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fuji-3d-w3-digital-camera

Talking about new stuff and pre-orders, looks like Fuji is not giving up on their Real 3D line of digital cameras. The (soon to be available) new W3 will be offering 720HD video shot with nicely spaced dual lenses for that Sterescopic setup. Looks like a fun camera, and would be quite interesting to see the 3D effect when playing back on a big screen.

youtube-3d-support

YouTube does support 3D playback in a variety of different ways including the cross-eyed method if you don't have a pair of Blue and Red Captain EO glasses. This new HD video model has been redesigned and still photos will also have an option for fancy 3D Prints. I'm on the look out for any videos that will be posted onto YouTube or Vimeo and i'm curious to see if we'll be able to enjoy it on the Internet with those funky glasses.

If you're wondering if this is already possible with DSLR's, I posted an article a while back about some different 3D options for DSLR's found here.

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zoom-h1-in-stock-bhphotovideo
click image to buy Zoom H1 $99 + Free Shipping

The webpage at bhphotovideo.com earlier this morning did not show the Zoom H1 item available to 'add to cart', but after a message from a reader, tides have turned. Well BHPHOTOVIDEO.com is East Coast of me, so I assume they are just a few hours short of the 'official release' date of the Zoom H1, and decided to just go live with orders. Hopefully this is no joke, and it will go out when promised which I should receive it by next Tuesday. Yes, i've already pre-ordered a few from the other vendor, but you can't have enough Zoom H1's. I'm just excited to start getting these things in. Besides, I'm sure i'll find a few friends I can sell the extras to, who are too lazy to place their own order before they get sold out. So there you go folks, BHPHOTOVIDEO.com is live at this link to order the Zoom H1 for $99 + FREE Shipping. (yes free shipping).

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adorama-l-brackets-fig-rig

Customer image submitted to Amazon.com shows the use of two Adorama 'L' brackets spaced out to create a 'fig rig' style stabilizer. This simple solution would definitely work much like a common fig rig, while still allowing cold shoe attachments on each side for your LED lighting and Shotgun Microphone (as the above image displays).

Doesn't really show how the camera is mounted in between these two brackets, but a short piece of AL flat bar is all that i'm thinking this setup would need. The Aluminum flat bar can also be cut to widen the space between the handles for more stability, but going too wide might throw off the axis of your LED light and shotgun mic. The brackets used in the image above are the Adorama L Brackets, but there's also other notable L flash brackets available from other manufacturers.

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nikon-1080-d3100

Nikon announced availability for pre-orders on the Nikon D3100. Nikon is really trying to step things up even though they are coming in quite late in the game offering 1080HD video and 24 fps. They've got some fancy new full time auto focusing features in video mode and have a new lineup of lenses as well. Prices for the first time aren't too shabby since this looks like it will rival the Canon 550D / T2i. On the BHPHOTOVIDEO website, the Nikon D3100 is starting at $699 - and that includes an 18-55mm VR lens. That's $200 cheaper than the Canon 550D + 18-55mm package. Who knows if they are making any money on this new release, it might be a smart marketing 'loss leader' to keep them in the game and keep their current shooters from switching. Like video game consoles, I guess they realize that they need to get the DSLR bodies into the hands of shooters, because once shooters start investing in lenses, there's little chance they can convince people to switching.

New lenses announced are three new zooms—a 24-120mm f/4G ED VR, a 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, a 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR and an update of Nikon's classic 85mm f/1.4, a killer portrait lens.

