About a month ago, I made the decision to put some advertisement on the site. While I do not want the site to become bloated with ads, it is nice to get some money to pay the various expenses related to the blog. Trust me, there are more than you can think of!
This being said, I am happy to announce our first, sponsor: D|Focus System. If you have been reading the blog for some time, you surely know about Dave and his very affordable follow focus solution. Since my first post about it, ages ago, things have been moving well at the D|Focus system shop and they have come up with a few news products, namely:
- A revised and still affordable lens gear system
- A HDSLR follow focus mount
- A new version of the D|Focus, the v2 !
I hear you saying: ” What? A v2! I already have the original model, is there a way to upgrade it at a lower cost?” Of course there is! Check this page.
I am very excited to have D|Focus system as a site sponsor. I have been a customer since day 1 and followed the evolution of their product line ever since. By selling products that anyone can afford, they put all the tools in the hand of the creative folks no matter how deep their pockets are.
So, if you need a follow focus or lens gear, visit their store.
If you were thinking about getting a DXA for Christmas, you may want to call Santa first. It seems like the DXA-5D is back order and will be replaced (soon?) by a new product. I contacted BeachTek and the rep told me they have an alternative product coming soon.
Just a small recap, in case you did not watch the article on audio, the main advantage of the DXA-5D was that it was an interface between your mic and the 5D. So the sound was still recorded on the 5D (so no sync issues in post) but with the auto gain control disabled and with the added benefit of being able to monitor your audio while recording.
It is a bit sad because it was part of my top 5 HDSLR shooter wish list for Christmas. Have to find something else now!
I have been a member of Lynda.com for almost a year. Long time readers might remember me talking about the Final Cut training I followed there. Lynda has a load of training material covering way too many subjects. Thankfully, some of these are especially useful to us HDSLR shooters and I strongly encourage you to get a subscription. While not super cheap, it is money well spent.
Since I subscribed last year, I learned:
- Final Cut Pro 5
- Final Cut Pro 6
- Color
- A bit of Motion
- A bit of After Effects
- Sound Track
- Compressor
- a lot of stuff on layers and Photoshop
- Light Room
- Google Sketch Up
- a few more that I cant remember
Visit the site and you will be overwhelmed by its content. Also worth a notice: they have a line of courses about lighting for photography that is great for beginners.
I got way over my 250$ investment and I will surely renew for another year. As you know, I only suggest products that I believe in and I am totally positive about this one: you cant go wrong!
If you are interested, use the link on the right to go to the Lynda website and we will get a small commission. You can also click on the banner bellow. As always, money made from the site is reinvested in new content so it is a win-win situation!
I guess that most of you guys never heard of ShapeWLB. They are a small Canadian company that builds rigs mostly for pro video camera and are now entering the HDSLR market. They rigs are stable, functional and very affordable. They offer various models but the one that interest us the most is the Sumo II (pro or not).
Read the rest of this entry »
D-Focus came up yesterday with a new innovative product: it is a camera plate with an adjustable arm to install a follow focus. Dave calls it the DFocus DSLR mount.
This is a genius idea! This little gadget allows you to use a follow focus with small rigs like the Zacuto Gorilla series without upsetting too much the rig center of gravity.
I have yet to try it out but, from a requirement perspective, this is the product I have been wanting for a while without even thinking about it. No need to carry my indi rails and camera plate anymore!
On a side note, I guess it means I will have to revise my post about the 350$ follow focus rig now. The price got slashed almost in half!
My only complain so far: it should be called the DFocus HDSLR mount…
You can order it here
This project might not be for everyone but if you are like me and have trouble keeping the sliding motion at a constant speed, here is a solution: automate it! Martin Koch had the same issue has me and solved it the geek way: by using an Arduino and a stepping motor.The detailed explanation can be found on his blog. While the given version is too weak to carry an HDSLR, you just have to upgrade the stepping motor and you will be set.
You can see the results in some sequences of this clip.
I know what I am going to be reading on my way home tonight: Canon released the 1DMrkIV white paper. You can download it here.
Word of caution: White Papers are marketing materials and should be expected to bend, twist and fold the truth in every angle to promote the product. The best example of this was the Canon 5DMrkII White Paper (pre firmware update) which stated that the 5D allowed the videographer total control over the depth of field. Which was far from reality at the time and caused a lot of frustration.
