FYI, here's a deal on that expires in the next two (2) days. The Rokinon 24mm T/1.5, 35mm T/1.5, and 85mm T/1.5 Cine lenses are bundled for an extra savings or $250 dollars. Available in Canon, Nikon, and Sony E/A mounts, but they can easily be adapted to fit M4/3 cameras as well. As far as Rokinon Cine Lenses go, these are probably the most popular and the deal ends March 2nd. Check it out via B&H (found here)
Rokinon Cine Lens Bundle Deal 24mm, 35mm, 85mm T/1.5
I was looking for a few more strong mini ball heads and just happened to run into these guys. From the photos they looked pretty high quality, and at less than $8 bucks a piece
, worth a shot. Once they dropped in, I was pretty happy with the build on these things.
You probably saw me earlier mounting this to that CAME 2 Axis Gimbal under the MustHD Monitor. Very sturdy little ball heads and priced well against many of the other micro / mini ball heads. For under $8 dollars + free shipping, you can find the Osrso ball heads via eBay (click here).
Osrso Heavy Duty Inexpensive Mini Ball Heads
Other ball heads mentioned in the video
 Manfrotto 492 Micro Ball |
 Giottos Mini Ball Head |
 Junior Joint Pro Mini Ball Head |
If you're thinking about taking your GoPro Hero cameras to the sky, consider the deals going on right now. From basic to more advanced Gimbal stabilized packages, B&H has setup a dedicated page offering sale prices on various DJI Phantom Quadcopter Kits (found here).
Edlekrone is stepping up their game with the new SliderPlus 'PRO'. The new Pro version can carry up to 50% more, is compatible with Edelkrone's latest motion control systems, and can be disassembled for servicing or repair.
For a complete look at Edelkrone products, check out the website at https://Edelkrone.com.
Edelkrone SliderPlus Pro
Kamerar has released a few GoPro accessories that allow you to get more creative with the Hero3/Hero3+ cameras. The new Kampro Handle Kit works with existing GoPro housings (waterproof / skeleton) comes with 1x Handle, 3x Thumb Screws, 2x Threaded Pivot Arm, 1x Pivot Arm, 1x Phone Mount, 1x Tripod Mount, and 1x Cold Shoe Mount. The Kampro Handle Kit can be found (here).
Kamerar KamPro Handle Kit for GoPro Hero Cameras
When you want to run the GoPro 'naked' (without the waterproof housing), Kamerar has released an affordable GoPro Cage. Made of precision CNC machined aircraft grade aluminum, the new Kampro offers a few cold shoe mounts (a feature not found on other GoPro cages) ready to accept microphones, led lights, or other accessories.
A single knob locks the GoPro Hero3/Hero3+ in place while still allowing full access to ports, buttons, lcd screen, MicroSD slot, and fast access for battery swaps. A lens cap fitted over a 37mm threaded filter mount is ready to accept your ND, CPL, or other popular filters. For more information on these products, check out the https://PNCGear.com website (click here).
Kamerar KamPro GoPro Cage with Cold Shoe & 1/4-20 threaded Taps
For those who are still shopping for a set of affordable LED video light panels, here is a closer look at the F&V K4000/ K4000s Bi-Color LED Studio Panel 3 Light Kit.
The K4000/K4000s LED Lights can be powered by V-mount battery, 3.5mm DC input, or by a more robust V-mount to AC wall adapter. The filters are offset to eliminate multi-shadow effects typically found on panels that use multi-led bulb arrays. Sold separately these lights run up to $500/each, but as a 3 piece kit (which includes a travel case) these lights end up running as low as $330/each (found here). If you want to get a few more ideas on how professionals are using these lights, take a look at the F&V Video Gallery page (found here).
K4000 Single Color / K4000S Bi-Color LED Video Light Kits
Nikon has released the D4s, an upgraded version of their flagship D4 DSLR. The new Nikon D4s Digital SLR Camera sports a new 16.2-megapixel sensor, faster processor, and a faster autofocus system. The D4s claims to be even better in low-lighting than the D4 (which was already quite impressive). As a comparison the original D4 offered ISO settings of Lo1 (ISO 50) to Hi4 (ISO 204,800), while the new D4s offers Lo1 (ISO 50) to Hi4 (ISO 409,600).
The D4s improves only slightly faster with a burst rate of 11fps (as opposed to 10fps). For video shooters, the previous D4 offered 1080p Full HD video at 30/25 or 24p, while the new D4s camera now adds on 1080p Full HD video at 60fps. If i'm correct, the D4 also offered a clean HDMI signal that can be recorded from. Still, the price point of this camera may appeal more towards professional photographers over video shooters.
There's more to the new D4s, and additional information about the new Nikon D4s DSLR Camera can be found via Adorama (click here).
