Digital Cameras

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John Hwang decided to tackle Hal's DIY PVC shoulder support and provides a timelapse look into the project. With not too much more than a simple Hacksaw, this project was completed right in the living room floor. There's a fun test run at the end complete with sound effects. Of course there's nothing to show it's true stability or how this rig can further be loaded up with accessories, but it looks like a solid foundation that should perform well for a first time rig. This would definitely be something to look into for you GH1, NEX, and PEN fans. You can't complain for a $5 dollar project. [Thanks John].

DIY TIP:
If you're looking to get cleaner, more accurate, and straighter cuts into your PVC projects, check out these twisting PVC Pipe cutters running under $8 dollars. You clamp the unit to a PVC tube and just give it a spin. Continue to tighten and spin until it's cut all the way through. Very simple, and you won't break a sweat. Found here: PVC Pipe Cutter
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click image for pricing on PVC Cutting tool

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lp-e6-battery (2 of 9)

I've confused myself on this one. Almost 2 years ago, I purchased a whole bunch of LP-E6 aftermarket batteries that did not display the battery meter on the cameras. I still use them today, but since I was looking to add more batteries to the collection, I was searching for the newer ones that are 'chipped' to communicate to the camera and display the proper battery meter for the Canon 5D Mark II, 7D, and 60D cameras. As of now the ones that people are buying are these Maxtek LP-E6 Aftermarket Batteries.

They are indeed much cheaper than the OEM Canon ones, even with the bit of shipping padded to the cost too.

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I took a chance on an eBay auction that looked to be a knock off battery, and I was confused to see an OEM package and OEM labeling. This battery looks good and looks OEM, but incredibly inexpensive with Free Shipping. In fact after Amazon shipping on the Maxtek battery, this eBay battery I received is almost $10 dollars cheaper. I'm not sure if it's Canon legit or not, but the battery looks exactly like OEM, charges with my OEM, and reads the battery information properly in all the cameras. I've taken a bunch of snaps to show you the comparison between my OEM batteries and the one I just received. The one to the right is the cheap battery I just received.

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I'm seriously thinking this is the real deal and at such a great steal of a price too. Here's the link: Canon OEM? LP-E6 battery for Canon Canon 60D, Canon 7D, & 5D Mark II.

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canon-G12
Canon G12 10MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.8 inch Vari-Angle LCD

Just a few days ago these were only available for pre-order. Looks like Amazon has them in stock and available for Prime shipping. Means it's actually shipping from an Amazon warehouse, and not from a third party seller. This camera is a nice upgrade from the already popular G11, with new features like HD Video recording and in camera HDR photo processing. 5x Optical Zoom with Image Stabilization, flash hot shoe, swivel out LCD (like 60D), can be triggered remotely, lots of manual controls, and RAW photo capture. It's about as DSLR as you can get without going full DSLR. One question that's been on my mind is 'will there be some manual controls in video mode'? Also mentioned is that it could already be compatible with the Canon WP-DC34 Underwater Housing. I'm not bold enough to take a full DSLR under, but this G12 + housing looks like an affordable combination for Underwater HD video or RAW photos. Something my GoPro isn't quite capable of. Available now via Amazon below.

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The fact that the Canon 60D uses the same batteries as the 5D Mark II & Canon 7D was both a blessing and a curse. For those who already had these batteries, it's nice not having a different set of batteries and charger to add to your gear list. A single OEM LP-E6 will run you well over $70 dollars. For those who are looking to buy extra ones, prices on aftermarket LP-E6 batteries seem to have inflated. There was one brand on Amazon that dropped their decoded (chipped batteries that communicate with camera to show battery life) batteries down to $18.00 dollars, but now brought them back up to $60 bucks!. Yeah they know that there's a new market out for these batteries after the Canon 60D release.

If you don't care about the battery meter, there's plenty of Aftermarket LP-E6 batteries that run around (2)pcs. for $15 dollars. Very very cheap, but they will need their own charger. It's not suggested these be charged on the OEM charger. I think I have 6 of those myself which still run to this day, and are probably a year old or more.

