Here's a simple way to DIY a Top Handle for your DSLR Video Camera for those low shooting scenes. The hot shoe of these cameras are very capable of mounting this little top handle, but please use common sense as to not overload your setup with bulky rigs. This is mainly a way to carry the camera in it's simplest form. The build is easy and cheap, assembled with common parts you may already have, or find it through the links below.
The Giottos Mini Ball Head is a native 3/8" mount, so you can get a 3/8" adapter, or use the reducer to 1/4" (comes with ball head) and use a 1/4" hot shoe adapter (click here).
Hot Shoe Adapter 3/8 or 1/4 Screw
These handles are all metal, knurled finish for grip, and you can actually stack them together if you want it to be very long. They come in a variety of colors if you want to spice up your aesthetics (click here).
Varavon's latest Tilt Jib Mini Crane is not the most portable system on the market, but the highlight of this product is the ability to tilt the camera when performing vertical movements. Many other jibs will keep the camera horizontal which will cause you to lose tracking of your subject.
The Varavon Tilt Jib comes in it's own travel case, and setting up the system requires no tools. All assembly can be done by hand. The tilt function uses a cable system and requires you to have a strong fluid head and of course tripod system. The Varavon Tilt Jib base kits are available from a small 3ft version to much longer models, or you can always purchase an extension kits later down the line to increase your vertical. You can get more information about the Varavon Mini Tilt Jibs via eBay (click here).
Laing P-03 DSLR Stabilizer. [Thanks Nitsan] This small vide camera stabilizer features a gimbal that can be repositioned on the telescoping post and fine tuning knobs at the top stage for simple balancing typically not found on other entry level systems. Priced at just over $200 dollars and found (here).
I've recently required the need to have more sand bags in my space, so I purchased 20 pcs of these 9" x 10.5" sized Sand Bags. Unless you see them in person, shopping for 'inexpensive sand bags' on the internet might be a hit or miss. All you get is a few photos and not much information, so I thought I would share what i'm using.
The product listing doesn't really provide the exact weight these will be when loaded up, but from my estimates it should be around 20 lbs. each. The material is good lined with a tightly woven plastic like material on the inside so the sand doesn't sift it's way out. Stitching is great and double zippered to prevent them from accidentally opening up - pretty standard quality bags. Now time to make a stop over at the hardware store and pick up a few hundred pounds of Play Sand (for kids sandboxes) and fill them up. Here's a listing to the exact same 9" x 10.5" Sand Bags i've ordered (here).
Lensse is a company that makes very simple and affordable Video camera stabilizers that support iPhones all the way up to heavy DSLR bodies. These stabilizers balance your camera over a ball socket gimbal, attempting to prevent the transfer of shaky hands into the camera while walking, and also keeping your camera level with the horizon. You can see the complete line of stabilizers they offer (here).
Recently Lensse has just announced a new Stabilizer version called the UniqueX. It shares many of the same features at their other line of stabilizers, but the highlight of this new stabilizer is the adjustable Gimbal which can be relocated to the center of balance. Just another way of fine tuning the balance of your setup. Specs state it will support cameras up to 3 lbs and retails for about $100 bucks. Check it out via Amazon (Click Here).
HDSLRNOW.com shares this simple tip to provide shelter from the rain by using a small sheet of specialty waterproof Gore-Tex fabric and a few rubber bands to hold in place. I'm sure you can get lucky with a plastic bag, but Gore-tex is very light weight very durable type of fabric that can take a good amount of use. Not a bad thing to have in the bag when you're working outdoors. You can find this same Gore-Tex material via eBay (click here)
Canon has officially announced a few new cameras and lenses today and continues expanding the line of cameras and lenses that support Auto Focus in Video Mode. The first new DSLR camera is the Canon EOS REBEL T5i. Here are a few Product Highlights from the new Canon EOS REBEL T5i:
· STM Lens Support for Quiet AF in Movies
· 18.0MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
· DIGIC 5 Image Processor
· 3.0" Vari-Angle Touch Screen LCD
· ISO 100-12800, Expandable to 25600
· Full HD 1080 Video with Continuous AF
· 5.0 fps Continuous Shooting
· 9-Point All Cross-Type AF System
· Multi Shot Noise Reduction
· Compatible with Canon EF and EF-S Lenses
For shooters looking to carry a smaller interchangeable lens camera, Canon has announced what could be the smallest DSLR camera body on the market - the new Canon EOS Rebel SL1. You can see how similar the features are to the larger DSLR camera bodies.
Here are a few Product Highlights for the Canon EOS Rebel SL1:
· 18.0MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
· DIGIC 5 Image Processor
· 3.0" Clear View II Touchscreen LCD
· ISO 100-12800, Expandable to 25600
· Full HD 1080 Video with Continuous AF
· 4.0 fps Continuous Shooting
· 9-Point All Cross-Type AF System
· Scene Intelligent Auto Mode
· Compact and Lightweight; Weighs 0.8lb
· Compatible with Canon EF and EF-S Lenses
These two cameras are nearly identical in specs except that the SL1 does not have a Vari-Angle LCD. Check out the side by side technical comparison here: https://goo.gl/J2rte
New lenses from Canon are similar to previous kit lenses, but now in an STM version to support full time Auto Focus in Video mode. Rather than jumping quickly from one focus point to the next, STM Lenses (Stepper Motor) are designed to be better at producing smooth, precise 'incremental movements' during video.
[Update] The new lens is the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens (Note EF-S lenses will not work on Full Frame Canon Bodies). These lenses will be available separately or bundled with the new Canon EOS REBEL T5i and Canon EOS REBEL SL1.
Here's a review of the review of the Rode iXY Stereo Microphone for iOS devices such as the iPhone 4/4S, iPad 1st/2nd/3rd Gen. The Rode iXY provides two 1/2" Cardioid Condenser Capsules with Onboard A/D Conversion and Up to 24-bit/96kHz Recording. Rode offers a free Rode Rec app, or a paid version that offers more features to share the files immediately to the cloud. The Rode REC allows you to manually set audio input levels. Comes with a Foam Windshield for Outdoor Recording and a Reinforced Protective Zip Case when traveling. You can find the Rode iXY Stereo Microphone for iOS at B&H (click here)
Rode iXY Stereo Microphone for iOS iPhone iPad iPod Touch
The Aftermarket Panasonic GH3 Batteries arrived about a week ago. It took just a little over two weeks for shipping, and the first test was to see if there was a battery meter displayed in the GH3. As you can see below there is a battery meter being displayed.
The second thing I did was to place them on my Panasonic OEM Chargers. The green light was on to indicate charging and after about an hour, the green light was off indicating it was fully charged. I threw another set on the chargers and all appears normal so far.
I'm sure a few people are curious about these aftermarket batteries, so I decided to run a little test. During my time lapse test, the aftermarket batteries lasted 3.5 hours with continuous shooting every 3 seconds. The DMW-BLF19 OEM Battery lasted about 5 hours 40 minutes. Obviously the OEM batteries give more run time, but at a cost of about 8x more than the aftermarket. For myself i'm happy with these results, but whether you want to use aftermarket batteries, i'll leave that up to you. I ordered these via eBay and can be found (Here).
Giottos MIni Ball Head 1/4" 3/8"
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