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I'm a big fan of Rechargeable AA batteries but under a few conditions. They have to 'stay charged' even when sitting around a few weeks or even a few months. They also have to perform longer than your average battery, so less swapping through the day. This is why I built up an inventory of Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable batteries and have been using them in heavy rotation. The problem of course is these things aren't cheap.

Sanyo Eneloop Rechargeables
find-price-button Sanyo Eneloop 8PK AA Rechargeable Batteries

Aside from all the camera accessories such as LED lights, portable audio recorders, and wireless mic packs, they have found their way into my home inside wireless mice, wireless keyboards, television remote controls, XBOX and Wii controllers. There just doesn't seem to be enough to go around these days, and looking to buy more I turned to AmazonBasics Rechargeable AA Batteries. With almost exact performance as the Sanyo Eneloops but at maybe 33% or so cheaper.

fvlight z96 led amazon basics
(5) AmazonBasics Rechargeable AA batteries in F&V Z96 LED Light

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I'm still using my Sanyo chargers to recharge these batteries, so if you're already invested in Sanyo Eneloops these will fit seamlessly into your workflow. I've been very happy so far, but don't take my word. There are tons of reviews and customers performing extensive tests against the Eneloops. It would be my suggestion that you look into these batteries before pricing steadily climbs (find them here).

amazonbasics rechargable batteriesaa rechargeable batteries
find-price-button AmazonBasics AA Rechargeable Batteries

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12.10.2014 Bundle available from Camera Motion Research

Wireless Director’s Monitor Super Bundle Sale Everything you need for a wireless director’s monitor at a fantastic price is included in the RB10 bundle. Regular price (not including bonus parts) is $1554.  Price after $200 discount is $1354.

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find-price-button Wireless Director’s Monitor Super Bundle Sale

RB10 Monitor Bundle Includes:

  • RP10 Radian Pro set
  • CL10 TX and RX Backbones
  • BA56 USB TX battery
  • BA84 USB RX battery
  • CH10 USB battery charger
  • M701H 7” IPS monitor, select F970 or LP-E6 battery plate (battery not included)
  • MY10 Monitor Yoke
  • Bonus parts:  Monitor case and monitor yoke lightstand adaptor

If you use Anton or V-mount batteries and want the convenience of using one battery to power both the M701H monitor and the Radian receiver, we have the package for you.  This package is the same as the RB10 bundle, but includes our DT10 D-tap converter, and you can select either an Anton or V-mount battery plate for the monitor.  The additional cost for your choice of Anton or V-mount battery plate plus the D-tap converter is $95.  We get about 11 hours of run time powering both the M701H and Radian receiver with a 97 WHr battery.  (Battery shown in picture is not included)

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find-price-button Wireless Director’s Monitor Super Bundle Sale

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Rik Cordero over at RunPlayBack.com put together a nice BTS look from one of his recent projects. The new music video for rapper Joey Bada$$ was put together using fairly accessible consumer priced equipment.

A Varavon 3-Axis Birdycam Gimbal was used to help stabilize the handheld and tracking shots. A broad throw of light was offered up by the massive ePhoto R640 LED Ring Light (found here), and a GoPro HERO4 on a DJI Phantom Quadcopter with FPV setup was used for aerials. According to Rik, this massive 640 LED Ring Light was extremely versatile and used almost throughout the entire video. I'm a big fan of this light as well.

ephoto
find-price-button ePhoto R640 18” LED Ring Light

The video was shot using the Panasonic GH4 camera (currently on sale here) with mostly old Canon FD Lenses and a Metabones FD Speedbooster.

Here's a look at the BTS video.

And here's a look at the final edited piece

I'm just throwing up a bit of a summary here, but you can read an entire article about the workflow and tools used on this and other projects over at Rik's site https://RunPlayBack.com

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Do you have a Google Chromecast? [we probably have more than 6 ourselves]. If not, you are totally missing out on one of life's little conveniences when it comes to sending media content from your Computer, Smart Phones, and Tablets over to the big screen in your living room. If you're still not quite sure what it is, here's an overview video below from the GearAddix team (below). If you know how it works, you can skip on to the rest of the article.

