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New category: Budget gear

November 23, 2010 By

Let’s admit it, gearing up for video work cost a lot. Most rigs are overpriced and built quality is not always linked to the price tag. While pro shooters can justify at 1500$+ investment in a shoulder rig and fancy lenses, for most HDSLR shooters, resources are limited.

This is why I am starting a new post category: Budget Gear. The goal is simple: get the best bang for your buck! The gear we are going to review isn’t production grade but should be good enough to get you going. After all, if we keep waiting for better gear to shoot something, nothing would ever be done.

Stay tuned, the first article goes out tomorrow.

OOT note: the blog is currently being hit pretty badly with comment SPAM. I try to review the quarantined comments everyday but it is possible that I discard genuine ones by accident. Sorry for the inconvenient. Blame it on all the people who want to sell online diplomas!

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LCDVF, one product, two prices?

November 13, 2010 By

I have been aware of fake viewfinders (LCDVF and z-finder) on the market for a while but the sellers were mostly advertising on eBay or Craigslist and the products they were selling were cheap copies. Until recently.

Look at the two view finder above. One is the real LCDVF sold on BH website (right) and the other is a fake/replica (left) sold on Amazon. The replica is built by Meike.

From what I have gathered over the net, these are identical products in specs and manufacturing. They even seem to come out of the same factory in Poland! The difference? The price, the replica is much cheaper. Actually, if both products are identical, can we rally call the non official version a replica? There is surely a good story behind this.

So pick the one you like, one thing is for sure: both are cheaper than the z-alternative and work fine with the current generation of camera LCD!

If you happen to buy the replica, please leave a comment to confirm if it is identical to the official model or not.

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DIY slider: Igus is looking at the market more seriously

October 14, 2010 By

About a year go, I made my initial post about the DIY Igus slider. Back then, sliders were a bit of a novelty for HDSLR users and the DIY way was the only affordable solution.

Since then, manufacturers have reacted and are offering commercial alternatives at various price points.

Still, I think the DIY slider made out of Igus part gives the best bang for your buck. Its only flaw was the DIY part which required some drilling (and potential errors…). Igus noticed and they are now selling a pre-drilled version, the only thing left to do is attaching the ball head and tripod. Cant get simpler than that and at 150$, it is a fraction of similar solutions.

Small advice: while tempting, dont put any lubricant on the slider. Igus parts are designed to work without lubricant and while spraying some could improve the sliding motion, it will leave residues which will force you to use lubricant every time you want to use it afterward.

Also, some people inquired about the DIY electric slider I have been talking about. It is still not finished. My first version was a total disaster so I decided to revise the whole design.

You can get it here from Amazon.

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Filed Under: Video Tagged With: , ,

Kingston 64gig SSDNow review

October 11, 2010 By

As you can guess form the title, I recently purchased a Kingston SSDNow drive. The plan was to put it in the Macbook pro to replace the standard (and slower) 5400rpm drive. Since it was my first step in SSDland, I decided to play it safe and pick a relatively cheap drive with good reviews. At about 100$, this 64gig drive  is among the cheapest per gig  SSD drive you can get.

It is good to know that not all SSD are made equal. While searching on the net, I realized that there is a big gap in performance between similarly priced drives. I liked the Kingston for its fast read (200mps) and write (over 110mps) speed while not using some of its space for provisioning (some drives reduce the overall space to increase speed, such as the OCZ 60 GB Vertex 2 which is about 50% faster at the cost of 4 less gig and 33% more $).

Installation was stupid easy, 5 minutes max as long as you have the correct screw driver (Phillips 00). The long part was reinstalling all my software (OSX, LightRoom, CaptureOne, web dev stuff and StarCraft II). I am now left with less than 28gigs available on the drive so I decided to skip the FCP install for now.

While 28gig is not much, it is enough to cover a day worth of shooting (in most cases) and I always have my external G-DRIVE to handle backup.

The good

First of all, everything you read about SSD speed is true. While my drive is far from being among the fastest (I should have picked the OCZ 60 GB Vertex 2 for that), I noticed a drastic increase in speed for all my hd bound tasks: booting, browsing pictures in LR, loading maps in SCII… Actually, the limiting factor isnt the hard drive anymore, it is the video card/cpu.

The bad

One of the benefit I did not see is the increased battery life. Since SSD draw less power from the battery than disk based drives, they are supposed to increase the battery life. At least in theory. What I have found with my Macbook pro is a 10-15% decrease.

At first, I thought there was a problem with my drives until I realized the reason why I draw more power from the battery is that I actually do more work! Since I wait less on images to load, I edit more pictures/video which taxes the CPU more.

Conclusion

While there are a lot of choices when looking for a SSD, you don’t need to make a massive investment to get most of its benefits. Give it a try, it could be the best 100$ you ever spent on your latop!

My next step is to install FCP and see how well it is going to manage playing multiple stacked HD tracks.

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Just announced: EVF from Red Rock Micro

September 27, 2010 By

Red Rock Micro just announced an electronic view finder. And no, I am not going to bitch about it because I think it is a product with great potential. Of course it is still vaporware until it is released, just like the micro remote (and all the product prototypes in my garage), but the concept and spec sheet look promising. And lets admit it, it is a much needed part for every rig!

