Equipment Reviews

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I recently received two packages to test out from Senna a video equipment company based out of Croatia (website found here). One case includes their 'All Recall Focus' which is a Wireless Follow Focus system, and the second case carries their 'Five Second Head' which is a Motorized Pan / Tilt Head. Take a look at the demo video below showcasing these products at work.

The All Recall Wireless Follow Focus System has programmable functions to store and return to specific focus points very quickly. You can control the ramp speed in which it changes from one focus point to the next if you want a slower more dramatic focus pull. I've tried a few different Wireless Follow Focus systems, and in the past i've had mixed results to the point where I don't use them. So far, this system has been pretty reliable right out of the box. I've been able to test the recall function repeatedly and the servos have so far been extremely accurate switching back to the stored focus points with a simple touch a button.

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Senna All Recall Wireless Follow Focus on BlackMagic Design Cinema Camera

During initial setup, you can calibrate the focus range of your lens. The single hand held controller has the ability to operate two servos (zoom and focus) if you're operating a zoom lens remotely. The Transmitter and Receiver operate with built in rechargeable Lithium ion batteries or can be powered through an external battery pack or AC wall adapter. One neat feature is the ability to enable Night Mode which allows you to see an illuminated marking disc when your focus puller is working in dim lighting - not to mention it also looks pretty cool.

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The Five Second Head (i'm guessing carries it's name from it's fast installation time) is a motorized Pan Tilt head that can be controlled through a tethered remote, or optional wireless remote. I'm a big fan of the unique movements you can create with Motorized Pan / Tilt heads. The Five Second Head also has the ability to store repeatable positions. Apparently this head can also be used for TimeLapse which I still have not figured out yet, but i'm assuming it will require some additional equipment.

The instructions were very clear to get each of these products setup, and so far i've had to hiccups. I'm hoping to put these products through more testing with some of our future projects. Hopefully I will also work on an introduction to setting up each of the equipment and what's included in the box. Senna has a number of products available from various website retailers, but more information about their products can also be found at https:/www.senna.hr

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find-price-button Senna Five Second Head and All Recall Wireless Follow Focus

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Varavon's latest Tilt Jib Mini Crane is not the most portable system on the market, but the highlight of this product is the ability to tilt the camera when performing vertical movements. Many other jibs will keep the camera horizontal which will cause you to lose tracking of your subject.

The Varavon Tilt Jib comes in it's own travel case, and setting up the system requires no tools. All assembly can be done by hand. The tilt function uses a cable system and requires you to have a strong fluid head and of course tripod system. The Varavon Tilt Jib base kits are available from a small 3ft version to much longer models, or you can always purchase an extension kits later down the line to increase your vertical. You can get more information about the Varavon Mini Tilt Jibs via eBay (click here).

Varavon Tilt Jib T1Varavon Tilt Jib T2Varavon Tilt Jib T3Varavon Tilt Jib T4
find-price-button Varavon Tilt Jib Mini Crane

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I've recently required the need to have more sand bags in my space, so I purchased 20 pcs of these 9" x 10.5" sized Sand Bags. Unless you see them in person, shopping for 'inexpensive sand bags' on the internet might be a hit or miss. All you get is a few photos and not much information, so I thought I would share what i'm using.

The product listing doesn't really provide the exact weight these will be when loaded up, but from my estimates it should be around 20 lbs. each. The material is good lined with a tightly woven plastic like material on the inside so the sand doesn't sift it's way out. Stitching is great and double zippered to prevent them from accidentally opening up - pretty standard quality bags. Now time to make a stop over at the hardware store and pick up a few hundred pounds of Play Sand (for kids sandboxes) and fill them up. Here's a listing to the exact same 9" x 10.5" Sand Bags i've ordered (here).

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find-price-button 10pcs of 9" x 10.5" Sand Bags

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Here's some footage shot with the Aviator Travel Jib. As far as mini video jibs / cranes go, this is THE MOST Compact Crane i've ever personally had the chance to use. The aluminum version (available in carbon fiber also) is very lightweight and sets up very quickly. No nonsense, and no fiddling around when it's time to set up for a shot. It is just as fast to break it down when it's time to move. I really feel these mini jibs will appeal to the event videographer who needs to travel light and work in confined areas, or to the traveling videographer who wants to recreate these specialty camera movements on location. There's nothing to complain about as far as build quality for this price, and the built in panning base of the Aviator is a HUGE advantage over other systems that require you to bring a strong fluid head.

