• 7 Comments

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lensse-camera-stabilizer-midxlensse-camera-stabilizer-midpro
Lensse Camera Stabilizers

Not long ago I posted the Gizmo Camera stabilizer that was shipping from Turkey found in this article http://cheesycam.com/diy-steadicam-gizmo-merlin-design/. Just browsing for something else, I happened to run into the Lensse Camera Stabilizer, also coming from Turkey. Not to say it's anything super different in design compared to the Hague or IndieHardware Stabilizer, but normally i'm documenting different options on this website. How did I miss this? Appears sales have been going on for at least four months, the handle appears to be the same design that don't have the same range as a Tiffen Steadicam Merlin. There's two models available from Lensse, a MidX and a MidPro. The difference in the MidPro is a small clamp knob that allows the handle to be moved forward or back.

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Above: The MidPro has a handle that slides forward or back to fine tune weight distribution.

Looks well built, price depends on the model but comes in between the Hague MMC and Indiehardware Stabilizer. This one comes in black unlike the Indiehardware, but who knows how much weight it's 'really' going to balance. The handle looks much more comfortable though. Nothing more to say, i'm sure it works the same as the other similar designs. Scratch another camera stabilizer off the list. Here's the link to the Lensse Camera Stabilizers.

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Indiehardware Stabilizer

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Hague MMC

• 2 Comments

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fig-rig-cheesycam

shoulder-rig-support

Brian Williams runs a non profit called think https://ThinkKindness.org which produces a documentary and several videos throughout the year. As a birthday present for Brian, brother Nick was inspired by the Cheesycam blog and finished building out two DIY DSLR rigs. The first is the Cheesycam inspired fig rig, with aluminum mountain bike handle extensions rather than the top handle. The second is the ever popular Plug Wire Clams Rig by Johan. To save a few clips during the transition to the handles, Nick used 90 degree L brackets from Home Depot. Hopefully this will help Brian with additional stabilization when working with his inspirational videos for https://ThinkKindness.org. Happy Birthday Brian, enjoy the rigs.

• 3 Comments

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ipod-touch-hd-recording

ipod-touch-video-conferencing

When the iPhone 4 was released there were fan boys galore. Photo shoots done completely on the iPhone, iPhone music videos, and iPhone short films. More new gear was released such as the OWLE, microphone add-ons for making it a cool portable audio recorder, and iPhone Handheld Steadicam Stabilizer like the Hague.

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There's no doubt that there will be new gear developed in the near future to support the ever growing features of this gadget. For those who envied the iPhone 4 with HD video recording in a tiny portable device, Apple's new iPod touch (4th Generation) NEWEST MODEL comes with HD Video recording capabilities, a new high resolution lcd touch screen, and video conferencing over WiFi. This should also come with some type of iMovie for iPod video editing software. A cool little device without the contracts and service fees. Should be shipping in the next 3 weeks, available from the Apple store [via Amazon].

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canon-lp-e6-batteries
click image

I'm pretty happy Canon continued to support the LP-E6 battery with many of their camera models. It helps to be able to keep things uniform. I've had about 6 aftermarket LP-E6 batteries that i've been using for my Canon 5D Mark II & 7D shown in this video here: http://cheesycam.com/canon-5d-mark-ii-7d-cheap-china-batteries/. I'm a big fan of these batteries and have used them for quite a while without a hiccup. The problem was that when these were first released, they didn't have the option to show battery life on the camera due to a special information chip. It's about time I grabbed some additional batteries and if i'm not mistaken the new Canon 60D on order will also be using the LP-E6 battery type. Now that i'm in the market for some extra batteries, these newer LP-E6 aftermarket batteries are already chipped properly to show battery life with the Canon DSLR's. Here's the link to the proper LP-E6 aftermarket batteries that should read proper battery life with your Canon DSLR's. Canon 5D Mark II & 7D batteries chipped to show Battery Life.

Opteka has been a fairly reliable name in the DSLR community providing cheap alternatives, so if you're an Amazon shopper here's a chipped Opteka LP-E6 2400mAh Ultra High Capacity Li-ion Battery Pack for the Canon EOS 7D & 5D Mark II Digital SLR Camera (Fully Compatible)

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remote-lcd-viewer

A few months ago I posted an article about where I thought the new design in LCD Viewfinders would head towards http://cheesycam.com/route-of-the-new-lcd-viewfinders/. I believed companies would start making smaller high quality LCD's that would mount with an articulating arm properly positioning the eyepiece without repositioning the entire camera. Just caught this rig break down from Vincent Laforet, and he's rockin' a prototype one now. Now, the next prediction will be an entirely new line of accessories that will mount remote viewfinders directly to a camera or rig providing some articulation. I have a feeling we'll start seeing some new shoulder shooter configurations that no longer need to offset the camera, and instead include an arm that can mount a Remote LCD. We'll just have to wait and see which DSLR company can comes up with that first.

