DIY Equipment

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LED-Flood-Light

Odd color or not, people are finding the cheap UFO camping lights pretty useful. You can't beat $5 dollars shipped I guess. So remember the idea of using Halogen shop lights from here? http://cheesycam.com/diy-halogen-shop-light-mod/

Here's another one that might get the hamster wheels in your heads spinning. Cheesycam reader Pawel writes in and links me to some inexpensive outdoor high power LED flood lights. These LED flood lights are designed to take abuse with a weatherproof housing and come with a positionable mounting bracket. The bracket should make it real easy to mount to a traditional light stand. Available in 10W [might be too little] - all they way up to more than 100W, there's plenty of light power to go around. These are commonly used to light up parking lots, street lamps, and buildings. I'm finding that the higher power lights go to a more bluish temp, while the lower 10-20W LED Flood lights are a warmer tone around 3200-3500K (about Tungsten). Around 65W is said to have a 5600K color temp.

LED flood light

A further search even shows that these lights are available in both AC power and 12V DC and some listings show a 160 degree beam angle. That's pretty wide. 12V DC would be pretty nice to run right off battery power at remote locations. Keep in mind that these high power LEDs will still generate a little bit of heat, but nothing compared to what Halogens would be putting out. I'm in on this idea and maybe i'll check my local hardware stores to see if they have any on hand. Oh and if you're the colorful type, somewhere i've also seen that they make color changing versions.. Another idea for color changing backgrounds..
[Thanks Pawel]

LED-High-Power-FloodLight
find-price-button High Power Outdoor LED Flood Lighting

Some additional search results for High Power LED Lighting below:

LED flood light
High Power LED Outdoor Flood Lighting

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Not long ago I showed off a sweet little DIY Teleprompter that was shipped over to me from Tompter.com. As promised Tom himself put together this video tutorial on how to make your very own. It requires some cut acrylic, special reflective tint, blow torch, velcro, and nylon laundry bag for the hood/shade. If you're feeling that it's a bit over your head, you can always get one from Tompter through his store. Pretty sweet and very effective DIY Teleprompter.

[Thanks Tom]

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find-price-button DIY Teleprompter Kit w/ LCD Screen, Stand, Prompter – Tompter

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Remember this article: http://cheesycam.com/48-led-ufo-camping-ring-light/? Vimeo member RAYPERENIA throws up a 48 LED Camping light video sample and it looks pretty good. Not quite the bluish output I thought it might have, and it actually looks pretty good. Total light output looks strong for a $5 dollar light and the area of coverage looks pretty good too. I asked Ray what white balance setting he had, so hopefully we'll hear back. [Thanks Ray]

UFO-48-Light
find-price-button 48 LED UFO Camping Lights

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Looks like a Manfrotto 577 Rapid Connect Adapter w/Sliding Mounting Plate right? It sure could be, but guess what - it's not Manfrotto. On sale right now this QR adapter sells for about 40% of the Manfrotto price. The specs over at the Calumet website doesn't state anything about being Manfrotto compatible or as a Manfrotto replacement part. I called the store and they weren't even sure if it was.

I don't know why they don't state it anywhere on the specs of the product, but it does look to be the exact same QR adapter and Plate design. The question I had was 'Is it really compatible?'. So I just put this quick release through the tests and it sure is compatible in every means. If you're looking for a QR adapter for all your Glidecam, Flycam, Sliders, or Jibs, it's a bonus that this inexpensive one is Manfrotto compatible. Right now it's on sale and there's only a limited supply in every store. If you were wondering too, here's the answer..


calumet-quick-release-adapter
find-price-button Quick Release Adapter + Plate (not Manfrotto branded)

If you're just in need of the plate itself, they have that available too (again not stating Manfrotto Compatible)
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find-price-button Sliding Plate (not Manfrotto branded)

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manfrotto-rapid-adapter
find-price-button Light Stand adapter with 1/4 x 20 Thread

Two tripods to support a long camera slider is a good idea, but if all you need is just a little extra support you can get away with a simple Light Stand. One solid tripod in the center, and a Light Stand at the end should do fine. The Konova Camera Slider offered light stand adapters as an optional piece of equipment, so that you can use inexpensive Light Stands for additional support or to get some different slider configurations. I believe they sold for about $18+ shipping. You can actually find them for less than $10 bucks via B&H Photo. (above)

konova-lightstand-adapters
Two light stands with adapters for sideways sliding

One thing that Konova does throw a deal on is collapsible Light Stands. This is one thing that I really hate about traveling even with light weight stands. They are just a bit too long to fit into your average bag. I carry three small stands with my 3pc. 500 LED kit and am forced to use a really long bag just to pack it all in. The Konova folding stands shave down quite a few inches from it's minimum folded length. There are other versions of these which they will call 'Reverse Stands' and you can find some here: Reverse Light Stands

