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Wow, huge milestone on Amazon. Someone just dropped me a line about the 7" monitor I posted about earlier. They said they were able to get it from an Amazon seller. A reputable seller who's been shipping Lilliput monitors for years is now carrying the 7" HDMI version. Not that you couldn't find a USA seller before, but normally that meant a huge marked up price. The milestone here is that you can now pick it up from Amazon for the same price instead of waiting on Hong Kong shipping.

Oh and don't forget that you'll need a portable power option. Many people have already taken my advice on Portable power and picked up some of the Black and Decker battery packs featured in my video here: http://cheesycam.com/?p=215

Other options for Portable Power can be the Duracell Powersource Mobile. I haven't tried these, but others have purchased it with their monitors.

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gini dslr shoulder mount video rig
korean gini dslr rig

Hands down to Zacuto and Redrock. They've got some awesome gear, but that also means an awesome price tag! Hey not all of us are getting paid to shoot Feature Films. When shopping for a shoulder rig, a few friends told me about something called the 'Gini Rig'. It's probably old news to most of you out there, but it's always nice to share the information so here's the official Cheesycam post. The eBay seller goes by Gini so everyone has coined the term 'Gini Rigs'. It's all done by Computer Aided Designs, high quality materials, and designed to be modular and highly configurable. Looks and feels like expensive rigs, only it's less than half the price of similar rigs coming out of Zacuto and Redrock. Sure it's shipping from Korea so you're going to wait a week or two. But i'm loving these guerilla style DSLR rigs. Maybe maybe maybe.. Check out these awesome rigs that all the videographers are talking about!

[UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE] I received a Gini Rig and reviewed it here:  http://cheesycam.com/the-gini-rig-arrives-from-korea
gini-rig-review
[Updated] Full Gini Rig Photo Gallery and Review

cine city dslr video shoulder mount rig

There's also Cine City products which I believe are coming out of India. They've been around for a while, but the previous lineup of products was nothing to be excited about. I think over the year with the DSLR craze going wild, they have improved on their designs, quality, and lineup of products. Definitely much more professional looking and looks to be compatible with other similar ROD rigs. This means you can mix and match clamps, handles, follow focuses, and other accessories.
Check out some of the new Cine City lineups for DSLR video stabilizers. Click any of the images to buy the products on eBay.

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Well it's been only a short time since I finally released my version of a DIY Rotational Skater Video Dolly. There's already talks in forums and other homebrews of this simple design on YouTube and on Vimeo. In fact there's even a guy on YouTube (i'm not going to drop links for sake of web traffic), who's setup a website selling it off as his original design. Absolutely no credits back to where he grabbed the idea from. I say don't support this guys sales...his parts look pretty hokey too. Hahaha.

Check out the video above for some example footage of the SpiderTrax Dolly design in use. Pretty cool!! Thanks Irakli !! Awesome job on making your DIY version.

A team of guys over at SpiderTraxDolly.com has taken the design into fancy computer renderings and precision manufacturing with black anodized aluminum and other good stuff. So if you're interested in getting some really professional looking gear, on the super dirt cheap, check out more information at SpiderTraxDolly.com

If you've got some really good skills, there are many DIY versions of the P+S Technik 3 wheeled Mini Skater. Here's a super awesome example of a DIY Skater Dolly based on the P+S Tehnik design master hand crafted by kasokeys (video below).

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Wow, this one is coming out of the Archives. In fact, it was shot with an HV20 (that tells you how many years ago that was). The video above finally made cut to show a little Behind the Scenes of a fun test Photoshoot I was a part of in San Francisco. I wasn't the Photographer nor the Videographer, but I did come in to supply and manage the lighting and triggers. That was fun, and I need to do more of those. So the real question now is, when's the next Model shoot? Holla!

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Seems to be a never ending cycle trying to find the best deals on these LED lights. They are just selling like crazy. Prices have gone up for USA sellers, but you can still grab them for around $50 Dollars + Free Shipping out of China.
More 126 LED's for around $50 dollars, can be shipped from China. Check out the Auctions Here.

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Strobist Cheesycam

Above, photo taken in Brentwood, testing out some new gear in full sunlight. The sun's back out in the Bay Area and it's looking great to get back into Photography. You just can't beat that backlighting and rim lights the sun provides on your subjects. High speed flash photography is lots of fun and helps achieve more balance in your exposure when shooting on a bright sunny day. Of course it helps to get the right setup with your Flashes to make sure you're still controlling the light being thrown.

Strobies studio kit is a cheap way to get into a variety of different flash diffusers and light modifiers. Sure it looks odd when you have the flash mounted 'ON' your camera, but if you start doing Remote Trigger 'Off' camera flash photography with Strobies, you're going to get some fantastic images.