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zoom-h1-in-stock
click image

Just checked and the seller says 4 in stock ready to ship. Very reasonable shipping prices you'd expect to pay on any other website. Looks legit and only 4 left. Just thought i'd share. Here's the link to the 4 Zoom H1's in stock.

[Update]
First link sold out quick, found another seller and called them direct. Just got off the phone with them, and they have 10 that just arrived. This one has Free Shipping. Here's that other link with 10 that just came in, ready to ship.

BTW, for those who pre-ordered from the earlier article, I just received notice mine had shipped. Woohoo! Finally getting the last two Zoom's to complete my audio set.

Thank you for your order. We are happy to tell you that your order has been shipped and it on its way to you.
Order Details:
OrderID: ******
Item: Zoom H1 H 1 Handy Flash Audio Recorder **PRE-ORDER**
Item Number: 22063087****
Quantity: 2

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aluminum-letus-hawk-vf

letus-hawk-vf-comparison

Wow, I haven't even had the chance of doing a full review on the Letus Hawk VF - Carbon Fiber version and already Letus has released a new Aluminum Hawk VF. Rather than plain old injected molded plastic, Letus chose to go with CNC milled anodized aluminum for this new Shroud. This aluminum is a nice touch keeping things lightweight, strong, weather tolerant, and also this bad boy looks like it will blend more closely with OEM camera designs. If i'm correct Letus will also be designing the casing to be used with existing Optics should you already own a Carbon Fiber version. This modular piece design will allow you to move your optics from a Carbon Fiber Hawk shroud to the Aluminum Hawk shroud. Letus will be designing different sized shrouds custom made for cameras, so if you decide to change to a different camera with a different LCD size such as a T2i 3/2, you'll just need to purchase the proper sized shroud (not the optics). This is some very cool modular thinking to keep this Letus product up to date with ever changing LCD screen sizes and different camera manufacturers, while saving you big bucks from purchasing something entirely new.

Right now the Letus Hawk VF uses a solid mount to the base of the camera, and it is compatible with Battery Gripped DSLR bodies with the optional riser plate. There may be a new solution in line with a special quick release adapter designed specifically for the Letus Hawk VF's. We'll have to wait to hear more. I can tell you though that these designs take time to whip up, so if this hit you by surprise, we should be expecting a lot more from the Letus DSLR line very soon. You can find more information about the new CNC milled anodized aluminum Hawk VF shroud and additional Product photos here: https://www.letusdirect.com/cart/letus-hawk-aluminum.html

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IMG_9768-2
original view Sigma 50-500mm on Canon 7D

IMG_9768
cropped from original view

It's pretty late, the moon was out so I decided to test out the Sigma 50-500mm. To get a bit further out, I threw it onto the Canon 7D and took advantage of the crop factor. These JPEG images have been resized and sharpened a bit in Lightroom. I'm still waiting to bring this out to catch some surf shots.

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Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO Autofocus Lens

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Canon 7D + Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6

I was able to bring out the Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 on the Canon 7D and grabbed some really nice closeup shots of a turtle swimming in the bay - while I was on a cliff above. Yeah that's quite a bit of zoom, the lens is very sharp and very fast. Click any of these images to get a little bigger view of the image.

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Turtle swimming

Also (below) here's more zoomed in and zoomed out comparisons shot from the Canon 7D + canon 100-400mm. The bottom image is not a crop. Taking advantage of the crop on the Canon 7D, that's how close you can get. All images were hand held and stayed pretty sharp with IS turned on.

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Above: Pulled in to 100mm on Canon 7D

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Above: Pushed out to 400mm on Canon 7D

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Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens

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indie-hardware-stabilizer-upgradegofit-jump-rope-handle

Thanks to Motegi for sharing a DIY handle upgrade to the IndieHardware Stabilizer. You can catch more of the DIY photos over at the Flickr found here. I did a brief overview of this stabilizer found at this article: http://cheesycam.com/first-attempt-indiehardware-stabilizer/, and like most others, wasn't happy about the stock short handle. The shorter handle actually felt like it had limited range of motion compared to the Hague MMC, but really the range is about the same. Motegi took a simple Jump Rope handle, and added this to the IndieHardware. Since the jump rope handle already has an included bearing, this actually helps improve stabilizing some additional axis movements. This looks like a nice OEM fit that would improve the handling quite a bit. Great job on the upgrade, thanks for sharing Motegi.

Funny how jump rope handles are used in DIY camera gear, as I've used a set in this DIY $20 dollar shoulder mount found here: http://cheesycam.com/20-00-dollar-should-mount-rig-camera-support/ .