply still and slowly trickling in. B&H is a large company, but even they experience out of stock inventory on hot products. I got mine on order with expedited shipping, so unless someone beats me to it, i'll have a video up on Tuesday. Available at BHPHOTOVIDEO.com - here's the link to order the Zoom H1.

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zoom-h1-in-stock-bhphotovideo
click image to buy Zoom H1 $99 + Free Shipping

The webpage at bhphotovideo.com earlier this morning did not show the Zoom H1 item available to 'add to cart', but after a message from a reader, tides have turned. Well BHPHOTOVIDEO.com is East Coast of me, so I assume they are just a few hours short of the 'official release' date of the Zoom H1, and decided to just go live with orders. Hopefully this is no joke, and it will go out when promised which I should receive it by next Tuesday. Yes, i've already pre-ordered a few from the other vendor, but you can't have enough Zoom H1's. I'm just excited to start getting these things in. Besides, I'm sure i'll find a few friends I can sell the extras to, who are too lazy to place their own order before they get sold out. So there you go folks, BHPHOTOVIDEO.com is live at this link to order the Zoom H1 for $99 + FREE Shipping. (yes free shipping).

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nikon-1080-d3100

Nikon announced availability for pre-orders on the Nikon D3100. Nikon is really trying to step things up even though they are coming in quite late in the game offering 1080HD video and 24 fps. They've got some fancy new full time auto focusing features in video mode and have a new lineup of lenses as well. Prices for the first time aren't too shabby since this looks like it will rival the Canon 550D / T2i. On the BHPHOTOVIDEO website, the Nikon D3100 is starting at $699 - and that includes an 18-55mm VR lens. That's $200 cheaper than the Canon 550D + 18-55mm package. Who knows if they are making any money on this new release, it might be a smart marketing 'loss leader' to keep them in the game and keep their current shooters from switching. Like video game consoles, I guess they realize that they need to get the DSLR bodies into the hands of shooters, because once shooters start investing in lenses, there's little chance they can convince people to switching.

New lenses announced are three new zooms—a 24-120mm f/4G ED VR, a 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, a 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR and an update of Nikon's classic 85mm f/1.4, a killer portrait lens.

Below: Nikon 85mm F/1.4
nikon-85mm-1.4

Below: Nikon 24-120mm
Nikon-AFS_24_120_ED_VR_la

Below: Nikon 28-300mm
nikon-AFS_28_300_ED_VR_ia

Below: Nikon 55-300mm
nikon-DX_55_300_VR_la

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igus-carrier-diy-slider
Now available at Amazon.com - click image

Igus is the manufacturer of the popular Drylin W Linear Guide rail. Linear guide rails are seen in robotics and manufacturing type machines and associated with lube and grease, not good for cameras. This design uses 'Dry Bearings' so it was natural that this rail exploded onto the DSLR Video scene as one of the most widely used rails for DIY camera sliders AND by actual retailers of Camera sliders. From what many are saying, the early adopters for this rail call this the 'ZaZa Slider' and you'll find a group on Vimeo from people making it from Igus rails.

You can see this same basic rail design in Glidetrack, Kessler, and others. When I first created my DIY Camera slider, I had to call IGUS in Ireland, figure out the exact parts I needed, and have it shipped from overseas. Looks like so many camera manufacturers have been using their rail, Igus is now hip to DSLR video, and they are now posting an item at Amazon.com specifically as a 'Camera slider'. The nice thing in this image is the new side clamp on the carrier designed to lock the carrier in place. I was using old hand clamps to keep mine from shifting as I was transporting.

You can check out my DIY Slider in this video to see what this whole thing looks like put together. There was a bit of drilling needed to get the rail onto the tripod, and a bit of drilling to get the Fluid head onto the Igus Carrier, but very easy material to work with. Take my advice and don't get 4 feet of rail. It's nice and fun, but soooo long it's akward to carry it around. You'll be better off with 2 feet, 3 feet MAX. Well thanks to Igus, it looks like they are making things a bit more streamlined for us DIY'ers interested in building our own camera slider with a straight purchase to the complete set. Below is a link to the most popular one they are saying, but here's a link to More Igus Camera Slider Rails.

Product Description
Modular DryLin® W linear guides ensure a smooth, lubrication-free gliding motion for camera slider systems. Used by manufacturers of high-quality, complete systems, as well as individual DIY video enthusiasts seeking individual components for camera dollies and camera slider assemblies.

Our most popular camera slider size. Includes 1,000mm-long guide rail (39.4") with 9 holes evenly spaced and a 100mm-long carriage plate. Carriage plate features 4 low-friction plastic bearings for smooth and quiet operation, as well as extra bolts to prevent misalignment.

