Lens Talk

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There's the usual LCD View Finders that might work on the GH2, but a very interesting one from Varavon allows you to flip out the LCD and provide enough support so that you don't break it off. Something that can't be done with the traditional sticky metal frame. The company is the same who provided the unique internal mirror for Low viewing angles I reviewed here: http://cheesycam.com/varavon-lcd-low-angle-view-finder-for-dslr/. Not available yet, but looks like it will be soon. They make some quality products, but pricing was always the weak point stepping into the market. Curious as to what initial pricing will be, or maybe we'll get a peek at this over at Las Vegas NAB. You can see more Varavon news here: https://www.varavon.com/product/newproducts.html

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Wanted to put the T3i's new 3x Zoom featuer to the paces, so I shot some bugs with the 100mm F/2.8L IS Macro. At 10x you do notice it gets soft and it's pretty hard to see what's going on with these little guys. So for now here's an all 3x Zoom video which shows the original camera position. (except for the first few seconds. You'll see the text change). The shakiness was because it was a windy day, it's not from the camera. It's also pretty hard to pan at 3x Macro, everything is exaggerated.

I know what you're thinking. Wow, what a rare treat to find a flower full of sooo many lady bugs with great fill lighting? A very unique experience to have outside in nature. Ok, I admit. I cheated. Just a little.

I'm going to try this again in a more controlled environment when I get my real lights setup. I was at home and limited to what I could use. You can't use bulbs that generate too much heat or the flower will wilt and the lady bugs will 'crisp'. These little FLO's don't output as much as the LED panels which i'll try (maybe tomorrow).

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find-price-button Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR

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With the Canon EOS T3i / 600D out in the marketplace, this marks Canon's second Vari-Angle LCD DSLR. Thinking of a different way to mount a View Finder to cameras similar to the Canon 60D's swivel out monitor, I tinkered around with the idea of using the some cheap hot shoe adapters.

In this configuration you'd be able to lock in a view finder while still maintaining a hot shoe to mount other accessories. By slotting the flat bar, you'd still have a quick release way of detaching the view finder without dismounting your hot shoe accessory 'i.e. Microphone'. By using Velcro to attach a View Finder, this type of adapter would pretty much be 'Universal'. Somebody needs to refine this idea....

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find-price-button Shoe Adapter 1/4 x 20 Threaded

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find-price-button Cold Shoe Adapter Threaded

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Wow, the store front really expanded for this tiny eBay seller. I've had my eye on them for a while now as they had a few interesting items. Today they just really loaded up with a bunch of new items. Two of them are some serious clones. First most interesting item is the 'mysterious' clone of a Cinevate Carbon system. I posted the article here: http://cheesycam.com/indias-got-a-carbon-camera-dolly/ and not more than a few hours later, they removed all postings. Looks like 'The Man' got to them. Well it's back so we'll see how long it can stay online this time around (i'm betting the Man will shut them down after this post)

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find-price-button Video Camera Slider Carbon Dolly Clone

Second on the list. Well well well..here's a Clone after my own design, another SpiderTrax dolly. This one doesn't look very good and shipping makes it more expensive than the Konova clone. Konova's design seems to be more polished, and this one looks exactly like another home made overpriced knock-off. Yeah get yourself a Konova dolly if you really need one.

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find-price-button Video Camera Rotating Skater Dolly Clone

Third up, this one goes out to the boys in Blue. It's been said that the Blue accented Follow Focus was based on a Huco gearbox, and so is this one. This DSLR Follow Focus clone for standard Rail mounts come with flex gear, speed crank, whip, yadda yadda yadda. You can get more info via the links. At this price, you might still be better off going with ikan's latest Follow Focus system.

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find-price-button DSLR Follow Focus Huco Gearbox Clone

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find-price-button Opteka View Finder with Glass Diopter

For those struggling to find an inexpensive View Finder with Diopter, Opteka's got a new VF-10. Claims to have all Glass optics, adjustable focusing lens (diopter), and rubberized coating. Looks very similar to the 'Hood Dude' but only half that price. First version of this is only available for 3" 4:3 aspect LCD screens and mounts via Bungee cords. Hopefully we'll see some different sizes start to show up for the T2i / T3i / 60D sizes or even the GH2 and Sony NEX. Doesn't have the large eye-cup if that turns you on, but for those DIY'ers out there, this might be a better start than trying to craft your own. For those who are strictly into photography and just need a good Magnifying loupe to review images in the hot sun, it's not a bad deal for a Loupe and a Lanyard.

