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matte-box-konovakonova-matte-box

Konova has added a new Matte Box to their list of products. The dual stage Matte box with full Flags comes with two fully rotatable (360 degree) filter trays to support Grads or CPL filters. The Matte box mounts on 15mm standard rails and includes the highly sought after swing away arm for fast lens changes.

Description:* Made of high-grade ABS and heavy-duty aluminum * Precision Engineered design with robust Swing-Away design* 2 filter trays, supporting both 4x4 and 4x5.6" filter(rotating 360degrees)* Sunshade Material : ABS Plastic* Swing-away bracket & filter holders : Alluminum black anodized * French Flag & Side Flags : Alluminum texture coated

Konova has a pretty good reputation among the products they carry, and compared to the other matte boxes, the price is one of cheapest swing-away / dual stage rotating / rail mount matte boxes available right now. You can check out more following the link (click here).

matte-boxes
find-price-button Konova Swing Away Dual Stage 15mm Matte Box

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dslr-cages-pncpnc-cage-2

The new PNC grips are on the way and should be added to the product line hopefully in about a week. Another product that's been in the works are a few different DSLR cages. The goal is to be the most affordable cage on the market, have excellent build quality, and offer a few varieties in size.

pnc-cage-3pnc-cages-4

Seen in the (discreet) images above is the GH2 mounted inside one of the cages. The new DSLR cages I helped designed for PhotographyandCinema.com is pretty much hammered out in the production process and should be available in the coming weeks. Follow me on Twitter for more of these updates.

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Not sure what presents to give out this year? Struggling for that perfect gift? Not going to make shipping in time? Nothing beats convenience like an Amazon gift card that can be sent instantly via email - around the world if needed. With best prices on millions of products, movies, music - there's something for everyone at Amazon. For anyone that owns a camera, $20 dollars could buy anything from SDHC media, Compact flash cards, extra batteries, filters, and more. This is how i'll be sending many holiday wishes to friends and family a far.

If you're running out of time, the process is simple. Choose a card, add dollar amount, add an email address and message. The recipient will instantly recieve a Gift Card code to use on anything and everything Amazon has to offer. Check out the different card designs on Amazon (click here).

amazon-gift-cards-emailamazon-cards
Shop Amazon Electronic Gift Cards - via Email

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If you don't already have an Intervalometer (Timer Remote) for time lapse photography, you might want to take a look at the new Phottix offering. Phottix recently announced the new Aion 2.4ghz wireless (can be used wired also) remote. Of course it's got the basic timer and shutter release features along with an amazing number of triggering options - including auto-bracketing for HDR.

Phottix Aion Wireless Remote
* Timer and Long Exposure Functions
* Shutter Release Functions
* Wired or wireless operations
* 2.4 GHz frequency
* 60m range
* Backlit LCD
* AAA batteries

Timer Functions
1. Self, interval and long exposure timers
2. Number of frames setting
3. Auto-bracketed timer setting for HDR photos

Shutter functions
1. Two-stage shutter button for AF and shutter release
2. Instant, continuous 5 shot, 2 second delay and bulb shutter release mode.

The Phottix Aion wireless remote are available for Canon, Nikon, Sony and Olympus on Amazon (click here) and via eBay (click here).

Phottix-Aion-Timer-Remote
find-price-button Phottix Aion Wireless/Wired Timer Remote Shutter Release

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2011-12-15 18.47.142011-12-15 18.47.31

Sorry it took me a while to run these little tests, but i'm in between some big projects right now. Here's an update on testing the W12 LED video light with High Power LED bulbs, compared to the Z96. If you're not up to speed, we are comparing the two because they share basically the exact same form factor and feature set (batteries used, dimmer knob, magnetic snap filters, etc.)

2011-12-15 18.46.53W12 LED Light

Here's a comparison of coverage. As on-camera LED Video lights, this is a general distance to subject you might be using when the LED lights are mounted on camera. On the Top is the W12 and on the Bottom is the Z96. Camera settings were 1/50th F/2.8 ISO 640 for this spotlight test.

