After posting about the possible Double L bracket stabilizer idea, Dave Taylor over at DaveTaylorMP.com shares a few images of his Double L Bracket setup with what looks like a Canon 550D / T2i. He's using the Video Camera Light Bracket - by alzodigital.com which has two cold shoe mounts. He mentions that he also added the Trek Tech T Pod Table-Top Tactical Tripod With Magmount Star to his configuration for a simple Shooter rig with an extra handle. His inspiration for this came from TheC47.com video below. Check it out, looks pretty cool if you can't afford the RedRock Micro theEvent Rig.
I'm still looking to mount two L brackets but with an Aluminum flat bar in between to make the handles more level, and a QR adapter dead center. Maybe i'll change that center AL bar into a 'T' bar so that I can support both a QR adapter and room for the T-Pod configuration. Thanks for sharing Dave!
Update: Reader Chuckarama just sent in this Flat bracket that looks like it will do the job in between the L brackets. Should be able to mount a QR plate and still be Tripod mountable. Great job Chuckarama! Let me know how that comes out when you're done.
Well it was just a matter of time. As we see it, technology changes every few months weeks. It's hard to keep up with all the great new upgrades going on, but luckily we have a lot of readers submitting information to this website. Thanks to phoSumpro.com for this information, Lilliput's new 7" HDMI capable monitor now rocks a few new tricks. Many of these new features won't be used in DSLR world, but the best new feature is it's Internal Battery. Yes, the HDMI monitor now comes with Internal Battery. This would be a better fit for my Steadicam work should I choose to mount it.
click image
The new 7" Lilliput also throws down some BNC and YPbPr connections as well as the usual HDMI + AV. There's also a short sun shade that fits nicely over the top, although i'm not sure how effective that would be. I guess it would be a good starting point to hard epoxy our own DIY shade so that it can be removed and installed whenever we want. It does claim to be a newer model with 'Higher Brightness', but i'm already sold on the internal battery option. This thing looks fairly new, and I can only track down 2 auctions. One comes with a hotshoe mount, but the shipping looks high. The other is a straight up deal + free shipping. Check out the Lilliput 7" HMDI & BNC & YPbPr & Internal Battery
I was cruising the web and ran into Jared Abrams from Cinema5D.com showcasing the Swintronix PowerBase 70 Power Pack for the Canon 5D Mark II & Canon 7D. This is a pretty cool solution for those who are concerned about battery power and want to make sure you're running all day. Not a bad price for a unit that claims to hold the same power as 5-6 Canon LP-E6 batteries, and also has output options to power other equipment too.
Most people might not remember this, but long ago Digital Cameras used standard AA batteries, not rechargeable Lithiums. Battery technology was poor and run time was terrible, so you really tried not reviewing your images on the LCD. I remember owning an older camera that had the option to plug into an AC outlet. The brick converted AC back into DC for the camera. So I fashioned up a relative Voltage RC Car battery as my mobile power source. Worked great, dirt cheap, fast recharging, and lasted much longer than AA batteries. Ask around, you'll be surprised how many photographers are using RC car batteries for many projects.
Note: Don't follow my Lead. This could be a disastrous project.
My mind is wandering and I'm going to stir up some thought here about a possible DIY power pack for the Canon 5D Mark II. Taking a peek at the Swintronix PowerBase 70, I believe it has a rating for 14 volts but the Canon LP-E6 Battery is only rated at 7.2 volts. This sounds like there are (2) 7 volt batteries in this PowerBase. The 14 volts can be offered if these two 7 volt batteries are run in Series. Extended run times can be offered if these two 7 volt batteries are run in Parallel.
Here's the simple parts needed for a possible DIY Power Pack for the Canon 5D Mark II or 7D. First a way to connect power into the Camera. Available is an aftermarket ACK-E6 AC Power Adapter designed specifically for LP-E6 cameras like the 5D Mark II & 7D. This very specific adapter seperates from the 'Brick' leaving you with a simple adapter, not to be confused with the ones that don't seperate from the power brick. I won't need the brick, just the Battery adapter part with short wire lead.
click image
Second, just one 7.4v Lithium Rechargeable Battery will do the job powering up the camera, but if I want longer run times, i'll need to run two 7.4v batteries in Parallel. The single Canon LP-E6 Battery is rated at approx 7v 1800mah -aftermarket batteries around 1500mah. To make this worth carrying around, each 7.4v battery should have at least twice the milliamp hour rating if not more. The battery image below shows almost double the milliamp hour rating from the stock battery, so it's possible it may last twice as long. click image
Outside of those two parts, i'd need to take a short trip to Radio Shack for some wire adapter to mate the two, a decent looking electronics project box for the enclosure, and 7.4v battery charger for RC cars to recharge. I think it's quite possible to create a DIY Power Pack for the Canon 5D Mark II or 7D for a Total price roughly under $125 dollars. I really don't see why I need to make something like this, i'm just thinking out loud as usual.
Talking about new stuff and pre-orders, looks like Fuji is not giving up on their Real 3D line of digital cameras. The (soon to be available) new W3 will be offering 720HD video shot with nicely spaced dual lenses for that Sterescopic setup. Looks like a fun camera, and would be quite interesting to see the 3D effect when playing back on a big screen.
YouTube does support 3D playback in a variety of different ways including the cross-eyed method if you don't have a pair of Blue and Red Captain EO glasses. This new HD video model has been redesigned and still photos will also have an option for fancy 3D Prints. I'm on the look out for any videos that will be posted onto YouTube or Vimeo and i'm curious to see if we'll be able to enjoy it on the Internet with those funky glasses.
If you're wondering if this is already possible with DSLR's, I posted an article a while back about some different 3D options for DSLR's found here.
