They sell quick release plates for the Tripods I have in the studio. Fairly cheap, so I decided to make a DIY quick release adapter for the entire large television monitor i'm using to clearly see what's going on in the crane shot. This tripod and fluid head is super beefy and much better than mounting it on my light stand. I'll mount the Asus WiCast receiver to the Monitor and I should be all set for a shoot in the studio this weekend.
DIY Equipment
Balancing Glidecam in Africa
You think you've got it tough when balancing your Glidecam at home? Well, you might be thinking differently after seeing this next video. Having just received the Glidecam HD1000 without testing things out, Adam was out in Africa and needed a bit more help getting things fine tuned. Talk about DIY and ingenuity, these guys took their time to make something look OEM, instead of just duct taping some random weights. Very cool video from Vimeo member Adam, thanks for sharing.
Gini Rig’s got a few new Pads
The all too basic shoulder pad on most rigs are not as comfortable as they might appear. The firm silicone pads give wide placement of the rig to the shoulder, but does nothing for comfort. To add extra stability, relieve weight from the hands, and added comfort here are some alternative budget shoulder mounts. First up is a quite surprisingly well made shoulder pad which I believe is from India using the ProAim name. (BTW, this is sometimes bundled with handle grips, but if you contact the seller they can sell you the shoulder mount alone.) It's an all metal shoulder pad with rod adapter and a front chest brace. The contoured shoulder pad with a thick layer of flexible dense foam is definitely more comfortable, and the chest brace helps stabilize the unit futher by 'pulling' the rig back into your body. There is no rear 'hook' so it's not a total hands-free type rig that will remain on the shoulder if you release your hands. I did of course add my DIY counter weight to the rear, and at that time I was able to release my hands while the rig stayed fairly balanced.
Shoulder Rig Pad with Rod adapter Body Plate
Last on the list is a very simple setup using the cheap $24 dollar mount. I've had this mount way back since January and have been using it with many different projects. It works surprisingly well, but don't use the crappy offset piece that it comes with. You'll know what i'm talking about when you get one. Of course I didn't get to use it with any Rail system, until the Gini arrived recently.
Gini DSLR RigThe setup there can be placed onto the shoulder and be completely hands-free, which means less weight on the arms. This little shooter that i've assembled is a very solid support to mount your camera, offset, and handles. You only really need one handle, but I have two there mainly acting as a kickstand when I need to set it down. If you've got those firm silicone pads on your rig now, take the cheap $24 dollar shoulder mount out for a test drive, you might be surprised.
Asus WiCast – It’s alive…..It’s alive!!!
Well, I knew the Asus WiCast wasn't very demanding in Voltage or Amperage. Grabbed a couple of electronic battery boxes that hold 4 AA batteries to add up to around 6volts, cut the wire off the power adapter, and i'm in business. I had a feeling it didn't need to be a perfect 5Volts and the 4 AA's that up to 6V probably can't sustain that voltage anyhow. How long is the run-time? Not sure yet, just testing things out, but very happy that i'm on my way to some DIY HD Streaming video action. The original article posted here: http://cheesycam.com/streaming-hd-video-ouput-wirelessly/
[Update Video]
Cheap Quick Release Adapter + QR Plate
Quick release adapter questions are always coming in, and I really have no answer except for the Manfrotto RC2, 357, or 577. They aren't cheap, but if you're already using a ton of Manfrotto products these adapters might work into your workflow.
Manfrotto 323 RC2 Rapid Connect Adapter with 200PL-14 Quick Release Plate - Replaces 3299 (Black)
Manfrotto 357 Rapid Connect Adapter with Sliding Mounting Plate 357PL - Replaces 3273
Manfrotto 577 Rapid Connect Adapter w/Sliding Mounting Plate (3433PL)
Ok, so I did some additional searching and found this new QR adapter. I actually ordered it a while back, but it took it's time getting here. I didn't wanna talk about it until I knew the real build quality. Oh how many items go unsaid on this blog, you have no idea. Now that it's in my hands, it's actually very nice, and i'm ready to share this one to you guys. It's a solid metal build all the way around with two bubble levels. The whole adapter is a fairly thin profile and comes with a snappy spring loaded release clip. Careful, when you lock the plate in place, that clip snaps back pretty quick. I caught my finger on it and it's pretty strong. It's a wide base, and I use it to cover the entire base of my battery grip. I find it feels like a more solid mount this way, but if you're not using a battery grip, you may want to use it the long direction to get to your battery compartment. It's a very nice and cheaper solution than those Manfrotto adapters, especially for all the stabilizers and other DIY projects you might be working on.
Magic Lantern – Higher Bitrate for Canon 5D Mark II
Magic Lantern, if you don't already know is a firmware type code that enhances features in your DSLR camera. There's only a few cameras supported at this time, and only so many features are 'unlocked' for each one. When it was first released, it caused quite a stir, but Canon has since updated their firmware to resolve some of these issues. For instance manual audio levels and 24p in the Canon 5D Mark II came after these features were already unlocked with the Magic Lantern firmware. The code is stored on the Media card, so after rebooting - the camera returns to it's normal self. This doesn't mean that it's entirely safe (although i've never heard of any problems using it). The code that starts running as soon as you go through the steps of booting up from it will make your camera do tricks it wasn't originally designed to do including run faster and run harder.
This time around Trammell Hudson the man behind the madness has added a new upgrade to the 5D Mark II firmware to run the video bitrate up to 76Mbps chasing the popular hack for the GH1. This still might be a bit too high for the Canon 5D Mark II camera without over buffering, so a sustained 70Mbs in 24p looks to be more manageable. There's options from 7Mbps (low quality) and several in between up to the 76MBps (OEM is normally about 40Mbps). Hey i'd take a sustained 50-60Mbps, which would already make a huge difference. Of course depending on the amount of information the camera absorbs that might change. Static shots compared to running, fast moving subjects, and fast exposure changes will all play a role in the amount of information being processed. It's an all free download, but of course if you're interested in the hard work Trammell has been doing for the DSLR video community, you can always drop a donation found on the Wikia page. For more information and other features that you can unlock from your DSLR check out the Wikia https://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Lantern_Firmware_Wiki.
