DIY Equipment

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Jarrod over at JustBasl Productions has shown us some of his previous DIY's and now recently threw together a full dslr cage. It probably looks overkill with just the camera, but you have to imagine the use with other accessories including a monitor. With 5 handles, holding the cage can be done in various ways providing more stabilization for different shots.

His original video (below) shown used the framework of the DSLR Cage Fig Rig with the popular Strut Channels. These strut channels proved to be too robust and heavy for handheld use, so the video above shows his new redesign with aluminum channels shaving off quite a bit of weight. More description and information can be found at his video link: https://vimeo.com/14380333

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Check out this new DIY spin on an old DIY trick from Nate Gallagher. Inspired from the crazy popular Wooden Shoulder rig in which the handle is rotated as a follow focus system, Nate Gallagher takes a simple gear box and some type of U-Joint and transforms it into his own clever Follow Focus whip. The main advantage this design has over the wooden rig is that the FF can be rotated 360 degrees. The whole shoulder rig is a bit raw in aesthetics right now, but mapped out well for functionality, and for me is the most clever 'DIY follow focus' since the Wooden Shoulder rig from Jonathan Clifford Bergqvist. Apparently these parts may have come from a previous salvaged item, and I'm hoping to get a bit more information on the parts used. Just by looking at it though, there's no reason you can't use the famous Traxxas Universal Joint (From RC Cars) made famous by WSCLATER for this type of Follow Focus whip.

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fig-rig-stabilizer-iphone
click image to jump to Flickr

An iPhone is a small device, and so far many of the stabilizers have been short handles. Earlier this week Tate Nations showed us his version of the DSLR Cage Fig Rig painted Red. Tate probably had a lot of left over strut rail to come up with this other use. This has to be the first Fig Rig i've seen for use with the iPhone. Some might think it's overkill, but remember there is an iPhone Cinema Kit out there that will run you about $900 bucks.....now that's 'overkill'. Overkill or not, it's DIY, pure fun, and i'm sure it provides excellent stabilization. Very cool DIY which would be interesting to see people's reactions when this hits those events.

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new-cheesycam-product

I tend to share alot of information on this blog, but there are still many things I keep under wraps. One of the new ideas i've been mapping out with PhotographyandCinema.com is close to final design and should make things quite interesting. It will be an extremely versatile tool for budget film makers, and making traveling abroad much easier. This all came about from my own personal experiences packing and traveling into an entirely new product design. It's not as easy to DIY so this is another product that will retail at PhotographyandCinema.com. As usual tons of thought went into the design to keep things as cheap as possible for the budget film community. I have a feeling, you're all going to enjoy this next one...

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California/Arizona Time Lapse from Dan Eckert on Vimeo.

Dan Eckert sent me a message about being able to find some cheaper LED's through the Cheesycam website that he was able to use in one of his recent Timelapse videos. Apparently Dan used the popular 126 LED lights and modified them to tripod use. I took a look at the timelapse video Dan Eckert put together, and was just blown away. Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, this timelapse video showcases some of the most amazing footage i've seen. It's not so much about catching moving clouds that we've all seen before, but more about finding appreciation for the hard work and endurance that is involved with capturing this kind of footage day after day, most of which in the desert heat. This is some amazing stuff, you've all got to see. Shot completely with still images, yet the video seems extremely fluid, and no signs of flickering. Lots of camera movement makes this a truly amazing piece. Involved in this video is a custom dolly built for train tracks, panning shots, sliding shots, and techniques with image shutter speed. It's too bad there isn't a BTS video on his road trip, as i'm sure many of us would love to see the journey involved in creating something a piece like this. Great work Dan, looking forward to seeing more! My offer to carry some gear still stands!

A bit of BTS with Dan's DIY train rail dolly. Very cool, looks pretty smooth.

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Was just reading an article from Timothy Allen explaining some TimeLapse tips and techniques. At the end of the article you'll catch this video (above) of a behind the scenes documentary on some insane TimeLapse planning and rigs. Switch to HD for best quality. I love how they built their own Ladder dolly, used a bike wheel and some string as their motion controller. True innovation happening here and definitely masters of their craft. Here's the link to the Article: https://timothyallen.blogs.bbcearth.com/2009/02/24/time-lapse-photography/

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DIY-Fig-Rig diy-fig-rig-red
Click Images for Flickr

Posted by Tate Nations found in the comments section of this DIY DSLR Cage Fig Rig Stabilizer article. Wow I must admit, the black camera on red rig, with grey handles looks pretty sweet. Great job on this design Tate! You can find Tate's Flickr image here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/shockingbird/4911513235/in/photostream/

If you're looking to build your own, you can find that article I posted a while back here: http://cheesycam.com/cheesycam-exclusive-diy-dslr-cage-stabilizer/

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double-l-bracket
double-l-bracket-stacked

After posting about the possible Double L bracket stabilizer idea, Dave Taylor over at DaveTaylorMP.com shares a few images of his Double L Bracket setup with what looks like a Canon 550D / T2i. He's using the Video Camera Light Bracket - by alzodigital.com which has two cold shoe mounts. He mentions that he also added the Trek Tech T Pod Table-Top Tactical Tripod With Magmount Star to his configuration for a simple Shooter rig with an extra handle. His inspiration for this came from TheC47.com video below. Check it out, looks pretty cool if you can't afford the RedRock Micro theEvent Rig.

I'm still looking to mount two L brackets but with an Aluminum flat bar in between to make the handles more level, and a QR adapter dead center. Maybe i'll change that center AL bar into a 'T' bar so that I can support both a QR adapter and room for the T-Pod configuration. Thanks for sharing Dave!

Update: Reader Chuckarama just sent in this Flat bracket that looks like it will do the job in between the L brackets. Should be able to mount a QR plate and still be Tripod mountable. Great job Chuckarama! Let me know how that comes out when you're done.

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Troy throws up his version of the SpiderTrax Rotating Video dolly using cheap and readily available PVC (above).

Calixte Works uses the real Deal SpiderTrax Rotating video Dolly available at PhotographyandCinema.com for a few Orbits and Slider shots. (Below)

Below: Original SpiderTrax Rotating Video Dolly
spidertrax-for-sale
The Original SpiderTrax Dolly can be found at PhotographyAndCinema.com