Lens Talk

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dslr-rig-ebay
shoulder-rig-ebay

Wow, adding everything up on this rig, it's pretty much a sweet deal. No hassles in building and configuring your own DSLR setup, this listing has it all and ready to ship. Complete shoulder mount, tripod blocks, 1 follow focus for Focus pulls, 1 follow focus for Zoom pulls, A bunch of Focus Rings, (not shown) Waist belt + rod support, Matte Box, Shotgun Microphone, LCD Monitor + battery pack, JuiceBox to kill that AGC, LED Light panel, and more!

I was hesitant to post this up because for a split second I thought I should just buy it, and sell off some of my old gear to make up for the difference. There was one important calculation that prevented me from clicking the 'Buy It Now' button. After figuring out the time it would take to sell off my old items, effort to hide this from the wifey, time it would take to replace missing bank account funds, and the cost of divorce fees should I be caught randomly purchasing items.....Basically I can't afford it (right now). If your calculations are much different than mine, check out the full details and descriptions of the items bundled with this beast at the eBay listing. Check out this awesome complete DSLR Shoulder Mount rig available at eBay auction.

Note: I don't know this seller, and am not vouching for the validity of this auction.

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sony-nex-camcorder

sony-nex-interchangeable-lens-camcorder

Ok, so i'm sitting here playing with the Sony NEX-3 Interchangeable lens camera trying to figure out better ways to make this shoot like a real video camera. Next I get an email from Alex Cahiz pointing me to the latest Engadget article about Sony's latest Video Camera announcement. A 3" Swivel LCD, Still Photos, 1080p, 24 frames, and SDHC storage are some of the terminology being dropped, oh and also an estimated street price of $2,000 US. It should be bundled with an 18-200mm lens, so it's not a terrible price for something that acts more like a Video Camera should. Check out the full write up over at Engadget.

From the images above it looks like it has both an LCD and a ViewFinder for sharper focus? It also has a better Stereo microphone position over current DSLR's. The smartest thing Sony can do to really steal back some of the current market is to come out with a Canon Lens adapter right from the start. Hey, Apple went to the Intel platform, supported Windows installations, and now look where they are at. If Sony can adapt for Canon, i'm sure most of the Canon users would love to pick this thing up and test it out with the current gear they are already so much invested in.

Update: Looks like more specs are available and many comments are talking about the correction on 24p. It's actually 24Mbs bitrate which is half the 5D Mark II, and no indication of 24p. This is a big time deal breaker for people who can already afford the T2i with several aftermarket accessories available on the cheap. I don't think Tamron, Sigma, or Tokina are making Sony mount lenses for the NEX? This will definitely put Sony in a niche audience.

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 IMG_5857
Strobist: Canon 5D Mark II + Canon 24-105mm IS F/6.3, 1/125th, ISO 200, Single 580 EX II (set to manual mode) Shot through White Umbrella - Camera Left. No HSS, triggered with ST-E2, Exposure Controlled by Fader ND filter.

My neighbor often sees me running around the front of my house chasing my kids around with my camera. He asked if I can take a few snaps of his daughter. I don't think he really knew quite my investment and experience in photography. It was about 12 noon on a super duper bright sunny day. In order to expose for the sky without maxing out my shutter speed and keeping some DOF, I threw on the Fader Filter ND. It was important for me to keep my shutter down under 1/250ths of a second. Forgive some of the shots, this is her first time in front of a camera, and she's only 13. We started in the studio (my living room), to get her a bit comfortable, then took it outdoors. I think she might have been a bit intimidated by all the equipment and assistants I had with me also.

Why not use High Speed Sync?
With a single 580 EX II, shooting through an umbrella, I wanted to use the maximum power output of my 1 flash. When going into HSS mode, the flash needs to pulse which reduces the power output. So by keeping my shutter speed to normal sync speed, I was able to use the full burst power. In actuality I only needed between 1/8th and 1/4 power. Staying at fractions of full power allows me to have super fast recycle times too.

Threw my subject into a shaded area to balance lighting, under exposed the sky using a Fader ND, and then filled my subject with a single 580 EX II off camera, shot through a White Umbrella, triggered by a Canon ST-E2. Very simple, portable, cheap, yet effective way to get quality fill flash outdoors. This method allows you to use any flash since the sync speed is below HSS needs. Too bad I didn't have someone shooting some BTS video, this would have been a great tutorial to share.

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sony-nex-canon-ef-adapter
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It's no secret that the Sony NEX has an adapter to mount the large Alpha lenses. I guess it was just a matter of (very short) time before other adapters were available to support other lenses. The Sony NEX is very new, and it's great to see manufacturers adapting for it. Actually after a bit of research, this seems to be a one off custom job. The seller is responding to questions stating they can make an adapter for any type of lens to Sony NEX. I'm also not finding any other manufacturers of such adapters to the Sony NEX. Very cool! This Canon EF lens adapter for the Sony NEX changes alot of things for people like me who are well invested into Canon Lenses.

Just a note that someone pointed out. With adapters, they can't control the aperture on EF lenses. Your lens will default to a certain aperture and you can't easily adjust this. This seller also has a Canon FD lens adapter available too, which will give you the ability to use the FD manual lens to adjust to any aperture. The best bet is to just stick with the FD adapter and grab some FD lenses for full manual AV control.

canon-fd-lens-adapter-sony-nex
click image for Canon FD adapter to Sony NEX

Traveling with a lightweight camera that does both photos and videos (and awesome panoramics) that can accept some very decent lenses that I already own makes this camera much more affordable for the long run. The adapter also has a built in tripod mount, since we can't rely on that Sony NEX body to carry the weight of the big lenses. Now that's thinking smart... Check out the Canon EF Lens to Sony NEX adapter.



