Equipment Reviews

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So if you've been following, I mentioned I had planned a trip this weekend to shoot some BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera video samples with a small crew. The guys who will be making this long journey and traveling up to the mountains with me are the production crew for GearAddix. I passed over the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera over so that they can get familiar with it before our trip, and they've found that the Sony SDHC UHS-1 media cards will work fine for ProRes video recording.

I think a safe bet is if your card can sustain a minumum of 30MB/s write speeds, it should work fine to record ProRes. If you want to test your cards, you can download the FREE BlackMagic Disk Speed Test app for your computer (here).

blackmagic spee test

Here's a few screen grabs testing Transcend SDXC, Patriot EP Pro, and the Sony SDHC UHS-1. Click any of the images for an exploded view of the speed ratings.

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Transcend SDXC Class 10 		Patriot EP Pro
Patriot EP Pro SDXC 		Sony-SDHC-UHS-1
Sony SDHC UHS-1

Well good to know that is one other option for a speedy and more affordable SDHC media card for the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera. [Thanks GearAddix] You can find the Sony SDHC UHS-1 media cards in over on Amazon (click here).
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find-price-button Sony SDHC Class 10 UHS-1

Download ProRes Video Sample
The team has also uploaded an unedited 10 second ProRes sample from the camera (240MB). If you decide to try it out, I suggest pushing the color saturation, shadows, mids, highs and overall exposure values. I did my own quick version pushing saturation and adding contrast here: https://vimeo.com/72468406

You can find the download link at the GearAddix.com website.

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Here's a few tips some of you may want to prepare for so that you can begin shooting with your brand new BlackMagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera the day it arrives.

#1 - Get a damn fast SDHC or SDXC card. None of the cards that work flawlessly on my Canon DSLRs were even detected. The few speedy cards I was able to grab from local retailers just ended up with dropped frames. We're just talking ProRes here, imagine when RAW is unlocked. Tomorrow I should receive a couple of Sandisk Extreme Pro cards (recommended in the user manual) for my weekend project.

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find-price-button Sandisk Extreme Pro SD Media Card

#2 - Keep in mind you cannot format SD cards from the camera itself. If you show up at a shoot with a full SD Card, there's no way to delete the files. Keep a laptop with SD card reader handy to format to exFAT and delete any old projects. Don't think you can just pop it into your other camera to delete. The HFS+ or exFAT file system isn't recognized in most other cameras.

#3 - The LCD screen on this camera (not touch screen) may not be suffice for working outdoors. If you plan to use a monitor or EVF, you need a rare micro HDMI cable (d type). I already have plans to use my Cineroid Retina EVF

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find-price-button Cineroid Retina EVF LCD Viewfinder

#4 - The battery drains very quickly on this pocket camera. These batteries are the same for the Nikon J1, inexpensive, but you still need an optional charging station so you don't keep your camera tethered. The other option is an external 12V power source for very long projects where swapping batteries could be a problem.

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find-price-button EN-EL20 Battery / Charger

#5 - Even my small Panasonic 12-35mm F/2.8 or 35-100mm F/2.8 Micro Four Thirds lenses fit too snugly on the camera if I have my 501PL plate mounted underneath. Lens adapters will be worse, so you'll need a platform, rig, cage, or something to raise the body up if you're planning to use popular Fluid Heads. I'm using the Fhugen GH3 cage right now since it's the smallest cage in my arsenal (no battery door access).

Rokinon Lens BlackMagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera
There's room to slide the plate back and forth, but other lens combinations may not be so forgiving

#6 - Expect no audio meters from the camera itself. I think at this point the easiest method is to just work an external recorder.

Finally just a quick note on using an HDMI recorder. I'm not sure if this will yield any difference in quality, but if there is no degradation, an HDMI recorder could be a cheaper solution for storage media, solves limitations on long projects, and is a fast way to hand off video files to your editor. The Atomos Ninja 2, one of the affordable HDMI recorders on the market, is capable of recording from the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera. You can record the stream without actually recording from the BMPC, or you can just hit record on both units for dual recording (a good backup solution for critical projects).

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find-price-button Atomos Ninja 2 HDMI Recorder

I'll continue to add notes about the things i'm running into, and I'll be uploading sample ProRes files from the camera very soon. Make sure to follow me on Twitter, and stay tuned to the blog. Remember, if you're still looking to get on a short list to get this camera early, check in with DVEStore.com

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find-price-button BlackMagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera.

