Videography Gadgets

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If you've been following the long wait for the Atomos Ninja HDMI recorder, then you'll know it should start shipping this week (hopefully). It's a sexy little unit that acts like a low res monitor, but is really a portable recorder to capture uncompressed Video goodness. Many times this is done by connecting a Video camera to a computer of some sort and a capture card. Above is a nice little example from Vimeo member UrbanFox.TV or what the Ninja is all about. It's already been delayed for several days and i'm waiting to see some examples.

DSLR shooters probably aren't going nuts for something like this because it's pretty rare to get clean HDMI out for recording. Sure the 7D outputs in 1080, but there's something not quite all there.. Other non DSLR camera shooters who use higher end Canon's, the fancy Sony's, and Panasonic are literally drooling for a portable solution to capture uncompressed HD output signals. Sony camera like the EX1 will need SDI input on a recorder, so soon another version 'the Samurai' will meet those requirements. [Note: Though your camera may output uncompressed signals, the Ninja saves the incoming signal to Apple ProRes]. Rumor mill is that only 250 units will touch US ground on this first shipment and who knows when the next batch arrives. If you weren't on the pre-order list and didn't get confirmation to receive one soon, it looks like someone is making one available via eBay.


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find-price-button Atomos Ninja Portable HDMI Recorder

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4.3lcd-monitor

Not long ago I toyed around with a 3.5" mini LCD for about $26 dollars. It also worked on the GoPro HD Cameras that (at the time) lacked any LCD viewing. Now that GoPro has released their LCD BacPac there's no need for this. It definitely would have helped the guys out while shooting testing the Korean Dolly out in this video: http://cheesycam.com/test-drive-spidertrax-clone-korean-dolly/

Reader Alex writes in and decides to go about .8 inches larger from the 3.5" to the 4.3" still at the same price. This little LCD also includes settings for adjustment, but would stepping up another inch provide better color, contrast, resolution? We'll just have to wait to hear back, but Alex says it's all working out and more robust than the previous. For cameras that lack a certain angle of viewing, $26 bucks sure would help on those low rotating dollies & sliders shots for framing.

4.3" LCD Monitor DSLR Framing
find-price-button 4.3" Mini LCD Monitor

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find-price-button Lensse Cam.Wheels Dolly

It's bound to happen, so here's another version of a ready made rotating video dolly newly to the market. This one comes from the little known company Lensse. Obviously it does what other rotating dollies can do, but unless it's wider than what appears in the photos, the narrow stage doesn't seem like it's going to be practical for some type of a Fluid head mount. Hmm..might be good for tiny cameras and a mini fluid head?

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Next one (above) looks very similar to a DVTEC MultiRig Pro. If you're not familiar with what that is, you can find some Vimeo videos here: https://vimeo.com/search/videos/search:dvtec/e30032e7. It's a multi configuration type rig that can go from shoulder support to handheld. Doesn't look to have all the pieces of a true DVTEC, but it doesn't have all the price of one either. You should check out the link below to see all the different configurations this type of camera support can origami into..

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find-price-button DSLR Rig Shoulder Mount Video Kit

Next item (below) another Video Stabilizer based off of the Merlin, Hague, Lensse, IndieHardware design. Yeah I know right? Even clones can get cloned. Well to be fair, it looks closer to the IndieHardware over anything else. Love the write up in the auction about being 'The Secret Weapon" and "Latest Innovation". LOL. While the others are set on pricing, at least this starter is throwing out a few auctions.

Screen shot 2011-02-22 at 11.14.25 AM
find-price-button Twice Cloned Video Camera Stabilizer

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I've had the chance to work with Arri's 650 and 1000 watt lighting kits a few times and they are beautiful. The fresnels allow the lights to be adjusted in Flood or Spot which makes them easier to throw the light where you need it. Of course, they are a bit pricey. Just a few months ago I posted an article about certain lighting kits that claimed to be 'As Arri' found here: http://cheesycam.com/arri-blueline-jietu-fresnel-lighting/

As Arri light kit review samples

These 'As Arri' lighting kits sold at less than a third the price and claimed to be an exact 1:1 replica of Arri lighting kits. So close in fact many of the replacement parts can be ordered from Arri such as the bulbs, Fresnel glass lens, ballast, barn doors, scrims, etc. They are available in 150, 300, 500, 650, 1000, and 2000 watts. The most common kit being a 3 pc 650w should cover most situations.

Not much information is available on the web, so these still aren't very popular, but just recently a brave soul (Vimeo Member) Josh Donnelly took a chance and posted a video review. Looks like it's time to bump this one back up on the wish list.... [Thanks Josh]

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find-price-button 150w - 2000w Fresnel Lighting Kits 'as Arri'

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[Video and Audio are terrible. Shot with a cheap Point and Shoot]

Not sure if the post shows up, but it's about 1:00 a.m. (in the morning). I received a super last minute call to help out with some Glidecam work on an event. So I decided to hack something up which I think would be helpful. When flying on this Glidecam i'm closing down the aperture to keep things in focus. This means less light. So I decided to mod a few RC batteries together to power up the 352 LED Ring Light. It's bright, it's well diffused, and it's dimmable. It's the perfect light source for what i'm trying to achieve during this event. [BTW the light at the end of this video is turned all the way down - it gets brighter!]

