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double-strap-q-strap
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After this weekend, i'm thinking of adding a few items to speed up my dynamic workflow. I go from handheld, to monopod, to tripod, to Steadicam, to slider, to dolly, etc. Things have to be fast and things have to work together. I need a strap to carry two cameras, I need this to disconnect if I move to handheld, and I need this to adapt to the different rigs very quickly. Here's some accessories of what i'm dreaming up now that might work best for my type of shooting.

Similar form to the Black Rapid Double Camera strap, but with alot more function, here's the Q-Strap several people have been telling me about after I posted about a BlackRapid clone. Looks like those BlackRapid clones have dissappeared, but this Q-Strap (not R-Strap) is readily avaiable and seems to have improved on the mounting design. Although i'm a big fan of the solid mounting clip of the BlackRapids, one of the shortcomings is that you can't quickly get your camera back to Tripod, or if you want to dismount and go handheld there's no option for that Camera Hand Strap. Here's where the Q-strap is forward thinking. Using a different mounting plate, it has an attachment area to keep a Camera Hand Strap on at all times. Secondly, it still maintains a standard Tripod mount thread, would be perfect for a Manfrotto 394 Quick Release Plate to stay on for some fast Tripod Mount options. So i'm thinking about going this route and dumping off my OG BlackRapid strap with this new Q-Strap configuration.

First the Q-Strap:
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Second the Camera Hand Strap:
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Third the Manfrotto 394 Quick Release Plate:
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In my head this combination is all working out great, giving me great flexibility with my gear moving from harness strap, to handheld strap, to tripod mount, steadicam mount very very quickly without having to screw/unscrew anything - just clip clip clip. As suggested by one of the readers, by using the Manfrotto 394 quick release plate on top of my 717AH should also make things quick for me while saving big bucks on a decent fluid head.

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It's been a really really crazy weekend for me, so I didn't have time to sit and update the website with much. I had video shoots all three days from morning till late late night. Oddly most of these events required some Steadicam work and with my HD4000 rig built out, I was beat... On the plus side I got to shoot a few new things i've never done before, so it was a great learning experience and i'm trying to jot down everything I need to brush up on. I even got to play camera man for a Craigslist Foundation in Berkeley, and interviewed Craig N. himself. With my Steadicam gear on the first thing he said to me was:

'You're not a Cyborg from Skynet sent here to kill me are you?'

Quite a character that Craig is. So because I was flooded with tons of comments and questions, things got lost pretty quick. I apologize if I didn't respond to anyone, and in case things get lost, please send in those comments or questions again. I'm back online and should be able to answer them.

-Emm

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neoprene-soft-lens-baglens-neoprene-caseneoprene-lens-protection
find-price-button Padded Protective Lens Pouches

When I travel light, those thin grey Canon Soft Lens Pouches seem to do fine for just covering up my lenses. Of course any lens case is better than no case to minimize dust, moisture, and scratches. Now when traveling heavy with a wide assortment of lenses I have to carry a bigger bag. More lenses + Bigger bag means equipment is just stacked one on top of the other. I don't like over using dividers in the travel bag because it's just taking up way too much space. Instead I thought I'd just individually wrap up each lens with a beefy Neoprene case. Neoprene is the same material used on Scuba Diving suits so it's quite elastic, soft, but still durable. Much better protection than the standard grey bags that come with most Canon lenses. Obviously, these things are quite cheap coming from overseas starting at only $2.38 + Free shipping. I've placed an order on a variety of sizes, and soon as they come in i'll show which pouches fit which lens. Check out the huge variety of Neoprene Lens Protective Bags.

padded-camera-lens-pouch
find-price-button Padded Lens Bags for Canon Nikon Sony Pentax Panasonic DSLR Lenses

If you're looking for something even more 'beefier' than the Neoprene Lens bags, foam padded ones are a bit larger, taking up precious bag space, but offer better protection against bumps and impact. Many of these are also wearable around the belt look or shoulder sling strap. These suckers start UNDER $10.00 + Free Shipping. Check out the variety of Foam Padded Lens Protection bags.

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steadicam-gizmosteadicam-gizmo-diy

One of the most passionate DIY'ers tackling the Steadicam Merlin design and Gimbal handle with full rotation that I know about is WSCLATER. If you check out his website over at https://www.diycamera.com/stabiliser, you'll find years of logs refining a single Steadicam project. Yeah I think I would have given up by then. There's seems to be a very similar version showing up on eBay called the 'Steadicam Gizmo'. Personally there's some things I would clean up to finish up the little detail work, but looks really close to what WSCLATER has been working on. Four items sold just today for this Steadicam Gizmo, and parts can be purchased seperately. If you're not the DIY type, you might to check out the handle which uses the same design as wsclater, which might be a good improvement for that IndieHardware stabilizer as an upgrade. Check out the Steadicam Gizmo DIY stabilizer found on eBay auctions.