The W12 has a sharper and more defined edge at the end of it's coverage, while the Z96 feathers out gradually. The W12 seems a little more evenly flat across the spread, while The Z96 has more of a hotspot towards the center. The coverage is almost similar between the two lights spreading 9 feet across with the lights just 5 feet away from the wall.

W12-Z96 (1 of 2)
W12-Z96 (2 of 2)

Below I have the camera set to a manual 5600K color temp with the lights at 5 feet away from target. In my eyes the W12 seems closer to that temperature, but there still lies a greenish color cast. Take note that the Z96 shutter speed settings were a few stops better than the W12, proving that the Z96 has more overall light output. At least in the middle area.

W12-Z96 (2 of 5)
W12-Z96 (1 of 5)

Next up is the camera set to a Manual 3200K color temp, and adding on the Tungsten filters. I never use these things, since they cut down a good amount of light, and aren't very close to tungsten. For kicks, here's what to expect when using these filters. Again, the Z96 with it's own filter is several stops better than the W12 LED light. Even though it's not perfect, of the two, I think the Z96 performed better with the 3200K filter test.

W12-Z96 (4 of 5)
W12-Z96 (5 of 5)

There's some interesting differences here. Pros and Cons for each light. As you can see there's a bit of a color shift between lights from a greenish cast to a more magenta color cast. The Z96 also has more of a hotspot towards the center, while the W12 seems a little more flat across. The W12 has a sharper and more defined edge at the end of it's coverage, while the Z96 feathers out gradually. Overall, the Z96 has more light output and fairs better in the 3200K test, but the W12 was not too shabby at the 5600K test. Even though these lights fail to be perfect all around, the Z96 especially has been around for more than a year and has been one of the most recommended entry level LED lights. The W12 may be considered mainly because it's slightly cheaper in price.

These W12 high power LED lights are found at (click here).

W12 LED LightW12 LED Video Light
find-price-button 12 High Power LED Video Light

The Z96 LED video lights can be found on eBay (click here)
Z96LED
find-price-button Z96 LED Video Light.

Other lights you might be interested in is the 240 Bi-Color or 312 Bi-Color LED video lights. A bit larger than the 96 version, and a bit more expensive, but they give you more control with adjustable color temperature (without the use of colored filters).

240 LED video light (click here)
barndoor-240
find-price-button 240 Dimmable Color Changing LED Video Light without Barndoors

312 LED video light (click here)
312-LED-Video-light
find-price-button 312 LED Bi-Color Changing Dimmable LED Video light

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You guys are probably already all over this one, but it's worth a post here on the blog [Thanks Tom]. This may not be true HDR for the super technical term, but this new feature in Magic Lantern provides a higher dynamic range between shadows and highlights. Multiple exposures, a bit of post work, and interpolated frames, there's more details on work flow and which cameras are supported at the video link: https://vimeo.com/33987353.

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The price wars are still going on with the Canon 5D Mark II discounts under $2K, but the deal people are talking about is the 5D Mark II Body, Sandisk 16GB Compact Flash Card, and Red Giant Video Production Software Bundle ($694 value). You can find that bundle following the link (click here).

canon-5d-mark-ii
find-price-button Canon 5D Mark II (body) + Sandisk Compact Flash + Red Giant Software Bundle

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Big news for Sony shooters. The long awaited Sony NEX7 is available after some production delays. The Sony NEX-5n is still getting rave reviews for it's video quality, so it would be interesting to see how the NEX-7 will be performing as well. The listing might not be updated, but the email I received says the (black) Body is available now at B&H (click here).

Sony NEX-7
find-price-button Sony NEX7 (Black) Body

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Above is an example of an unboxing video submitted for the B&H 'unboxing' video contest from YouTube member dangiliana. Pretty self explanatory with very simple requirements.

Another example (above) from Vimeo member Bruce Buck. Fans and customers can capture a short video of a B&H package being unboxed and then share it with their friends. Of course, enter the contest for the chance to win a Canon 5D Mark ll among a few other prizes. I should have a few things coming in soon, and might as well join in. I have a few 'out of the box' (pun intended) unboxing ideas of my own. More information on the B&H Unboxing Video contest can be found following the link (click here).

BH-Unboxing-Contest-Video
B&H Photo Video Unboxing Contest