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What is a Teleprompter? In some situations, it could be a life saver. Especially when you're renting a location and time is limited. Teleprompters are extremely useful tools when you're working with a host or anyone that needs to read off lines while looking directly into the camera's lens. Most green screen shows like Tosh.0 or Talk Soup have these types of tools. Many ENG reporters are setup with prompters too. You might think that placing a sheet of paper close to the camera's lens would be just as effective, but try it and you'll see that little bit of offset is very noticeable. If you've ever had to wait on a host to memorize lines or had problems nailing a speech, you need to start looking into Teleprompters.

Teleprompters use a reflective angled mirror to display text from a screen while the camera is positioned behind this angled glass. The camera does not see the reflection and looks pretty much normal shooting through the beam splitter. To optimize the reflection, the entire rear panel needs to be covered and prevent any light from hitting the back of the angled reflector.

Here's a DIY teleprompter from Tompter.com. This version I have uses a bent sheet of heavy acrylic with a special tint film to act as the beam splitter. The one i'm showing is an unfinished version of the 'Tompter' and was sent to me to show me how effective this DIY setup is. The finished versions which can be purchased normally includes: Monitor, Stand, Acrylic Mirror & Bag assembly, and 10' VGA cable. That's pretty much everything you need to start shooting except for a laptop. All for not a bad deal (considering you get a monitor too). You can check out some other Teleprompters here at B&H. Free teleprompting software can be downloaded from various websites, all this information is at Tompter.com.

Acrylic itself may have many cons, mainly because it's not as scratch proof as glass and can collect dust. There are advantages to using acrylic though, and even the super high end Teleprompters which run thousands, sometimes provide the option of acrylic over glass for durability. If you're shooting in a war zone, acrylic might be the better type of material to carry around. The special beam splitting tint film on this Tompter is very effective even when the lights in the studio are on. Even when two 1000 watt lights are aimed at it's direction the text was still very readable. I did not notice any color shifts or much loss in exposure. Now the one I have here is an Acrylic based Prompter, but if you need Glass there's also a higher end Glass beam splitter available from Tompter too. By the way Tom is pretty open about making these and is working on a DIY video to share. If you have questions about making your own, you can contact Tom at for more information about Tompter below.

I'm going to finish this version up with a light stand mount and put this thing to use! To keep my iPad from falling out, I figure i'll just add some velcro to the back of this iPad Hard Shell Case.

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find-price-button DIY Teleprompter Kit w/ LCD Screen, Stand, Prompter - Tompter

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If you've been experimenting with Flash photography, you might start to gain interest in light modifiers. With different types of modifiers you can shape the light and target exactly where you want it to be. I know some guys who carry between 4-8 speedlite flashes (or more) when on assignment. My favorite modifiers for small speedlites are honeycomb grids or snoots. These create a somewhat spotlight effect perfect for hair, rim lighting, or background seperation.

If you're running around at an event, the most common modifier is the large diffuser. So that you aren't casting harsh shadows, you'll need a Stofen, Light Sphere, or Globe. Here's a great kit for a great price and even comes with a set of colored diffusing panels. We often use colored Gels over speedlites, but these colored diffusers seem to work in the same way allowing you to add different colors to the background without having to change out the whole roll. The video seems outdated with the $100 dollar price tag, as they can be found much cheaper now.

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find-price-button Flash Kit Softbox, Colored diffusers, Snoot, Grid, Globe, Barndoors, and more

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Vimeo member Film Cyfrowy runs through a few samples on why so many of us rely on ND Filters for video. If you're working without ND filters and need to bring your exposure down, you can try stopping down your aperture, but you'll lose all that gorgeous Depth of Field look. You can also drop the exposure by bumping up your shutter speed too, but that will give you a completely different look. To gain a little bit more control of your final footage, you can cut out the amount of light coming in with ND filters. One fast way to do this is to use the variable Fader ND filters which lets you dial in your exposure. There's pros and cons when working with Variable Faders which you can find more information about here: http://cheesycam.com/variable-nd-filters-fader-filters/

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The world of Macro (super close-up) is quite commonly associated with tiny forms of life such as insects and flowers. This video is an inspiration on what can be done in forms of story telling all shot in Macro mode by Vimeo member Emotion.

No information on what it was technically shot with, but if you're on a DSLR a lens very capable of performing at this level would be one of my favorites - the Canon 100mm F/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens.

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find-price-button Canon 100mm F/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens