Videography Gadgets

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500-LED-Video-Lights

LED video lights are great not only because they are well diffused, durable, and generate low heat for close encounters. They also have a huge advantage when it comes to power requirements. If you've ever been out to a location shoot with some super hot tungstens, or HMI's you'll have to calculate the wattage of each head and seperate them into different power outlets so you're not blowing out fuses and circuit breakers. Blowing out the power in your location is bad news, and just brings things to a halt. Just one of the things you'll learn in Film School Lighting. Now that prices for LED tech has dropped, the cheap LED video panels I showed a while back pretty much flew off the shelves. It definitely seemed like it, but after talking to a few sources, it appears that the popular LED Video panels are now at a worldwide shortage. Looks like there is so much demand the manufacturer can't keep up. Part of the shortage is because many big name companies have bought these panels in huge amounts rebranding and marking up prices. Hopefully you're not depending on these things being available when your next project comes around, as they are slowly disappearing as we speak.

If you're a DIY type and are looking to save a few bucks, you might take a peek at some already assembled inexpensive LED light panels that comes complete with an AC power adapter. They are powered via 24v, so not too difficult to come up with a portable power solution as well. All you'll need is to come up with some type of light stand mount, and you should be good to go.

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find-price-button LED 24v Video Light Panel Assembly with Power Adapter

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Big thanks to Mark H. for taking time out to make this video. Here Mark is showing us his DIY arm brace for his Flycam Nano stabilizer. The Flycam Nano is proving to be a very popular small stabilizer, but one thing to note is that even the handle comes in small. If you're not practicing some type of Shaolin Tiger Claw Death Grip (like myself), you might want to look into swapping the handle out with something a bit larger, or better yet work with an arm brace. If you don't know, the handle to the Flycam Nano is hollow and resembles the Glidecam stabilizers. With it's hollow designed handle, it can accept the same arm brace that is used with the Glidecam stabilizers. Of course that original brace (if you're lucky to find one) retails for about $150 dollars.

Mark takes a simple medical use wrist brace found in any local pharmacy and adds a custom DIY bracket to transfer most of the weight away from the wrist, allowing you to fly a bit longer, and possibly a bit steadier. For those with Steadicam Merlin's or Steadicam Jr's this idea will also work for transferring that weight over from your wrist. Mark also makes a good point to talk about how handy an arm brace is to have when you can't travel with a vest. As an owner of a vest myself, I can attest that it's a huge pain to travel with. It's also not very quick to get in an out of and is sometimes a bit dangerous when you're surrounded by fast moving kids. This would be the ideal situation in which you could take advantage of a solid arm brace.

[Thanks Mark]

For something like this, you'll probably want to go with the wrist braces that have a 'splint' like Mark's to attach a bracket.
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Wrist Brace with Splint


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After my recent posts on the Flycam Nano, there's been quite a lot of interest in budget stabilizers. Of course they aren't built as well as the Glidecam stabilizers, nor can they carry the amount of weight. If you've got a big camera, the Glidecam HD stabilizers are well worth the bucks. For those who are on a budget and want something larger than the Flycam Nano, you can always find some good deals on some used Glidecam Pro systems. There is usually 2000's and even 4000 Pro models available and sure does beat paying full price.


glidecam-ebay
find-price-button eBay Auctions on Glidecam Stabilizers

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You think you've got it tough when balancing your Glidecam at home? Well, you might be thinking differently after seeing this next video. Having just received the Glidecam HD1000 without testing things out, Adam was out in Africa and needed a bit more help getting things fine tuned. Talk about DIY and ingenuity, these guys took their time to make something look OEM, instead of just duct taping some random weights. Very cool video from Vimeo member Adam, thanks for sharing.

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The all too basic shoulder pad on most rigs are not as comfortable as they might appear. The firm silicone pads give wide placement of the rig to the shoulder, but does nothing for comfort. To add extra stability, relieve weight from the hands, and added comfort here are some alternative budget shoulder mounts. First up is a quite surprisingly well made shoulder pad which I believe is from India using the ProAim name. (BTW, this is sometimes bundled with handle grips, but if you contact the seller they can sell you the shoulder mount alone.) It's an all metal shoulder pad with rod adapter and a front chest brace. The contoured shoulder pad with a thick layer of flexible dense foam is definitely more comfortable, and the chest brace helps stabilize the unit futher by 'pulling' the rig back into your body. There is no rear 'hook' so it's not a total hands-free type rig that will remain on the shoulder if you release your hands. I did of course add my DIY counter weight to the rear, and at that time I was able to release my hands while the rig stayed fairly balanced.

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find-price-button Shoulder Rig Pad with Rod adapter Body Plate

Last on the list is a very simple setup using the cheap $24 dollar mount. I've had this mount way back since January and have been using it with many different projects. It works surprisingly well, but don't use the crappy offset piece that it comes with. You'll know what i'm talking about when you get one. Of course I didn't get to use it with any Rail system, until the Gini arrived recently.

