Videography Gadgets

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ggs-550d

Whoa! Big ups to Jeff Pepito, for this awesome new product. Jeff mentions his is on it's way, and hopefully he'll do a review for us when it comes in over at https://jeffpepito.com.

Doesn't that image above look OEM and sexy? We've all been going back and forth about LCD Viewfinders falling off, and how mounting it with these sticky frames just aren't cutting it. After a period of time, the adhesion from the metal frames will eventually wear out, and umm..putting a stronger adhesive on can damage your cameras LCD (not a good thing).

Just a few days ago people shared the idea of using an LCD 'Shade', breaking off the plastic tabs, and permanently gluing the the Viewfinder. This seems to be a popular solution I continued to suggest, but there's a new product in town!

With or without an LCD Viewfinder, why would you even go without having something like this? It's glass, it protects your cameras LCD, it's not plastic like the LCD hood shades, and it's cheap! Apparently they even put alot of effort into the quality of the glass to ensure optimal clarity (there's a whole bunch of graphs and mumbo jumbo clarity tests). If you look closely at the above image, it also seems to have a cutout for the T2i / 550D 'Proximity Sensor', definitely nice crafting. Well played glass LCD protector......well played indeed...

Features:
* Manufactured from 0.5mm ultra-thin optical glass with at least 90% light transmission to ensure maximum clarity.
* explosion-proof film that ensure maximum resistance to impact damage ( up to 12kg/cm2) , preventing damage to the rear LCD.
* Specially treated to maximise hardness and durability to resist scratching.
* The durable black ABS surround is designed to blend in with the camera ensuring that the protector remains a discrete but effective accessory.
* Anti-fog and anti-dust designed viewfinder, good for your photography.
* Easy to fit, remove and re-fit at any time. Supplied with a handy storage box.

*Oh new found glass lcd protector - you had me at Scratch resistant, Anti Fog, and Explosion-Proof film.

So if you're going to rock one (two or three) of these to protect your camera(s), it will act as the 'Perfect' mount for any LCD view finder metal sticky frame permanently attached. Clear quality glass, and a quality fix to prevent those poor adhesive frames from falling off ever again. You can find the variety of these Glass LCD protectors for Canon and Nikon by clicking here.

ggs-canon-dslrggs-glass-lcd-protection
find-price-button Glass LCD Screen Protector Available for 5D Mark II, 7D, and yes people even the 550D / T2i

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Wow pretty overwhelming day already. Just received the Tiffen Steady Stick and the Glidecam HD1000 I posted about earlier. The Steady Stick isn't really anything fancy and pretty straight forward about how it works. I will run through some of the details of their build quality and features a little. The Glidecam HD1000 is really the one I want to dig into. It's much more expensive and quite large than say a Hague or IndieHardware (which i'm reviewing today), but it's just another option in the line of moving DSLR stabilizers I wanted to share with everyone. Hopefully i'll get these video reviews knocked out soon enough.

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cheap-flexible-tripod
click image for Large Flexible DSLR tripod

I don't think I need to drop any names, but it's obvious what this product mimics. Thanks to a tip from 'Nick', this is the cheapest version i've seen online. Take note, that this is the 10" version for DSLR's. Original versions of this run approximately $39.95 +, while this Large Flexible Tripod sits in around $11.88 + Free shipping. I've seen flexible tripods like this over at Keeble & Schucat in Palo Alto. It's pretty beefy and hard to bend. This definitely is not a bad deal. I may have to grab a couple for my Canon 580 EX II Speedlights to hang them around doors, ceiling fans, bed posts, etc. Might even come in handy with that new Zoom H1??

cheap-flexible-tripod-buy

Peep the cheap - 10" Flexible Large Tripod for DSLR SLR + Free Shipping

[Thanks Nick]

• 4 Comments

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calumet-transforming-tripod

I can see myself having one of these attached to my Canon SX210 IS Point and Shoot camera as an extra handle for stability or setting it down on a table when i'm having dinner. This could come in handy as the handles for my Johan Rig too allowing me to set the rig down. Very neat little monopod-table top tripod-handle. Not a bad price on sale for $16.99 at Calumet.

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DIY LCD Viewfinder for Canon T2i from Marc Schreibman on Vimeo.

I think this is officially the first DSLR DIY i've seen where there was a 3D Printer involved. Sure it's a bit larger than the LCDVF, possibly to compensate for the step up filters used for magnification. I don't know about you guys, but i'd love to see that 3D printer actually working. Enjoy the awesome work from Marc Schreibman on Vimeo, and thanks Dave for the tip! This is a really cool DIY.

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LoupeTalk DIY Adapter for Hoodman Loupe from emmagination on Vimeo.

A couple of people have commented about how their LCD Viewfinders can lose adhesion from the metal frame to the LCD glass. Just wanted to remind everyone about an old video I posted a while back that might be a good solution by permanently (epoxy) attaching the LCD Viewfinder to an LCD Hood Shade. Originally this video was for the Hoodman since I thought the LCDVF had a decent solution, but appears even the LCDVF sticky frame can cause problems. There's even a shade available now for the Canon 550D / T2i so that you can quickly mount and dismount the LCD Viewfinders. You can find the LCD Shades for the Canon 550D / T2i for as low as $12.50 + Free Shipping here.

lcd-shade-canon-550d
click image

• 20 Comments

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camcorder-camera-stabilizerhague-mini
click images to find prices

Shown (left) is the IndieHardware Stabilizer and (right) is the Hague MMC - Mini Motion Cam Stabilizer. As you might know, i've showcased the Hague MMC a few times and the most popular video of mine is the T2i Demo on the Hague MMC. Well I do mention that it's just about at it's limits with the stock kit lens 18-55mm and wouldn't be able to balance anything more. I've seen the IndieHardware Stabilizer many many times, but obviously both designs look similar, so I put it off as just another replica. Looking more carefully at the information within the auctions on eBay for the Indiehardware stabilizer, details claim it's beefier and can carry much more weight. So of course an actual smack down review between the two was necessary.

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After receiving the item today, the first thing I noticed was it was indeed beefy. It looks to be a 1/4" thick aluminum with a very clean bend. The handle doesn't have the range of a Steadicam Merlin, but it does attach via a retaining clip (unlike Hague), so it appears there's no way this handle is coming apart. A big problem with the Hague handle if you pull it hard enough it just pops right off. Another big difference is the double weight stack (seen in my images above). Wow, this thing looks like it's going to balance double the weight compared to the Hague MMC. The price also lists for similar if not 'Cheaper' than the Hague MMC and for us USA guys, the IndieHardware ships from the United States so it's less shipping costs and faster to receive. So far IndieHardware doesn't just marginally beat out the Hague, it should be in a class of it's own 'above' the Hague MMC.

I'm not a fan of the raw polished aluminum (i'd rather black) but I guess something has to differentiate this from a Hague. Also an anodized coating or powder coating of black can run up product costs quickly. I can always put a coating of flat black myself and still save a ton of dollars rather than stepping into a Steadicam Merlin (approx 6 times the price). I'll get some video footage up soon with a couple of different cameras, and let you all know how that goes. You can find the IndieHardware DSLR Camera Stabilizer and prices through this link here. 

camcorder-camera-stabilizer
click images to find prices

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lcdvf-replica-poland
click image

Alright this post is a little weird. A tip from Cheesycam reader 'Tony', pointed me out to this EXACT replica of the original LCDVF now available on eBay. I mean dead on exact, and LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE! Looks like some of those plans leaked out, and now a company in Poland is manufacturing these on their own. Wait wait wait!!! Isn't the original LCDVF from Poland and the guy who makes the LCDVF go by the name Tony too?? Don't quote me on all this, but I have a feeling it's really the LCDVF coming out of the same manufacturing plant.

Yeah i'm not sure where this is all going just yet, but this "replica" of the LCDVF is going for a ridiculously cheap price + FREE Shipping for any LCD Viewfinder, so i'm not here to complain. Everything about this unit seems to match the original. Even the 2x magnification. All of the auctions appear to be no less than 5 days old from the same seller (in Poland). From what I can tell about 17 of them have already sold in the last 5 days so it's picking up a bit of steam. The seller has an awesome reputation on sales, so maybe we're just all getting hooked up with some super cheap prices on what could be the original LCDVF?? If anyone grabs one, let us know how that turns out. Check out this LCD Viewfinder that looks like an exact replica of the LCDVF.

The kit comes with:

  • viewfinder with an eye cup and magnifying lens 
  • 2x magnetic mounting bracket
  • microfiber cloth to keep your lens clean
  • mini-strap
  • neoprene casing with a snap hook

LCD-VF100-set
click image

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dslr-rig-ebay
shoulder-rig-ebay

Wow, adding everything up on this rig, it's pretty much a sweet deal. No hassles in building and configuring your own DSLR setup, this listing has it all and ready to ship. Complete shoulder mount, tripod blocks, 1 follow focus for Focus pulls, 1 follow focus for Zoom pulls, A bunch of Focus Rings, (not shown) Waist belt + rod support, Matte Box, Shotgun Microphone, LCD Monitor + battery pack, JuiceBox to kill that AGC, LED Light panel, and more!

I was hesitant to post this up because for a split second I thought I should just buy it, and sell off some of my old gear to make up for the difference. There was one important calculation that prevented me from clicking the 'Buy It Now' button. After figuring out the time it would take to sell off my old items, effort to hide this from the wifey, time it would take to replace missing bank account funds, and the cost of divorce fees should I be caught randomly purchasing items.....Basically I can't afford it (right now). If your calculations are much different than mine, check out the full details and descriptions of the items bundled with this beast at the eBay listing. Check out this awesome complete DSLR Shoulder Mount rig available at eBay auction.

Note: I don't know this seller, and am not vouching for the validity of this auction.