Here's the latest update. Thanks to those who have placed a pre- order with the Pico Flex Table dolly. Assembly and packaging is still underway. We estimated that shipping would begin by September 12th. While many items have already shipped (earlier than expected), shipping will continue according to the date the order was placed, but some items could ship just a few days after our estimated September 12th.
Fancier is back with a portable stabilizer rig. The first time they tried to do this, I reviewed one of their rigs and it didn't go over so well. You could find that old article (click here). I guess they were listening to feedback and made some really good changes. First, they got rid of all the plastic knobs - those were just meant to crack and fall off. They've also priced this new mini rig around what's currently on the market, but it also has much better quality than the one provided with the RJ focus.
The counterweight is a clever flat folding design which adds stability, and it makes for easy travel. There's nothing I could say about the shoulder pad, except that it completely lacks one. It's just a very thin foam lining. The only other thing you could easily point out as 'not-so-good-quality' is the handles. It's a nice contour design and easy on the hands, but it's a faux rubber plastic mold. Don't get me wrong, the handles don't feel frail like it could break. I'm sure they'll take quite a beating. I guess they could be easy enough to rewrap or cover if needed.
The FTV-50 rig is based on 15mm rod and clamp rigs, so it's possible to expand, but as it is now, it will not support something like a follow focus. My guess is it's targeting all the new hot little video cameras coming out from Pentax, Sony, Olympus, and Panasonic. Very little parts, but completely adjustable in all manners.
It has one hotshoe in the rear and two 1/4-20" threaded holes which you can add accessory arms to. Since the whole rig is based on common 15mm rails you could find optional clamps if you want to mount more. Why they still choose blue is beyond anyone's guess, but it doesn't look too flashy and at the same time doesn't look at all cheap. The price is floating around $130 dollars which is fair, but hopefully we'll see more cheaper rigs from Fancier in the near future. You can find the FTV-50 from Fancier on Amazon (click here).
Fancier Folding FTV-50 DSLR Rig Counterweight
Also available here:
DSLR RIG FTV-50 DSLR Movie Kit Shoulder RIg
If you live and die through HDMI, then you might have heard a few stories (maybe experienced it yourself) about HDMI damage on your DSLR. This little achilles heel in DSLR workflow when using LCD monitors or EVF solutions can cost you big repair bills. Zacuto introduces a new HDMI lock (requires a zacuto plate to mount) called the Pincher. Not the cheapest solution, but it's almost the only one out there. Found at the Zacuto website, or a few dollars cheaper at B&H.
Zactuo HDMI Lock - Pincher
Or as some others have pointed out in the comments, the new TrusMT DSLR cage has HDMI locking options found here.
TrusMT DSLR Cage Ultimate with HDMI Locking
A quick update about the Pico Flex Dolly. The first batch of pre-orders have already been completely purchased and should begin shipping (estimated) September 12th. The website is still taking orders for the next batch that should ship about 5-7 days after the first batch.
Here's some important information. The wheels might be a bottleneck for production until the supplier can catch up. We were able to make another small volume batch order very quickly before they ran out. So as of now, there is a limited quantity of complete Pico Flex Dollies available in the second batch. They are moving pretty quickly, so consider getting an order in while it's there. We are also hoping to make International Orders available this week. Found at https://photographyandcinema.com.
Pico Flex Table Dolly - PhotographyandCinema.com
If you're not up to speed, there's a set of 96 LED lights on the market that didn't please many users. The seller Tony seemed to be a straight up guy and worked with all the buyers to accommodate any unsatisfied sales, while he worked to address some features. Serge received an early version from one of the LED lights in progress, but it doesn't seem to be picture perfect just yet. Although Tony seems like a very responsible seller who takes care of his customers, if this light can't totally outperform and outprice what's already on the market, I don't see a big shift. There's also a long written blog article over at Serge's blog found here. [Thanks Serge].
Jason wanted to see the 717AH fluid head mounted to the Pico. Here's a video clip showing the mount and how much area is left. The 717AH has the same base diameter as most video fluid heads so a variety should be able to fit without issues.
Now going back to using friction arms, many people have asked about a way to mount their iPhone or similar HD Video device. Here i'm showing a universal quick camera clamp that can adapt to literally any cellphone or small camera. There is very little spring tension so it won't crush your device. The device stays inside the clamp through the angled design and with rubber grip pads. I also show my Sony HX9V mounted to the clamp. We're hoping to make these clamps available at PhotographyandCinema.com soon.
Just a quick over view of what to expect on this dslr matte box. This particular one is fairly well made with just a few quirks, but it's definitely a hundred times better than the cheap plastic one floating around. If you're really into the aesthetics of your rig, I suggest going for this. The FilmCity MatteBox is mostly metal including the flags, top sunshade, 15mm clamp, and donut ring. The hood itself is the only thing made from hard plastic.
The flags on the Mattebox will not fold up for storage, but it breaks down quickly to be packed away. The top flag will tend to get loose with constant positioning and would require the allen key to re-tighten. The side flags can easily be tightened by hand through the thumb screw. The single filter slides in an out with ease, and can be locked down quickly. It does not rotate so it's not something to be used with a CPL. The mattebox does not have a swing away design, so to make things simple, keep it at the end of your rail set. Yes it does require rails to mount. If you've got the money, I suggest going for the more expensive versions with a swing away design and the ability to rotate filters. One that some consider is by TrusMT found here: Trusmt DSLR MatteBox Carbon Fiber or Aluminum.
Considering the prices of current matteboxes, overall the FilmCity is one of the cheapest with decent quality build (again much better than the uber cheap plastic one). Can be found on eBay (click here).
Inexpensive Single Filter MatteBox with Full Flags
We finally get to see a video review of the ALZO Transformer DSLR Rig Accessory Cage
Optional top bracket can be found below:
ALZO Top Cage Bracket Handle
If you're a bit late on this article, the new Yongnuo 565EX flash can be triggered by a Canon remote. So questions came up whether the Yongnuo YN-565EX Flash will work with the Radio Popper PX wireless triggers. Indeed it does and i've run some tests. There's no reason it shouldn't because the Radio Popper PX system takes the Canon infrared, does some magic, and then sends the very basic infrared back into the flash. The problem you'll run into is the standard RP shoe mount is not aligned. Never fear as a bit of Velcro will do just fine lining up the infrared ports.
Some of you might be wondering why you would need the Radio Popper system? Well let's start out by saying if you don't shoot in High Speed Sync, then you probably don't need it. You could do just fine with the RF603 triggers and switching the flash to manual mode. Instead of relying on Canon's infrared signals (which requires line of sight and gets pretty spotty outdoors), you could get more consistent results with a true wireless system. The only other benefit to using the Radio Poppers is if you want to control flash compensation straight from the camera (instead of walking up to the flash), or if you are managing power ratios and groups of flashes. If you're a bit new, my suggestion is to just go with the RF603 setup and learn how to work the flash manually. You'll actually gain a good understanding of flash.
