Sorry for the delay. The SpiderTrax Dolly was already announced to accept orders, but we only announced it to those who filled out the original form. Today i'm announcing that you can order the dolly (no fluid heads available at this time), only if you are a US resident within the 48 continental states, and payment accepted is Paypal only.
There is only one option available at this time, and it is the complete base kit which includes solid AL base plate, 2 solid AL axles, 4 wheels, 4 red bearings, 2 clamp knobs, 1/4" screw with 3/8" step up adapter to mount either your camera or a fluid head directly to the base.. The wheels will already come preassembled, so setup is simply just placing the axles on the base (5 seconds you're ready to go).
SanDisk Capture the Passion Contest Series: Summer SportsSanDisk Capture the Passion Contest Series: Summer Sports
You could win $1,000 (USD) and a SanDisk Ultra® SDHC™ Card for your photo or video!
Four winners will be chosen!
The Contest
On-field action. Sideline celebrations. Show us your digital camera skills this summer!
We're looking for entries that best capture the spirit and passion of Summer Sports in the action of play or the celebration of fans. So bring it on! Show us a home run blast after your child's all-or-nothing swing in little league. The in-your-face antics of a friend's volleyball spike. How about the greatest wakeboarding performance the world has never seen? We want it all. Whatever you choose to shoot, style counts-so be bold, be creative, and show us what you've got for an opportunity to win $1,000 (USD) and a SanDisk Ultra® SDHC™ Card!
The Winners
There will be 2 video and 2 photo winners, split evenly under the Play and Celebration categories. All entries will be reviewed by fan voters and judged by a SanDisk panel of professional photographers. Can you make the cut? Good luck!
Restrictions apply and eligibility is limited. Entry deadline is 8/23/10 at 5 pm PT. Winners will be announced on or about 9/13/10. For more details please read the Official Contest Rules.
Meet the SanDisk Extreme Team of Judges
A professional team of world-class photographers will be reviewing your work. Learn more about the panel of judges you'll want to impress. Get more information here: https://passion.sandisk.com/summersports/
This was a friends video project. He decided to use my house to shoot a very short video clip. It's his project, so i'll wait to let him post the video before sharing it with you. Those cheap Bike clamps (found here) sure came in handy for us to make a DIY boom pole. I used one to mount at the bottom of a regular monopod and adapted the Zoom H4n to the bottom. The top was the Rode VideoMic on it's own adapter. We used an extension cord to run the mic down to the Zoom H4n. The Windscreen was on the Rode, because we were going in an out of the house. The Spider Trax Dolly was also out on the floor and used for some really cool shots. Glad we had a tool like this, otherwise there would be no way to pull off some of the long tracked shots and curved motion shots.
The basis of this project was about some kids who come over to a friends house, practices break dancing, and well..i'll share the rest when it's online. I saw a quick edit of his project, and it came out great. Thanks to some of the Renegade Rockers for showcasing some of their awesome break dance skills. More information will be posted later.
Ok, i'm really excited to talk about this item, it's such a great find for me. I've seen this item many times but couldn't find a single YouTube or Vimeo video review about the 717AH Video Fluid Head (note that the number on the box doesn't always match the number on the fluid head). Other search results on the Internet come back as just product sales information. Am I the only one reviewing this item? Have I truly discovered the next DSLR hidden treasure? LOL.
You gotta watch my short video review above as to why this thing rocks. I'm comparing it to 3 different style Monfrotto brands. As you know i'm the happy owner of a Monfrotto 701HDV Fluid head (I demo it on the 99 dollar slider video). Don't get me wrong, the 701HDV works totally awesome. But as many of you might know, i've been working on a Skater Dolly type project 'Spider Trax Dolly' and one of the delays have been researching the perfect Camera Head to mount. Since there will be an option to purchase the dolly 'without' a Video Head, I wanted to make sure I found the right options to suggest to people.
I've already invested in 4 different fluid heads (not cheap blah!) trying to find the right one for you guys. One of the problems I was trying to solve was the 701HDV mount. Everyone out there with a Slider, Skater, or Dolly knows what' i'm talking about! The lower locking knob doesn't clear very well when mounted on flat surfaces. This means you need to DIY some type of spacer. A simple spacer doesn't always work well either. The fluid head is quite firm so you need to drill out some locking screws to make sure it doesn't come loose. Sure I love the 701HDV, but it has problems mounting to anything other than an actual video tripod.
