Just for fun, I wanted to sport some basic Tees with association to DIYs and DSLRs. A friend started running through a few different ink and shirt color combinations to see which I like better. No shameless website plugs, just a simple design with the letters "DIY" and an image of a DSLR. No plans at the moment to actually offer these elsewhere - this is just a personal project. But if you so far like what you see, he's open to ideas...
A closer look at the Konova video camera Stabilizer Vest and Arm. Let's start here. Pricing? Not very competitive. Everyone knows about my Hybrid setup using the Steadicam Merlin Vest / Arm + Glidecam HD4000. This hybrid setup works extremely well and you can probably put one together yourself for around $2300 or so. The Konova Stabilizer system will still run you over $3K. But if you wanted to compare apples to apples, this is more similar to Steadicam's Pilot system which sells for about the same price.
Pricing aside, what does it have to offer? The larger stabilizer should hold 10lbs on the top fairly easy. That's a bit more than the weight a Glidecam HD4000 is rated at. The unit is all metal, lightweight, and gimbal is very smooth. The top stage adjusts forward/back/left/right to center your camera. To balance the entire stabilizer, the Gimbal can be positioned further up or down the post.
The arm is huge and very well made. It can be positioned either left or right side by flipping the mounting bracket. It can definitely carry some heavy weight, but isn't designed to be fine tuned for light weight setups. (The Merlin vest can be tuned for light camera setups). The Padded Vest is very lightweight, easy to slip on/off and adjust various ways for comfort. From an operator's point of view, the Konova arm is much easier to place into the vest system than a Steadicam Merlin Vest (I just leave the Merlin Arm on all the time) and also easier to remove when breaking down. The stabilizer comes with a stand adapter (attaches to a light stand) to dock the stabilizer when not in use.
Let's talk cons. Well price is one. There are already so many other options on the market with either the same price or cheaper. Unless they can bring the price down, it's going to be a tough market to crack. It offers nothing different than what is already available. This unit is wired, but is missing HDMI. HDMI seems to be a growing trend not just for DSLRs, but for other popular cameras under 10lbs. (i'm going to mod this one with my own HDMI). The monitor that it comes with is outdated too, so I'll be switching that out with the SmallHD DP6. So that's it so far, and i'll be taking it out for a test as soon as I can build it up to my liking. Stay tuned.
Nice little DIY to motorize a Konova slider. Using a continuous Servo (some servos don't rotate continuously) and Servo controller Vimeo member C Light gives us a sneak peek at work in progress. Servos are more common with slow speed rotations than DC motors. You could probably bring this thing to a very very slow crawl. This small servo setup can easily pull the Konova carrier across the rail in a smooth and consistent fashion because it's completely based on actual Roller Bearings (unlike friction sliders). Of course this setup shouldn't be attempted to pull the carrier in any type of vertical position. [Thanks C Light]
Just for fun, thought I would test to see how much difference a basic ND filter and CPL could do to improve on the HX9. The ND will bring the shutter speed down on bright days to reduce the strobe like effect. The CPL, of course will improve overall image when dealing with Polarized light. This is a basic Cokin P system filter holder (this one can hold up to 3 filters). There is a slot for a CPL that can be rotated. I've also stacked two Cokin P hoods to help prevent lens flares on the large filters. Normally the filter holder is attached to the filter ring of a lens. There's no filter ring so a friction arm keeps things in place while still being adjustable in case I need to zoom. Yes this can all be used on pretty much any other camera. If it all works well, i'll build a stage of sorts to be able to mount it on a tripod.
[Update] Here's a video sample with and without the ND Filter. The focus was thrown off from pulling the ND in and out, but if you leave it in the Auto Focus is fine. I could try stacking ND filters to cut down the shutter speed even more. Notice how choppy the water looks without the ND filter and how it flows with the ND filter on. Overall, the ND filter makes a pretty big difference.
Excellent little demo video from YouTube member ChainfireXDA. Here's the punchline. Connect your Android Phone to your DSLR directly with a USB cable and control it. You'll neeed a Honeycomb tablet or an SGS2 (with KG1 or newer firmware) and a USB host (not the typical) sometimes referred to as OTG a.k.a 'On The Go'. Yeah that's pretty sweet, very very sweet. Live view is a bit slow, but that's the same you'll get if connected to a Laptop system. Zoom in to check focus, check the histogram, adjust aperture settings. Oh and you can hold an area of the screen to select focus too (could eventually eliminate okii?). There's a handful of info and goodies found at the Android marketplace (click here). Tweet this article, thanks.
Here's a list of cables you'll need to get this going on your DSLR (click here).
USB Host On The Go OTG Cables
J.G. Pasterjak's DIY ladder dolly a.k.a Cinemover is a solid little track dolly. The adjustable width makes it easy to find a variety of different tracks from straight lumber, square tubing, or round rods. Using heavy duty steel perforated square tubing as the chassis and skate wheels / bearings makes for a smooth ride. [Thanks J.G.] Still a hand made DIY (not mass produced), so quantities are limited, and you can check out details if you want to make one yourself. If you're not into building or buying, maybe winning a contest might be up your alley. There's a few RTG (ready to go) versions and other information available on the eBay listing following the link (click here).
Most DSLR Rigs use handle grips very similar to bike handle grips. In fact if you threw a bit of cash down, you can get Bike grips better than rig handles. Now how do you go about making your own custom set? Well first you need to get them down to fit the 15mm standard, so the video above by Vimeo member Jarrod is one way to accomplish this with a nice pro look. This technique requires a pair of 15mm rods and a pair of 90 degree clamps, so by no means dirt cheap, but you can end up with something worth much more than what's found in current retail. One way of saving a few bucks is to locate a single rod and cut it in half. [Thanks Jarrod]
You can find a variety of inexpensive 15mm Rig Rods and Clamps new and used at the auction site (click here).
15mm Rods and 90 Degree Rig Clamps
Vimeo member Brad Justinen shares a DIY motorized roller dolly and use a Meade motorized Telescope head for some smooth pan/tilt action. You'll see how all this comes together in the video, and more information on the parts used at the video description. Many of these parts can be found cheaper used via eBay found below.
Traxxas Transmitter and Receiver For Servo Control
Ross shares a find for what could be some inexpensive slider rails. He's managed to salvage a set that was part of a drafting table. Drafting tables are very expensive items purchased new, but if you ever run into one at a garage sale or eBay, you might find a set of these precision bearing rails. [Thanks Ross]
