Equipment Reviews

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aluminum-letus-hawk-vf

letus-hawk-vf-comparison

Wow, I haven't even had the chance of doing a full review on the Letus Hawk VF - Carbon Fiber version and already Letus has released a new Aluminum Hawk VF. Rather than plain old injected molded plastic, Letus chose to go with CNC milled anodized aluminum for this new Shroud. This aluminum is a nice touch keeping things lightweight, strong, weather tolerant, and also this bad boy looks like it will blend more closely with OEM camera designs. If i'm correct Letus will also be designing the casing to be used with existing Optics should you already own a Carbon Fiber version. This modular piece design will allow you to move your optics from a Carbon Fiber Hawk shroud to the Aluminum Hawk shroud. Letus will be designing different sized shrouds custom made for cameras, so if you decide to change to a different camera with a different LCD size such as a T2i 3/2, you'll just need to purchase the proper sized shroud (not the optics). This is some very cool modular thinking to keep this Letus product up to date with ever changing LCD screen sizes and different camera manufacturers, while saving you big bucks from purchasing something entirely new.

Right now the Letus Hawk VF uses a solid mount to the base of the camera, and it is compatible with Battery Gripped DSLR bodies with the optional riser plate. There may be a new solution in line with a special quick release adapter designed specifically for the Letus Hawk VF's. We'll have to wait to hear more. I can tell you though that these designs take time to whip up, so if this hit you by surprise, we should be expecting a lot more from the Letus DSLR line very soon. You can find more information about the new CNC milled anodized aluminum Hawk VF shroud and additional Product photos here: https://www.letusdirect.com/cart/letus-hawk-aluminum.html

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original view Sigma 50-500mm on Canon 7D

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cropped from original view

It's pretty late, the moon was out so I decided to test out the Sigma 50-500mm. To get a bit further out, I threw it onto the Canon 7D and took advantage of the crop factor. These JPEG images have been resized and sharpened a bit in Lightroom. I'm still waiting to bring this out to catch some surf shots.

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Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO Autofocus Lens

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Canon 7D + Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6

I was able to bring out the Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 on the Canon 7D and grabbed some really nice closeup shots of a turtle swimming in the bay - while I was on a cliff above. Yeah that's quite a bit of zoom, the lens is very sharp and very fast. Click any of these images to get a little bigger view of the image.

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Turtle swimming

Also (below) here's more zoomed in and zoomed out comparisons shot from the Canon 7D + canon 100-400mm. The bottom image is not a crop. Taking advantage of the crop on the Canon 7D, that's how close you can get. All images were hand held and stayed pretty sharp with IS turned on.

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Above: Pulled in to 100mm on Canon 7D

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Above: Pushed out to 400mm on Canon 7D

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Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens

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Cheap New DSLR Rig from Tony Carretti on Vimeo.

We've been donated many photos and ideas on the 'Dual L Bracket DIY Fig Rig stabilizer', but I believe Tony Carretti here has donated the first video tour of how this thing really comes together. The first idea is to use a a flat flash bracket to join the two together with a quick release plate, but Tony's got a great idea of using a wide flat base from an old Flowpod, so that the camera can stand on it's own. The Canon 550D / T2i is mounted with two Sima L brackets (same that I have), but similar ones are from Alzo or the Adorama L-bracket with 2 Standard Flash Shoe Mounts. For the quick release plate, he's using a Cullman QR. I like how that QR plate is mounted on that Flowpod wide base plate, fits pretty flush. Great job on this Tony and thanks for sharing the video. This gives more of us an idea of how it all comes together to make a decent hand held stabilizer on the cheap.

Not suggested for the Canon T2i, but I think this would be even more awesome with the DIY top handle idea.

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find-price-button Camera L Video Bracket Hot Shoe

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find-price-button Straight Bracket with Two Adjustable Flash Shoe Mounts

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Mixed Martial Arts Madness from alexis wanneroy on Vimeo.

Shot using the a Canon 5D Mark II + Cheap A.S.S.(<--that's an acronym) shoulder support from this article: http://cheesycam.com/a-s-s-implants-how-to/ along with an LCDVF viewfinder, Alexis Wanneroy was able to pull off some pretty stable footage. Not bad for a $20 dollar camera shoulder support.


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mono-stereo-adapter
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I'm still waiting on the other two, but i'll have a total of three Zoom H1's and still my Zoom H4n. I have ordered more Audio-Technica ATR3350 Lav microphones which is a Mono mic (not stereo), and if you're looking into those cheaper shotgun microphones, those would be mono as well. If you're lucky they might already adapt to record in two channels like the Rode Videomic does. Since the ATR3350 Lav mic and possibly some of these other mono microphones records only to one side channel of the Zoom Audio recorder, to save yourself some time duplicating audio tracks in post, you can grab one of these mono-to-stereo adapters. (make sure it's mono to stereo not vice versa) The correct size you'll need is 3.5mm (a.k.a 1/8"). Here's the link to a Mono to Stereo Adapters on eBay.