There's two brands on Amazon for 'decoded' batteries still showing around $22 dollars, and a few Aftermarket LP-E6 Decoded Batteries on eBay for around $15.00 each.

I was still waiting for more reviews on these items to see if they will actually work well and hold up as good batteries, and if the battery meter really works. A friend of mine has a wedding lined up on 10/10/10 - of course the most popular wedding day this year, and so he's invested into the Maxtek Replacement Li-ion Battery For Canon. He's had it a short while and seems to work exactly like OEM, and charges on the OEM charger (can't do this with un-chipped batteries). I've asked him to give us a demo video of the batteries in use, but he says they work exactly the same. This battery is compatible with the Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D, and Canon 60D.

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Decoded Batteries Starting at $15.00 		2x-batteries
2x Un-chipped LP-E6 starting at $15.00

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The new Nikon Coolpix P7000 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 7.1x Wide Zoom-Nikkor ED Lens and 3-Inch LCD is available now, which is going head to head with Canon's new G12. There's an article I posted after the announcements here: http://cheesycam.com/canon-g12-vs-nikon-p7000/

I can't find a whole lot of retailers selling the Canon Powershot G12 right now, but there's a few available on eBay here: Canon Powershot G12 10 Megapixel Dig Camera w/ HD Video. Both the Nikon P7000 and Canon G12 feature 720 HD video at 24fps, Image Stabilization, TTL Flash controls, and RAW photo capture. Yes they have hot shoes, and with the right triggers you can fire a flash remotely. Both cameras have manual control features close to shooting with a true DSLR, less the interchangeable lenses. I can't find much information on the Nikon P7000 about HDR, but the Canon G12 has built in HDR processing taking three different exposures and combining it into a single high dynamic range image. The Sony NEX also has this HDR feature which works pretty well too.

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click for pricing - Canon Powershot G12 		nikon-p7000
click for pricing - Nikon Coolpix P7000

In the previous article, the Nikon P7000 had a few better specs over the Canon, so it would be interesting to see what sales are like. Not a true representation, but Flickr has an interesting report on cameras that have uploaded images into their system. The funniest thing is that the most popular camera showing is the iPhone 3G. LOL.

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Click to find Most Popular Cameras on Flickr

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canon-powershot-sx30-is

Slowly the new Canon SX30 IS camera with 35x Optical Zoom and Image Stabilization is hitting the streets. I've been waiting to upgrade my Canon SX210 IS after seeing the incredible Zoom capabilities with Image Stabilization from the video in this article: http://cheesycam.com/canon-sx30-is-review/ Still not available in many websites, but smaller camera retailers that are using eBay are advertising inventory. They are putting a small markup over the suggested retail price, but at least some auctions will throw in a 4GB SDHC card. If you gotta have one now, check it out: Canon SX30 IS Digital Camera with 35x Zoom

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transcend

These came in just a day late. Luckily I had a few SDHC cards in my Canon SX210 IS and Zoom H4n to fall back on. I was hoping these would arrive for the Music video shoot on the Canon 60D's, but we managed. So I haven't really tested these out yet, but i'll be shooting more fun stuff later this week to see the performance.

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redrock-micro-evf

Cinema5D's got the scoop on a new Redrock Micro 'Electronic View Finder' specifically designed for HD Video DSLR's. We all new this day was coming, but what I totally didn't expect was the expected price point. Wow, I really hope they can meet those goals, that's just ridiculous pricing for anything RedRock Micro. It looks very functional and I can see myself using that quite a bit. Today we had a crane shot on a roof of a building in broad daylight. It's was about 90 degrees out on a clear day, and we couldn't see crap on the monitor. Having a remote EVF like this running down a jib would have been a perfect solution. This design in remote View Finders via HDMI also means it would be cross brand compatible. Regardless of camera make and model, this should be fairly future proof. Zacuto has also admitted to be working on a new EVF, but so far nothing tangible has hit the web. Even if Zacuto does release an EVF, it would be interesting to see if pricing will be competitive with the new RedRock Micro Electronic Viewfinder. Check out the Cinema5D Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZYW1VwFdHk