DIY Equipment

• 13 Comments

•

Vimeo member HD Cam Team or at https://hdcamteam.com, is showing off a new prototype USB Controller for Canon DSLRs. In the video they talk about how the newly announced Okii MC1 Mini USB remote can control options in the camera for both photography and video, even something as simple as starting Live View / Start / Stop Video recording. The most interesting part comes at the end of the video when they mention a unique feature 'Extra Auto-start function', which allows you to record video passing the 4GB file size limit. Say goodbye to 12 minute recording times, i'm sold already!

Actually after reading through a bit the exact words used are

"An optional automatic recording restart feature is included, which can stop and restart video recording at 11-minute intervals for long film sequences, or can act as a fail safe."

Sounds like you'll be missing a few frames in between and won't be a seamless integration of two video files. Still better than stopping all together. Hopefully we'll hear more about that too.

The USB Controller is fully compatible with the following cameras:

  • Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
  • Canon EOS 5D Mark II
  • Canon EOS 7D
  • Canon EOS 60D
  • Canon EOS T3i/600D
  • Canon EOS T2i/550D
  • Canon EOS 500D/T1i

    • Okii MC1

    The Okii MC1 mini USB Controller can be had over at https://www.okii.net/product_p/mc1.htm.

    •

    3 years ago, I used two cabinet rails on a DIY slider project for my Canon 5D Mark II (seen here). My version was extremely ugly, pretty large, but very effective in getting smooth movements. Now that the iPhone 4S is a hot little video camera, i'm sure people are looking for a cheap way to get some sliding shots in. Vimeo member Aron Anderson shows how to turn a basic single cabinet rail into an iPhone (or small camera) slider. Example slides can be seen in the video (below). [Thanks Aron]

    • 13 Comments

    •

    parrot-ar-drone-quadcopter

    About a year ago I wrote an article about the Parrot AR Drone (new at the time) and how it would be fun to fly a GoPro HD on it. The biggest limiting factor at the time was that it operated over a WiFi connection to an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad. This gave very limited range and if the connection was lost, the unit would go stray.

    In the recent months there's been plenty of mods and mounts for these inexpensive AR Drone Quadcopters, including 2.4g Radio Control (no more wifi iphone). The mods allow you to fly the units further and higher. Not a perfect solution, but miles ahead of it's original intent to fly on just Wifi alone. Looks like lots of fun. With the new GoProHD Hero 2 quality should be even better. Vimeo member Chad Johnson has some good information in the video (below).

    One of the most important parts you'll need to start (aside from the Drone) is the modified Radio Control kit found below.
    ar-drone-no-iphone
    find-price-button Modified AR Drone 2.4g Radio Kit

    There's plenty of these Parrot Quadcopters being auctioned over at eBay (click here)
    Parrot-QuadCopter
    find-price-button Parrot AR Drone Quadcopter

    You can find additional information about which websites with info and camera mounts over at Chad's video page (click here).

    • 7 Comments

    •

    Most people won't really care about this item, but others might find it useful. It's sold as a wireless remote LED dimmer which supports 9-24V DC input / output 12V. It's actually just a PWM, means it can be used as a cheap speed controller for a servo or motor, and states it's rated up to 8A. Could be a good little gadget for remote control dimming of DIY LED lights, or remote control speed of DIY motorized sliders and dollies. Wonder how well it will work on my motorized Lazy Susan. Starts at about $6 dollars on eBay (click here).

    Wireless PWM Dimmer Remote
    find-price-button Wireless Remote LED Light Dimmer PWM

    • 12 Comments

    •

    Current off the shelf HDMI port savers a.k.a. HDMI Locks for DSLR cameras are quite expensive. Here, Vimeo member Kenrik March shares a simple method to lock down your HDMI cable. The simple clamp will prevent your cable from being shifted left/right/up/down/forward/back. The use of clamps and spud may not line up perfectly with every HDMI output port on every camera, but it's a good starting idea on how you could go about making your own and refining the process. [Thanks Kenrik]

    Cheesycam HDMI lock
    Cheesycam DIY HDMI Lock

    I was actually working on my own version which uses a 15mm OD Collar around an HDMI cable. Once the collar is placed onto the cable, the collar then sits inside a 15mm 90 degree clamp. The clamp obviously can be adjusted to fit any camera in the world, but you'll need a set of rods to use this technique.

    • 6 Comments

    •

    Here's a very simple mod you can do with a Fotopro Transformer tripod or sometimes called the Polaroid All Terrain tripod. Available in ugly chrome and Gunmetal Grey. When choosing, be aware that some packages don't come with all the pieces. It's probably found under several different names too, but basically it's a flexible tripod with swappable feet and uses the standard 1/4x20 thread.

    Parts needed:
    1) Flexible tripod with removable feet
    2) (3pcs) 1.5" 1/4-20 bolts & (3pcs) 1/4-20 jam nut,
    3) (3pcs) basic skate wheels and bearings. Could be Rollerblade or skateboard wheels.
    4) About 30 seconds of time out of your day...

    When unscrewing the feet from these tripods, they are on pretty firm. Don't worry, just wrench them off, they are indeed removable. The 1/4-20 bolt is not a perfect fit (a bit smaller), but it really doesn't matter once it's rolling. Just don't crank down the bearings too tight or the wheel won't move as freely. This particular tripod isn't built for huge cameras, but should do fine for cameras around 3lbs. For anything heavier, I still recommend at least the Pico Flex table Dolly.

    Something like this is perfect for camera sizes like the Sony HX9V or GH2. Find these tripods on both eBay (click here)

    fotopro-tripod
    find-price-button FotoPro Flexible Transformer Tripod – via eBay

    and also via Amazon (click here).

    Transforming-Tripod
    find-price-button FotoPro Flexible Tripod Rubber Suction Spiked Feet - via Amazon

    • 23 Comments

    •

    Looking to start or stop video on your camera remotely? For Canon cameras, this can only be done via compatible infrared remote. It's a nice addition to stick on the handle of your rig so that you don't get those few seconds of unusable video. There's plenty of DIY solutions to route the infrared signal to the camera if the remote needs to be positioned elsewhere. One of those popular methods is by using an Optical Audio cable (like home stereo stuff). These optical cables run the light from the remote to the front of the Canon camera. I just ordered a remote and verified that it does indeed work on both the Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 7D. On the T2i it can fire off photos (no video mode). To initiate video, you'll need to use the S2 button. Total cost was $2.66 + 0.50 cents shipping. Found below (click here).

    start-stop-video-remote
    find-price-button Wireless Shutter Release Remote for Canon EOS

    • 22 Comments

    •

    One of the things that we've been working on for the past few weeks is a motorized, wirelessly controlled Cable Cam a.k.a. Skycam. These rigs fly a camera seamlessly across any distance using a rope line. Under the Cable Cam is a pan-tilt head to maneuver the camera position. We should have started the test without the camera mounted, and needless to say we've got a few bugs to work out!!

    The problem we ran into was using a cheap Traxxas Remote and Receiver (old crystal type). There was too much interference that caused the motor to go out of control. After replacing our remote and receiver with a much more expensive 2.4GHZ version, we were outdoors flying our rig with no problems. Once we have the prototype finalized, we'll get this sucker into production and at the most affordable cost than any other motorized cable cam system on the market. I'm sure this will be something everyone will be excited about....

    cable-cam-prototype (1 of 1)
    Cable-Cam Prototype (can't show you too much...)

    Here's an idea of the type of footage you can achieve with Cable Cam type systems (video below)