That video might be a bit outdated as there have been several software upgrades to the product, so it's a lot more full featured. One of those new features (available on Android only) is Screen Casting. You can now cast your entire mobile device screen over to any large television. This has been handy for me as I like to take notes on my Galaxy Tablet, and by broadcasting it to the large 4K TV here at the office we now have a digital White Board in which we can save all of our note taking.

casting galaxy to tv
Casting Samsung Galaxy Tablet Screen as Digital WhiteBoard

Ok, so many of you are interested in DSLR Video, so all this tech chatter probably doesn't mean much, but here's a very cool tip you video shooters may find handy. With the ability to screen cast from your device you can broadcast your Canon DSLR Video wirelessly over to any HDMI monitor or Big Screen. By using the DSLR Controller (android app) and a special USB OTG Cable, the app works as a preview monitor and to control the cameras settings [similar to the EOS Utility Software on a desktop]. Since the App runs on your android device, you can screen cast over to your Google Chromecast which is connected via HDMI to any monitor. Check out the demonstration video below.

Regardless if you're going to use it for DSLR Video, the Google Chromecast actually makes a perfect affordable XMAS present. My kids stream YouTube and Netflix from their iPods all day long over to the television. At around $30 Bucks, it's certainly worth the buy and if you don't want to move it from TV to TV, grab one for each television in your home. (find it here).

google chromecast stream DSLR Video
find-price-button Google Chromecast Wireless HDMI Video Streaming

OTG USB Cable Android Canon DSLR
find-price-button OTG USB Cable Micro to Mini


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Fotodiox today has officially announced the availability of their B4 Magic Lens Adapter for BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Cameras. This adapter allows you to add a B4 Mount ENG Powered Zoom Lens to the Pocket Cinema Camera.

Keep in mind these lenses come in a variety of different types and brands, and in USED condition - so the results can greatly vary. The old B4 ENG lenses often found for about $100 dollars are originally designed for SD video, so I wouldn't get my hopes up on trying to achieve super sharp HD Video results. A powered zoom lens is just a handy tool, but maybe just for a niche market. In any case, you can find more information about this adapter over at the website (Found Here).

FotoDiox B4 Lens Adapter Kits
find-price-button FotoDiox B4 ENG Powered Servo Zoom Lens Mount Adapter

CLICK HERE to Search eBay for ENG Lens
96-296-196

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Amazon has a good number of Lightning Deals on the Rokinon 50mm F/1.5 Cine Lens, 7.5mm Fisheye, and 12mm F/2.0 Wide Angle. These deals are only scheduled to go by very fast, so make sure to check on these products at the scheduled time.

2:50pm (PST) - Amazon Lightning Deal on Rokinon 7.5mm Fisheye Lens for Sony E Mount (found here).

rokinon 7.5 fisheye sony
find-price-button Rokinon 7.5mm Fisheye Lens Sony NEX Sony E Mount

3:50pm (PST) - (Nikon mounts can easily be adapted to fit Canon EOS, M43, etc.). Lightning Deal on Rokinon 50mm T/1.5 Cine Lens for Nikon Mount

rokinon 50mm cine lens nikon canon
find-price-button Rokinon 50mm T/1.5 Cine Lens Nikon Mount

4:50pm (PST) - Great for Fuji X-Mount cameras, but this lens cannot be adapted. Lighting Deal on Rokinon 12mm F/2.0 wide Angle Fuji-X Mount.

rokinon 12mm F 2 Fuji X
find-price-button Rokinon 12mm F/2.0 Fuji X Mount

4:50am (PST) - Lighting Deal on Rokinon 50mm T/1.5 Cine Lens for Canon Mount (here)

rokinon 50mm cine lens nikon canon
find-price-button Rokinon 50mm T/1.5 Cine Lens Canon Mount

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Only for the next FEW HOURS - Save -$100 OFF the Davis & Sanford Provista 7518 Tripod with FM18 Head [Now just $99 bucks]. This tripod mainly receives excellent reviews from users for it's price and performance. Of course you can always replace the head with another 75mm bowl mount Fluid Head, so that makes the legs pretty worth it too.

