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I'm always networking and learning from professionals so that one day I might be able to step up my game. One of the guys I turn to for technical DSLR videography questions is Michael Sato at www.DSLRUniversity.com. Recently Michael announced that he'll be possibly holding a workshop closer to my area, and I thought i'd share this information.

If you are looking to make the transition from a video camera to a DSLR camera let Michael Sato from Satostudios give you a jumpstart on camera operation, Lenses, stabilization, and workflow. Learn how to use your Canon 7d,5d, 550d, 1dmkiv to fit your video needs. Whether you are a current film maker, photographer, or just starting out he will help you become an expert to fit your projects. Michael offers 1 day 4 or 6 hour workshops or a 2 day complete training.

For workshops and commissions go to: https://www.dslruniversity.com/education/satostudio

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This remote cord + wireless remote combo was dirt cheap and I had to have it. I use these when i'm doing my Pole Photography (blogged about it earlier), so that I can trigger the camera while it's about 12' feet in the air. They work on multiple types of Canon Cameras. Check out the video on how cool these things are. I bought mine from this seller. These work much better than the RC1 infrared type remotes. Click here to purchase for as little as $16.00 dollars + Free Shipping!


find-price-button Canon 7D and 5D Mark II Wireless Shutter Remote

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I thought this was old news and everyone was already using these. I purchased these batteries just weeks after the Canon 5D Mark II was announced! Yeah they are pretty old, but still rocking and rollin'. Apparently after posting my aftermarket battery video for the 550D & T2i, I received many questions on the 5DM2 / 7D aftermarket batteries.

So these batteries work differently. They don't charge on OEM canon chargers, and they don't display battery life. Other than that they are dirt cheap and work just as long (i think so). I'm also using aftermarket China 'battery grips' on both my 5D Mark II & 7D. Prices have gone up a bit. I purchased mine for about $10.00 dollars. The Canon 5D Mark II and 7D use the same type of batteries. I purchased mine from this seller. It's going for about $14.00 dollars. Click this link to purchase.


find-price-button Canon non-chipped batteries

Battery Grips for Canon Cameras can be found here:
Canon Grip
find-price-button Canon Aftermarket Battery Grips

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Total Approx $45.00 Dollar 'Hands Free' shoulder rig modification / Shoulder Mount + Rotating Flash Bracket.

The Goal of this video is to show a simple 'low budget' way of how to mount all of the important accessories for DSLR video onto a cheap $24.00 shoulder mount rig.

Okay that's probably the worst article title ever for a Video Camera blog, but this cheap should support from Amazon or Adorama has earned it's own acronym. A.S.S. stands for 'Amazon Shoulder Support' or 'Adorama Shoulder Support'. I blogged about this thing months ago and one seller on Amazon ran out of stock. The other sellers tripled their prices. It was normally going for around $24.00 dollars, now you're seeing it around $70.00 bucks. You can all thank me for popularizing it. Not to fear, the guys over on eBay are still selling it for around $24.00 dollars and you can find them following the link below.

Anyways, I wanted to hack something up and saw this thing hanging around the corner of the studio. Thought i'd try to add all of my important accessories to it and see how it goes. It's actually not bad, and it turns it from cheap looking to sheek looking. So sit back and enjoy the video of me doing my A.S.S. implants with the Canon 5D Mark II, Battery Grip, Rode VideoMic, 126 LED video light, LCDVF, and Zoom H4n.

Here's the product.
You can find the shoulder support from eBay by clicking this link, or the image below.

click image

Here's a link to that rotating flash bracket that goes for about $21.00 dollars or so.

click image

Shoulder mounts aren't the same as Steadicams. It's not totally designed for walking / running, but it still helps alot in those areas. I don't want to reinvent the wheel, so here's a user that's uploaded his version of testing it out by walking around.

If you're still not sold, I believe this is the legendary Phillip Bloom having fun with one.

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joel-c-donation

Whoa, i'm flattered so many people stop by to read and comment on this blog. Better yet, i'm humbled by those who find time to even leave me a donation. Joel C. was a reader I blogged about earlier who created an awesome DIY version of the Shoulder Rig. Shortly after, Joel dropped a huge huge huge donation towards the blog. Thanks Joel! BTW, i've partnered with a company to create a special unique steel adapter, ordered a few hundred of them, and you'll be getting one in the mail. Thanks for the donation! If any one else wants to support, the donation button is at top right. Thanks readers!