If you feel my pain, these types of folding light stands do exist for a bit cheaper and they make packing things up (with your slider) a whole lot easier. Found below:

traveling-light-stand
find-price-button Konova Folding Light Stands

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I love me some RedRock Micro gear, but unfortunately i'm just one of those poor souls who can't afford even their entry level stuff. As seen in the image below, this is just one bundle in the line up of RedRock Micro's Nano rigs called the Running Man. Pretty solid piece of gear that doesn't look quite overkill. Light weight, sturdy, sets up fast, and packs down small. Nice little stabilizer for the frequent traveler. You can find the Running Man rig here: Redrock Micro nano - RunningMan

RedRockMicro-Running-Man

Having a few spare parts around the studio, just decided to mount the Calumet Mini Tripod / Handle to a Manfrotto 361 Shoulder Brace for Monopods. The bearing on the shoulder support spins freely, but by adding a handle under the camera, you can keep it steady. It's also handy having the handle break out into a Tripod to rest the gear down (gotcha on that one RedRock..JK).

DIY-Shoulder-Brace (1 of 1)

Would be an interesting travel brace for a smaller camera like the GH1, GH2, Sony NEX, or A55. I don't know..all for fun...

calumet-mini-tripod
find-price-button Calumet Mini Tripod Handle

manfrotto-361
find-price-button Manfrotto 361 Shoulder brace for Monopods

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The 717AH or similar fluid head is a pretty beefy camera mount for it's price, but there's been some inconsistency in fluid panning. Most people are happy with the video head right out of the box, but if you've got stiff panning try the fix below. The solution to getting smoother (looser) pans are to disassemble the head, clean out the old lube, and add your own. If you've been experiencing such harsh movements you might want to try this yourself. I didn't have time to shoot a video so if anyone has one online, please share. For now you'll get to see a few images of what's inside (not much).

The fluid part of this head is not really a cartridge. It's two sections combined to be a machined bearing. The lube that is used adds more friction rather than more smoothness. It's some really really sticky stuff inside. Personally I find it's best to clean everything out and not leave any traces behind and then add in your own lube. A small dab of white grease from an auto parts store should do fine. You'll know more once you have it apart.

Tools you'll need are some Carb Cleaner. This will help break down the old grease. You'll need a 2.5 & 3 Metric hex tool. If you have everything accessible, you can get through this in less than 10 minutes.

Remove the three screws in the middle which removes the bottom cap.
Fluid-Head (1 of 5)

Remove the 6 hex screws under the cap (cap shown on the right)
Fluid-Head (2 of 5)

Take out the two piece metal machined Panning bearing and clean it out.
Fluid-Head (4 of 5)

Lube it with your white grease and put it all back together. (Make sure your Panning Brake is setup correctly before assembling.) Done, should feel super smooth and like a brand new Head.

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find-price-button Heavy Duty Video Tripod Fluid Drag Head Kits WF717A

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find-price-button Opteka View Finder with Glass Diopter

For those struggling to find an inexpensive View Finder with Diopter, Opteka's got a new VF-10. Claims to have all Glass optics, adjustable focusing lens (diopter), and rubberized coating. Looks very similar to the 'Hood Dude' but only half that price. First version of this is only available for 3" 4:3 aspect LCD screens and mounts via Bungee cords. Hopefully we'll see some different sizes start to show up for the T2i / T3i / 60D sizes or even the GH2 and Sony NEX. Doesn't have the large eye-cup if that turns you on, but for those DIY'ers out there, this might be a better start than trying to craft your own. For those who are strictly into photography and just need a good Magnifying loupe to review images in the hot sun, it's not a bad deal for a Loupe and a Lanyard.

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Looks like Rod's been busy, but it also looks like he's been saving - some cash. This is originally a short review of the Express35 RigX DSLR shoulder bundle, but i'm catching all kinds of cool budget gear over the entire rig. RigX was a project Chris designed after I mentioned about adapting to rails to my cheap shoulder support. The version Rod is showing here might be an earlier version of the RigX bundle as I believe there's some new redesign around the baseplate. Don't quote me on this, you might want to check in with Chris over @ Express35 first. Or sometimes he comments in the articles. More info on the RigX can be found here: https://express35.com/rigs/rig-x/

Besides the RigX rail system, he's mounted it to the cheap $24 $30 dollar shoulder support. This small setup looks super lightweight but very functional. Fast off the shoulder and fast onto a Fluid Head. Rod's also got a Zoom H1 over top with hot shoe shock mount, Sescom cable with splitter from Markertek to feed audio directly into a Magic Lantern loaded T2i, and one of the cheapest follow focus systems - the D-Focus. Rod's got a bit more information over at his Vimeo page which you can find here: https://vimeo.com/19856612

shoulder-support
find-price-button Cheap Shoulder Support for Video Camera