You might have caught this as it started yesterday. Canon's offering instant rebates on a variety of Lenses (and flashes), but if you go direct to Canon's website there's tax and hefty shipping fees involved. You can find the same rebate information over at B&H and for some this means saving big on sales tax. Nothing overly exciting, and it extends throughout September 3rd. Current Canon Lens and Flash rebate information can be found following the link (click here).
Thanks to Eugene for filling me in on this one. Yongnuo's latest YN5656EX / YN-565EX flash is showing some face internationally. Support for Canon's ETTL, this latest flash really targets the Canon 580EX II so closely that it can actually be triggered by a Canon Master (even Nikon commander). It's also compatible to be triggered by the Canon ST-E2. Even the LCD menu looks somewhat Canon'ish. If you're familiar with the Canon 580EX II (currently Canon's top of the line), the YN-565EX mimics many of the same features, but lands in at half the price. These are the features and the kind of flash that everyone has been waiting for from Yongnuo, and far exceeds what the YN560 was. We'll start to see more of these tricklin' in the next few weeks along with some reviews. Found online (click here).
Anyone catch the new Follow Focus from Gini? Single rod mount and just swings into position. It's made mostly of aluminum with an unfinished appearance (not a fan of that). I think if he offered this in black anodizing, it would get much more attention. Although the design overall looks good, the gearbox looks pretty similar to most basic Follow focus systems. Very similar to a Huco gearbox (could be?). Nevertheless those gearboxes have been fairly reliable in most of those FFs.
Price is outside of this world for Buy It Now, but that's always been Gini's approach. Usually he has these same high quality items in some type of inexpensive auction along with a rig. In fact there's a few auctions going on right now starting at just $1.00 US dollar, following the link (click here).
Kingston's 16GB SDHC Class 10 card hits Amazon's Deal of the Day (today). [Thanks Sheldon] Not much of a deal for me, since it's just a few dollars shy of a Transcend Class 10 (which I use). In any case, don't forget to check out all of the limited time deals over at Amazon (click here).
Just days ago the most popular design in power friction arms recently receives a significant price drop of up to 25% on eBay. This includes free shipping. Two common sizes available from 11" and 7". We have about 6 or more of the 11" and use it for just the most random things. If you've purchased these before, or have previously done your price matching, then you'll know it's a deal right now (click here).
Vimeo member Film Cyfrowy shows off some of the features from a Ruige TL-480HDB. The TL-480 comes in a few different options and all with a screen size of only 4.8". The video shows off size, menu options, focus peaking, and display. The optional Zoom remote trigger allows the monitor to zoom in even if the camera is in record mode. With HDMI out you are able pass video through the Ruige to another monitor. There are different models varying in options and prices (click here).
Pricing aside, what does it have to offer? The larger stabilizer should hold 10lbs on the top fairly easy. That's a bit more than the weight a Glidecam HD4000 is rated at. The unit is all metal, lightweight, and gimbal is very smooth. The top stage adjusts forward/back/left/right to center your camera. To balance the entire stabilizer, the Gimbal can be positioned further up or down the post.
The arm is huge and very well made. It can be positioned either left or right side by flipping the mounting bracket. It can definitely carry some heavy weight, but isn't designed to be fine tuned for light weight setups. (The Merlin vest can be tuned for light camera setups). The Padded Vest is very lightweight, easy to slip on/off and adjust various ways for comfort. From an operator's point of view, the Konova arm is much easier to place into the vest system than a Steadicam Merlin Vest (I just leave the Merlin Arm on all the time) and also easier to remove when breaking down. The stabilizer comes with a stand adapter (attaches to a light stand) to dock the stabilizer when not in use.
Let's talk cons. Well price is one. There are already so many other options on the market with either the same price or cheaper. Unless they can bring the price down, it's going to be a tough market to crack. It offers nothing different than what is already available. This unit is wired, but is missing HDMI. HDMI seems to be a growing trend not just for DSLRs, but for other popular cameras under 10lbs. (i'm going to mod this one with my own HDMI). The monitor that it comes with is outdated too, so I'll be switching that out with the SmallHD DP6. So that's it so far, and i'll be taking it out for a test as soon as I can build it up to my liking. Stay tuned.
Nice little DIY to motorize a Konova slider. Using a continuous Servo (some servos don't rotate continuously) and Servo controller Vimeo member C Light gives us a sneak peek at work in progress. Servos are more common with slow speed rotations than DC motors. You could probably bring this thing to a very very slow crawl. This small servo setup can easily pull the Konova carrier across the rail in a smooth and consistent fashion because it's completely based on actual Roller Bearings (unlike friction sliders). Of course this setup shouldn't be attempted to pull the carrier in any type of vertical position. [Thanks C Light]
Just for fun, thought I would test to see how much difference a basic ND filter and CPL could do to improve on the HX9. The ND will bring the shutter speed down on bright days to reduce the strobe like effect. The CPL, of course will improve overall image when dealing with Polarized light. This is a basic Cokin P system filter holder (this one can hold up to 3 filters). There is a slot for a CPL that can be rotated. I've also stacked two Cokin P hoods to help prevent lens flares on the large filters. Normally the filter holder is attached to the filter ring of a lens. There's no filter ring so a friction arm keeps things in place while still being adjustable in case I need to zoom. Yes this can all be used on pretty much any other camera. If it all works well, i'll build a stage of sorts to be able to mount it on a tripod.
[Update] Here's a video sample with and without the ND Filter. The focus was thrown off from pulling the ND in and out, but if you leave it in the Auto Focus is fine. I could try stacking ND filters to cut down the shutter speed even more. Notice how choppy the water looks without the ND filter and how it flows with the ND filter on. Overall, the ND filter makes a pretty big difference.
Yongnuo YN-565EX Canon Speelite Flash
(which I use). In any case, don't forget to check out all of the limited time deals over at Amazon 
