DIY Equipment

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Cheap New DSLR Rig from Tony Carretti on Vimeo.

We've been donated many photos and ideas on the 'Dual L Bracket DIY Fig Rig stabilizer', but I believe Tony Carretti here has donated the first video tour of how this thing really comes together. The first idea is to use a a flat flash bracket to join the two together with a quick release plate, but Tony's got a great idea of using a wide flat base from an old Flowpod, so that the camera can stand on it's own. The Canon 550D / T2i is mounted with two Sima L brackets (same that I have), but similar ones are from Alzo or the Adorama L-bracket with 2 Standard Flash Shoe Mounts. For the quick release plate, he's using a Cullman QR. I like how that QR plate is mounted on that Flowpod wide base plate, fits pretty flush. Great job on this Tony and thanks for sharing the video. This gives more of us an idea of how it all comes together to make a decent hand held stabilizer on the cheap.

Not suggested for the Canon T2i, but I think this would be even more awesome with the DIY top handle idea.

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find-price-button Camera L Video Bracket Hot Shoe

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find-price-button Straight Bracket with Two Adjustable Flash Shoe Mounts

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Mixed Martial Arts Madness from alexis wanneroy on Vimeo.

Shot using the a Canon 5D Mark II + Cheap A.S.S.(<--that's an acronym) shoulder support from this article: http://cheesycam.com/a-s-s-implants-how-to/ along with an LCDVF viewfinder, Alexis Wanneroy was able to pull off some pretty stable footage. Not bad for a $20 dollar camera shoulder support.


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click image to find shoe mounts

Random post. This blog is sometimes used for me to keep tabs on the random things that run in my head. So while i'm out here in Maui on vacation i'm pretty sure i'll forget this little idea. Redrock Micro makes a cool handle that uses the hotshoe on top of the DSLR. For the Canon 5D Mark II & 7D, the hotshoe can be used with a handle, because the body is designed with a beefy magnesium frame. The cheap shoe mounts that I recently blogged about would make a great starting point for my new DIY top handle, and combined with the Double L bracket stabilizer Idea would make a complete lightweight solution that's easily broken down. It's so handy to have a top handle with your DSLR.

By the way, I've been using the Sima L brackets I received with my GoPro HD + Modified GoPro Underwater Housing by EyeOfMine together in the ocean. The Sima L bracket has nothing I can see that will be affected by the water, and I give it a decent rinse when i'm done. Definitely a great underwater stabilizer too. I've also been using the other one with my Canon SX210 IS, and it's like a match made in heaven. The Canon SX210 IS has built in optical stabilization and a crazy zoom. The extra handle off to the side gives me a more comfortable hold to take super steady video footage even in complete low light. I think i've used this Point and Shoot more than my other cameras on this trip, safe to say I overpacked.

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click images to view more images at Flickr

Thanks for Mako for sending in images of his DSLR rig using Thorlabs RA90 - 90 degree clamps with locks. These $10 dollar ninety-degree clamps are a great way to start building your different rigs or support structures, but if you take a peek around ThorLabs 'post accessories' you might get some other cool ideas. The accessories they sell work to attach 1/2" rods, and also sell a swiveling clamp that can lock in different positions. Some very cool stuff over at the website. I personally may not have ideas for a DSLR shoulder mount with these RA90 clamps, but four clamps and some 1/2" lightweight pipes at Home Depot would make for a very simple DSLR cage. Since 1/2" rods are the standard for Bike Handlebar grips, it sounds like an easy build with some really cool professional results. Something I just might look into. Here's the link to get you started in Thorlabs products: https://www.thorlabs.com/thorProduct.cfm?partNumber=RA90

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Above: Thorlabs RA90 1/2" post clamp

[Thanks Mako]

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Jeff Ello sent in some BTS images of his DIY DSLR cage on set with one of films earlier this year. He's been a busy guy teaching low budget shooting/editing/fx panels at various conventions for several years now including GENCON, InCon, Marcon, Starbase Indy, this year. The next event you'll be able to catch Jeff hosting hosting dslr/FX panels along with Hunter Cressal will be at Dragon*Con in Atlanta which looks like tons of fun. This year, Dragon*Con will be held Labor Day weekend (September 3–6, 2010) in Atlanta, GA. From what I can gather its a similarity of those other film and tv fan events such as ComicCon. A big help in educating low budget film makers, here's Jeff's schedule if you can attend, tell him I said Hi.

Title: Film School: Sound, More Sound, and How to Sound Good
Time: Fri 01:00 pm Location: Cairo - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: What equipment is needed to capture sound, how do you create unforgettable sound effects? How to fix what’s gone wrong? ADR. Foley.