Filling an empty bag is a good option when you don't want to travel with an extra 4-5lbs of weight, and you can easily fill it up with extra camera gear, or even water bottles. The telescoping poles can be adjusted so that you don't have to use the full 6 feet of extension. As with any tool, the Aviator Jib moves very smoothly but still requires perfect balance with your counter weight, and practice to get the best no-wobble results. The Aviator is one of the more pricier mini jibs available on the market, but it's compact folding design is unique allowing to be extremely compact and fast. The Aviator Jib can be found in both Carbon Fiber and in Aluminum (click here).

Travel Jib Carbon Fiber Aluminum Aviator Mini CraneCarbon Fiber Aviator Travel Jib
find-price-button The Aviator Travel Jib Mini Crane Carbon Fiber or Aluminum

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Sean Rivers shares this excellent review on the PhotographyandCinema.com PR-1 Shoulder Rig [Thanks Sean]. The P&C PR-1 shoulder rig is bundled with a basic set of rails, clamps, Swiss Rods, extended handles, and shoulder pad for beginner shooters, but can easily be expanded with other Industry Standard 15mm accessories. The baseplate of the PR-1 was originally designed for smaller cameras, but with a Manfrotto quick release baseplate added, Sean was able to mount up his Sony FS700. You can find additional information about the P&C Prime Shoulder Rig PR-1 (click here)

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find-price-button P&C Prime Video Shoulder Rig PR-1 Bundle Kit

If the product is Out of Stock, you can also check to see if it's available via Amazon (Click Here)

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find-price-button P&C Prime Video Shoulder Rig PR-1 Bundle Kit - Amazon

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The video above shows off the features of the Manfrotto 561BHDV (available here via Amazon). The tripod-like foot is a huge advantage when it comes to stability during video capture. Now Benro is opening up new options with a few video monopods that are designed specifically for video shooters (as seen below). The stable foot design is similar to the popular 561BHDV, but not quite exactly the same. The video below explains some of those differences between the video head and tripod foot.

The 561BHDV is a much heavier and longer unit and offers a fluid cartridge at the base. You can opt in for a head on the 561BHDV, but the head that is included does not have a pan feature (left/right) to be used as a normal video head. The new Benro systems on the other hand are being bundled with a variety of different monopods in aluminum and carbon fiber and your choice of S2 or S4 video head. The Benro S2 or S4 are not the most professional, but they are actual functioning video heads with a full panning feature to be used with any video tripod (or with any Video Slider or camera Crane).

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find-price-button Benro S2 and S4 Video Heads

Quality wise, the 561BHDV feels like the heavier more robust unit, but the new Benro video monopods are a good alternative with it's lightweight carbon fiber option and collapses down a bit shorter than the Manfrotto. Even at the shorter minimum collapsed length, my 4 section carbon fiber Benro can telescope to the same height as the Manfrotto up to 6.5' feet.

[UPDATE]: I've seen these Benro Monopods online for several weeks and finally decided to purchase them from overseas for my trip to WPPI. Turns out when these Benro Monopods finally hit the US distribution, they may only be available in Aluminum (no carbon fiber) and will be offered with both 'flip lock' and 'twist lock' styles. The base foot is said to also include a fluid panning base (similar to the Manfrotto).[UPDATE]:

I had purchased my set of Benro Video Monopods with ball socket tripod foot via eBay (Click Here).

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find-price-button Benro Aluminum / Carbon Fiber Video Monopods S2 / S4 Fluid Head

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find-price-button Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 Fluid Video Monopod with Head

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I often get questions about whether the Kamerar Tank Cage will work on the new BlackMagic Design Cinema camera. It was originally designed to fit Canon DSLR cameras, but by accident, it can also fit the BMCC. By changing the stock rods on the Kamerar Tank Cage with standard 15mm rails, i'm able to fit the BlackMagic Design Cinema camera in pretty well. The top plate lines up to allow a 1/4-20 bolt to attach to the BMCC trapping the camera between the plates. It's a very solid mount. Just another affordable option for those looking to mount accessories and or a 15mm rail system with the BMCC. More information about the Kamerar Tank Cage can be found at the product website (click here).