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Dual Mono Adapter

Another interesting comment that came in suggested the use of a Dual input adapter. This may work to input two mono microphones one for each channel. The Zoom H4n can record 4 channels, two of them mono which needs to be duplicated to both left and right channel in post. Using a Dual input adapter, you might be able to achieve the same thing with the Zoom H1. You may have to depend on using self powered microphones, and also you won't be able to adjust individual levels like the Zoom H4. Curious if that idea would work.

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Zoom H1 Portable Audio Recorder

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shoe-mount-zoom-h1
click image to find shoe mounts

Random post. This blog is sometimes used for me to keep tabs on the random things that run in my head. So while i'm out here in Maui on vacation i'm pretty sure i'll forget this little idea. Redrock Micro makes a cool handle that uses the hotshoe on top of the DSLR. For the Canon 5D Mark II & 7D, the hotshoe can be used with a handle, because the body is designed with a beefy magnesium frame. The cheap shoe mounts that I recently blogged about would make a great starting point for my new DIY top handle, and combined with the Double L bracket stabilizer Idea would make a complete lightweight solution that's easily broken down. It's so handy to have a top handle with your DSLR.

By the way, I've been using the Sima L brackets I received with my GoPro HD + Modified GoPro Underwater Housing by EyeOfMine together in the ocean. The Sima L bracket has nothing I can see that will be affected by the water, and I give it a decent rinse when i'm done. Definitely a great underwater stabilizer too. I've also been using the other one with my Canon SX210 IS, and it's like a match made in heaven. The Canon SX210 IS has built in optical stabilization and a crazy zoom. The extra handle off to the side gives me a more comfortable hold to take super steady video footage even in complete low light. I think i've used this Point and Shoot more than my other cameras on this trip, safe to say I overpacked.

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Flycam Nano test run from kaydawgy on Vimeo.

There's quite a few things I find that can be useful with the DSLR community, but haven't had the chance to test it out myself. Vimeo member kayDawgy checked out the FlyCam Nano stabilizer article I posted and decided to test it out. The design looks pretty familiar copying the Glidecam setup, and with the right experience looks like it can pull off some really nice stabilizer footage. Unfortunately, there was little information and even less 'good' video samples of the unit's ability. I think things worked out quite well, and personally this is the best video so far done with the Flycam Nano. It might not be perfect, but from my own experience, it's quite difficult to shoot with a stabilizer chasing a running subject around 2-3 ft. tall. LOL

From the tags of the video, looks like kaydawgy used a Canon 550D / T2i and Tokina 11-16mm lens, which is a killer combination on any stabilizer. I especially love how wide this lens is on the Canon 550D / T2i without having much barrel distortion around the edges. Sometimes that barrel distortion is not so flattering with people. If you have any further questions, you may want to give kaydawgy a comment at the video link here. https://vimeo.com/14534884

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find-price-button The Flycam Nano

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find-price-button Tokina 11-16MM F/2.8 ATX 116 Lens for Canon EOS AF Digital - Tokina ATX116PRODXC

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E1G-Microphone
Under $40 dollar Shotgun Microphone EG1

Just by using a microphone away from the camera and closer to your subject things generally will sound much better. In that case almost any microphone should suffice to getting decent audio. The most popular microphones used by DSLR shooters are the Rode VideoMic and the Senheisser MKE-400.

The Senheisser MKE-400, priced at $199, is said to have slightly less audio quality than the Rode VideoMic, but is favored for it's tiny tiny compact size (unlike the Rode). If you're taking size into consideration, I've had my eye on this particular shotgun microphone from China that runs less than $40 dollars. It can go by the name EG1 or EC-330 and I've been waiting for someone to throw up some type of review or audio test to see if it's even worth the penny. After posting the article on the larger $35 dollar China Shotgun Microphone, one comment comes in reminding me about it. Yup, still not much information out there, but it does look like a good alternative if you want the compact size of the MKE-400, without having to spend the $199. Here's the link to find the cheap eBay EG1 shotgun microphone, so if anybody has any more information, please drop a line. If lack of information drags on further, I may have to purchase one to kill the curiousness.

E1G-Microphone

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thorlabs-diy-dslr-rig
thorlabs-ra90-clamp-diy-dslr
click images to view more images at Flickr

Thanks for Mako for sending in images of his DSLR rig using Thorlabs RA90 - 90 degree clamps with locks. These $10 dollar ninety-degree clamps are a great way to start building your different rigs or support structures, but if you take a peek around ThorLabs 'post accessories' you might get some other cool ideas. The accessories they sell work to attach 1/2" rods, and also sell a swiveling clamp that can lock in different positions. Some very cool stuff over at the website. I personally may not have ideas for a DSLR shoulder mount with these RA90 clamps, but four clamps and some 1/2" lightweight pipes at Home Depot would make for a very simple DSLR cage. Since 1/2" rods are the standard for Bike Handlebar grips, it sounds like an easy build with some really cool professional results. Something I just might look into. Here's the link to get you started in Thorlabs products: https://www.thorlabs.com/thorProduct.cfm?partNumber=RA90

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Above: Thorlabs RA90 1/2" post clamp

[Thanks Mako]