In fact you can get into a small beauty dish, softbox, grids, barndoors, globes, and snoots for around $150 dollars. Check out the kit from Amazon (widget above) or click on this Link Here to check out other Strobie accessories for your photography needs.


Click Images

Other notable diffusers for your Speedlite Flashes are from the Gary Fong lineup. You'll see this as standard issue for Wedding Photographers.
The Power Snoot

  • Increases directional light output by 3 times
  • Narrows the light output which can be used as a hair light, spot light, or any subject that needs a concentrated light source
  • Universal mounting system that fits most strobes currently in the market
  • Concentration of the light increases the effective distance of the strobe being used

    • The Gary Fong LightSphere

    This is a flexible, Opaque Vinyl diffuser with an internal snap on dome. Designed to fit a select group of flashes (see list of flashes below) The inside of the Lightsphere is completely textured to make the light dispersion even more "soft" than it would be otherwise! The new cloud colored Lightsphere provides the warmest softest light possible from your on-camera flash Studio quality light, that you can carry in your gear bag, makes the Cloud Lightsphere the perfect diffuser for portrait photographers and wedding photojournalists. This soft flattering light is the same light you are accustomed to finding in your studio when using a softbox, Calumet panel or large umbrella. If you shoot outside of your studio - you will love the NEW Cloud Lightsphere. The inverted dome allows you to softly diffuseyou will love the NEW Cloud soft source without creating flare on the front of your lens. The inverted dome allows you to softly diffuse direct light with a large, soft source without creating flare on the front of your lens. The C4 Lightsphere II fits the following flashes Canon 580EX & 430EZ Sony HVL-F32X Vivitar 730AF

    The Gary Fong LightSphere - Collapsible

    Gary Fong introduces the Lightsphere Collapsible, the new evolution of the famed Lightsphere series of diffusers! The Lightsphere Collapsible is made from soft vinyl making this Lightsphere flexible yet durable. The Lightsphere Collapsible boasts the first mounting system of its kind. It utilizes patent pending sizing ribs to provide an equally tight fit to several sizes of flashes without the need for straps or bands and collapses down to a 1 1/2 inch thick ring allowing for easy storage. The Inverted Dome, which works with all exisiting accessories, is included with the purchase. The light output is equivalent to a half cloud.

    Additional Gary Fong Flash Diffusers and Accessories can be found by Clicking on this Link.

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    If you're shooting DSLR video, you know the current workflow is to render the original files out to another format before you'll get smoother playback during editing. Well Adobe's recognized this workflow and has created the new 'Mercury Playback Engine' in CS5. Adobe's new CS5 suite of tools also includes updates to InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Flash, After Effects, and even Premiere Pro. The new applications are written for native 64bit and with the Mercury Playback Engine, it should play any video file from DSLR's to Sony XDCam super smooth.

    The new Photoshop CS5 also has some awesome new features with Conten-Aware Fill, Selection tools, and a better HDR Pro tool. Whether you're a photographer or videographer, check out the videos above and below for some exciting new reasons why you should grab the new CS5 Suite.

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    Not too happy with the Fluid Head that comes attached with this $99.00 dollar slider from IndiSystems, but the rail and carrier work pretty well. It looks thicker than other Camera Slider rails out there, but it's actually hollow and very lightweight. This 2 foot version of a silder is easier for my type of workflow compared to the 4 ft. slider I show in this video. This $99 dollar video camera slider mounts well directly to the Tripod or to a Quick release plate.

    I had to drill out the old fluid head mount (plastic) and make room for a 1/4 x 20 flat headed screw. I wanted to keep it at 1/4 x 20 so I still have the option of mounting a camera directly to the carrier plate. In order to mount the Bogen 701HDV Fluid head, 1/4 to 3/8 adapter like this one. I don't do a whole bunch of sliding, but now maybe I will since this is a lighter and smaller version compared to the other Igus Rail. This is the mini slider from https://indisystem.com/products/indislider_mini

    You can also get the same slider for a bit more here:

    Did I mention I got my new 100mm Macro IS USM lens in also?? It's awesome...Here's a few samples below I took outside in the parking lot.
    100mm Macro IS USM Canon Lens

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    It's crazy crazy crazy. I'm getting a ton of questions and comments about these LED Video lights. Seems that the old links that I have to these lights are ALL SOLD OUT!. I've purchased 3 of these myself and i'm lovin' it. I've even started to make Barn Doors, Snoots, Grids, and other Diffusers for them. I'm using them as a Continuous Lighting Kit for interviews, and since they are hot-shoe mountable, i've even used them with my Photography Umbrella Brackets. I was able to locate another USA seller for these lights, but who knows how much longer they'll last. Click the link Below.

    Update!! You Can Find the Popular 126 LED DSLR Video Light Kit Here!!