Below: Nikon 85mm F/1.4
nikon-85mm-1.4

Below: Nikon 24-120mm
Nikon-AFS_24_120_ED_VR_la

Below: Nikon 28-300mm
nikon-AFS_28_300_ED_VR_ia

Below: Nikon 55-300mm
nikon-DX_55_300_VR_la

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Yes this blog has many DIY posts, but you won't find a DIY jib or camera crane article on here. I thought those types of articles were just over saturated and you can find that information just about anywhere. Thanks to Tim for sending this in, this DIY Camera Crane video by Martin Roberts showcasing his build was one that definitely needed to be shared. Not only a very clever build with lots of thought in place on the design, the video is edited and pieced together nicely too. It's not a very informative DIY video about how you can go about building your own step by step, but those who might be DIY savvy can probably pickup some tips. There's also additional photos over at his Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/53188536@N06/

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craigslist-boot-camp

An image of a Z96 LED light on a Glidecam HD4000 + Steadicam Vest + Rode VideoMic + Canon 5D Mark II + Battery Grip + Zoom H4n shows up in the wild. Well it wasn't really that wild. Somehow an image of just a small part of my rig showed up on the BayCitizen.org website, as I was part of the video team covering the Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp event over at UC Berkely. I was the only one roaming with any type of Steadicam, let alone a Steadicam Vest and sure did get lots of attention and questions about the rig. It's smooth to fly, gets good audio from the Rode VideoMic shotgun + Zoom h4n (on the lower sled - not seen), and when cruising indoors I have the ability to switch on some extra LED lighting. It's a versatile setup that works for me, and I use this same setup consistently for many types of event coverage. It's change a little bit, but you can see more of the Steadicam + Glidecam rig I've assembled in this article.

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Zooom-H1-release-date
I'm still waiting for an email response from Zoom about the official release date, since it's just a day short and there's always different emails about when this thing is going to hit the streets. The actual 'Zoom' store on Amazon has a posted release date of Sept 8th, so we'll see what happens. The good news is that the official 'Zoom' store on Amazon is accepting those Pre-Orders, while other website including BHPHOTOVideo.com are not. So if you haven't placed a jump on it yet, here's the link to the Zoom store on Amazon.

Update: A twitter pic shows them out on the streets. Could it be available? https://twitpic.com/2g8nwo

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In reference to my recent post about the new Nikon Replica Lens Mug with Zoom capability that I received, here's some images. The details on these replicas are incredible. Also there's some images of my other Canon Replica Lens mugs. The 24-105mm Lens mug you see in the gallery is the old one. The new Canon 24-105mm F/4 Replica Lens mug now has a stainless steel insert. Images were shot in my Product Cocoon with a Canon 580 EX II speedlight on each side triggered by my Canon ST-E2 transmitter. Images are a bit underexposed, but it's about midnight, and hopefully these should be good enough to give you an idea of the quality and detail of the Nikon 24-70mm Replica Zoom Lens Coffee Mug with Stainless Steel insert

nikon-coffee-mug-telephotolens-mug-carrying-bag
find-price-button Nikon Coffee Mug Telephoto Zoom


canon-24-105-lens-mugcanon-lens-mug-replicas
find-price-button Canon Lens Mug Coffee Mug Replica Telephoto Zoom

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zoom-h1-pre-order
New Pre-Order Auctions

So many new product announcements this month, and still more to come. Rumors are Canon will make some really big announcements this month, maybe in a few days, regarding new camera lineups. I'm excited for that, but who knows if it's going to be products that are as affordable as the Canon T2i. There is supposedly rumors of a Canon 60D, which will sit in the middle of the T2i and 7D. Not sure what features would make this Canon 60D fall 'in between', the video features of the T2i are already so close to the 7D. It's possible it could be more Photography enhanced features.

The Zoom H1 is 'supposed' to be released in 3 days, but there's been a lot of speculation. I've emailed Samson a few times and they've always nailed down the August 20th release date. Even if it is released by August 20th, it will be a rare item to find 'in stock'. There's a new auction on eBay taking pre-orders for this item and there are quite a bit of sales. I can't wait to start testing this with different LAV microphones. Certain times the whole Wireless LAV setup is overkill, more expensive, requires extra gear, and possibility for more things to go wrong. There are many situations where this tiny recorder could be mounted as a body pack for getting close up quality audio from your subject. I placed my order long long ago, but we'll see what comes about in the next 3 days......