For “real” information, you should read the product manual or wait for my hands on review.
DSLR News Shooter has had the opportunity to play with the 1DMrkIV and wrote a hands on review of it. Interesting points: they confirmed it can record at all the 7D frame rate plus 25p. Some people are going to be happy! I would have expected a higher frame rate, just to keep in line with the 1D expectation of high frame rate in the still world.
With some luck, I should be able to put my hands on a 1DMrkIV next week and will try to post some sample clips (if the card slot is not locked!). The thing I am the most interested in testing is the HDMI output, so stay tuned!
This has to be the piece of gear that I talked the most about without ever showing it up. Until now!
What is a slider?
Of all the gear you can add to your video tool box, a slider is probably the one that will add the most production value to your clips. Notice how the camera rarely stands still in a movie? Even in static scene, it keeps moving slowly from the left to right or from the front to the back (or inverse).
This is the work of a sliders or a dolly. Here is a quick clip to give you an idea of what it does.
Sliding is not the same thing as panning. Panning is done by rotating around a center point while sliding moves the camera along an axis. Also, panning is associated (most often) to cheap camera work while sliding is associated to dollies and expensive shots.
Why use a slider?
As stated above, sliding motions are associated to pro movies so if you add a few of these shots in your clip, it will increase its production value. They also add a special kick to your clip by adding a dynamic element to the shot.
How?
Of all the DIY projects, this one has to be the easiest ever! To make a 1m slider, you need to order two pieces and drill a hole. That is all!
The two pieces you need to order from Igus are:
- WW-16-60-10 DRYLIN W CARRIA
- WS-16-60 DRYLIN W RAIL
They cost about 150CAN$ and can be shipped either from US or Canada (to save custom). Just contact Kevin by mail ( kwright@igus.com) or visit their website.
Once you receive the two pieces, drill a hole in center of the sliding platform to screw your fluid head and install the rails on the tripod.
Voila, you are done! The technology used by Igus does not require lubricant but you might want to use some if you are having trouble getting perfectly smooth shots. I never had issue with it but my friend did, so it is up to you. Using no lubricant means one less thing to carry in your bag (and forget) and also that it wont get dirty.
Considerations
The reason my rails is still not installed on my tripod (yet) is that, after some experiment, I realized that I needed a new tripod. While I love my Manfrotto 190CXPRO, it is hard to adjust the legs to be perfectly parallel to the ground. This is usually not an issue when shooting stills since I can fix the horizon with the ball head. Unfortunately, to use the slider properly, the rails needs to be perfectly parallel to the ground, which makes it is a much bigger issue.
The solution is to get a bowl tripod. These are mostly used in the video world but are also useful for stills. I haven’t set my mind on which one to get yet, but the 350SHMVB Mini
Until I figure out which tripod I want, my slider will stay on its wooden legs!
Pushing it further
Igus parts are not design to create 1m long sliders. Their stuff is used to make huge track systems. This is why it is possible to assemble a few tracks together and create one huge and long slider. Any fans of Lego would be delighted at the prospect of creating one huge track!
Alternatives
If you want to take the easy road, you can order a slider from Indi Rails. They have various configuration starting at 99$. I have not tested it yet so I can’t comment on its built quality or smoothness.
There are other alternatives, such as the Glide Track which is made out of the same pieces as the DIY one I just described or the Pegasus which is supposed to be great (and priced accordingly).
Now what?
Order you pieces right away! In the upcoming weeks, I am going to post a few tips on how to get the best results from a slider. I have made enough mistake with these to know a thing of two about them. Stay tuned!
What something fancier?
Vincent Laforet just made a post about something one of my friend has been talking to me about for a few while: a plugin to log and trasfer HDSLR clips directly in Final Cut Pro.
As Vincent points out, this is a big thing for a lot of people. It will not make your images look better but it will help you to get the job done. The more complex your project is, the more you will like this tool. Lets just hope it has a reasonable price tag.
Vincent covers the tool very well in his blog post.
Just for the record, until now, only the GH1 was able to use the Log and Transfer menu.