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It's a little early to be posting this up, but I was excited to see the rough cut on a video project I was asked to help with. Sorry Travis, I know it's still in progress, but I just had to show off the excellent work you've put in so far. I'm pretty proud of my Steadicam work with my Hybrid rig for this gig.

Producer Travis Simpson found me on Vimeo and asked me to be the Steadicam operator in a video project that was going to be shot entirely on DSLR's. My bit of experience in DSLR cameras helped as well for being a good candidate as Cameraman #2.

The interesting part of this video is the run and gun type gear used. We had to be fast, mobile, and carry only a few items to work in the tight traffic conditions of San Francisco. This entire video clip was shot only with 2 cameras + 2 lenses. Here's the setup:

Camera #1 Canon 550D / T2i + 50mm F/1.2 on RedRock EyeSpy bundle with Follow Focus
Camera #2 (me) Canon 5D Mark II + Sigma 20mm on my Hybrid Steadicam Rig (Found Here)
Sound was captured seperately by awesome Sound Engineer Kevin Crawford

If you see more than 1 person in the shot, that's the Canon 5D Mark II + Sigma 20mm on Hybrid Steadicam.
If you see the camera panning or moving during a shot, that's Canon 5D Mark II + Sigma 20mm on Hybrid Steadicam.
Close up detail shots or headshots are from the Canon T2i + RedRock EyeSpy + 50mm L F/1.2.
We also used the 126 LED video lights (found on the right side of this website) during the Bar scene diffused by bouncing off of a piece of paper. Love them lights.

Credits for the video (still in editing progress)
Producer: Travis Simpson
Director of Photography: Me!
Host: Ben Djavaheri
Sound Design: Kevin Crawford
Production Coordinator: Derek Fernandez

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Updated: Here's the new link for a seller that's selling the exact same batteries I use.

I talked about these batteries a little while back when I placed my order on them. I've been using China shipped aftermarket batteries for years on my Canon 5D Mark II & Canon 7D (same batteries). I use aftermarket battery grips for both of those cameras also. Since i've been using them with absolutely no problems, it was a very easy decision for me to try out the 550D / T2i batteries coming out of China. I'm very happy with them. They work like normal Canon OEM batteries. They seem to last just as long, and unlike my other batteries, I can charge these on the Canon OEM charger. They also display the battery life indicator on the Canon EOS 550D / T2i. With shipping you can get them for as little as $10 bucks each. I was a little skeptical at first, but the T2i videos seem to blend in seamlessly along with the other cameras and is now seeing just as much, if not more, use during the gigs. It's never been used for any photography, but as a third video camera, it rocks! These batteries are a big help on long jobs. These aftermarket batteries for the Canon EOS 550D / T2i rock! You can purchase the batteries by clicking here.

Updated: Here's the new link for a seller that's selling the exact same batteries I use.
click image to purchase aftermarket batteries for the Canon EOS 550D / T2i
t2i-battery-updated

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Part of the workflow for me that's been a real pain is memory card backups. After an all day shoot it's about leaving your Compact flash or SDHC cards with the editor to do his data dumps so he can get straight to work. Otherwise it means you have to find a way to dump about 200 gigs of video to an external, and then find the time to get it back to the editor in a timely fashion.

I've been on the fence for a while about getting one of these portable Memory Backup devices, and it seems like it could really help in speeding up data hand-offs. The idea is to purchase at least two and just rotate / switch each time we do a job. Sure we can always drag around a laptop and a couple of USB drives, but transfering from card to laptop and back to external drive seems like more gear to carry and slower transfer times. Sure there are different and maybe cheaper versions of these type of devices, but so far the Hyperdrive has always been the one recommended to me by professionals. You can find prices of the Hyperdrive Memory Backup on eBay by Clicking Here.

Or you can always check out Amazon

Holy cow, check out this expensive version too:

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Not everyone can or wants to pay the price on a Full Frame camera. So if you need to go extra wide on a cropped camera like the 7D or 550D / T2i, there's a few lenses that can help get you there. Most of which can run you somewhere around $800-$1000.00 bucks for a 16-35mm or maybe even a 17-55mm. Even the 10-22mm is a nice lens, but Sigma's got that beat with an incredible 8-16mm! Most of the time around that range you're talking Fisheye which isn't always so flattering for portraits, but this Sigma doesn't go there. New from Sigma and available for pre-order, It's possibly the widest lens available that isn't a Fisheye. Although it's not super fast sitting at F/4.5-5.6, but with Sigma's HSM built in, that range, and at this price point who are we to complain? Thanks Sigma. Not a bad price for this wide angle lens. Click here for prices on eBay.