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Well the results are in, and i'm super impressed. As you know the GoPro HD camera doesn't focus well underwater due to a curved lens cover on the waterproof housing. Eye Of Mine provides modified 'Flat Lens' housings to correct this. I was able to get my hands on one of his Flat Lens housings, but I couldn't find the time in my busy schedule, so Waylon was kind enough to shoot some samples for me to use on this blog.

Wow, it's a big difference. So much of a difference, you wonder why you would ever go back to the old housing. The quality on YouTube has compressed the original video, but it's way sharper than stock. Waylon says he rates it at 50% better, but I personally feel it's at least 90%. I'm that impressed. Check out this diver video below using the Flat Lens modification (make sure to select the highest resolution on the YouTube player).

Sure it's no secret how it's done, grab a flat lens and hack your housing. But for something like this, and something at this price, you might be better off just having Eye Of Mine do it for you. More information about the GoPro HD Underwater Focus Fix can be found here. Thanks Eye Of Mine!

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bh-photo-video

FYI. Just reminding everyone, If you've been holding off for that new lens, you have 4 more days before the Canon Rebates end. Below are a few of the lens rebates, you can find more following this link. Canon Lens Rebates ending July 10th

Canon Lens Rebates
EF 85mm f/1.2L II USMSave $130
EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Save $100
EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM Save $100
EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USMSave $100
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USMSave $90
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USMSave $90
EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USMSave $80
TS-E 90mm f/2.8 Save $80
EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USMSave $65
EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USMSave $50
EF 17-40mm f/4L USMSave $50
EF 15mm f/2.8 FisheyeSave $45
EF 70-200mm f/4L USMSave $45
EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USMSave $30
EF 50mm f/1.4 USMSave $25

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Really bad Mockup (fake image below)
Remote-LCD-LCDVF-viewfinder

There's been speculation and alot of hype from different Loupe makers about changing the way we currently 'view' through DSLR's. One statement from a well known company (I won't quote completely), mentioned something kinda like:

'Right now you hold the camera up to your eye, that's going to change'.

I've seen many different types of Remote 'Live View' Viewfinders on the market and it's starting to make sense that new LCD loupes could start using this screen instead of the one directly mounted on the DSLR. These DSLR's aren't outputting true HD, so a decent tiny 3-4" remote monitor with a magnified LCD Z-Finder loupe attached would be a pretty cool focusing device. I'm imagining a new type of DSLR shoulder rig where the camera sits normally down the center (not offset), and the remote LCD Viewfinder is positioned through a flexible adjustable arm (much like the ones to hold monitors today). This would provide alot of flexibility when doing low shots, high shots, or any other random type shot while still displaying live view through a remote 3" LCD with a Z-Finder magnified LCD view finder attached. This would be great for a remote Focus Puller too.

We got any fancy Photoshop users out there who care to start mocking up what this could look like? Better yet, If you're planning on some forward thinking and want to beat the other guys to the punch, check out the options already available below to mount your existing LCD Viewfinder Loupe.

A popular Remote LCD that's been out for a while
remote-lcd-viewfinder

How about this one? This one attaches to the EyePiece and acts like an angled viewfinder.
new-lcd-viewfinder-dslr-loupe

This Seculine Remote LCD would be a perfect idea to mount a magnified LCD loupe to it.
remote-lcd-viewing

So basically the idea is to mount your DSLR on shoulder rig, but only relocate one of these Remote LCD's to the proper position. No need to relocate the entire DSLR video camera.

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Update: You can now buy the LCDVF 3/2 from BHPHOTOVIDEO.com.
Grab yourself the LCDVF 3/2 from BHPHOTOVIDEO.com

Here it is folks, just got a message from the man himself. The LCDVF for the Canon EOS 550D / T2i is real and it's almost ready. Check out the video of the installation process and fit. Very very nicely designed. No rumors here, Glidetrack.com will have 100 of them very soon. Make sure to Twitter, Digg, or Facebook this article to spread the word using the links below.

lcdvf-bhphoto
The LCDVF

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If you were as caught up in Canon HDSLR world as I have been, you might have missed the hacks going on with the Panasonic GH1 HDSLR . Originally introduced with very low bit rate video quality, I didn't think it had a chance to compete with the Canon 5D Mark II. Others believed in the unit and created hacks on the firmware. Apparently the hardware is capable of much more, with a recent hack that puts the video capture bitrate over the Canon 5D Mark II. I'm not going to get into details, but I'm betting Panasonic is staying quiet allowing 'others' to develop freely for them while they sit back and learn some new tricks. They are probably right on top of all these firmware hacks, testing it out, taking in a thing or two, and planning on releasing a killer HDSLR soon thanks to some clever DSLR video hackers. Check out the original article for more information.

With this recent firmware hack (there are a few caveats), you can grab a GH1 for less than a Canon 7D and capture Video bitrate higher than the Canon 5D Mark II. Check out the pricing on the Panasonic GH1 over at BHPHOTOVideo.com.

panasonic-gh1-bhphoto
click image

The above video and Reference to original article here: https://www.eoshd.com/content/250-50Mbit-1080p-MJPEG-on-the-Panasonic-GH1