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Genustech received plenty of media coverage regarding their new GoPro Hero3 Cage, so i'm sure many have you have already heard of it. It's hefty, built like a tank, offers dozens of mounting points, and even allows for 52mm threaded filters (ND, CPL, etc) to be used to control your image. With quite a few GoPro cages already on the market, is the Genustech the right one for you? Here's a video overview of the Genustech GoPro Cage features.

Build quality is really good and there's a lot of metal for the $99 dollar price tag. It's a nice touch to be able to support the GoPro in it's case, or naked (cam only). Unfortunately for me personally this doesn't fit my style. I hate working without the LCD BacPac and need access to the battery (especially when it locks up - you know what I mean).

If you want to find out more about the new Genus GoPro cage, the retail price of the unit is $99 dollars and can be found at the Genustech website (here).

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find-price-button Genustech Cage for the GoPro Hero3

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Here's a look at the Varavon Slider Crank Handle Upgrade Kit. The idea for a crank pulley is to keep your shaky hands away from the camera, but whether it produces smoother results are based on the experience of the operator. A fully motorized slider will always yield the most consistent results, but in times where battery power or noise is an issue, the Crank Handle kit is another option.

The Varavon Crank Handle Kit comes with two end pieces that can fit most sliders on the market so long as you have a 1/4" or 3/8" mounting point on either side. A metal plate sits under your tripod head on the carrier, and a pulley belt can be cut to size. The handle length can be adjusted for longer or shorter crank rotations. The Varavon Crank Handle Kit for Sliders are available via eBay (click here).

Varavon Slider Crank Handle Kit Upgrade
find-price-button Varavon Crank Handle Kit for Sliders

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Here's a look at the new Honu Video Cage dedicated for the Panasonic #GH3 camera by Fhugen (pronounced Fusion). It's a 4 piece design that assembles into a very solid, yet lightweight, cage. It's designed to be as compact as possible while still allowing access to all of the main GH3 controls.

If you shoot with the Panasonic #GH3 camera and require mounting various accessories like a large monitor, EVF, audio preamps, mic receivers, etc, this is one product to really look forward to.

The Honu Cage has three dovetails ready to mount up your hot shoe accessories without having to find additional adapters. Several 1/4-20 threaded, 1/4-20 pass through, and 3/8" threaded holes cover the body of the cage. It's finished with matte black anodizing for a long lasting durable finish.

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With a $50 dollar off discount, this is THE MOST AFFORDABLE dedicated GH3 video cage on the market right now. Check out more information over at the product page at https://PhotographyandCinema.com

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find-price-button Honu GH3 Video Cage by Fhugen

Fhugen GH3 Cages Right Now - via eBay

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[Disclaimer] I've personally helped to provide input on the design of this particular product along with PhotographyandCinema.com. I find this small item incredibly useful, but please make your decisions based solely on the product functionality and not my personal opinion.

The Common Problem
The Manfrotto 501PL Quick Release plate is compatible across several of Manfrotto's Video Fluid Heads making it highly popular among DSLR Video Shooters. The 501PL (or compatible) quick release plate offers an anti-twist register pin, but the design of DSLR camera bodies are unable to take advantage of this.

An Innovative Solution
For this widely common problem, PhotographyandCinema.com has exclusively designed this special ATP adapter kit that will transform ordinary 501PL plates into an anti-twist plate specifically for popular DSLR cameras or smaller Interchangeable Lens (ILC) Camera bodies. The ATP is designed to 'LOCK' in place above the 501PL plate and adds an anti-twist lip across the camera body.

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(Above) ATP Long & Short - Anti-Twist Plate for 501PL

Using the ATP Plates WILL NOT CHANGE the basic functionality of your 501PL plates when moving from your favorite tripod heads (like 701HDV), favorite monopods (like 561BHDV), and to 501PL quick release adapters. It is designed to enhance the abilities of your 501PL plates when working with DSLR Video cameras.

The ATP Plate is not at all required when working with DSLR Video, but it will help to eliminate the annoyance of cameras shifting over the 501PL. For some that's a small price to pay for peace of mind when working on important projects. Pricing has not yet been announced, but more information about the ATP Plates and a 20% OFF Coupon (when available) can be found at the product page at https://PhotographyandCinema.com.


