dslr video

• 57 Comments

•

The new CAME 6000 2 Axis Gimbal Stabilizer does very well to keep a camera's horizon level. It's dead quiet, and easy to balance small DSLR sized cameras. The brushless motors are covered, the wiring is run internally to the Carbon tubes, battery is covered, and control board is covered. Aesthetically this system looks simple, and is simple to use. For the price, it's certainly not the cheapest when you look at DIY kits, but for some people the RTR (ready to run) convenience is a plus. The biggest downfall is the lack of side handles.

Brushless Motor Gimbal CAME 6000 CheeyscamCame 6000 2 Axis Stabilizer Gimbal DSLR Video
find-price-button CAME 6000 2-Axis Active Gimbal Stabilizer

Only a few hours after receiving the unit from CAME-TV.com, I was already modifying a set of side handles. Eventually my plan is to create a solid metal 90 degree clamp to add a 15mm rail (as seen below).
CAME 6000 15mm Clamp Side Handle Adapter CheesycamCheesycam DIY handles Gimbal Stabilizer
15mm Rail Adapter Concept - cheesycam.com

Until then, i'm using a simple 3/8" conduit clamp attached to a single 15mm rail clamp with a 1/4-20 thread (seen here). A small bolt runs through with a series of lock washers to prevent it from coming loose. Using a 15mm rail opens up new options for adding other industry standard accessories. Additionally i'm hiding the top 1/4" bolt by mounting a mini ball head for a monitor. Not too shabby for the time being..

Cheesycam Axis Gimbal DIY Stabilizer

After configuring the side handles, we took the CAME 6000 2 Axis Gimbal out for a walk with a Panasonic GH3 mounted. [ Note: The video below contains some very boring 5 minute walking material. ]. It's easy for companies to pick out only the best footage of their products in use, so in this video we decided to show UNCUT FOOTAGE and the BTS from this sample.

If you manage to make it through the boring part, you'll see transitions from normal shots, to low angle (doggy cam) footage, and even doing some (rookie) hand offs to another operator as the Gimbal becomes too heavy to manage after a few minutes. Simple moves, but almost impossible to perform with your average stabilizer a.k.a steadicam type device.

Although our technique, skill, and experience with gimbals is far from perfect, this modified CAME 6000 2 Axis Gimbal for the most part did it's job to keep the horizon level. Keep in mind in this example we're continuously walking all in one take - something that may not be too common in your production. Typically we're just looking for an effective way to stabilize hand held video when working off of a tripod, and I think this tool does very well in that sense. In worst case scenarios, there's also the option of adding post image stabilization which will I think will be more effective when shooting 4K video > 1080p (i.e. cropping, leveling horizons, etc.)

I'm a fan of working with smaller tools whenever possible, so I also like how compact this system is. It folds down with a low profile, and we have even managed to fit it into one our cheap hard cases (found here), with room to spare if I wanted to throw in the HDMI monitor, and more.

gimbal hard caseaxis gimbal stabilizer casecheap case cheesycam

Here's an old video for reference on how I go about balancing these gimbals (click here). I do believe that if CAME-TV wants to sell more of this particular stabilizer, they should really look into adding side handles, but until then it's not too difficult to DIY your own. You can find the CAME 6000 2 Axis Gimbal over at their website https://CAME-TV.com or also found via eBay (click here).

2 Axis Stabilizer Gimbal Brushess MotorBattery Gimbal Stabilizer ControllerCAME Gimbal Stabilizer
find-price-button CAME 6000 2-Axis Active Gimbal Stabilizer

• 1 Comment

•

Here's an excellent deal for a $100 dollar iTunes Gift Card for just $75 bucks. I know you're probably thinking about games or apps on your iPhone, but it also works to pay for apps on the Mac App Store. Some of my favorites apps i've downloaded include Final Cut Pro X, Apple Compressor, Motion, PixelMator, and more. There are also apps used on iPads as a controller for items such as the BlackMagic Design ATEM Live Switcher, ProTools, etc. A great way to apply a discount to your App store purchases, Limited offer, already 4,000+ purchases in the last hour...(click here)

$_57
Deal - $100 iTunes Gift Card for $75 Bucks

• 42 Comments

•

Earlier this week I received an email asking for advice on an inexpensive quick release system to move a video rig from a slider to a stabilizer. Simply because I would have to first suggest going with a Manfrotto 577 Quick Release system, especially if you're already working with a compatible Manfrotto tripod head. Unfortunately the OEM Manfrotto 577 Quick Release base plate + qr plate system runs anywhere from $50-$60 dollars each (seen here).