I myself have experience with this tripod and although it's not the 'smoothest' fluid head, it's solid platform to carry Video Jibs and Video Sliders. It's also great as a workhorse if you do mainly slow pans and static camera angles carrying Rigs up to 18lbs. Currently available on the Deal Zone for next few hours (or until sold out).

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find-price-button Davis & Sanford Provista 7518 Tripod with FM18 Head

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Here's a nice -$200 OFF discount on the Rokinon 8mm Cine Fisheye Lens (for Nikon mount while supplies last). There's a few reasons many of you may consider this lens deal. Let's start with the fact that it's one of Rokinon's Cine lens with built in focus and aperture gears to use with your follow focus and a de-clicked aperture ring.

Also don't be turned off that it's available in a Nikon mount, that's actually one of the best options out there if you're trying to adapt this lens. Basically you can easily adapt a Nikon lens to a Canon DSLR but not a Canon EF to a Nikon. Some people prefer to buy the Nikon mount for MFT cameras so that they can use a Speed Booster or Focal Reducer adapter instead of buying a dedicated MFT lens (though you may not need one for this fisheye).

Let's not forget that instead of buying an MFT lens, adapting this Nikon fisheye will let you use adapters like the FotoDiox ND Throttle with a built in Variable ND Filter that sits 'behind' the lens. As you know with a Fisheye lens you can't easily throw a filter on the front which helps to control the shutter speed of your video.

fotodiox ND Throttle Nikon to MFT
find-price-button FotoDiox ND Throttle Variable ND Filter Lens Adapter

And yes it's a Fisheye lens, but on a BMPCC or GH4 camera at 4K it's no too much of a fisheye look and can be corrected back down to 1080p for that wide angle view (article here). While supplies last (find it here).

rokinon fisheye lens
find-price-button Rokinon 8mm t/3.8 Fisheye Cine VDSLR Lens for Nikon $199.00 (Regular $399) Free Shipping. Good while supplies last!

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So I ended up ordering some additional SDXC cards during the #BlackFridayDeals. Originally I just wanted some spare cards to use with the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera to shoot ProRes HQ. To my surprise, the SanDisk 64GB Extreme SDXC - UHS-I Memory Card -80MBS/sec, U3 Card is totally capable of RAW on the BMPCC! Granted I have only been able to shoot around for a few minutes, but so far everything looks perfect with absolutely no dropped frames.

Now I was able to grab this card for $39 Dollars on Amazon (now back to $79 seen here), but unfortunately that price is no longer available. Even at B&H this particular card still retails for $75 dollars (seen here).

But lucky for you, Adorama still have this exact card for sale at $39 Dollars. Keep in mind this is the 80MB/s card NOT the 60MB/s card. I'm not sure if they are just a little late to update their prices back, but now is a good time as any if you're looking for a fast Sandisk SDXC card that you can shoot RAW with on your new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. (Find it Here).

sandisk 80MBs raw bmpcc sdxc card
find-price-button Sandisk Extreme SDXC 80MB/s Media

I hate to break it to you guys who just bought the Pocket Cinema Camera, but a 64GB Card with RAW will only get you 13 minutes of video, so you'll really need to stock up on cards for RAW. This is a great deal to do so. For everyone else shooting with a GH4, Sony A7s, or even Canon 5D Mark III that are worried about speed in an SDXC card this is an awesome deal! Grab before the price changes back. I just ordered a few more for myself...

[UPDATE] [UPDATE] [UPDATE] [UPDATE]
Adorama has brought the price back up, but thanks to some comments, you can still grab this deal from BestBuy via eBay. Normally I wouldn't suggest buying SD cards on eBay as there can be counterfeit items, but Best Buy is a legit retail chain store. Grab the Deal while you can on these Sandisk Cards for just $39 bucks (click here).

BestBuy-eBay
find-price-button Sandisk Extreme Gold 80MB/s SDXC Card