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Cheesycam-DIY-Crane-Jib (1)Cheesycam-DIY-Crane-Jib (2)

So after the prototype DIY Jib Brackets touched down in the studio, I visited my local hardware store (Representing Orchard Hardware Supply, you know WestSide! Throwin' up the 'W'). Anyways, that's what my shopping cart looked like with plain super lightweight AL square tubing on the left, and perforated square tubing to the right. The AL is 1" and 3/4" square tubes. On the right is 1.25" + 1" perforated tube which is easier to work with - no drilling required. Perforated tubes are not in every hardware store, but they are also not difficult to track down if you call your local Metal Market. You can see some of these on Amazon (seen here). With one tube larger than the other, you can create a telescoping jib. This of course is not necessary, you can just use one solid piece for both top and bottom. My top tube is 4ft. long and the bottom is 3ft. long.

These Prototype brackets were designed with Steel. Heavy duty stuff, and once all the parts are assembled, the structural integrity is solid. With this design, we were able to eliminate the requirement for welded parts, which is time consuming and costly for manufacturing jibs. Being able to offer just the brackets also saves the end user from shipping costs due to weight and length of packaging. Once you get your hands on these brackets (if the idea ever flies), then it literally takes a few minutes of assembly with basic nuts and bolts and you'll be flying whatever size crane you can think of. A goal was to offer the complete set of brackets, nuts, bolts, nylon bearings, lock nuts, etc. for around $15 bucks. Will it happen? Don't know, but it sure is fun playing with ideas....

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Sometimes I have the craziest ideas, and they don't always pan out very well. Here's one i'm quite excited about, but i'm not sure how others would feel. For the past few months i've had the idea of working on a 'DIY Crane Kit'. I went through the process of building a few Jibs myself and found that while you can save quite a bit of money, the hardest part to tackle is the mounting brackets.

Cheesycam-DIY-Jib-Kit

So after a few designs, I've been working on a cost effective way to have special Jib brackets made that will allow you to make your own cranes / jibs. These brackets will be made from solid steel (very strong and durable), and will be perfectly aligned for smooth crane operation and modular so you can build your cranes to various lengths.

It will be so easy to assemble that today you could have a very small 4ft crane for an indoor shoot, and tomorrow you could have and 8ft., 9ft.,12ft. crane. There's also stuff i've been working on to show you guys how to make telescoping cranes with all off the shelf parts. Who knows what configurations people will have, and once you see these brackets, it will make more sense. I'm not going to go too much into details, but what you see in the box (above) will be pretty much all you'll need to get your DIY Jib started along with a set of instructions (and a video to follow). Oh and of course it will look very professional. Let me know what you guys think? Good idea or not?

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Varavon Slim Slider

So you want the lightest 'roller bearing' slider available? Varavon's got a pretty good thing going with it's slim version sliders, but pricing has not always been in our favor. Today that's all changed. There's a pretty good sale going on right now, and It appears there's been some design changes to their slider product. This is a new Slider in their product lineup called the 'Slidecam Lite'. It's still the slimmest and lightest roller bearing slider on the market, with adjustable legs / feet. Starting as small as 24" long and prices just over $250. I just picked up the 24" version, couldn't pass up the price. You can find them on sale right now following the link (click here).

Varavon SliderVaravon Bearings
find-price-button Varavon Slidecam Lite Video Camera Slider Sale

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The GH2 or other small video cameras are very lightweight and the selection for a quality stabilizer are few. Lately, there's been some interest around modifying a Steadicam Smoothee to work with such light cameras. I was able to modify one successfully, but I never got around to showing it's full capabilities. So it's great to see other examples out there, and here's one of the best videos i've seen so far about a modified Smoothee (a.k.a Baby Merlin) with a GH2 camera from Vimeo member MKVideoFilms.

If you want to find out how to modify your own, there's an article posted here: http://cheesycam.com/diy-steadicam-smoothee-mod-cheesycam-baby-merlin/

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find-price-button Steadicam Smoothee for GoPro and iPhone

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Wondlan-Rig.

(Above) That's the Wondlan Shoulder Rig, that comes with the shoulder pad, two handles, a swing away Matte Box, Top handle, Side Brackets, etc. You know i'm not even sure if that comes with a follow focus, but you'll find a setup like this going for about $1800+ dollars (see here).

konova-full-rig

Konova today posted up their slimmed down version of such a rig (above). Parts are definitely not from Wondlan, and it looks like they have an RJ Matte Box + RJ Follow Focus. Same overall design with one side bracket, top handle, shoulder pad, two long grips, and a rear mounting plate. Some of the pieces I've seen before, and some other ones like the locking handles i've never seen on other rigs. Konova listed this kit for $1100 dollars cheaper than Wondlan's, and there's some additional photos following the link (click here).

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find-price-button Konova Video Shoulder Rig Matte Box Follow Focus Bundle

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I grabbed one of these little starter rigs to use for a prototype product i'm working on that will be an addition to existing rigs on the market (it will make more sense later). I decided to share the unboxing and assembling images for the 'Thanks SJ' Gini rig. If you're curious what 'Thanks SJ' means, this odd little title for a rig came about after the death of Steve Jobs.

This is one of the cheapest Gini configurations he makes available that has a shoulder pad, handles, camera mount, and tripod mount. That's pretty much the bones most people are looking for in a basic shoulder rig. There are two foam pads depending on if you want firm or soft cushion. The firm pad is is very very firm, and I can only imagine it to be uncomfortable.

Gini-Quick-Release
Gini-Quick-Release-2

The provided Camera Mount / Tripod Mount is actually a quick release design.The large knob on the side tightens up the top stage so you can dismount your camera very quickly and easily. If you are planning to add something else on the top stage (another quick release adapter), the knob provides plenty of clearance and sits low enough to be out of the way of any obstruction. Anything you place on the top camera mount will have a wide level surface.


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find-price-button Gini Rigs Follow Focus Shoulder Rigs DSLR Cages

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Do you think with all the new gear Canon is announcing, they might be trying to offload some of their existing models that have been around for some time? Who knows, but the Canon Rebates are back, and they double if you bundle them with a select camera body. More information on the dedicated Rebates page (click here).

Canon-Rebates
Canon DSLR Cameras, Lenses, and Speedlite Rebates