Manfrotto-577
find-price-button Manfrotto 577 Rapid Connect Adapter with Sliding Mounting Plate (501PL)

Here's an old video showing you the alternative from Calumetphoto. The Calumet branded QR system looks exactly and works exactly like the Manfrotto 577, except that it only runs $35 dollars full retail.

If you're ever lucky as i've been in the past, you can apply a Calumet discount code bringing the price down for as low as $25 dollars (complete base + plate). Unfortunately I don't have a discount code available now, but it's still much cheaper than the OEM Manfrotto 577.

[UPDATE] CALUMET COMMENTED ON THIS ARTICLE. USE THE PROMO CODE 'CHEESY' FOR $10 OFF/EACH! (good until Feb 18th Midnight)

The last few times i've checked these quick release systems were out of stock. Today i've found that the Calumet Quick Release base plate is available again (found here).

Calumet Quick Release Manfrotto Compatible160x160
find-price-button Calumet Quick-release Video Head Adapter

• 6 Comments

•

A few weeks ago, I had a comment-chat if a BMCC can fly on a CAME 5000 gimbal. So four of us guys spent over half an hour trying to stuff the BlackMagic Design Cinema Camera into this CAME 5000 Gimbal, but clearly it was not meant to work. The BMCC is just too wide from the center mount, and to compensate we tried adding a quick release plate sideways. After failing, we decided to give it a run with an unbalanced setup. Here are the results.

Surprisingly the horizon stayed just about perfectly level the entire time, but you can see how it struggled with the panning stabilization. Of course if I really wanted to, I can add post stabilization to the footage and it may not be so noticeable. Had I disabled the pan stabilization, I think this would have been a perfectly acceptable run. On lighter camera setups like the GH3, the results have been very good, but I can't suggest the CAME 5000 3 Axis Gimbal with anything more than an average DSLR.

• 2 Comments

•

I own several Manfrotto 190CX3 Carbon Fiber Tripods. Perfect for a set of light sticks under a 701HDV video fluid head working with smaller cameras. The 190CX3 regularly runs for $243 dollars (as seen here) weights only 3 lbs. and is rated to support a small load of around 11 lbs.

Carbon Fiber Manfrotto Tripod Legs Carbon Fiber Tripod 190CX3 Manfrotto 190CX3 Carbon Fiber Tripod
find-price-button Manfrotto 190CX3 Carbon Fiber Tripod

If that's not enough, the 055CXPRO3 is a heavier duty Carbon Fiber Tripod weighing in at just 3.6 lbs capable of a 17 pound load. Not just beefier, but also more features such as a center column that can be positioned horizontally.

For about the same price as my lesser 190CX3, right now there's a deal to receive an Instant Savings of -$150 off the Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 Tripod Legs bringing it down to just $249.

Manfrotto Carbon Tripod IMG_226779 Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 Horizontal Column Carbon Fiber Tripod Cheesycam
find-price-button Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 Carbon Fiber Tripod Legs

• 21 Comments

•

Regular price $149 dollars, on sale for $119, add a promo code to knock off an extra $50 dollars, and you're down to just $69 dollars for Adobe Lightroom 5. This is a handy piece of software to have whether you're working to process photos or RAW video (with CinemaDNG).

Must add to cart, use Promo Code: 1510432155578536 to see discount.

[Update] Deal Expired.

Adobe Lightroom 5
Adobe Lightroom 5 Sale $69 Dollars [Limit one per customer]

•

Here's a few combo deals for the Nikon D7100 Digital SLR. You can opt in for a bundle that only includes the 18-140mm, or both the 18-140mm + 55-300mm Lens.

Nikon D7100 18-140mm find-price-button Nikon D7100 with 18-140 lens
Regular price $1799, instant Savings of $500
Final Price $1296.95 {+4% Rewards and free goods}
1005010 find-price-button Nikon D7100 18-140mm + 55-300mm
Regular price $2229.95, instant Savings of $680
Final Price $1549 {+4% Rewards and Free goods}

• 2 Comments

•

Amazon appears to have a line of Crucial Solid State drives discounted. Solid State Drives (SSD) are required recording media when working with tools like the Atomos Ninja / Blade HDMI Recorder, or with cameras like the BlackMagic Cinema / Production 4K.

I'm working wit a bunch of Sandisk SSD drives, and haven't worked directly with the crucial brand, but it seems to have decent reviews. Available Crucial solid state drive sizes discounted are the 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, and 960GB (found here)

crucial ssd drives cheesycam discount
find-price-button Crucial 120GB / 240GB / 480GB / 960GB Solid State Drives.