Let's face it, many of us put the 5D Mark II on the back burner when the 7D and T2i came around. With poor audio quality, no frame rate options, and a high price tag, it wasn't much for video. The only thing it had going for it was the Full Frame. With the new Canon 5D Firmware out to improve on those limited abilities, the video above posted by David Dang makes me fall back in love with my Canon 5D Mark II all over again. Now go sell your 7D's and T2i's, then click here to buy the Canon 5D Mark II!
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Cheap Wireless Flash Triggers
Posted this a while ago, but thought i'd share it on the blog. There are many ways to fire your Flash off camera when doing photography. You get much better lighting and shadow details when you can control your light source. The video above provides some information about a popular cheap set of Wireless Triggers you can find on eBay. These are the exact same Triggers shown in this video. I purchased the 3 receivers and 1 Trigger package.
External HDMI LCD 7″
Wow I can't believe I ordered this thing and it came in soooo fast. Great quality too for such a cheap price. I've been wanting a very portable external LCD monitor that supports HDMI input (from my DSLR cameras) for a loooooong time. Prices for Ikan or Marshall LCD's typically float from $800 - $1500 dollars! When I saw this 7" HDMI LCD for around $200 dollars, I knew it was love at 'first price'. I poked around the web and surely it had great reviews with the video DSLR's, so I jumped on the deal. >>Check out the Lilliput 7" HDMI LCD Here!!<<
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This 7" LCD requires an external power source. It comes with a Cigarette Lighter adapter for the car and an AC adapter to plug into a wall. Luckily with all my gadgets, I had a "Black and Decker Power To Go"
Now I got a great deal because it came from Hong Kong. Shipping can take several weeks. I've had excellent results ordering many of my camera equipment from overseas. If you're skeptical, here is the exact seller that I purchased mine from (fast shipping too!!).
Save $$$ on Lenses
The video above shows an example of the great quality you can get using older lenses with your DSLR camera. You can save big bucks buying older lenses that will give you great Depth of Field. Sure, it's not much for photography, but for video it has it's appeal. I was able to pickup FD lenses for around $10 dollars! I grabbed a 50mm, 28mm, 35mm, and a few others. It's an awesome way to get some of those specialty lenses for those niche shots.
It's no secret that you can use older style Lenses to work with your new Video DSLR, but the type of adapter you get will determine the quality or sharpness, contrast, and possible distortion. You can mount Canon to Panasonic, to Olympus, to Nikon, or practically any combination of Camera + Lens you can think of. If you're looking to get an older Canon FD lens adapter for your 5D, 7D, or even T2i the one listed on this link is rated one of the best. It has a glass element to help correct the image since it sits offset on the camera. Grab a Canon FD Adapter and save big on Video Lenses!
This is the exact FD adapter I was using for my FD lenses to mount on my 5D and 7D.
Also other adapters for FD to EF
Apple iPad Prices on eBay?
The email just came out this morning for pre-orders on the Apple iPad. I got my order in from the online store confirming arrival on April 3rd to the office. Great, I just bought the 64GB version for only $699.00, so what's up with these dumb eBay auctions? C'mon people, do you not know that you can just go directly to the website and place your order today? You can even make a reservation to pick it up in the store on April 3rd (so long as you get there before 3pm).
Canon T2i Inventory
Wow, the T2i is really blowing up the market. Who knew? Ok, i'm lying...I knew it. Which is the reason why I ordered mine as quickly as possible. Once these things hit the streets and actually proved itself worthy enough to hang with some of the big boys (at a great price), then the demand for the T2i just exploded. Well if you can't find it in the stores, chances are it's on eBay. A slight $50.00 markup over cost is probably what you're looking to pay if you really really really want one. Grab an Available Canon 550D T2i.
Umbrella or Softbox?
The most common question for anyone getting into studio strobe photography has always been "What's the difference between using an Umbrella vs. a Softbox for portraits?". It's always been hard to explain to someone not familiar with lighting. I decided to poke around YouTube looking for someone who might better explain this. It's not the greatest, but I think it will get you on the right path of choosing which lighting diffusers will work best for the image you plan on taking.
Here's some Great Deals on Photography Studio Lighting Kits!
The Effects of Tilt Shift Lenses
A must watch video! The above video might look like claymation or animation of some sort, but this is the effect of a skilled photographer / videographer with Tilt Shift lenses + Timelapse. Tilt Shift lenses have a weird effect from a distance often making objects look miniatureized. Check out a couple of Tilt Shift lenses for Canon below and don’t forget the Timelapse Intervalometer (remote).
TimeLapse Photography
The video above is an awesome example of what you can do with your DSLR and Timelapse photography. Timelapse photography is where you can set your camera to take a photo every so many seconds, or sometimes even minutes. Next just drag all the photos into a video Timeline and export as a video clip. In Sony Vegas, I often run each photo at 0.065 seconds on a 29.97 Timeline. In order to achieve timelapse function with your DSLR you will need a ‘timer’ or ‘intervalometer’. It's rare to find cameras that have built in Timelapse, and if they do, it might not be as flexible as having an exteral Intervalometer. Here's a great option that less than half the price of OEM if you're a Canon user.