Its pricing is extremely aggressive. For a bit more than a Z-finder, you get something that is way better and more flexible. Pressing the add to cart button is a nobrainer from a cost perspective.

I am also very interested by the advanced assist features they are hinting about. I guess it will have some zebra and other contrast based tools to help focusing. What ever it is, it will be welcome! I just wonder how we will control these features since I could not find any buttons on the pictures (or HDMI cable for that matter).

From the press release, it looks like a very solid product. My only worry is about the up-scaling of the HDMI signal to make it fit the 1.2m dot LCD. Most up-scalers do a crappy job but I guess we will only know how good it is once it is released.

Now please, give us a realistic shipping date!

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Filed Under: Video Tagged With: , , ,

Ravelli AVTP Professional 75mm Tripod Review

August 5, 2010 By

This time, Jemery is looking for a cheaper alternative to the ‘official’ Manfrotto tripod.

One misconception that rookies might have is thinking that their old tripod will work just fine for shooting videos with an HDSLR… please don’t make the same mistake I did. If you are going to get serious about shooting video, there are things you will have to purchase in addition to your camera. A follow focus is a must for video, along with a slider of some sort. I had been shooting with a very dependable Targus tripod, just a run of the mill light weight – take it anywhere system… it took only a few shoots to look like an fool thinking that I would be alright with what I had.

Being budget conscious I scoured local stores first, then Amazon for a tripod that would fit my budget (needed to stay under $200) and provide stability along with a fluid head. I purchased the Ravelli AVTP Professional 75mm Tripod and have been playing with it for a little over a week now. The thing is a beast, which in my opinion is a good thing. It is stable enough to hold my Indislider Mini and have it stay perfectly steady even with the added weight of a battery grip. The panning is stiff but smooth. It only took me a couple tries to get the hang of it, but I was rolling well when I was set to shoot. It weighs in at nearly 15 pounds, and could be considered bulky if you were hiking in for an out door shoot. I did purchase the tripod dolly as an addition to the tripod. My thoughts on this are mixed, as the dolly, even when locked down tight, allows for slight vibrations when moving or panning, so for any shot that requires movement I suggest that you not use the dolly. It is nice when shooting photographs inside buildings, allowing for an easy adjustments and saving time – but for video go with the stability of solid ground.

I give this tripod a solid 5 stars. It is an inexpensive alternative to a higher and more pricey system and will serve its purpose well. Even with the dolly you can get shots that work well.

Pros

Inexpensive, solid and sturdy. Allows for little vibrations while shooting. I don’t mid that it is heavy, it can hold 20 pounds of weight effortlessly and that is worth it’s bulkiness to me.

Cons

Stiff while panning. It takes a few tries to get the muscles in your body to remember the tension. There are screws that you can adjust to make panning easier, but if you mess up you can ruin the panning entirely. Not willing to take that chance – not yet at least.

Now the Admin take on this

As stated by Jeremy, there is a big difference between still and video tripods and trying to work with the wrong kind of support system is asking for troubles. I have shot with a vast array of tripods and while the Manfrotto 525MVB (or one of its derivatives) is a solid performer, there are other good alternatives. The most important feature to look for is that you want a tripod with a bowl to attach the head to and not just a flat surface to screw the head to. While the tilt/pan head is a great starting point, eventually you will be lured by the bowl and fortunately for Jeremy, the Ravelli AVTP Professional 75mm Tripod has a standard size 75mm bowl.

A bowl allows you to setup the tripod first, then make it level with the ground instead of having to adjust each leg separately until the whole thing is level. This is a major time saver and well worth the extra money.

There are a few other things to look for but I will keep these for a later post.

Moral of the story? While heavy, the Ravelli is a very affordable entry level video tripod with some pro features. Of course, you can’t expect it to perform as its 1000$ Italian cousin, but at a fraction of the price, it is hard to go wrong with this tool.

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Filed Under: From the contributors, Review Tagged With: , ,

Canon Wonder camera, wonder what?

July 9, 2010 By

This week big news was Canon announcement of their wonder camera. If you have not see it yet, here it is.

You know what this reminds me of? Videos from the 60s saying everyone would own a flying car in 2000…

Some of the technologies highlighted in the video already exists and I am sure they are working hard on those that do not. Still, I believe it is all vaporware coming from Canon marketing department.

Think about it: why would Canon design a camera able to do everything in a single unit? We are talking here about a company that is over protective of its product lines and would rather limit customer options than cannibalize its sales. If you dont believe it, just think about where we were 18 months ago with Canon stalling the 5D  MrkII firmware to protect the video division. To make it happen Canon would have to merge the DSLR, point and shoot and video (pro and consumer) divisions under a single entity. Unless there is a big mentality shift at Canon, I can’t see it coming anytime soon.

Instead of this presentation, I would have preferred seeing one about Canon vision of what it coming in the next 3-5 years. Then again, CEO are like politicians, they only promise stuff that is going to happen when they are out of the picture.

