Videography Gadgets

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igus-carrier-diy-slider
Now available at Amazon.com - click image

Igus is the manufacturer of the popular Drylin W Linear Guide rail. Linear guide rails are seen in robotics and manufacturing type machines and associated with lube and grease, not good for cameras. This design uses 'Dry Bearings' so it was natural that this rail exploded onto the DSLR Video scene as one of the most widely used rails for DIY camera sliders AND by actual retailers of Camera sliders. From what many are saying, the early adopters for this rail call this the 'ZaZa Slider' and you'll find a group on Vimeo from people making it from Igus rails.

You can see this same basic rail design in Glidetrack, Kessler, and others. When I first created my DIY Camera slider, I had to call IGUS in Ireland, figure out the exact parts I needed, and have it shipped from overseas. Looks like so many camera manufacturers have been using their rail, Igus is now hip to DSLR video, and they are now posting an item at Amazon.com specifically as a 'Camera slider'. The nice thing in this image is the new side clamp on the carrier designed to lock the carrier in place. I was using old hand clamps to keep mine from shifting as I was transporting.

You can check out my DIY Slider in this video to see what this whole thing looks like put together. There was a bit of drilling needed to get the rail onto the tripod, and a bit of drilling to get the Fluid head onto the Igus Carrier, but very easy material to work with. Take my advice and don't get 4 feet of rail. It's nice and fun, but soooo long it's akward to carry it around. You'll be better off with 2 feet, 3 feet MAX. Well thanks to Igus, it looks like they are making things a bit more streamlined for us DIY'ers interested in building our own camera slider with a straight purchase to the complete set. Below is a link to the most popular one they are saying, but here's a link to More Igus Camera Slider Rails.

Product Description
Modular DryLin® W linear guides ensure a smooth, lubrication-free gliding motion for camera slider systems. Used by manufacturers of high-quality, complete systems, as well as individual DIY video enthusiasts seeking individual components for camera dollies and camera slider assemblies.

Our most popular camera slider size. Includes 1,000mm-long guide rail (39.4") with 9 holes evenly spaced and a 100mm-long carriage plate. Carriage plate features 4 low-friction plastic bearings for smooth and quiet operation, as well as extra bolts to prevent misalignment.

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canon-nikon-sony-eyecup-upgrades
click image

Opening up a new article here, hopefully we'll get some comments in that will provide for anyone seeking information on upgrading to these DSLR Eyecups. This blog has really expanded to include a 'Woot' & 'Yahoo Answers' type model, so i'm trying to include different posts and keep things interesting. I'm seeing more Photographers upgrading their standard Eyecups to these DSLR Eyecup Upgrades. It does look very comfortable for landscape shots, I personally don't use these and wonder how comfortable they would be flipping into Portrait mode. There's also magnified versions available that supposedly give you a better view through the glass viewfinder. Starting at only $2.99 + Free shipping, I guess I can always order and see for myself.

Has anyone been using these items?
How comfortable are they?
Which version of this do you have?

There's also some information circling about these Magnified DSLR Eyepiece / Eyecups that take a note from LCD Viewfinders and magnify the image to give you a better field of view and possibly sharper focus. The most popular brand name coming around is Tenpa.

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tenpa-eyecup-eyepiece
click image

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rapid-double-strap
handstrap-double-camera-strap

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:
double-strap-q-strap

Second the Camera Hand Strap:
camera-hand-strap

Third the Manfrotto 394 Quick Release Plate:
manfrotto-394-quick-release

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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transcend-iphone-mount (4)transcend-iphone-mount (3)

Referencing my post here: http://cheesycam.com/transcend-32gb-400x-compact-flash-cards-on-order/

Well these cards are in, and i'll be working them this weekend. Hopefully everything goes off without a hitch, but thanks to all the comments i'm pretty confident it will work out for me. I'm hoping they definitely are as fast as they say they are, because it's such a great price I just had to give it a try and grabbed 4 pieces + next day shipping for this busy weekend. One thing a friend mentioned was that he noticed the video starts much faster with these cards once the button is pressed, over the slower cards which sometimes takes a quick second before the Red Light starts going. Not sure, but i'll find out and will probably post up more information on these 400x bad boys after the weekend on my results.

transcend-32GB-400x
find-price-button Transcend 400x 32GB Compact Flash Media

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transcend-iphone-mount (2)

This just came in today from https://iphone-tripodholder.com.

iphone-tripod-holder

Yes, you might think this is silly (unless you're Zacuto), but I have some small (just for fun) projects that will be shot on the iPhone and needed a very lightweight, fast, slim mount to get the iPhone onto a Tripod - Not to mention cheap too. Now before you start commenting on those DIY mods using car mount with flexible necks or cell phone holders, keep in mind you'd still have to modify a 1/4 x 20 threaded insert and you won't get quite the slim profile as this item. I've also been poking around eBay and those car mounts really aren't that cheap. I'm rocking the iPhone 3Gs, but this little mount also works on the new iPhone 4 (for you lucky devils). There's a slot for the camera lens if you decide to use it in reverse for some reason. (Images Below)

Slides in, and slides out, holds very well via rubber inserts in the channel. The provided threaded insert will work nicely with Barska Grip + Mini Giottos Ball head for some landscape action. I'm also planning on making a Gimbal type steadicam for iPhone and this mount will be a big help. I'll be toying with this over the weekend, see what I come up with. The iPhone-Tripod Holder can be found here at https://iphone-tripodholder.com

iPhone-Tripod Holder Shown with iPhone 4
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A while back I did a demo using a Glidecam HD4000, and my most recent video the Glidecam HD1000. I found that if I wanted to fly a bit more weight than the HD1000 and less weight than the HD4000, my next stabilizer review would be the in between Glidecam HD2000 (right smack in between). I did do a short video on the Glidecam 2000 Pro which totally misses the mark on the fine tuning knobs available on the HD series.

Michael Sato over at DSLRUniversity.com beat me to an official Glidecam HD2000 review. He's got a sample BTS video out on the Raley Field - Sacramento Rivercats where he flexes his 'strumph' flying without a vest. I think my knees would have given out on me if I tried that for very long. To follow up, he's got a full page article written up with more detailed information about the Glidecam HD2000. So between the few reviews i've shown for the HD4000 & HD1000, and the DSLRUniversity.com review on the HD2000, you should have enough resources to find out what might work best for you.

Here is the Glidecam HD 1000
Here is the Glidecam HD 2000
Here is the Glidecam HD 4000

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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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iphone-diy-cinema

Rick Q. over at www.rcqcreativeworks.com shared with us his DIY Plug Wire Clamp Shooter earlier in the month, and now showcases his latest work for his new iPhone 4. Great idea for steady video and photos. If you really need a handle to go with your iPhone, I don't think there's anything out there as classy at this DIY budget. These Plug Clamps are sure showing lots of use in the DIY DSLR community thanks to the original designs sent in by Johan. Another popular DIY Plug Wire Clamp DSLR rig was sent in by Derek using Carbon rods. You can find that one here.

Update: Shortly after, Herb shows off his DIY iPhone cinema handle. With tilt action and beefy foam grip. Herb has also dropped hints of a more streamlined version coming soon. Enjoy the madness fun around these iPhone handles.
SmartHand