DIY Equipment

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Here's something pretty interesting that reader Nathan Smith shares for an external HDMI Monitor. The Motorola Lapdock is used to connect to Android phones via HDMI and provides a keyboard, larger screen, two USB ports, and more. The Lapdock also has an internal battery that claims an 8 hour life span. Well the Lapdock never really took off as a product, and now you can find them on clearance or at discounted prices. Nathan was lucky enough to grab one for around $59 dollars. So what does this have to do with DSLR Video and cameras?

There were a few forums that claimed the Lapdock will perform as a normal HDMI screen with the right adapters and some videos have shown it being used with a Playstation. If you're wondering, the Lapdock has a Micro Male HDMI connection, so you'll need a female Micro HDMI to start with. Here Nathan proves that with the right cables, you can even use it to display the HDMI signal from your camera. Can't beat that for $59 bucks.

I also found this interesting because the Lapdock provides two USB ports. The Lapdock with it's internal rechargeable battery can be a remote monitor receiving the HD video feed and power the Asus through dual USB power without extra batteries (theory). I've updated the comments in this article with some information about the adapter and cable you'll probably need. Anyways, it's a neat idea and could be a fun thing to have with the clearance prices, but the only thing i'm still unsure of is the exact model that Nathan is using. [Update] He's using the Atrix 4G Lapdock and you can find the Lapdocks online via Amazon (click here)

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find-price-button AT&T Laptop Dock SmartPhone

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Nick Bicanic from https://www.purposelabs.com does a better job than I did with his DIY Steadicam Smoothee (a.k.a Baby Merlin) by shaving down the entire platform to get a perfect fit for his quick release adapter [Thanks Nick]. That little bit of effort definitely makes it look much more solid mounting platform than adding a quick release on top of the stock mini quick release plate.

baby_merlin_shaved

Notes:

I drilled two holes by eye to match the threaded holes on an MH621 Giotto I had lying around. Both are 1/4"/20 - note that the front hole on the giotto as stock is not threaded. So for those of you who don't have tap/die kits - you'll have to use another method. (you could mount with the 3/8" and a 1/4" but I didn't want to take off that much material.

Actually i was originally gonna shave it totally flat but then I realised that the way it's built that might not work (e.g. it could no longer be screwed together. You can see on the picture how far I decided to go.

This is clearly a one-way street 😉 - because if you screw it up you gotta buy another one..ha

That said - I got it right by eye first time - the only extra thing is a washer - see the second picture:

https://www.purposelabs.com/baby_merlin_washers.jpg

(one washer sanded down to fit) the reason for the washer is to tighten the bottom bracket of the quick release - otherwise the thin plastic would flex.

End result is awesome. Btw I didn't use washers at the bottom to spread the load because the bolts sit right on top of the plastic crossbeams themselves.

Here's a picture of how it sits together - very tight and solid.
https://www.purposelabs.com/baby_merlin_lookin_pro.jpg

btw not a lot of clearance down there - so I used hex button bolts.

Tools/hardware needed beyond the usual tools for the original mod are pretty much just those two bolts. (dremel + drill does the rest). Only tricky part is threading the baseplate if it isn't already done

baby_merlin_lookin_pro

If you guys aren't familiar with this project, it's basically taking the cheap Steadicam Smoothee (originally for GoPro or iPhone) and modifying it to fly other cameras like a Canon DSLR. The Smoothee provides you with fine tuning knobs to help get you balanced much like the $800 dollar Steadicam Merlin. You can find the details on that DIY Steadicam project here: http://cheesycam.com/diy-steadicam-smoothee-mod-cheesycam-baby-merlin/

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find-price-button Steadicam Smoothee Stabilizer

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Quick post in reference to the Palo Alto adapters. The latest batch has been added to inventory and is available again. If you're a bit clueless as to what this is, you can find out more information about the Palo Alto adapters through the following articles:
http://cheesycam.com/pc-palo-alto-adapter-available/
http://cheesycam.com/more-fun-with-palo-alto-adapter/

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find-price-button Palo Alto Paint Pole Adapter from PhotographyandCinema.com

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This time I took my Canon S100 out on a few different Painter Poles with the Palo Alto adapter. One pole is around 16' fully extended, and then I wanted to test out my 30' (30 feet) Unger Pole. These are video examples, but ideally it would be best suited for still photography.

