Some new things came in, and i'll be talking about them soon after I test them out. First up is the Z96 LED light that many are saying will be replacing the popular 126 LEDs. I'll test it out to see what the build quality is really like and compare it against the 126 LED (which I own three of). I received my Z96 LED light from this seller..
click to find Z96 Dimmable DSLR Video Light
Secondly is the Yonguo Live View Shutter Remote. This mini LCD is supposed to display the Live View from your camera in case you're setup on a crane / jib, or or on a Palo Alto adapter. The mini LCD also has a few button options to fire off your cameras shutter. I went ahead and purchased 3 cables 5D Mark II, 7D, and a T2i cable to test against all the cameras to see how it works. I grabbed my Remote LCD Live View Shutter Cord from the cheapest seller found in this article here.
I get questions about the remote I use for my Painters Pole Photography with the Palo Alto adapter. I showed the above video a while back. Since the Canon 550D / T2i is such a popular camera, and I get questions about the remote, I guess it's about time I link out to the official remote for that DSLR. This is a combination remote so you can use the main tethered part alone, or if you need to step away from the camera the main will act like a receiver, and you can use the included Wireless remote. This only works for photos, not video.
Very handy to have, works much better than the Infrared remotes. You don't need line of sight and can be extremely far from the camera itself. As low as $11 dollars, mostly around $15 it's a handy little remote to have in the bag. Here's the same product available for the Canon 550D / T2i.
Rumor of a new four-thirds lens, Olympus may have a Zuiko 30-150mm Lens with F/3.3-4.2. This is an impressive aperture for such a variable telephoto lens. I can't read what the rest of the website is saying, but this is rumored to be a new lens announced this year.
[Source] https://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2010-07-10
Thanks to a reader submission, here's an unusual LCD View Finder for DSLR's that's even viewable at an angle. Through the description it says it's also magnified. It looks to be similar in design as the Zacuto Z-Finder, but doesn't look to be quite the build quality. Prices are pretty steep, and I haven't seen anyone else talking about this or using it, but it's great to share this information I guess. You can find the unusual Angle Viewfinder for DSLR's at this link.
Ok, before posting up this blog article I made sure to place my pre-order for the new Zoom H1 portable audio recorder expected to ship on July 30th. It appears from several blogs they are very confident in this release date. If you're at all interested in this super portable audio recorder, you can jump over to BHPhotoVideo.com and get on that waiting list to get notified.
Well personally, I'm not taking any chances being the last to pick one up in case they go quickly, so i've already pre-ordered my item(s) from an eBay seller accepting pre-order payments. I'm not suggesting that any of you follow in my footsteps, since this is a pre-order item still 23 days away from shipping, but just in case you might be as bold as I am, here's more information.
The eBay seller is actually a huge retail store, and feedback shows they ship several hundred items daily. Yeah, that's alot of shipping. Feedback is great for the amount of volume they pump out, so i'm not too worried. At only $99 dollars + Free Shipping, it's not much of a risk and I always say, Paypal's got my back! There's already been 4 other purchases before mine, hopefully they don't have a limited amount they are accepting.
Features:
* Stereo X/Y mic configuration captures perfect stereo images
* Same frequency and SPL handling as popular Zoom H2
* Records Broadcast WAV (BWF) at 96kHz/48kHz/44.1kHz at 16-bit or 24-bit
* Records MP3 from 48 to 320kbps for maximum recording time
* Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port
* Built-in reference speaker
* Includes 2GB microSD card and one AA battery
* One AA size battery allows 10 hours operation
* Accommodates up to 32GB microSDHC memory cards
* Track marker function
* Low cut filter
* Built-in tripod mount * 1/8" external mic input <<<< Yes it does have a Mic input people....
* Stereo 1/8" line output
* Auto record level
* Optional accessory package (APH-1) includes windscreen, AC adapter (USB type), USB cable, adjustable tripod stand, padded-shell case and mic clip adapter
So just in case any of you out there might be as brave as I am, i've sorta jumped the gun here. I expect these things to sell out early much like the Canon T2i, and be fairly hard to obtain in the first few weeks of it's release. Here's the pre-order link for the Zoom H1 portable audio recorder.
