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It's quickly coming around 2 years since the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera was announced at NAB 2013, but with the recent firmware upgrades and lack of competition for a pocketable camera that is capable of RAW video for under $1K, it's still a very popular choice. Better late than never, Kamerar has finally decided to release a dedicated LCD ViewFinder for the BMPCC Camera.

Similar to previous QV-1 versions, the LCD ViewFinder attaches magnetically to a special baseplate that is a similar width to a Manfrotto 701PL plate. The QV-1 LCD VIEW FINDER FOR BMPCC, folds up to see an entire view of the BMPCC screen without crops or obstruction and full access to menu buttons.

QV1BMPCC07_large QV1BMPCC08_large

The Dovetail quick release plate does not obstruct the battery door, and offers both a 3/8" and 1/4" female thread for you to add virtually any other type of QR plate or direct tripod mount.

blackmagic kamerar lcd view finder

The Kamerar QV-1 LCD View Finder for the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera #BMPCC is available now, and more information can be found at https://PNCGear.com (click here).

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find-price-button QV-1 LCD VIEW FINDER FOR BMPCC

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If all you wanted to do was to add a very basic Follow Focus to your camera, you still end up needing a very basic set of 15mm rails and baseplate. Although there are literally dozens of baseplates available online, here's a new PVGear 3 Way Baseplate that adds a horizontal 90 degree rod clamp integrated into baseplate. This saves from having to purchase an extra part as well as save space on your rails.

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Example: Sony A7s with Atomos Shogun 4K HDMI Recorder

Here's a quick video on how I assembled a few pieces to create a super short, lightweight, and functional rig for my Panasonic GH4.

Instead of a cage system where you would mount all of the accessories onto the camera body, the horizontal rod allows you to add a monitor or even portable audio recorder alongside your camera. It's quick to break down and setup for travel. With a plate under the base you can add your favorite quick release to go direct to tripod mount. Like many affordable baseplate systems for rails, this is a basic setup that does not offer rail height adjustments which can be handy when using cheap matteboxes that don't offer up/down alignment. Still if you don't use a mattebox very often (as I don't), this is a handy piece of kit.

PVGear 3 way baseplate system
Example: GH4 with F&V SpectraHD Monitor and PNC Hybrid Should Pad

The top plate can be used to mount your camera directly or add a QR base system like the Manfrotto 577. You can find the new 3-Way Baseplate with or without Carbon Fiber Rods available at https://pvgear.com/products/3-way-15mm-rod-dslr-base-plate-mounting-system.

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find-price-button PVGear 3-Way Baseplate for 15mm Rods

smallrig 15mm handles
find-price-button SmallRig 15mm Handles

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find-price-button PNCGear Hybrid Folding Chest / Shoulder Pad

Manfrotto 577 Quick Release
find-price-button Manfrotto 577 Rapid Connect w/ Sliding Mounting Plate (501PL)

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In terms of Canon's best Prime Lenses especially for flattering portraits the 135mm F/2.0 at just over $1K is a highly popular focal length. There's a certain aesthetic quality from the 135mm that can't be matched. Now Rokinon is extending their lineup of Cine Lenses and has just recently announced their own 135mm F/2. For video use most people would gladly trade in their auto focus, but the real test of course is to see how people compare the quality of the two. Available for almost every camera mount, the new Rokinon 135mm F/2 or 135mm T/2.2 Cine Lens is available now for pre-order starting at $549.

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
135mm Lens
Full-Frame Coverage
Multi-Layer Coating to Reduce Flare
Standard Gearing for Focus and Iris
Dual Side Focus and T-Stop Scales
De-Clicked Aperture Ring
Hybrid Aspherical Lenses
Manual Focus and Aperture
Removable Lens Hood
Accepts 77mm Threaded Filter Rings

rokinon 135 f2 lensrokinon 135mm cine lens
find-price-button Rokinon 135mm F/2.0 or 135 m T/2.2 Cine Lens

• 30 Comments

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Although I haven't even had the time to learn everything about the new DJI Inspire 1 Quadcopter, I was at least able to get it off the ground and flying. It's a bit frustrating that they don't sell spare batteries (yet) as I only get around 18 minutes of flight before having to recharge the battery. So even though i've had the multicopter for a few days, I probably logged less than an hour and most of it is playing with the menu.

Keep in mind i'm not a very skilled pilot and there are some instances in the footage below where i'm trying to steer the copter. The Inspire 1 is actually a very very stable system. Here's a few minutes of 4K footage I shot recently on the new DJI Inspire 1 Quadcopter.

Make sure to switch to 4K resolution in the player and maybe even go full screen..

The images may be a bit underexposed or flat, but I wanted to pull down the highlights and in some cases bring up the shadows to see how much information I could retain. At around 2:45 in the video I'm shooting straight into the sun and was still able to retain color in the sky without completely losing the beach below. I still have a lot to learn and hopefully get better results but with the single battery it's taking a lot longer to practice. More to come.