Am I the only one wondering where is the 3D?

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Filed Under: News, On the web Tagged With: ,

Columbus V-900 geo tagger (Review)

May 20, 2010 By

My trip to Iceland was my first serious photo trip. And, since baby girl is coming soon, it will probably be the last one for a while too! Anyways, I seriously geared up for this trip and brought with me every single gadget I could think of.

The first of these gadget I want to talk you about is the Columbus V-900 geo tagger. I may have bitched a bit (ehh.. a lot) about Aperture 3, but one of its coolest feature is the addition of Places. While I could complain for a while about the way it was implemented (like the requirement to be connected to the internet), it is still a great tool for the travel photographer.

I am sure some of you are thinking “Why use a separate device? The iPhone can do the job!”. True, but having a separate gps has a few benefits:

  • it has better reception / precision
  • much longer battery life
  • smaller
  • more robust
  • always in tracking mode

I am sure the iPhone can handle the requirements of most people, but if you are not comfortable having your iPhone hanging from the back of your bag while in the rain, please keep reading…

The device

As you can see on the picture below, it is much smaller than a GPS or iPhone. This is a nice thing when you think that you will have to carry it with you all the time. Also, its simplistic design ensure that you don’t accidentally turn it on/off. While it is not water resistant, I have found that putting it in a ziploc bag does’nt affect performance while keeping it safe.

The front panel of the device has a single button and 3 status LEDs. While the device captures your location every few seconds, you can also click on the button when you are at a special place to make it easier to identify the location afterward. This is a feature I should have used more during my trip to set some reference points to ease the photo-GPS associations.

The features

The geotagger comes with a lot of features but I have to admit that I restricted myself to the bare minimum: geo tracking. For examples, the Columbus can beep when you exceed a predetermined speed, record voice messages or be connected via Bluetooth to your computer to acts as a GPS.

In my case, I received the unit only a few days before my trip and read the instructions while on the plane. Not wanting to jeopardize my logging, I stayed away from all these features.

Once the trip is captured, you have to transfer it to the computer. I dont understand why but the computer will not recognize the card while it is plugged in the V-900, you have to use a separate card reader. It is not so much of a problem but still, it means you have to carry one more peace of hardware in your bag.  It is also worth noting that the USB cable used to charge the device cannot be used to plug an external HD to your computer. I discovered this the hard way. So, if you plan to carry a single USB cable for both your Columbus and External HD, you better use the HD cable for both.

Now that your log files are on your computer, you have to convert to a format that is readable by your favorite application. In my case, I had to convert them to the gpx format for Aperture. The task is done using the free application provided by the manufacturer. IMPORTANT NOTE: the version that comes in the box does not export to gpx, you have to get the latest version (free on the manufacturer website).

Conclusion

My overall impression of the device is positive. While it is not the cheapest of the bunch, its high precision and long battery life make it stand out from the rest. I would advice it to every travel photographer or location scouts. There are some hurdles, like the cheap USB cable, but nothing to worry about.

Amazon does not sale this device but offers instead the VGPS-900 which looks pretty much the same. I just dont understand the bad reviews because the device has been working flawlessly for my whole trip.

For those still waiting for the story about my trip, here is a teaser of the locations we shot at. FYI, my plane landed in Akurery and we drove around the island clockwise.

Edit: I have had two visitors pointing me toward the Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger. It is a cheaper alternative and with Aperture 3 geo tagging, it solves the biggest issue owners had: linking pictures to GPS data.

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Fader ND review follow up

April 27, 2010 By

Following the comment of PH Photography on the quality of the Fader ND, I decided to do more extensive testing. As I was stating in my original review, I was having great results while using the Fader ND in video mode with my 24-70 (main video lens).

So, today, I decided to review what I have shot so far in Iceland with the filter. Up until this morning, everything was shot with the 17-40L4 and was good enough to be put on the web at 720p. So I was having different results than what PH Photography was getting. Then, I reviewed the clips shot with the filter mounted on my 400L5.6. Oh boy!

These clips are not sharp at all. While very usable for web display in a downscaled window (as on Vimeo), the 100% crop was not satisfying at all.

I understand that using a variable filter at such a long focal range is not common so this might be the reason why so few people have reported the issue. That being said, I am getting very good results with my other lenses. If someone has a 400mm lens and a Sihn Ray, I would love to hear your results.

Now that I think about it, anyone else experienced sharpness issues with the Fader ND on a telephoto lens?

Should you forget about the Fader ND?

Fortunately, the Fader ND manufacturer is coming very soon with a revised version of the product which will be using much higher quality glass. Cant wait to test these out. Until then, I will not use the filter on any of my long focals.

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Fader ND filter from LCW review

April 14, 2010 By

Disclaimer: Light Craft Workshop is now a sponsor of Canon5dTips.com. If you read the sponsorship page, you know that I only agree to promote products that I actually use and love. So if it wasn’t good, I would not recommend you to buy one, as my painful Pocket Wizard TTL experience proved.

If you don’t know what a ND filter is or why you need one, take a look at this post on the subject (coming soon).

[Read more...]

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