Just a reminder for you lucky folks who have the time off, check out the PhotoCine Expo and DVEXPO coming up as soon as this weekend. Sounds like lots of fun and new tech to be introduced. There's also plenty of DSLR dedicated classes available, so for more information click on the following images below.
Well as many of you had commented and even emailed, I took a break from the blog this past weekend. It's a combination of being ill and over working. Last week I lent a hand interviewing 'Far East Movement' - a music group with a current hit on the Billboard, then next day worked in a boxing ring shooting an ad for spot Fila's new women's workout pants, and then a Photoshoot the next day. All of which was an experience to take in and come up with better ideas to make the work flow more smooth. I'll eventually post more information about those events, but for now i'll start getting back to the blog.
Just caught a cool video shot on a Nikon D300s from Jeremy Mayhew. Jeremy has been using the SpiderTrax rotating video dolly quite a bit, and has found ways to use it outdoors quite effectively. I'm really impressed with the quality from this Nikon D300s considering it's not even a 1080 shooter. The look on the Nikon Macro lens is also very sharp with excellent bokeh. It's going to be interesting to see the quality of video that comes out of Nikon's new (T2i Competitor) the D3100 DSLR 1080p capable camera that's starting at only $699 w/ 18-55mm Lens. This new D3100 could give Nikon a larger market share in DSLR video, unless Canon releases something more exciting than the recently announced Canon 60D DSLR.
Pre-order for Nikon D3100
K2Cinema Dual Linear Guide Rod Camera Slider
Look familiar? It's another camera slider in the DSLR marketplace offered by K2 Cinema. If you're not feeling the dual rod look, the company K2 Cinema does offer an Igus based slider for a cheaper price, if that's what turns you on.
Now there's plenty of camera sliders right now and some only around $100 dollars, but this is only the second one that I know of using two Linear guide rods instead of a single flat track. This Linear guide rail looks similar to the Cinevate Atlas LTS Camera Slider, and while it may come in at about half the price, there's quite a few differences. The Cinevate Atlas is using 5/8" rods, which if i'm correct is close to approx. 16mm while the K2 Cinema slider is using 20mm rods. That's going to add quite a bit of unnecessary beef and weight to the overall unit if used simply for a DSLR.
Cinevate Atlas LTS Camera Slider
K2 Cinema doesn't have quite the professional polished finish as the Cinevate Atlas LTS. It's a pretty straight forward design with a carriage that sits above the linear guide rods. The Cinevate Atlas has a more flush carrier that sits just about in between their rods. They both come with positionable legs to use if you're without a stand, but the K2 Cinema Camera Slider lacks the nice comfy feet that could end up scratching surfaces like soft wood tables. Cinevate obviously thought about the usefulness of it's legs and has added some nice molded feet with some type of polymer plastic material i'm guessing. The Cinevate Atlas LTS appears to offer standard rail lengths from 35", 47", and 58" lengths while the available K2 Cinema sliders have options from 22" and 36". Since K2 Cinema seems to be a new starter in DSLR accessories, there's a good chance they can custom make rail lengths. Then again, Cinevate has always showed great customer service so it's possible custom rail lengths may be a possibility as well.
Click images for K2Cinema Camera Slider prices
Now keep in mind that Cinevate is set to release a new Atlas 10 Linear Tracking System Camera slider that is estimated around $500 dollars. The new Atlas 10 will not be rockin' the wide open dual Linear rod look, which I hear works really well, but you might want to wait until you get the full review on the Cinevate Atlas 10 before diving in to a camera slider.
Unboxing the Cinevate Atlas 10 Linear Tracking System
Just got done talking about Cinevate's innovation in the DSLR camera market with the recent announcement of the Cyclops system, and I was quickly reminded about a not yet available 'Atlas 10' camera slider. Cinevate hands down already makes some of the best darn 'camera sliders' a.k.a 'Linear tracking Systems', so what else can they truly be improving upon? We'll just have to wait and see what all the buzz is about on this new Cinevate Atlas 10, but one lucky gentleman got an early preview and threw up a sneak peek video unboxing.
Cinevate Inc Atlas 30 LTS with 100mm Bow
One of the more popular readily available sliders is the Cinevate Atlas 30 LTS. Using two linear rods instead of the usual single track proved to be one of the lightest and smoothest designs. The photos of the new Atlas 10 uses something completely different with the rails tucked away inside of a hollowed track. There are a ton of photos and a full write up with more descriptions and details about this mythological Cinevate Atlas 10 Camera slider from the links over at the video page here: https://vimeo.com/14074140.