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find-price-button Gini DSLR Rig

The setup there can be placed onto the shoulder and be completely hands-free, which means less weight on the arms. This little shooter that i've assembled is a very solid support to mount your camera, offset, and handles. You only really need one handle, but I have two there mainly acting as a kickstand when I need to set it down. If you've got those firm silicone pads on your rig now, take the cheap $24 dollar shoulder mount out for a test drive, you might be surprised.

shoulder-support
find-price-button Shoulder Support Pad for Video Camcorder Camera DV / DC

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Ok, just to say I tried, here's a video trying to explain what I do to balance a stabilizer like the Glidecam or Flycam. This is one video I never wanted to do, because there are so many good ones already on the web. If you can find the videos on how to balance a Glidecam, that's pretty much the same thing for the Flycam. There is one thing those other videos don't talk about, and you'll hear me stress this several several times in the video. This most worthy tip comes in after 5:20 when I talk about moving the sled slightly upwards to reduce that awful rocking motion while you walk. The biggest problem with people trying to balance stabilizers is that they believe they need to really load up on the bottom weight to get the camera to stand upright. That's not true at all. You'll notice I begin to dial things in when my stabilizer is slightly at an angle. Once the stabilizer is at an angle, DO NOT ADD MORE WEIGHTS! Start adjusting the top stage to center the camera. If you can't seem to balance the camera by moving it on the stage, remember that the bottom weights can also be shifted back and forth to get the camera to stick upright.

Ok, now that the camera is upright and you think you have it ready to fly, check to see if it starts swaying. If the stabilizer is swaying side to side (like a boat in the ocean), then move the sled just millimeters upwards. Try try again and do it by just millimeters at a time. For the Steadicam Merlin - you will need to adjust the 'arch'. If you own one, you'll know what i'm talking about. The Arch is similar to the Glidecam Sled. Lower it and you'll be making it more bottom heavy. Close the Arch and you'll make it 'less bottom heavy'. For the Steadicam Merlin and Steadicam JR, you can also 'unthread' the Gimbal Handle. This is a design that Steadicam uses to change the center balance ever so slightly by unscrewing the handle. Balancing stabilizers takes patience and practice. Of course a few prayers and a three wolf moon shirt might help you get there faster.

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Well, I knew the Asus WiCast wasn't very demanding in Voltage or Amperage. Grabbed a couple of electronic battery boxes that hold 4 AA batteries to add up to around 6volts, cut the wire off the power adapter, and i'm in business. I had a feeling it didn't need to be a perfect 5Volts and the 4 AA's that up to 6V probably can't sustain that voltage anyhow. How long is the run-time? Not sure yet, just testing things out, but very happy that i'm on my way to some DIY HD Streaming video action. The original article posted here: http://cheesycam.com/streaming-hd-video-ouput-wirelessly/

[Update Video]

asus-wicast
find-price-button ASUS WiCast Wireless HD Video Transmitter and Receiver

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Quick release adapter questions are always coming in, and I really have no answer except for the Manfrotto RC2, 357, or 577. They aren't cheap, but if you're already using a ton of Manfrotto products these adapters might work into your workflow.

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find-price-button Manfrotto 323 RC2 Rapid Connect Adapter with 200PL-14 Quick Release Plate - Replaces 3299 (Black)

357
find-price-button Manfrotto 357 Rapid Connect Adapter with Sliding Mounting Plate 357PL - Replaces 3273

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find-price-button Manfrotto 577 Rapid Connect Adapter w/Sliding Mounting Plate (3433PL)

Ok, so I did some additional searching and found this new QR adapter. I actually ordered it a while back, but it took it's time getting here. I didn't wanna talk about it until I knew the real build quality. Oh how many items go unsaid on this blog, you have no idea. Now that it's in my hands, it's actually very nice, and i'm ready to share this one to you guys. It's a solid metal build all the way around with two bubble levels. The whole adapter is a fairly thin profile and comes with a snappy spring loaded release clip. Careful, when you lock the plate in place, that clip snaps back pretty quick. I caught my finger on it and it's pretty strong. It's a wide base, and I use it to cover the entire base of my battery grip. I find it feels like a more solid mount this way, but if you're not using a battery grip, you may want to use it the long direction to get to your battery compartment. It's a very nice and cheaper solution than those Manfrotto adapters, especially for all the stabilizers and other DIY projects you might be working on.

quick-release-adapter
find-price-button Cheap Quick Release Adapter + Quick Release Plate

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I know I know. You're sick of hearing about the Nano and I said I wasn't going to show any sample footage of this uber cheap video stabilizer with the 7D + Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8. My first video was to show people that it does work with this weight, and I think I did accept a challenge. Every few minutes someone is saying it won't work because the weight would exceed what is listed on the product specs. Well after I shot the last video showing it was balanced, it worked so well, I had to do an example. In fact, I think some of you would be upset if you didn't see this next video. It handles superbly at this weight, and it can carry more. Believe me, i've played with many stabilizers. For something so cheap i'm surprised at the handling in this next video where I abuse the #$%^& out of it. I throw it around, spin it, whip it, whatever I could do to shake it around. Just to show there's no camera tricks, I threw a mirror in the studio. You can hear the wind pass the camera microphone as I toss the unit forward and back. Warning, it's quite dizzying footage but I wanted to show something more than just a casual walk. The demo stabilizer video was also shot in one take so there's no picking out just the 'nice footage'. This is a real look into how this thing flies with the Canon 7D + Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8.


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find-price-button Tokina 11-16mm Wide Angle Zoom

And since I know there will be additional questions about the Canon 5D Mark II, I balanced that too. The Tokina 11-16mm doesn't work on the full frame camera, so I threw on the Sigma 20mm F/1.8. This combination is actually lighter than the 7D + Tokina combo, so I needed to move the post higher up (making it less bottom heavy). The weights and all the configuration was still basically the same and I only needed to move the post upwards by about an inch.

And who ever threw me the challenge, let me know if this qualifies as a win? LOL. Check out the related article here: http://cheesycam.com/canon-7d-tokina-11-16mm-will-she-fly/