Yo Trammell, let's see some action on the Canon 7D as it appears to have the dual processors and the only camera capable of outputting 1080 through HDMI. I'm hoping this translates to a camera that can process more than 76Mbps too....
LP-E6 AC Power Adapter for Canon Cameras
The LP-E6 is the battery type used in the Canon 60D, 7D, and Canon 5D Mark II. This AC power adapter will power your camera from any AC outlet. There's usually several cameras going at one time and to compliment the stationary tripod shots in the studio, I decided these AC adapters help save me time from charging batteries. I can use my other batteries for the more mobile cameras. Having constant power to a few cameras is also one less thing to worry about when we've got only two guys manning 4-5 cameras. As you can see the cords are very long, so even without an extension cord, they are quite usable on it's own. These cameras don't require much power, and I verified that it works with my little portable $99 dollar battery pack which should give me more than a full day's worth of power. Extended Timelapse shooting? You'll probably think about something like this. If you're in studio, or even on constant location shoots with a static tripod shot, a battery pack and this ACK-E6 battery adapter is definitely a handy thing to have in the bag in case you run low on batteries....
If you're not using a battery grip, you can get away with some of the inexpensive versions running around $20 dollars. If you're using a battery grip, some of the aftermarket types don't work well and the battery door won't close properly. That's why I went with the OEM.
Canon ACK-E6AC Adapter Kit for Canon 5D Mark II Digital SLR
Canon T2i / 550D owners are in luck, as the OEM ACK-E8 power adapter is much cheaper than the ones for the 60D, 7D, and 5D Mark II.
ACK-E8, AC Adapter Kit for EOS Rebel T2i Digital SLR Camera
Canon FD Lens 200mm F/4
I've received several comments and emails about how well these FD lenses actually work. For those who are chasing that DOF look, old vintage lenses can get you there on a budget. You'll often hear that these lenses aren't as sharp as digital EF mounts, but that's going about it all wrong. Sure they aren't uber sharp, but with moving pictures it can provide a more classic Cinema feel than overly sharp lenses. Many of these lenses can give you this certain artistic look starting at only $20 dollars. I think the best comment left on this blog was 'Take them for what they are'. They can really blow out a background, especially this 200mm prime lens at F/4. Sure you can find lenses at F/1.2 but you have to also factor lens distance, subject focal distance, and background distance from subject. Get the right combination, and F/4 can provide a really nice blurred look to that background. Keep in mind too that the 60D with this FD adapter turns this 200mm into a crazy focal length of 320mm+ at F/4.
There's a few things I could have done better in this. My white balance was set to Auto, and perhaps if I set it correctly it could have warmed things up. I didn't have an ND filter on so the shutter speed was a bit high. I could have thrown a reflector on the subject to get more balanced lighting under the hat, and a scrim to shade the hot spot. I was also just using the preset Picture style for Portrait on the 60D. I possibly could have shot it in a more flat style and edited in post, but I wanted to show how well the image can be straight from the camera. So hopefully this sample will give you guys an idea of some types of footage that can be achieved. You can find the adapter i'm using back at this article: http://cheesycam.com/the-cheaper-road-to-a-lens-with-f1-2/.
DIY Streaming HD Video Ouput Wirelessly to Remote Monitor
Since the announcement of Teradek's Cube which streams HD Video wirelessly to pretty much any device you can think of including the iPhone and iPad, people have been trying to find their own solutions to stream video to a remote monitor. Teradek offers many modular pieces with their products along with many more features than to just stream video, but that all comes to several thousands of dollars. Not to mention with all the abilities it can provide, can also provide more configurations to worry about. Some articles surfaced the web regarding a few 'options' that might help people achieve streaming HD video to a monitor without breaking the bank. These are also very dumbed down solutions that do exactly what they say they do - stream HD Video. The two popular HD Wireless Streaming solutions are made from Asus and Brite-View. For Asus they have an item called the 'WiCast', and for Brite-View they offer an 'Air SyncHD' and 'HDelight'. From other reviews the units functioned pretty much equally and I picked up the Asus solely on the size and look of the units. The Asus WiCast is extremely lightweight, feels almost hollow, and all plastic. The lightweight is actually an advantage if I plan to mount this onto the hotshoe of my camera, or somewhere on a shoulder rig, but also means I shouldn't be throwing it around. With new EVF's (electronic view finders) with HDMI pass throughs making their way into the marketplace, this would be a great solution to use an EVF while streaming video out wirelessly for someone else to monitor, or even pull focus.
Teradek Cube - Wireless HD Video Streaming
The Asus WiCast comes with both a transmitter and receiver that creates it's own little ad-hoc network to each other. The time it takes to sync together is fairly quick, possibly under 10 seconds once they are both powered on. The video streams are fast, and I notice no latency or dropped frames. I haven't tested range yet, and i'll re-post when that's up. They both come with an AC adapter (exact same adapter for each) that supplies 5 volts to the unit. This low voltage and low amperage requirement means a DIY battery pack, or an already existing battery pack to power them up would be easy to find. Most people aren't ready for streaming video to a remote monitor wirelessly, but by knowing how you can achieve these same results for several times less than high end solutions, maybe this will open up some creative possibilities with your video. A few things that come to mind is to stream the GoPro HD Hero video, or even extending the reach of a monitor on a long Video Crane.