In order to mount the large 352 LED Ring light, I needed to raise up the 60D with a battery grip and then place it on top of a Calumet quick release adapter. A few flexible power arms kept the LED Ring light mounted and also the Rode VideoMic Pro in place. With the 60D Manual Audio + Rode VideoMic Pro +20db, it sounds really good. Anyways, this rig might be overkill so I also balanced out my 7D on the Glidecam HD1000 for times I don't need lighting or audio. Ok, time to nap. Could be a long day...

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find-price-button 352 LED Ring Light with 12V AC Adapter

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The original SpiderTrax Dolly is no longer available via PhotographyAndCinema.com, but the Korean company Konova copied the design pretty much dead on. This would be the better alternative aside from making one on your own. Here's some friends working with the dolly during Valentine's day. They let the dolly control all the camera movements with no fluid head. Since there wouldn't be any panning involved during the motion, they mounted a simple Heavy Duty ball head normally used for photography.

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find-price-button Professional Heavy Duty Ball Head Quick Release

By just using the wood flooring, table tops, counters, and other flat surfaces, they were able to achieve a variety of different movements you can't replicate with just a straight slider. For areas that might not be completely smooth, you can carry a roll of Heavy vinyl plastic (comes in rolls) found at any hardware or fabric store. This Vinyl material will even allow you to run on firm carpet. If you haven't had time to make one or if you're not rockin' a rotating dolly yet, this gives you an idea of how versatile it can be. It's an extremely inexpensive tool that can boost your entire video production with these unique movements. [Thanks Guys]

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find-price-button Rotating Video Camera Skater Dolly

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Question in the comments area about these two new CREE LED Video lights. These LED video lights are fairly new, i've only been pointed to them a few times in the last few weeks. They claim to have housed 4 CREE Q5 High power LED's into an aluminum housing (which supposedly helps dissipate heat). CREE is a US company that makes the best LED's in the world and is carefully color balanced to exact specs. This LED video light comes with a rechargeable 7.2V Sony style battery + battery charger + LED light + cigarette lighter adapter for charging.

There are two different models of these CREE LED Video Lights. First model is called the VS800. Two of the LEDs are 3200K and with a single switch you're running tungsten. Two more LEDs are 5600K so you can toggle to Daylight. Turn ALL FOUR of the LEDs on, and you have mixed lighting around 4500K.

The second model is called the VS1400. This version uses all 4 CREE LEDs in 5600K, but still has two switches for half power and full power. The light is rated at 16W (could be 4W x 4 LEDs). Burn time is a really short 45 minutes on a single battery, and the beam angle (area of coverage) drops down to a narrow 60 degrees. Anybody use these things or have seen them in person?

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find-price-button CREE LED Video Lights VS800 + VS1400

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Austin Wilson from DVRebellion puts the $30 dollar shoulder support 'offset' piece to a weight test. I've seen this piece crack twice on items I have, and it seemed to break in the same place. Have they fixed a possible mold issue? Not sure, but i'm personally not taking that chance. I'm pretty happy with the Express35 RigX setup on the main shoulder support and toss out the offset. Either way, it's a good test he's put it through that still shows the main shoulder support is extremely sturdy. [Thanks Austin]

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find-price-button Cheap Shoulder Support for Video Camera

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LED-Flood-Light

Odd color or not, people are finding the cheap UFO camping lights pretty useful. You can't beat $5 dollars shipped I guess. So remember the idea of using Halogen shop lights from here? http://cheesycam.com/diy-halogen-shop-light-mod/

Here's another one that might get the hamster wheels in your heads spinning. Cheesycam reader Pawel writes in and links me to some inexpensive outdoor high power LED flood lights. These LED flood lights are designed to take abuse with a weatherproof housing and come with a positionable mounting bracket. The bracket should make it real easy to mount to a traditional light stand. Available in 10W [might be too little] - all they way up to more than 100W, there's plenty of light power to go around. These are commonly used to light up parking lots, street lamps, and buildings. I'm finding that the higher power lights go to a more bluish temp, while the lower 10-20W LED Flood lights are a warmer tone around 3200-3500K (about Tungsten). Around 65W is said to have a 5600K color temp.

LED flood light

A further search even shows that these lights are available in both AC power and 12V DC and some listings show a 160 degree beam angle. That's pretty wide. 12V DC would be pretty nice to run right off battery power at remote locations. Keep in mind that these high power LEDs will still generate a little bit of heat, but nothing compared to what Halogens would be putting out. I'm in on this idea and maybe i'll check my local hardware stores to see if they have any on hand. Oh and if you're the colorful type, somewhere i've also seen that they make color changing versions.. Another idea for color changing backgrounds..
[Thanks Pawel]

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find-price-button High Power Outdoor LED Flood Lighting

Some additional search results for High Power LED Lighting below:

LED flood light
High Power LED Outdoor Flood Lighting