(Above) Example shown with 5D Mark II, Panasonic GH2, Nikon D600

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I received this motorized Pan/Tilt video head a short while back, but we finally just got around to mounting up this Senna Five Second Head up to one of our Video Cranes. Any time you can combine a motorized Pan / Tilt head to a video crane, you're going to come up with some interesting camera movements.

The name of the product comes from how quick it is to mount to your Video Jib (after you've balanced your camera). Wireless operation of the Five Second Head is an optional feature, so you don't require the communication cable. Operation is smooth, and there are many settings available to adjust your pan and tilt speeds. The ability to program up to six memory points to repeat scene and speed comes in handy to pull off consistent movements. Here's a short video we did showing some of the features along with example footage shot using the Senna Five Second Head.

Product Description:
Aimed toward the DSLR and small HD cam market, the Five Second Head weighs in at 4.4lbs (2kg), allows 360 degrees of pan/tilt, six points of memory for scene storage, speed replay, memory recalls and loop cycles. Motion Control features allow time lapse in six different speed settings and storage of 30 second head movements.

FEATURES: SPECIFICATIONS:
• Pan and tilt 360 degree rotations, two axes
• Wireless Range: 1640' (500m) line of sight
• Timelapse function 90 degreed – 60 minutes,
six different speeds
• Six memory points to store favorite scene and
speed replay
• Auto memory recalls and loop cycle
• Motion Control – store up to 30 seconds of
wanted head movement
• UV joystick backlight for night working mode
• Two ramp modes for smooth starting and
stopping
• Tilt and Pan joystick polarity configuration 		• Power: Rechargeable 12v Battery
• Wireless Frequency: 431 / 478 MHz, frequency is
preset on 444 MHz and cannot be changed on
device, only at factory when ordering, in steps of
200 KHz (200 Channels)
• Head Weight: 4.4lbs (2kg)
• Weight Capacity: 8.8lbs (4kg)
• Head Dimension: 9"x11"x5" (23x28x12cm)
• Remote Control: 6 memory point buttons, menu
button, speed reply, pan and tilt joystick, gain
control, night mode plate
• Case: Flight Case 7.9"x15.7"x19.7" (20x40x50cm)

For more information about Senna products, you can check out their website at https://www.Senna.hr.
Senna Five Second Head Cheesycam
Senna Five Second Head - Motorized Pan Tilt Video Crane Head

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Edelkrone, - July 12 , 2013
Edelkrone has introduced many changes to SLIDERPLUS and will be releasing this new version July 15. This new version is designed with more aesthetics in mind. So it fits and looks better in your production environment. Color change, hidden wheels, more unified look… SLIDERPLUS v2 comes in 3 sizes. Small, Medium and Large which delivers 40,60 and 80 cm of camera travel respectively.

Even more silent operation: Delrin wheels working on aluminum rails give more silent and smoother results. The New SliderPLUS comes with 1/4’’ to 3/8’’ converters, providing changeable mounting options. Thus, you can now mount both types of tripods to SLIDERPLUS. Pricing and availability info can be found from www.edelkrone.com from July 15.

We've actually taken the original Edelkrone SliderPLUS+ out a few times, and despite some of the quirks (which have been addressed in V2), it is a very smooth well built slider that is the only one to offer both the benefits of a compact travel size and combine it with sufficient slider travel distance in a single package. Here's a short video of our tests with the original SLIDERPLUS+.

The original SLIDERPLUS+ can still be found via eBay (Click Here).

Edelkrone SliderPlus NAB2013 Motorized Motor Pan Head copy
find-price-button Edelkrone SliderPlus Compact Video Slider

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Though it won't keep your camera's horizon completely level as if you're flying (like a Steadicam), Fig Rigs make great hand held stabilizers allowing you to move the camera around and change positions very quickly while getting rid of those unusual micro-vibrations. One problem that you'll run into is that you won't have an easy way to pull focus.

Here's an interesting solution Vimeo member Bruno Chansou has come up with using a window seal as his DIY Follow Focus belt. I'm sure this idea can be translated to many of the other hand held tools out there. [Thanks Bruno].

In the video Bruno looks to be using the Manfrotto style Fig Rig which is a complete circle and makes it odd to place the camera down. I find the the Halo Rig is a good design which incorporates all the benefits of a Fig Rig, but uses a flat base for resting the camera, or mounting to Tripod Heads. You can find these Halo Fig Rigs via eBay (Click Here).

Halo Fig Rig Stabilizer
find-price-button Halo Fig Rig Handheld Stabilizer