Nikon D4s Digital SLR Camera
I've been researching various Light Meters capable of measuring LED or other artificial lights. We're not talking about your basic exposure type light meter, we're talking about ones that can read Spectrum, CRI, LUX, etc. In hand, they are simple tools to operate, but yet everything on the market is still quite expensive. I poked around for suggestions, and for under $2,000 bucks many kept referring me to the 
UPRtek MK350. Here's a quick video showing the basic features of the UPRtek MK350 LED Spectrometer.
NOW ON TO THE GOOD STUFF
At CineGear, I was able to stop by one booth where 
Asensetek was showcasing their new Lighting Passport Spectrometer. (They were also showcasing this meter at NAB2013). Check out some of the features you can do with this Spectrometer.
Specifically designed to measure LED or Artificial lights, and supposedly with more accuracy than the MK350. I love the convenience of being able to separate the lumisphere and having controls via Bluetooth. This saves so much time going back and forth from the measuring point back to the lights, making adjustments, and then walking back again to take another measurement.
At the Asensetek booth, they had mentioned they have been working with light measuring tools for over 7 years, and claim to be the most accurate LED meter in the world. Big words, but all I really care about at this point is being more accurate than the MK350 (or equal). The UPRtek software and features really seem outdated when compared to the controls you have with the Asensetek iOS Genius application. With an iOS device (iPad, iPhone, iPod) you can even share the data instantly via email or upload them. Besides all the basic measuring scopes, you can even store pictures of your set so you know exactly how your lighting was set up in case you ever have to reshoot.
Here's another video from their website showcasing the features of the Asensetek Lighting Passport
Being that the Asensetek is cheaper and offers a more full featured Spectrometer, this seems like a no brainer for me. The workflow with the Asensetek Lighting Passport with their Genius Software is just brilliant. I don't know how many of you have a need for such a tool, but you can find more information about the Asensetek Lighting Passport, you can contact them at their website (found here), or contact their distributor website https://alliedscientificpro.com/.
Or message them via their Facebook page (here).
If you like this article, make sure to tell them Cheesycam.com sent you over!
The new CAME 6000 2 Axis Gimbal Stabilizer does very well to keep a camera's horizon level. It's dead quiet, and easy to balance small DSLR sized cameras. The brushless motors are covered, the wiring is run internally to the Carbon tubes, battery is covered, and control board is covered. Aesthetically this system looks simple, and is simple to use. For the price, it's certainly not the cheapest when you look at DIY kits, but for some people the RTR (ready to run) convenience is a plus. The biggest downfall is the lack of side handles.
CAME 6000 2-Axis Active Gimbal Stabilizer
Only a few hours after receiving the unit from CAME-TV.com, I was already modifying a set of side handles. Eventually my plan is to create a solid metal 90 degree clamp to add a 15mm rail (as seen below).
15mm Rail Adapter Concept - cheesycam.com
Until then, i'm using a simple 3/8" conduit clamp attached to a single 15mm rail clamp with a 1/4-20 thread (seen here). A small bolt runs through with a series of lock washers to prevent it from coming loose. Using a 15mm rail opens up new options for adding other industry standard accessories. Additionally i'm hiding the top 1/4" bolt by mounting a mini ball head for a monitor. Not too shabby for the time being..
After configuring the side handles, we took the CAME 6000 2 Axis Gimbal out for a walk with a Panasonic GH3 mounted. [ Note: The video below contains some very boring 5 minute walking material. ]. It's easy for companies to pick out only the best footage of their products in use, so in this video we decided to show UNCUT FOOTAGE and the BTS from this sample.
If you manage to make it through the boring part, you'll see transitions from normal shots, to low angle (doggy cam) footage, and even doing some (rookie) hand offs to another operator as the Gimbal becomes too heavy to manage after a few minutes. Simple moves, but almost impossible to perform with your average stabilizer a.k.a steadicam type device.
Although our technique, skill, and experience with gimbals is far from perfect, this modified CAME 6000 2 Axis Gimbal for the most part did it's job to keep the horizon level. Keep in mind in this example we're continuously walking all in one take - something that may not be too common in your production. Typically we're just looking for an effective way to stabilize hand held video when working off of a tripod, and I think this tool does very well in that sense. In worst case scenarios, there's also the option of adding post image stabilization which will I think will be more effective when shooting 4K video > 1080p (i.e. cropping, leveling horizons, etc.)
I'm a fan of working with smaller tools whenever possible, so I also like how compact this system is. It folds down with a low profile, and we have even managed to fit it into one our cheap hard cases (found here), with room to spare if I wanted to throw in the HDMI monitor, and more.
Here's an old video for reference on how I go about balancing these gimbals (click here). I do believe that if CAME-TV wants to sell more of this particular stabilizer, they should really look into adding side handles, but until then it's not too difficult to DIY your own. You can find the CAME 6000 2 Axis Gimbal over at their website https://CAME-TV.com or also found via eBay (click here).
CAME 6000 2-Axis Active Gimbal Stabilizer
