Photography Gadgets

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OK, the first part of the video is me testing out the Sony SLTA55 and it's Auto Focus and Auto Exposure features. I'm not a fan of 'Auto Exposure', but as you can see the 'Auto Focus' kicks butt and works pretty fast. Not ideal for every situation, and with lots of movement happening in front of the camera, it might be a bit distracting. If you wanted to compare, I would say that it does work very very well though (much better than Nikons Auto Focus in Video).

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Second part, which is really the main point of this video is to show the changes that Meike has undergone in it's LCD Viewfinder product. They released an updated 'look' of their popular viewfinders, but pretty much kept the same quality. If you find the original version of their LCDVF look-alike version, that might be old inventory. Here's the new stuff which they've released to address any design copy issues.

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Glass feels the same, still works great, and the body is of the same weight and aspect ratio. The eyepiece cup has changed a bit as to be slightly different from it's Evil brother, and i'm not sure if it's just me, but the magnets seem to be much stronger against the metal frames. These are the new products, a bit pricier than their first product release, but still nice to see they are cheaper than the big time stuff out there.


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find-price-button New Meike LCD View Finder for 3" DSLR LCD's

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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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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)

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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.

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find-price-button Cheap Quick Release Adapter + Quick Release Plate

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Here's a couple of differences Letus has come up with since first introducing their Hawk VF DSLR View finder. The earliest model came in a Carbon Fiber body with a hard mounted camera belly plate. The original Hawk VF was also designed for the normal 3" LCD found on the Canon 5D Mark II, 7D, and for other cameras with a similar sized LCD. The new Hawk VF lineup now comes in both Carbon Fiber and a black Aluminum body (I like the black Aluminum), has added more products to meet the correct size of the Canon T2i 3/2 LCD size (or even Canon 60D). The new lineup of Hawk VF's also come with a Quick Release belly plate to make using your camera in both video mode and photography mode quite easy by removing the Hawk VF. If you're rocking the battery pack on a Canon 5DM2 or 7D, there's an optional adapter for that too. I don't think these LCD's were ever marketed towards Canon 60D owners, but I found it perfect for mine. With the Canon 60D's swivel screen, you can see why i'm using this setup instead of sticky metal frames normally used with other view finders. I'm still able to flip the LCD backwards into the camera to protect the glass. I like the hard mount that keeps it from falling off, and the quick release option should I need to swing out the LCD or use the camera's eyepiece for Photography.

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Aluminum Letus Hawk VF

The Hawk VF's plate has a flush mounting screw to hold onto the camera, and still allow threads for to mount your tripods quick release plate (should you need one). This same plate is also designed to work with the ever growing accessories from Letus like the Rod system, and DSLR cages. The Letus design also allows you to migrate from one body to the next simply by removing the glass eyepiece, should you decide to use it on a different camera with a different size LCD, or if you want to change out the 'finish' of the VF from Carbon Fiber to the Aluminum version. It's a fine crafted piece of equipment that won't ever see landfill that's for sure. This materials used on the VF make this a solid product to take any type of abuse you can throw at it and should last you for years. You can check out more about Letus and the DSLR accessories over at https://LetusDSLR.com or even hit them up at their Twitter @letusdirect.

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If you missed the announcement, RadioPopper is holding a 'video' contest. RadioPopper makes some super fast wireless flash triggers, and some that maintain communication between the camera & flash without line of sight requirements. With that communication they are one of the rare triggers to support High Speed Sync wirelessly. Don't worry, the contest is not a difficult one where you need to show off award winning Photography skills. Just 30 seconds of showing or explaining your best photography lighting tips. They mention you can do this right from your basic webcam if needed. Since I have several RadioPopper PX's myself, I think i'll have to join in on this one. You can find more information at the link: https://www.radiopopper.com/contest

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The LP-E6 is the battery type used in the Canon 60D, 7D, and Canon 5D Mark II. This AC power adapter will power your camera from any AC outlet. There's usually several cameras going at one time and to compliment the stationary tripod shots in the studio, I decided these AC adapters help save me time from charging batteries. I can use my other batteries for the more mobile cameras. Having constant power to a few cameras is also one less thing to worry about when we've got only two guys manning 4-5 cameras. As you can see the cords are very long, so even without an extension cord, they are quite usable on it's own. These cameras don't require much power, and I verified that it works with my little portable $99 dollar battery pack which should give me more than a full day's worth of power. Extended Timelapse shooting? You'll probably think about something like this. If you're in studio, or even on constant location shoots with a static tripod shot, a battery pack and this ACK-E6 battery adapter is definitely a handy thing to have in the bag in case you run low on batteries....