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transcend-32GB-400x
click image to buy from BHPHOTOVIDEO.com

Well i'm sold on the Transcend 400x cards I just received last week. I purchased (4) 32GB cards with next day air because I knew I would need the space. I was only supposed to test these out, but this was a lifesaver, as I ran super low on available disk space and fell back onto these for all three days. They all performed without a hiccup, fast and reliable. I shot, dumped, formatted, shot dumped formatted, shot dumped formatted all three different days and they all still performed without a problem.

z96-dimmable-dslr-video-light
click to find Z96 Dimmable DSLR Video Light

Another piece of gear that performed pefectly was that Z96 Dimmable DSLR LED Video light. I'm still getting quite a bit of questions about it on each event. It's still so new I guess and not many people are seeing these in use. There was a photographer on site trying to get a decent shot of a beautiful wedding cake, but the flash wasn't really giving the best look with the dark ambient. With two LED light panels positioned high on each side, the photographer was able to shoot with a decent ISO giving a more natural look to the cake. Another good example of using these Z96 LED Video lights over flash, especially since these high end DSLR's do much better with ISO noise. You couple that with the new Noise Reduction filters on Lightroom 3 and you've got a better natural image than that of with flash. One set of Sanyo Eneloop Rechargeable batteries in these Z96's are all it takes for a full day of shooting.

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diy-spidertrax-video-dolly

The guys over at Calixte Works are at it again. This time putting together a video about their DIY version of the Spidertrax Rotating Video Dolly, all video shot and Dolly built 'inside' the local Home Depot. Crazy guys, but looks like a simple and inexpensive build for some quality rotating video footage. The rotating video dolly is quickly becoming everyone's favorite DIY project to tackle, because of the very interesting video footage you can capture with it. You can check out Calixte Work's DIY Spidertrax Rotating Video Dolly here.

As usual getting proper wheel alignment on a DIY isn't quite that simple, so in this example the common skateboard trucks were used. Skateboard mounts work great, but doesn't allow the camera to sit at the lowest possible level, especially once you add a fluid head. This is the reason the original SpiderTrax was built with a custom baseplate and the reversed axle mount.

Below: Original SpiderTrax Rotating Video Dolly
spidertrax-for-sale
The Original SpiderTrax Dolly can be found at PhotographyAndCinema.com

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spidertrax-on-rails

Jarrod over at Just Basl Productions introduced his version of the DIY Spidertrax dolly not long ago, and already he's following up with another DIY tip. Using the same Strut channels as the Popular Cheesycam DIY DSLR Cage / Fig Rig, he's designed his DIY version SpiderTrax Dolly wheels to roll along the rail. He does a good informative video explaining how he put it all together. Not sure if he mentioned the price, but a single 10' strut channel might run you about $15.00 dollars. Cutting the strut in half would suffice for the length of track you'll need. Check out the DIY Spidertrax dolly on Rails video here. Thanks Jarrod, another fine cost saving DIY on a tool that's versatile, looks professional, and best of all dirt cheap.

Below: Original SpiderTrax Rotating Video Dolly
spidertrax-for-sale
The Original SpiderTrax Dolly can be found at PhotographyAndCinema.com

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A new notice has been placed on the LCDVF website in response to the 'Clones'.

Notice!
Please be aware that thre are some fake LCD viewfinder products out there utterly similar to our LCDVFs but the optics and construction used in these products is far inferior of the original!
The original LCDVFs use achromatic doublet lenses instead of a simple condenser lens to achieve uncompromized image quality.

Well here's a comment that just dropped in from Tonis. Tonis is the CEO of the original LCDVF, and he's talking about these LCDVF 'replicas' or 'clones' that are showing up on the market.

I'm Tonis from LCDVF, Estonia
This is a replica that resembles the original LCDVF.
These are not made with the same molds/tools or with the same sized magnets and even the materials are a bit different, the rubber eyecup smells for example and is not made of skin friendly silicone. The eyecup itself comes loose quite easily.
The lens is just a 2mm thick plano convex one instead of our double lens 8mm thick achromatic setup.
It also seems to have set at such focal length that it might burn the LCD screen when aligned with sun.

They use all our 3D renderings and photographs on the packaging and even our copy texts so we have a big time intellectual property infrngement here to deal with but as these are being made in China it takes a bit time before we will stop them. Till then we will file reports on all eBay sellers of this replica and fortunately eBay acknowledges our rights.

And yes it does not fit 550D, T2i and not even GF1 as often advertised. The LCDVF 3/2 is the only proper viewfinder for these Canon cameras. As will 16/9 be for the remaining others.

Tonis Liivamagi

CEO
LCDVF
Tartu, Estonia

Well they say good things don't last long, and looks like the official LCDVF is trying to pull the plug on the whole ordeal. Granted it's going to take some time asking Chinese companies to stop selling outside of China, but eBay is very very quick to deal with anything that has to do with infringement. These LCDVF auctions available now on eBay can literally disappear faster than they appeared.

lcdvf-replica-poland
LCDVF Clones on eBay