In reference to my recent post about the new Nikon Replica Lens Mug with Zoom capability that I received, here's some images. The details on these replicas are incredible. Also there's some images of my other Canon Replica Lens mugs. The 24-105mm Lens mug you see in the gallery is the old one. The new Canon 24-105mm F/4 Replica Lens mug now has a stainless steel insert. Images were shot in my Product Cocoon with a Canon 580 EX II speedlight on each side triggered by my Canon ST-E2 transmitter. Images are a bit underexposed, but it's about midnight, and hopefully these should be good enough to give you an idea of the quality and detail of the Nikon 24-70mm Replica Zoom Lens Coffee Mug with Stainless Steel insert
So many new product announcements this month, and still more to come. Rumors are Canon will make some really big announcements this month, maybe in a few days, regarding new camera lineups. I'm excited for that, but who knows if it's going to be products that are as affordable as the Canon T2i. There is supposedly rumors of a Canon 60D, which will sit in the middle of the T2i and 7D. Not sure what features would make this Canon 60D fall 'in between', the video features of the T2i are already so close to the 7D. It's possible it could be more Photography enhanced features.
The Zoom H1 is 'supposed' to be released in 3 days, but there's been a lot of speculation. I've emailed Samson a few times and they've always nailed down the August 20th release date. Even if it is released by August 20th, it will be a rare item to find 'in stock'. There's a new auction on eBay taking pre-orders for this item and there are quite a bit of sales. I can't wait to start testing this with different LAV microphones. Certain times the whole Wireless LAV setup is overkill, more expensive, requires extra gear, and possibility for more things to go wrong. There are many situations where this tiny recorder could be mounted as a body pack for getting close up quality audio from your subject. I placed my order long long ago, but we'll see what comes about in the next 3 days......
About 2 months ago JJ @ OrangeWeddingFilms.com posted a video stating he was going to put together a test between the Canon 24-70mm F/2.8, Sigma 24-70mm F/2.8, and the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 in Video use. Looks like he's posted a few first samples just yesterday and in some cases you do see difference in Contrast, color, and sharpness. I personally like the Canon 24-70mm F/2.8, but if you're happy with the results, you can save a bit of money on the other non Canon brands. Here's the break down on lenses, prices, and what you're comparing.
To follow up on his first review against these lenses, i've owned them all at one point. I still have the Canon 24-70mm F/2.8. Sigma makes some really great lenses, I still rock my Sigma 20mm all the time. I started with the Sigma 24-70mm F/2.8 before my Canon L, using it for photography. Compared to the Canon it was slower on auto focus, more noise when focusing, and problems with communication when using Infrared metering from my Speedlite. This is when I upgraded to the Canon 24-70mm F/2.8 L. The Sigma 24-70mm F/2.8 of course is half the price of the Canon 24-70mm, so if you're looking for a strictly Video lens with this range, all these quirks might not be a problem for you. If you're a hybrid shooter of both Photo and Video, you'll get better performance and image quality from the Canon.
I'm not going to get deep into the Tamron lens, I love Tamron lenses like my 18-270mm as my travel lens choice, but if you're going to be dealing with the weather, this is where the Canon 24-70mm L lens proves it's worth. Many of the cheaper lenses provide decent image quality at an affordable price, but lack the weather sealing, quiet motor, and fast autofocus. I had problems with an earlier lens (I won't mention any brands) shooting in light fog which crept into my lens and pretty much ruined it with moisture from the inside. Again, if you're just doing strictly video and not worried about auto focus noise & weather, you'll find great deals in the Sigma and Tamron brands, and also Tokina which isn't part of this test because they don't have a lens available in this range.
Update: Just confirmed with JJ that his test was using the older Sigma 24-70mm F/2.8. There is another more silent and higher end 24-70mm F/2.8 HSM priced at about $899.00 from Sigma that has not been tested. This is said to be a close rival to the Canon 24-70mm F/2.8. click image to find at bhphotovideo.com
So friend of mine recently picked up a T2i only for Photography and no interest in Video. Most of the shots he's been sharing is all related to close up nature / macro type images. There's several things he can probably improve upon such as shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings, but he's learning. Another great item to really boost the color, focus, and sharpness with Macro photography is Flash Lighting. Macro flashes are designed to throw the light evenly around a small subject providing almost shadowless lighting. Of course you have to be pretty serious about Macro photography before you getting into the flashes, as the good ones like the Canon MF-14EX TTL (above) will easily run you over $400 dollars.
If you want to go a bit cheaper with off the shelf gear, there are some options such as the Ray Ring flash adapter that bend the light from your normal Speedlite. This item sits over your existing Flash. The Ray Ring will still run you about $199.95. There's obviously clones to everything these days and you can find Ray Ring Flash clones (probably not the same build quality) called O flashes for around $32.00 dollars (below).
O Flash Macro Ring Light
If you're on the cheap cheap like me, this all reminded me of that very old DIY Ring-Flash article and got me inspired to try my hand at it. I'm sure he's not ready to dish out quite so much money, so maybe I can whip something up for him to get better photos on the cheap. This thing looks pretty effective.
Oh yeah, i'm a Canon guy through and through, but I got a thing for toys. Just received the Nikon Telephoto Zoom Lens 24-70mm Stainless Steel mug and my friends are already drooling over it. It's quite nice, and gives me an idea for what some of these less fortunate Nikon shooting friends of mine would receive for Christmas or Birthdays. As far as shipping goes for this product, HOLY COW that was fast. I'm normally waiting weeks and weeks to get stuff like this in, but this one came in very quickly. Big ups to this Seller of Souvenir Canon and Nikon mugs, definitely a store to order from. I'll get home and take some nice up close macro product shots to share tonight.
Lilliput 7" HDMI LCD for DSLR with Internal Rechargeable Battery
