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DSLR Shoulder Rig Pad Old New v2

There aren't too many sexy Video Rig shoulder pads on the market, not to mention anything affordable. Immediately after getting the Gini Rig shoulder pad, I was already looking to upgrade. The Gini silicone shouler pads (even the latest version) aren't the most comfortable. So, a recent redesign of a Shoulder Pad that peaks my interest. To the left is the OLD and to the right is the NEW. I'll admit, I've already had my eye on the old version, but i'm glad I held out. In my opinion this looks much more comfortable than the Redrock Micro microShoulderPad, and offers a better look, and more mounting points. (Not to mention cheaper too).

All standard 15mm fit, so it will work perfectly on a couple of new Gini DSLR Rigs I picked up. Yeah I know how you guys drive prices up, so I had to place my order first. I'm all in for this one, so i'll let you know how it turns out as soon as it washes up on U.S. soil. More about the new Video Rig Pro Shoulder Pad designs (click here)

DSLR Shoulder Pad v2Shouder Rig Pad
find-price-button DSLR Video Camera Rig Shoulder Pad v2

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Helmet POV Camera Mount Counterweight I'm no professional when it comes to POV camera mounts, but there's got to be a good reason Vimeo member Enrique Rodriguez added counterweights to the rear of this helmet cam for DSLRs. The video is not in English, but i'm sure you can all figure it out. Looks heavy on the head, but it does serve for some pretty useful POV shots. You can find more details over at the Vimeo link. [Thanks Enrique]

Yeah I know, looks totally dangerous with the weights, but helmet mounts have been done before. Here's that stillmotion video from the NFL.

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follow-focus

While the RJ Follow Focus prices have been inflating, and the orders are on very long waiting lists, another Follow Focus system appears. These auctions appeared to have been listed yesterday, so fairly new stuff here. A smart design using a riser to make sure you're hitting all the right spots on your lens gear unlike the other low profile FF's.

Designed to mount using 15mm (60mm center to center) industry standard rods, which is basically everything under the sun including Gini DSLR Rigs (you'll need a set of rails). The gears 'look' standard, but no mention if it's the same as the RJ. [Update] Someone caught printed on the drive gear: M0.8 – 43T, and that's the most popular standard to turn most lens gears. This is really looking like an FF to get. The design does not look like the gears can be reversible, if that's a big thing for you. So if you've been on the hold for a cheap FF, or want to add a second FF on your rig for the Zoom ring, here's another option. Glad to see more of these budget FF's showing up. More images and information can be found at the store (click here).


fotga-followfocus
find-price-button Fotga DSLR Follow Focus with lens Gear

Can be mounted on inexpensive Gini DSLR Rigs
Screen shot 2011-05-28 at 5.33.23 PM
find-price-button Gini DSLR Rig Stabilizer Kits

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Earlier I posted some big savings that SanDisk was offering of it's Compact Flash media and SDHC cards. You can find that article here: http://cheesycam.com/sandisk-media-huge-deals/. Lexar is now offering a Buy Two and save type deal on many of their media cards, so if Transcend wasn't good enough, Sandisk doesn't meet your needs, then Lexar might be up your alley. Found below.

lexar-buy-two
find-price-button Lexar Buy Two Deal

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When Four thirds or Micro Four thirds cameras were first announced, they were quite limited in native Auto Focus lenses. Sure you can adapt other lenses, but the size and speed of having an actual four thirds lens can't be substituted. In the last few years, the MFT camera lineups have grown and so has the availability of different lenses.

Two new micro 4/3 Prime lenses that people are anxious to grab is the new 12mm F/2.0 (about 24mm) and the 45mm F/1.8 (about 90mm). If you're not too familiar, these lenses also work on the Panasonic GH1, GH2, GF2, G3 type cameras. It's all Micro Four Thirds. These new lenses fill in some of the gaps that have been missing in the lens lineups, and further reiterate that small mirrorless cameras are in demand. (Rumor is that Canon already has one in the pipeline).

12mm-olympus-mft
find-price-button M. Zuiko Digital ED 12 mm f/2.0 Lens

45mm-olympus
find-price-button M. Zuiko Digital ED 45 mm f/1.8 Lens

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Future mods on the J.G. Pasterjak's DIY ladder type dolly make it much more functional than before. The new materials used to assemble the dolly allows for it to be used on flat surfaces (when flipped upside down), or on a variety of track widths. The ladder dolly design allows you to use almost anything for tracks such as two conduit pipes, two square tubes, or even one solid wooden plank (as seen in the video). Personally I really like this design, as it's still a DIY, but has a much more professional look to the build. The extra heavy bars probably add more stability to the rig too. J.G. Pasterjak mentioned that these units might soon be available on the big auction website, so stay tuned for that. [Thanks J.G. Keep us posted on those units]

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images-fireworks  long-shutter
(images from ChicagoFreeInfo.com)

4th of July is tomorrow, and i'm sure many of you are planning on tackling some fireworks photography. There's a couple of ways to go about this, but in either case I suggest going with a tripod. One method is to try and capture what you see. Open up the Aperture, speed up the shutter, and boost the ISO. You'll get a few images, but this is not really the preferred method for cliche Fireworks photography.

The better method is to drag the shutter. Let's start with the some basic settings. If you're shooting with a DSLR or Point and Shoot that offers manual controls, go Full Manual. Throw that sucker on a solid Tripod, you'll need it. If you have a shutter remote, use it for even sharper images. Bring a good wide lens or at least a lens that can offer both wide and zoom. You don't need a fancy lens, since you'll set the aperture to at least F/8-F/11 to make sure things fall in focus and the image will look sharp. Next keep the ISO low so that you don't introduce too much noise. Final and most important piece is to try long exposures by setting your shutter to stay open for at least 2 seconds or maybe a bit longer. Think of Fireworks in the same manner as Light Painting. For light painting you'll keep your shutter open for at least a few seconds so that you can capture the path of light being traced into the sky.

Want to try something a bit more advanced? Leave your shutter open for 30 seconds (or use bulb mode for longer exposures). Leaving your shutter open will continue to bring in light, so to keep your image from being too overexposed, place a black piece of cloth or cardboard over the lens 'in between fireworks'. Very important to cover up the lens while there isn't anything happening in the sky. What will happen is you'll end up with a full image of various fireworks all captured in one. The image samples above are probably representative of that technique. If I get to a spot with a good view, i'll try my hand this year and post it. Let me know what you guys come up with.