DIY Equipment

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pico-international

If you're not familiar with the Pico Flex Table dolly, you can find some information here: http://cheesycam.com/new-pico-flex-table-dolly/

It's been just over a month since the Pico Flex Dolly was released, and since then it has not sold internationally (including Canada). Sorry people, it's really much more complicated than it appears. There's been quite a few hurdles in the last few weeks, but this time PhotographyandCinema.com has opened up with retail partners who have the experience and capabilities of shipping internationally.

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The deals have already been made and the retail partners are just waiting for the inventory to ship. I know that the retailers are excited about posting the products up as soon as they have it in their hands, and i'll announce where it will be available when that happens. Some retailers will be receiving inventory by tomorrow or Friday, so as soon as I hear the listings are up i'll post that on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/cheesycam

For USA customers, the Pico Flex Dolly is available via https://PhotographyandCinema.com

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Screen shot 2011-10-11 at 11.04.52 AM

Vimeo member ephisus uses several strings of Christmas lights wrapped around a wreath frame to create a continuous ring light source. There's a definite catch light in the subject's eyes that smaller diameter ring lights have a hard time achieving (unless you're super close). The trick to making these catch lights smaller or larger is to move it closer or further away from the subject. I like the ring light effect, but some people see it as 'unusual'. If you pull your light source a bit further, you'll just get a clean round dot. Simple build, no soldering, with an estimated cost of about $25 dollars. [Thanks Joel]

These type of stringed bulbs are getting harder to find now that LED XMAS lights are inexpensive to make, use less power, and generate no heat. Check your local hardware stores, but online i've only managed to find two that might output enough light.

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Some BTS of a DIY stabilizer we put together last minute. Working with the GoPro 3D Rig we wanted to get an unusually low tracking shot. A wheeled dolly would have a hard time in the urban streets, so a slightly modified Flycam Nano was the solution. The Flycam Nano received an extension below to hold the GoPro 3D Rig, and an extra GoPro was used to output the video up to the SmallHD DP6 monitor. A few counterweights taped to the top was added to balance it all together. I need to get the awesome footage from the GoPros later..it was quite amazing to get flying shots at that super wide low angle..

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Disclaimer:: The Pico Flex Dolly was not designed to work in this manner. Use in this manner at your own risk.

The Pico Flex Dolly has already been motorized with lasers, so what else can we expect? Here's something quite odd. This is just something I happened upon and although it's not perfect, maybe it will spark some creative ideas for you DIY'ers out there. After removing the sets of wheels, and keeping the two bearings on the axles, there's enough gap to ride on a set of rails. If you need to track a straight line on some 'unforgiving surface', a set of rails will give smooth performance. For a quieter experience, cheap plastic rods would work better. I'm not sure what rail width would be optimal use for something like this and again, this is not what the Pico Flex Dolly was designed for.

Oh and for a solution while keeping the standard skate wheels on the little table dolly, there will be a specially designed roll out mat available soon. Still in the works...

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Click for Larger View

Just hours after posting the article about DIY LED lighting with Flexible LED strips, Ibrahim was already at work designing a CD Jewel Case Panel. The LED strips fit nicely in the CD case offering a simple solution to a housing, and an easy way to hold colored filters. [Thanks Ibrahim] If you're just landing directly to this article, remember to check out the original DIY post link on these uber cheap flexible LED lighting strips (click here).

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YouTube member DTapeProductions writes in and shares their DIY LED Light panel using LED light strips. Of course you can't exact daylight temperature, and who knows if it can be properly color corrected with filters. Outside of that, it's actually quite ingenious if you think of the price + possibilities. As mentioned in the video, these uber cheap super bright LED lights can be used for accents, instead of the use of colored gels. It would be interesting to see them finish that 1200 LED panel. [Thanks Ross]

Flexible with adhesive backing, these strips are also found in waterproof versions. They are available in a variety of colors from Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, White, and Warm White. Often found as the colorful under lighting of cars since they run at 12V. It will run you about $3-4 dollars / 1M (3ft = 60 LED count) found below.

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find-price-button Flexible LED lighting Strips 12V

If you're looking to make those 12V LED lights dimmable, this 12V PWM designed for LED lighting should work.

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find-price-button PWM Dimming Controller For LED Lights or Ribbon, 12 Volt 8 Amp, 3301

[Update] Chris drops a comment and mentions that if you're not the strong silent soldering type of guy, then there are a variety of connectors available for Flexible LED strips. Check out some of the options available below that will allow you to bend the strips, or join them directly for longer runs. All found on eBay below (click here).

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find-price-button Flexible LED Strip Connectors

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I was testing this about a week ago, but finally published it to the public. Taking all the same little electronics from the JuicedLink DIY slider project (continuous servo, servo driver, and battery case) the little Pico Flex dolly is moving on it's own. The speed is variable and with the size of the pulley. It can go really slow, but what you see is the fastest setting it will go. A piece of scrap acrylic plastic and double sided tape was all that was used to mount it temporarily while I try to figure out the cheapest and best way to drive this thing.

A rubber band pulley system didn't do so well. The band would stretch and when there was enough tension built up, it would snap back causing a jerking motion. The direct drive was the simplest way to turn the Pico wheels and was much more consistent. Using this technique could apply to all existing Pico Flex Dollies without replacing any existing parts. The servo is extremely strong and since the Pico moves with little effort, it can move quite a bit of weight.

Another Clever Pico Flex Dolly Modification - Motorized + Lasers

YouTube Member dim3m has motorized the Pico Flex, and has also added lasers for an easy way to identify the rotating axis. This is a common practice used in those high end three wheel skater type dollies. By aligning the axles with the lasers, the cross path will be the center of rotation. This is where you need to focus your camera. Right now the lasers are just temporarily being held on with Friction arms as a proof of concept. [Thanks dim3m] You can find pen lasers fairly cheap these days in just about any store, but if you're lazy they can be found online for about $1.49 (click here)

Mini Laser
find-price-button Mini Pen Laser KeyChains

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When you've got yourself a fairly long slider (usually over 4ft.), it will often require one very very heavy tripod, or two simple lightweight stands. There's also a few sliders that ALWAYS require two stands, like JuicedLink's latest DIY slider. Rod's DIY solution is to use a single ironing board that is quick to setup, can adjust to various heights, fold flat, and is dirt cheap. [Thanks Rod] Keep note that you'll probably require some level ground as each corner is not adjustable.

If you're concerned about aesthetics, another cheap solution that mimics the same folding and height adjustment features as an ironing board is a musicians keyboard stand (as found below).

Keyboard Stand
find-price-button Adjustable Height Folding Keyboard Stand

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DIY-DSLR-ShirtsDIY-shirt

DIY DSLR inspired Logo T-Shirt. Some of you might have seen me wearing this T-Shirt during the Express35 Event Rig review (click here). A few people mentioned it could be of interest, so here it is available online starting today. Just a simple acronym DIY with an image of a DSLR. Shirts available in a few variety of sizes and colors. Find it below.

DIY-DSLR-Logo-Shirt
find-price-button DIY DSLR Logo Inspired T-Shirt