I've been shopping for another power strip for my lights and Eneloop chargers. These 'Squids' are a great way of maximizing the available outlets. Since they are split up, large power adapters and chargers won't be covering up other available outlets on a traditional power strip. You can find these as high as $60 dollars, or as low as $15.00 dollars, but shipping and taxes will always squeeze a few more dollars out of you. Right now the daily deal on eBay is $12.99 + Free shipping (via Tiger Direct), but daily deals only last a day (or when inventory is depleted). Check out the Power Squid on Sale with Free Shipping.
Ok, there's only been a few players for DSLR viewfinders namely Hoodman, Zacuto, and LCDVF. Here's almost an exact replica of an LCDVF, but not sure how much effort was put into the optics. The mounting uses a metal frame, much like the original LCDVF. It looks like this fake LCDVF through some forums, say the quality is fairly nice. Now this auction is running just a bit high maybe because of recent demand, but still cheaper than the original LCDVF. This eBay LCDVF item ships from USA (free shipping), not too shabby. Apparently though this is only a copy of the original 3" LCDVF, and not the 3:2 version for the T2i / 550D. On a good day, you can find these for around $69.00 dollars which makes it the cheapest LCDVF with frame mount ever. Hopefully we'll see more of these soon. Check out the eBay LCDVF copy, sometimes less than half the price of a real LCDVF by clicking here.
Update: If you want the LCDVF 3/2 for the Canon 550D / T2i, they are now available at BHPHOTOVIDEO.com
There's a new DSLR rig player in town with prices that aren't even in the competitions range. Then again, the configuration of this DSLR rig is cleverly assembled using many of the same parts keeping manufacturing to a minimum and costs low. Coming in with a price to compete with the new shoulder rig from Jag35, this DSLR rig seems to be aimed directly for the budget film maker or serious hobbyist. Personally i'm more of a fan of the flat black on this rig, over the colorful Jag35 DSLR shoulder rig (not yet named). Actually i'm going to call this rig 'Cheaper' than Jag35, since i'm sure Jag35 will have shipping charges and possibly tax applied. Right now you can grab this new DSRL rig on ebay + free shipping.
click image
Very happy to see more players in the game, it benefits us small time buyers, eventually forcing product costs lower to compete. By the way, black Rods are actually more expensive due to additional coatings applied. This one doesn't spare on those important aesthetic details.You can find the new DSLR rig by eBay seller Express35 following this link.
Let's face it, i'm pretty sure you guys aren't burning quite as many DVD's as you were in the past. Once you move onto DSLR video, you're not going to try and backup 16 or 32GB of data onto DVD media. Even Blu-Ray is still overpriced and slow to read / write. The new workflow is hard drive storage. In fact, when i'm offloading data from my set to hand over to the editor, it's all on external drives. We're not dealing in disc media. The problems with hard drives (and I know, I work on computers all day) they will FAIL. Yes..be it traditional, or solid state drives, don't count on putting all of your eggs in one basket. There are many problems that WILL occur with storing all of your data in one drive.
Buying 2 hard drives to 'Mirror' the data is a great cheap solution, but a very slow process and never quite up to sync in real time. So now we're talking about Storage Units, cases that support drive bays, raid, mirroring, striping, however people want to explain it to you. The basic principle is that with a Storage Unit that can house several hard drives at one time, you can increase your total storage capacity in a single 'Drive Letter' and at the same time mirror your data across several different drives in case of failure. Just a few years ago units like these were only for Enterprise use and cost thousand of dollars. Now that technology has become cheaper, hard drives can contain more storage, these units are now being put up in homes. Especially with the craze of HD video files, it's just a smart choice to start looking into these units.
The most popular units that were targeted to the home were made by Drobo. They've been out for quite a while, but I could never find myself spending so much money on something. Now that prices have dropped incredibly for Drobo Storage units, hard drive capacities are huge, I think it's time I add this to my current workflow. Just remember when choosing a storage unit like Drobo, find one that can support the correct file system (i.e. NTFS) for your files that are larger than 4GB. B&H has a $100 dollar instant rebate on this unit (at this time of writing). Note: This unit may not support NTFS file format. Please check before you buy. If it doesn't, it would still be great for Photographers though!
Wireless Camera Photography Shutter Remotes