There's some additional information about the Palo Alto adapters in my previous article: http://cheesycam.com/pc-palo-alto-adapter-available/. In the video below i'm using my Unger 9'-30' Telescoping Pole found here: https://goo.gl/m5Ha8. There is also no image stabilization done in post, so you can imagine the improvement if I had.

The Palo Alto adapter was something I wanted to make for my own hobbies, but ended up making a small quantity available which sold out in a single day. The next small batch wasn't available until 9 months later (just last week) and again sold out in less than three days. It's such a niche market, that we are still only running them off in small quantities, but they should be available again, so check it out to see if it's something you'd be interested in playing with. You can find the Palo Alto adapters available at https://PhotographyandCinema.com (click here).

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find-price-button Palo Alto Paint Pole Adapter from PhotographyandCinema.com

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Just a few weeks ago, I posted something called the HandiZoom that aimed to provide a handheld electronic zoom for DSLR lenses. The problem most people saw was that when shooting DSLR video, the lenses don't Auto Focus (at least for Canon) so as you zoom in, you'll need to chase focus. YouTube member madboardfun decided to solve that problem by taking a Nintendo Wii controller and making a DIY arduino based electric Focus & Zoom that can be programmed to synchronize the focus point. Basically it stays focused on the subject while it automatically zooms in. Very cool DIY project. [Thanks Guy]

DIY Wii DSLR Focus Zoom Synchronize Controller

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Most of the editors I know work off the MacBook pro laptops, so I thought some people might find this information useful. Apple has patented and has been very protective about their MagSafe connector and has even sued a company for using it with an external battery back. Even though the company was purchasing the cables directly from Apple and then modifying it. Instead the company now offers a 'magic box' that splices into your existing MagSafe cable to work with their HyperJuice batteries (found here).

We recently took a trip out to NAB2012 and wanted to make sure we had enough mobile juice for our editor, and found that there was a cable available to work with our Tekkeon MP3450i battery packs that we have so many of. With all the Tekkeon batteries we have, this cable has been working perfectly and would provide us with many, many, many hours of run time for our MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and of course USB power to all of our iPhones, iPads, and other camera accessories. I'm not sure if Apple is going to try and step in again and shut the operation down, but Tekkeon uses a 'recycled' modified cable to connect with select Tekkeon batteries. Hope some of you find this tip useful if you're looking to get some additional run time on your MagSafe powered MacBook Laptops.

The MagSafe cable can be found on the Tekkeon website (click here), and the Tekkeon batteries we are using are available via B&H (click here).

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find-price-button Tekkeon MyPower All Battery for 600 / 900 LED Panels

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Petapixel posted up an article about a cheap way to create a Rolling Camera Bag through a padded insert and it's something I use for one of my cases. You can find a variety of padded inserts that you can 'modify' to fit into standard rolling luggage cases found at your outlet centers. In the USA we have places like Ross and Marshalls that sell rolling bags at discount prices. One of the cheaper padded dividers mentioned is the Calumet padded divider showing up for about $40 dollars via Calumet (click here).

Calumet Insert DividersCalumet Roller Bag Insert
find-price-button Calumet Padded Roller Insert Dividers

Other slightly more expensive adjustable padded dividers that come with a top padded cover can be found from Pelican and Nanuk. You can find more of those padded dividers via eBay following the link below (click here).

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find-price-button Padded Camera Equipment Dividers

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Odd looking camera support sent in by LJ [Thanks LJ]. The Ready Rig Looks functional, maybe even comfortable. A pair of rods attached to a spring loaded back support, offers total hands free operation of the camera. The camera rests on a front platform that has tilt and rotate abilities. Could be tricky getting in and out of something like this if you need to move quick, and the basic package will already run you $800 dollars. There's some additional videos at the Alba Camera Support website. What's your take on the Ready Rig?

ready rigthe ready rig