If you're not using a battery grip, you can get away with some of the inexpensive versions running around $20 dollars. If you're using a battery grip, some of the aftermarket types don't work well and the battery door won't close properly. That's why I went with the OEM.

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find-price-button Canon ACK-E6AC Adapter Kit for Canon 5D Mark II Digital SLR

Canon T2i / 550D owners are in luck, as the OEM ACK-E8 power adapter is much cheaper than the ones for the 60D, 7D, and 5D Mark II.
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find-price-button ACK-E8, AC Adapter Kit for EOS Rebel T2i Digital SLR Camera

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I've received several comments and emails about how well these FD lenses actually work. For those who are chasing that DOF look, old vintage lenses can get you there on a budget. You'll often hear that these lenses aren't as sharp as digital EF mounts, but that's going about it all wrong. Sure they aren't uber sharp, but with moving pictures it can provide a more classic Cinema feel than overly sharp lenses. Many of these lenses can give you this certain artistic look starting at only $20 dollars. I think the best comment left on this blog was 'Take them for what they are'. They can really blow out a background, especially this 200mm prime lens at F/4. Sure you can find lenses at F/1.2 but you have to also factor lens distance, subject focal distance, and background distance from subject. Get the right combination, and F/4 can provide a really nice blurred look to that background. Keep in mind too that the 60D with this FD adapter turns this 200mm into a crazy focal length of 320mm+ at F/4.

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There's a few things I could have done better in this. My white balance was set to Auto, and perhaps if I set it correctly it could have warmed things up. I didn't have an ND filter on so the shutter speed was a bit high. I could have thrown a reflector on the subject to get more balanced lighting under the hat, and a scrim to shade the hot spot. I was also just using the preset Picture style for Portrait on the 60D. I possibly could have shot it in a more flat style and edited in post, but I wanted to show how well the image can be straight from the camera. So hopefully this sample will give you guys an idea of some types of footage that can be achieved. You can find the adapter i'm using back at this article: http://cheesycam.com/the-cheaper-road-to-a-lens-with-f1-2/.

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Click Image for FD Adapter

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Old video - The 24-105mm has been upgraded with Stainless Steel Inserts

If you're out of gift ideas for what to get your camera geek buddies, you may want to check out the Coffee Mug Lens Replicas. I'm all over this one. After the initial release of the Canon 70-200mm F/4 at the Olympics, there's been quite a few new additions of 'Lens Replica Coffee Mugs' including Nikon versions. The Nikon version i'm showing in my gallery actually 'Zooms' in and out, which is quite whimsical. The details on these replicas are incredible with the recent versions being over 95% detailed to match the real deal. The new versions also include stainless steel inserts for hot beverages, perfect for both Camera lovers and Coffee Drinkers. I have quite a few myself which you can check out in the galleries below. The 24-105mm Lens mug you see in my gallery is the old one. The new Canon 24-105mm F/4 Replica Lens mug now has a stainless steel insert and is more accurate in replica details.

Originally these items were crazy over priced upwards of $100 dollars each with rare finds, but now the the trend has died down and there's more sellers available. The new cheaper prices sometimes found for about $10 dollars for these things make for the perfect Christmas gift for any Camera enthusiast. A gift you know won't end up being recycled back to someone else, LOL. You'll find local sellers that can get you one in short time, but if you're looking to get this by the big Holiday for cheap over seas pricing, you may want to pad for some shipping time and order soon.

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find-price-button Nikon Coffee Mug Telephoto Zoom


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find-price-button Canon Lens Mug Coffee Mug Replica Telephoto Zoom