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find-price-button Kamerar Tank Cage with 15mm Rails

Carbon 15mm Rails Rod Rig
find-price-button Carbon Fiber 15mm Rails for Video Rig

Lens Support 15mm RigLens Support Clamp 15mm
find-price-button 15mm Rail Lens Support Clamp

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find-price-button BlackMagic Design Cinema Cameras via eBay (click here)

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Your basic Jib / Crane will give you smooth vertical (up/down) movements. With a pan head placed under the crane, you will combine both horizontal (left/right) and vertical movements. Attach a video head to the end of the crane and you'll be able to maintain a subject in frame even when the crane is panning horizontally similar to a track dolly or slider. That's quite a bit of options for a crane, but once you've added a motorized pan/tilt head, it will open up amazing camera movements that are otherwise impossible to achieve through any other tool.

Last week we decided to mount up the Servo City MPT1100-SS Pan & Tilt System to one of our jibs. We were able to capture smooth overhead rotating shots down to low tilt movements. The speed of the motorized Pan/Tilt system can be adjusted through the joystick, and the rotation of the motors can be reversed to the joystick movements to suit your preference. The unit can be mounted right side up, or underslung (which I prefer). It can mount to jibs with a bowl adapter or standard 1/4-20 mounts.

We will be using this new setup for an upcoming project, but as with any tool it does take quite a bit of practice. The MT1100-SS is much smoother than it appears in our first practice video (above). The system weighs only 2 pounds and can support up to a 6 pound payload. For around $649 the kit comes with everything you need to start performing motorized Pan / Tilt movements on your jib and more information about this head can be found at the ServoCity.com MPT1100-SS Pan & Tilt system over at the product page (Click Here).

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find-price-button ServoCity.com MPT1100-SS Pan & Tilt System

For jibs smaller than 4ft. I don't really suggest adding an entire motorized pan/tilt setup. You will probably get best results working with at least an 8ft. or longer jib setup. For larger heavier camera equipment, you will need a stronger system than the MPT-1100SS and instead look towards the PT-2100 (found here). There is also a good number of long jib/cranes available and a small variety of motorized pan/tilt products available via eBay (click here).

crane head motorized pan tilt remote controlmotorized pan tilt crane headapan tilt head jib crane systempan tilt motorized head
find-price-button Motorized Pan Tilt Head 8-12ft Jib Cranes

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Let me start by saying I do own a Steadicam Merlin Vest and the Glidecam HD4000 stabilizer. These are two high quality pieces of gear that will give excellent results, but total over $2100+ US dollars. If you can afford this combination, you won't be disappointed with the results.

For those who can't afford such equipment, I have had the opportunity to try several different more affordable vest systems and posted a video about this (below) along with an Arm/Vest I recommend for budget shooters.

So If you are a budget filmmaker, this more affordable Vest/Arm with Stabilizer Combination that can work just as well as some of the more expensive kits out there. The dual ISO arm vest is easy to get in and out of, easy to adjust to fit, and the arm has a quick release system and can be found bundled with the Wieldy Carbon Fiber Stabilizer (Wieldy review found here). Below is a sample video of the Dual ISO Arm and Vest with Wieldy Stabilizer flying a BlackMagic Cinema Camera.

Even with the additional weight of the BMCC, the stabilizer works great. This has been one of the best alternative Vest/Stabilizer bundles i've used that can deliver results similar to my $2100+ US dollar setup, and the kit is often found for around $800. You can find this Dual Arm Vest + Stabilizer via eBay (click here)

Wieldy Vest Dual Arm Stabilizer Steadicam Vest
find-price-button Video Camera Steadycam Dual Arm Stabilizer Load Vest

The vest is very helpful for longer video shots, but is not required. You can always purchase the vest at a later time and just start with the Wieldy Carbon Fiber hand held stabilizer. I have additional information and sample video footage shot with a Wieldy (found here). So if you are just looking for the Hand Held stabilizer, that can be found via eBay (Click Here).

Wieldy Iron Triangle DV Pro StabilizerWieldy Stabilizer Cheesycam
find-price-button Wieldy DV Pro Iron Triangle Stabilizer