Title: Film School: Low Budget Substitutes for standard equipment
Time: Sat 01:00 pm Location: Cairo - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: Learn about nice but inexpensive dollies, booms, jibs, and steady camera systems, and THEN what to use when you can't even afford THOSE.

Title: Film School: Intro to Digital SLR Photography for Filmmaking
Time: Sat 04:00 pm Location: Cairo - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: Digital SLR cameras bring true photographer's tools to filmmaking; This class will teach you the what, how, and why of this new tech.

Title: Film School: CG Special FX, How It's Done
Time: Sun 01:00 pm Location: Cairo - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: This class shows filmmakers how Computer Graphics and Live Action are married to create stunning images.

Title: Film School: HD Cameras
Time: Sun 04:00 pm Location: Cairo - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: What can the new cameras do? Which is “best”? Which is worth the money? How do you use them? We will explain it all.

Title: Film School: Post Production
Time: Mon 11:30 am Location: Cairo - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: You've finished principle photography; Now what? Picture lock, post audio, music/score, editing, CGI.

Title: Film Festival Awards Ceremony
Time: Mon 01:00 pm Location: Regency V - Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: The Presentation of the 2010 Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival awards

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shoe-mount-zoom-h1
click image to find shoe mounts

Ok, someone asked about mounting the Zoom H1 on your camera's hot shoe. This is cool, it's a compact setup, but I highly suggest that you first grab a $12.00 dollar L Bracket or two which will not only move the Zoom's Mic a few inches away from the camera noise, but give you an extra handle for stabilization, and an additional 2 shoe accessory mounts. Here's the T2i with a handle next to the Zoom H1.

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Below: Here's an image shared by Chuckarama using two L brackets and a Flash Bracket

Now that you're all setup, I peeked around some of the camera websites and boy these adapters aren't cheap. They go for as little as $20.00 dollars to as much as $200 dollars for articulating arm types. Me being the frugal shopper, I jump on over to my normal wheel and deal spot - eBay. Low and behold! There's a hundred different types starting from as low as $1.00 dollar. Even heavy metal crafted gear. Hate to say it, but most of the designs look like the ones sold from the big boys, and possibly could be.

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Above: Pro-Type Shoe Mount - This is the one I like most

This is a good article to share, make sure to link back to this. It's going to save a few bucks for a whole bunch of people and that adds up to a lot of dollars. So here's the link, jump on over and find yourself a good Shoe mount for your Zoom H1 or H4n.

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find-price-button variety of shoe mounts

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It's still a bit early, there may be some new things that arrive later, but here's what just came in for today's mail bag. Here's a hint. It could be the next BIG thing to keep your EYE on.... Ok that was probably a corny one liner. Would you like some butter on that corny joke? Yeah that was pretty bad too, i'll quit now. Anyone as excited as me to open the box and see what this bad boy looks like?

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Update 12:18pm: I like it...I really really like it. This isn't saying much since I never bothered to spend over $180 on a viewfinder, but this is the best viewfinder "with a diopter" for under $140. This made my day.. I'll have more information later, but it's a much different design than the other loupes. Weird, but there's no plastic on it. Totally silicone, metal, and glass.

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Chuckarama sends in his complete configuration using two Alzo brackets, one double flash bracket, and a Macro Rail. The Macro rail is not necessary, you can probably swap that for a nice QR adapter. So everything looks like a straight bolt on of parts without any DIY cutting, grinding, or drilling. It's definitely got a wide grip stance for extra stability and at the same time plenty of room for accessory mounting with the 4 cold shoes.

I was planning to cut an Aluminum flat bar to join my two L brackets together, but I really like the simplicity of that double flash bracket, I may have to go that route myself. This design is for lightweight setups, so i'll probably use this setup without a battery grip. I should be able to shrink down many of the accessories I have if I use the Zoom H1 instead of Zoom H4n, and change the Rode VideoMic to the smaller Sennheiser MKE-400 Shotgun Mic. I'll also replace the usual 126 LED Video Light with the Z96 Dimmable LED light to make things even more rigid and compact and it should be a nice little runner gunner.

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Z96 Dimmable DSLR Video Light

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ultimate-diy-dslr-rig-wiring

Mathieu Bujold from DSLRExperiment.com wrote to me wanting to share his cleverly named 'Ultimate DIY DSLR Rig'. The three pipe design is very simple to assemble, low cost using PVC, but looks quite professional. This is one of the easiest DIY's you can already start diving into. If you feel you can take it a step further, he's got wiring setup for push buttons to control focus and shutter. Check out at his website DSLRExperiment.com. Thanks Mathieu.