DJI Inspire Quadcopter Multicopter 4K camera gimbal indoor
find-price-button DJI Inspire 1 4K Video Quadcopter

• 69 Comments

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Auto Pan onemancrew parallax video slider add on device 4

Tired of static camera angles? We all know that sliders can add an entirely new dimension to your video, but Panning the fluid head simultaneously can add even MORE! Of course it's tricky business tracking a subject perfectly and to repeat the process purely by hand is near impossible. Well here's a little Parallax Slider Add-On Track that you can mount to just about any video slider so that you can have auto-panning to track a subject. Here's a very quick video about how it works.

The kit comes with just a few parts and has a dozen different 1/4" or 3/8" mounting options to get it to fit on just about any slider. The track adjusts quickly so that you can setup your next tracking shot. Build quality is great and things work smoothly.

Auto Pan onemancrew parallax video slider add on device 2Auto Pan onemancrew parallax video slider add on device 3
find-price-button Parallax Auto Panning Subject Tracking Video Slider Add-On Track

You'll need a bit of practice on how to get it to work best by ensuring your track is not too high above the auto-pan base or it can bind. After about 10 minutes of playing you'll pretty much master the technique though. The kits are available with different lengths for short or long sliders and start at just around $150 (you provide the slider). Find it (HERE).

Auto Pan onemancrew parallax video slider add on device
find-price-button Parallax Auto Panning Subject Tracking Video Slider Add-On Track


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Here's a simple sound comparison video from Pete Alexandar using the affordable AspenMics HQ-S Stereo Lav mics. Using the same two microphones he's recording one to a Samsung Note 4 and to a Zoom H4n. For comparison he references back to what audio would sound like from the internal Sony A7s camera microphone. You'll notice immediately how different the same microphone can sound when using different recorders.

The Zoom H4n obviously is designed to capture quality sound and there's a big difference compared to the Samsung Note 4 which may sound a little flat. Still not a bad thing if you know how to tweak the audio in post using the Audio EQ. If you're looking to pair it with an affordable audio recorder that offers high quality sound capture, my vote is still the pocketable Zoom H1 often found for under $100 bucks.

So if you're looking to get better audio, there's no reason why you shouldn't have a good set of lav microphones in your kit. The focused sound will block out most ambient noise and deliver a higher quality recording. The AspenMics are perfect for the budget filmmaker, finally back in stock, and currently on sale (HERE).


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find-price-button AspenMics HQ Stereo and Mono Lavalier Microphones

For an additional sound test of these mics, check out the review samples from Ray Ortega from ThePodCasters Studio.

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I just received the new Atomos Shogun 4K Recorder / Monitor and obviously I plan to pair it up with the Sony A7s to utilize it's 4K Video feature (via HDMI only), and also test out 10Bit 4K via the GH4.

It's #4K time on Sony #A7s and 10 bit #4K on #Panasonic #GH4 #atomos #shogun #hdmirecorder

A photo posted by Emm (@mrcheesycam) on

For something this heavy, it's probably not a great idea to mount it directly to the Hot Shoe of the camera, so you'll need to look into using some type of accessory mount or Camera Cage. Here's a look at two Varavon Armor Pro Cages designed for the Sony A7s and Panasonic GH4.

Instead of a fairly large generic shell, each Armor Cage is custom designed only to fit a specific camera. This allows the cage to be remain very slim and allowing full access to the camera's dials, inputs, and doors. Each Varavon Armor Cage comes with a leather Hand Strap, while some packages offer a Top Handle and optional rotating ENG Hand Grip.

To maximize the run time on these cameras (I really need one for the Sony A7s), Varavon also offers external battery power solutions for many types of cameras.

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find-price-button Varavon Sony A7s and GH4 External Battery Package

For more information about these cages and optional accessories, check out the Varavon website (here).

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find-price-button Varavon Armor Cages for Sony A7s Pro and GH4 Pro

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The DJI Inspire 1 Quadcopter has seen quite a few delays, but a few customers have already received their units. I just received news that mine just shipped out today (should be here Monday). Although this is an amazing copter as far as feature set goes, people were a bit hesitant about the quality of the built in camera. Here's a couple of the 'most recent' videos uploaded on YouTube.


via Philip Lima


via Multicopter Warehouse

And of course one of it's stand out features is the ability to fly stable indoors. While the DJI Phantom relied heavily on GPS for stability, the Inspire 1 has added several new sensors below the copter that can detect distance from the floor. Here's a video showing stable flight indoors.


via haampie1985

While some may argue that the quality of the DJI Inspire 1 camera may not be as good as the new GoPro HERO4 4K, the Inspire 1 adds so many new features that may outweigh the cons. Some of those features include built in Lightbridge for streaming true HD video back to your device while allowing further distance of control, sensors for stable flight indoors, raised landing gears for 360 panoramic camera movement, and dual remotes for second operator (one flies one controls cameras movements). Not to mention more powerful motors when flying in certain elements.

The new DJI Inspire 1 is available with a single remote or dual remotes, but unfortunately from what I hear DJI is only shipping 'single remote kits'. If you ordered the Dual Remote Kit, the second remote may ship separately - possibly at a later time. While i'm also super excited to get it off the ground, it only ships with one battery and additional spare Inspire 1 batteries are still on pre-order status.

You can find more information or order the product (here).

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find-price-button DJI Inspire 1 Quadcopter 4K Video via B&HPhoto
find-price-button DJI Inspire 1 Quadcopter 4K Video via Adorama