Here's where I struck Gold. When i'm just about fed up with Fluid heads, and figured I'll have to come up with a special adapter for the Spider Trax dolly project, I run into this little Gem. I've seen this online before, but was hesitant about the build for a brand I wasn't familiar with. It was pretty much my last resort in trying to find the best Fluid Head to suggest for the dolly project. It's available from a US seller which means super fast shipping - (no four week waiting period). Even better, It's half the price of a Monfrotto 701HDV and as far as i'm concerned it's twice the build quality. This thing is compact (same size as 701HDV), but it's beefy! It's designed with lots of metal, the fluid head is smooth, has incredibly strong locks to support lots of weight, and comes with a very very nice adjustable (very long) Video handle for extra leverage. In fact you can mount two handles for smoother panning shots. With the adjusted length, this handle actually is perfect for the Spider Trax Dolly use too! It performs same if not better than fluid heads more than three times it's price.
Why isn't anyone else talking about it? I feel like i'm breaking new ground here much like when I started blogging about those 126 LED Video lights. I'm not sure, but I was sooo happy with the first one, I purchased a second one so I don't have to keep remounting my head onto different sliders, tripods, and dollies. The cheapest i've found the 717AH fluid head was on eBay by this seller, while others sell this upwards to $100 dollars. Click here to visit the USA seller that I received mine from..
. click image
Update: Just contacted the company to see if they can supply me with alot more for the Dolly project. They mentioned there's a limited amount in stock until the next shipment. This will be the official Fluid head that will be packaged as an option with the Spider Trax Dolly, so if you're shopping for an awesome quality Video Fluid head, now might be the time to grab one.
Anyone going to do a Photo Walk this year? Let me know, I just might make it out to hang and learn from some of you professionals. It definitely looks like a lot of fun, and definitely a great positive type of event to socialize. I'm thinking there's going to be more Video DSLR's catching some BTS moments more than they are taking pictures. LOL. Official date is set for July 24th, 2010. By the way, if you want to Lead your own group of Walkers, check out this link: https://worldwidephotowalk.com/leader.
The final pieces are finally complete from manufacturing. It's just a matter of assembling the packages & small parts, and the dollies will be available to order. Sorry folks, because there is a limited amount manufactured on this first run, there's a few Requirements to know.
Requirements:
The first run of orders (limited amount) will be sold to only to US residents (mainland only, Sorry Hawaii). Payments will be accepted via Paypal only from verified Paypal accounts. Shipping will only be made to Paypal verified shipping addresses.
Keep all those things in mind and get ready to place an order hopefully this weekend. If you're not on the list, register the form over at https://spidertraxdolly.com and make sure you leave the correct email address. An email blast will go out to the registered emails with instructions on how and where to order. It's on a first come, first serve basis. Again, first run orders must qualify with the above Requirements.
First of all I wanted to thank all the readers that come to this blog, provide feedback, and comment on some of my really Cheesy DIY ideas. So many people have picked up on the things I make, link back to my blog, and even take the time to create videos about their own DIY adventures. It's been an exciting week having been featured on the News section of Cinema5D.com, one of the largest DSLR video forums. Now just yesterday I was Podcasted by Dave Dugdale over at LearningDSLRVideo.com. I'm a pretty boring guy on audio, but Dave grabbed me for some really good questions about the projects I've been sharing with the DSLR community. I even mentioned a little secret information about the next version DIY Skater - 'Spider Trax Dolly' i've been drawing out (get your wheels turning). Check out my Podcast with Dave at LearningDSLRvideo.com, and stick around his website to view more Podcasts and some very informative Video tutorials.
How cool is this little tripod? Definitely could have used this while I was out and about in Maui, Hawaii with my GoPro HD or even my Canon SX210 IS. This Zipshot tripod from Tamrac would even work perfectly for setting my Speedlite flashes when doing outdoor photography. Or how about using it to quickly setup a Rode Microphone or Zoom H4n Portable Audio recorder while doing an interview? Whoa, i'm getting so many ideas.... You can find the Zipshot Tripod on eBay by clicking this link.
I'm opening up the lines here people. For some reason i'm not a fan of the name Transcend, but I really can't remember why. I must have had some really bad painful past experience that i'm mentally blocking out. I've seen these cards in several T2i's when talking to random people at some social gatherings, and well they all had good things to say.
I'm checking out the prices now which seem to be about the same on eBay or Amazon if you coun't the shipping Amazon charges. With 2,483 customer reviews averaging practically 5 stars, am I missing something? Has Transcend turn the tides into making better products? Comment people, the DSLR world want's to know...
[Update] Looks like the first few comments all say the Transcend is reliable and fast. You know how it works on this blog, once I write an article, prices will start going up. Grab it while it's cheap.
Click image to find 717AH Video Fluid Head