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transcend-32GB-400x

If you cruise on down to the article post http://cheesycam.com/sandisk-extreme-rebates/, you'll catch some comments about the Transcend 32GB 400x Compact flash cards. After a wedding this past weekend shooting three cameras, I realized I needed a bit more space. I was originally going to order the Sandisk Extremes since there was an ongoing Mail In Rebate, but the prices on these Transcends were much better (without Mail In Rebate).

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It took a bit of convincing through the comments section, but you guys have me convinced to work with these. I also checked out reviews over at BHPHOTOVIDEO.com and it's almost a full 5 star rating. We price matched against NewEgg, Amazon, and it turns out that BHPHOTOVIDEO.com came out with the cheapest price for these Transcend 32GB 400x Compact Flash cards. My order is in with Next Day Air, i'll test it this weekend to see how they perform. Really though, I feel quite confident after all the comments and reviews i've been reading and recieving.

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click image to buy from BHPHOTOVIDEO.com

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watch image above for animated zoom action

I was searching for a Nikon Coffee mug as a gift for a Nikon fanatic friend and ran into this. I just posted an article about Lens Replica Coffee Mugs getting an upgrade, and all of a sudden there's a new one out with another upgrade. Looks like the Nikon Replicas are ahead of the competition with this one. An actual Stainless steel insert Nikon Replica Lens Coffee Mug that 'Zooms' in and out. Yeah it's a bit geeky, but if you're going to rock one, why not rock it right. The details on the mug are claimed to be 99.9% accurate, and having received my Canon 24-105mm Lens Coffee Mug a while back, i'm sure that's very possible. They are coming out with such detail and scale to size, it's hard to tell the real from the fake. Now with the cool 'Zoom' factor, it adds even more to these fun little nostalgic collector cups. This one also comes with the fancy lens pouch to complete. This is a very new item and has just become available for sale here.

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I blogged about the popular Canon 70-200mm Replica Lens Coffee Mugs that first showed up during the Winter Olympics 'With Stainless Steel Insert', and then in short time a non-OEM Canon 24-105mm replica lens cup turned up which was ok, but didn't have a stainless steel insert for real coffee use.

Soon after a replica Nikon 24-105 Lens mug showed up. The Nikon replica 24-105 lens plastic mug was a nice try piggy-backing on the popularity of the Canon 70-200mm coffee mug, but also didn't have the stainless steel insert like a true Hot Coffee Mug.

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Well looks like Nikon users have something even more to smile about, now that the Nikon 24-70mm F/2.8 Replica Lens Thermos Coffee Mug with Stainless Steel insert is up for sale. The replica from the photos look fairly well put together and adds a nice touch with the replica box and lens bag. You can find the Nikon 24-70mm F/2.8 Replica Lens Coffee Thermos Mug here.

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The Canon 24-105mm Plastic cup also gets the Stainless Steel treatment making it finally useable for actual Coffee drinkers. If you haven't checked out my videos on these replica lens coffee mugs, they are actually made quite well. You would think that after this quality upgrade to Stainless Steel prices would go up from the normal $80+ dollars they used to fetch for, but in reality, now that popularity has died down they've become much more affordable for us geeky nostalgic collectors. You can find both Nikon and Canon Stainless Steel Replica Lens Mugs here.

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sandisk-32GB-extreme-rebate
click image for bhphotovideo

Seeing how much video footage I can collect in a single wedding event this past weekend, I began my search for more Compact flash storage. Sandisk is one of those brands that you can't go wrong with, but the cheapest Sandisk 32GB Compact Flash Card on eBay right now for the SanDisk Extreme 60MB/sec 400x would be about $184 dollars. Luckily for me, the SanDisk rebates are available over at BHPHOTOVIDEO.com that allows you to save $70 dollars off the purchase of 2 cards making that price a sweet $155 each. Such a good price, it even beats out the rebate for (2) 16GB Sandisk Extreme Compact Flashcards.

It's a 'Limit Two Cards per Redemption Claim', but it's 'Limit Three Claims Per Household'. So with a bit of creativeness, you can get up to six cards per household. You can find those Sandisk Rebates going on Right Now Here.

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wondlan-viewfinder

wondland-vf

Hong Kong trying to introduce a new ViewFinder, but is a bit late in the Viewfinder game. It's a decent color scheme when matched up with it's Wondlan Shoulder Rig counterparts, but outside of that it's not my style. It's also a bit pricey for something coming from over seas, considering the hot topic is the LCDVF clones. Now with the LCDVF replicas selling from under $70 bucks, the only thing anyone would want from this Viewfinder would be the solid mount under the camera.

I'm already skeptical about this even moving off the shelves. The only thing that's going to save this idea is if it gets in our hands for a good ol' fashion showdown viewfinder vs. viewfinder style. Here's where you can find this Wondlan Viewfinder.