Tascam DR-08 on Sale
The Tascam DR-08 Portable Digital Recorder
The recent announcement of the Tascam DR-08 Portable Digital Recorder
was almost invisible to the DSLR market. The estimated street price of $200 or higher for something so tiny and less functional than the Zoom H4n didn't make much sense to DSLR shooters. The reason this article is being posted now is the recent drop in pricing over at Amazon. This Tascam DR-08 Portable Digital Recorder
Besides the slim profile which would make this a more suitable 'in pocket' audio recorder to replace wireless setups, there's also more flexibility to the microphone positions than that of the Zoom H1 giving it the ability to lay flat on the table and still target your subject. The Tascam does require more batteries than the Zoom H1, but i'm more interested in the build quality and relative size comparison against the Zoom H1. For $200+ dollars the pricing on this portable audio recorder would be a huge deal breaker. Now that pricing is coming in at the new $135.00, just slightly over the Zoom H1's $99.00 dollars, i'm curious if the extra $35 dollars is worth the upgrade. If you're interested too, I'll have the Tascam DR-08 vs Zoom H1 Portable Audio Recorder side by side comparison later this week.
Here's the link to purchase: Buy Tascam DR-08 Portable Audio Recorder on Sale
Pre-order for Nikon D3100
I've not known B&H Photo and Video (possibly the largest Camera retailer in the US) to be big on Pre-orders. Normally it's a waiting game trying to check the website periodically for when that hot new item lands in stock. Things are slowly changing with hot item pre-orders becoming more and more popular, and it appears B&H is already on the move.
First up, the Nikon D3100. The new Nikon D3100 is priced well below even the Canon T2i and it's the long awaited 1080HD 24fps capable DSLR Nikon users have been waiting for. If you want to get a jump on this item, B&H is now taking those pre-orders. In fact many of the new lenses and kits for this Nikon D3100 DSLR are up for pre-order. Second up, all the new Apple products. Not sure how you navigate through the website for the new Apple products, but here's the direct link: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/New-from-Apple/ci/15638/N/4291059475
Apple Pre-orders at B&H
I personally don't always associate laptops and computers with B&H, but let's not forget the wide array of professional products that are available through their retail website. They cover everything from audio, video, lighting, hard drives, computers, video capture cards, and more. You might think you can grab every Apple product direct from Apple, but here's a tip. When I get the jump on gear while it's sold out everywhere else, I don't normally go direct. In fact, when I first purchased the T2i (without pre-ordering), I found it in stock at a Computer Store website. Same technique I used on a few other sold out items. Sorry guys, I'm not letting that secret fishing hole out, just in case I need to get a jump on other items. LOL. So if you're lining up at Apple for some of the new gear, you might just get it faster over at B&H.
click image
I'm pretty happy Canon continued to support the LP-E6 battery with many of their camera models. It helps to be able to keep things uniform. I've had about 6 aftermarket LP-E6 batteries that i've been using for my Canon 5D Mark II & 7D shown in this video here: http://cheesycam.com/canon-5d-mark-ii-7d-cheap-china-batteries/. I'm a big fan of these batteries and have used them for quite a while without a hiccup. The problem was that when these were first released, they didn't have the option to show battery life on the camera due to a special information chip. It's about time I grabbed some additional batteries and if i'm not mistaken the new Canon 60D on order will also be using the LP-E6 battery type. Now that i'm in the market for some extra batteries, these newer LP-E6 aftermarket batteries are already chipped properly to show battery life with the Canon DSLR's. Here's the link to the proper LP-E6 aftermarket batteries that should read proper battery life with your Canon DSLR's. Canon 5D Mark II & 7D batteries chipped to show Battery Life.
Opteka has been a fairly reliable name in the DSLR community providing cheap alternatives, so if you're an Amazon shopper here's a chipped Opteka LP-E6 2400mAh Ultra High Capacity Li-ion Battery Pack for the Canon EOS 7D & 5D Mark II Digital SLR Camera (Fully Compatible)
original view Sigma 50-500mm on Canon 7D
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.
Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO Autofocus Lens
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.
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.
Above: Pulled in to 100mm on Canon 7D
Above: Pushed out to 400mm on Canon 7D
Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens
