22Feb Delkin DDMOUNT-VISE camera mounting clamp
Need to mount your camera in a car for green screen work or attach your field recorder just out of frame to the back of that chair? Well this should solve your problem.
The Delkin DDMOUNT is basically a vise attached to a 360 degree swivel mount ball and arm with a 1/4 20 on top. It’s designed to hold up to 3 pounds and the mouth opens up to 3 inches. I actually came across this while looking for something to secure cutouts around the set for a Film noir project I’m working on. Trying to create deep contrasting shadows always means hanging up large peaces of card board and mounting lights at odd angles.
At $33 the Delkin DDMOUNT
Since I’m working on film noir, harsh, high intensity lighting will probably be my best option and I’ve got 5 or 6 old halogen work lights
. Once I have the setup worked out I’ll post the video results.
21Feb Selecting a Wireless setup for your DSLR rig.
Selecting a wireless system is kind of like picking out an apartment, you could live anywhere, but would you want to? After trying 4 or so different wireless setups the one I settled on is the Sennheiser G2 series, because it’s rugged, preforms well, runs on AA batteries, and has a nice little cold shoe mount adapter.
Does this mean it’s right for you? Not necessarily. When picking a wireless mic setup there are a few things to consider.
- How much do you have to spend?
- How far away from the talent do you need to be?
- What kind of mounting will you be using?
- Are you filming in a urban area or out in the country?
The number one factor that will determine what wireless system you buy is how much you have to spend. Wireless systems like the Lectrosonics 400 series work amazingly well, but at a price of almost $2500 each, I’ll never own one. So Lets look at a few more affordable options.
The least expansive wireless system I’ve ever used is the Audio Technica PRO88W. For a price of $125 you get 2 vhf channels, a cold shoe adapter, and a lavalier microphone. The transmitter and receiver both run on a single 9 volt battery and the body is made out of plastic. You don’t get a lot of range, I’ve been able to get 40 feet line of site before I started to notice problems. With only 2 VHF channels (UHF is better) to select from this probably isn’t a great choice for conventions, but if you live in a small town, or only plan to use this for intimate one on one interviews or blogs It could work well.
If you are prepared to spend about twice that much you can pick yourself up the Azden 105 Series Wireless Microphone for about $250 to $300. The Azden units are a mixed bag, you get 90+ UHF channels, good range (mine worked 2 rooms away and line of site up to 200 feet), and clean enough audio. The down side is that the unit is made out of plastic, the controls are poorly designed and the audio can get a little bit over modulated when the settings aren’t right. If you need to make adjustments to the settings, you actually have to get out the included plastic tools and fiddle around with very tiny screws. Not only is this a pain, but it also takes a lot of time. One other note is that the included lavalier mic is rather large.
I tried to give this unit a chance but after about 3 weeks of messing around with the horrible controls I gave up on it. The Azden 105 preforms well for the price if you’re willing to put up with the adjustment pains and the plastic.
Once you get fed up with the head ache of using the Azden 105, the Sony UWP-V1 wireless system is a breath of fresh air. At a price of around $400 you get 188 UHF frequencies to chose from, a solid metal body, and controls that are simple and easy to use. The Sony UWP-V1 runs on AA batteries and comes with both a cold shoe adapter and a lavalier microphone. It also includes both a XLR and a mini-plug output cable so you can easily adapt this to any setup. The other nice thing is that you can adjust the power output of the transmitter to increase battery life if you don’t need the talent to be far away.
So if I like the Sony UWP-V1 so much why did I end up with the Sennheiser G2? Well 2 reasons, the first one being the size of the receiver. The Sennheiser G2 receiver is about 2/3rd the size of the Sony receiver making it a little nicer for on camera mounting. The second is that I wanted an XLR transmitter as well as a transmitter body pack so I could do on the scene style interviews. At the time I was in the market, the Sony model was out of stock and I ended up buying the Sennheiser ew100 G2 system instead.
At the time the Sennheiser and Sony models were almost the same price but it looks as though the Sony units have come down in price while the Sennheiser has stayed about the same. Honestly I think both the Sony and Sennheiser wireless units are about even as far as performance. Some people feel that the Sennheiser controls are a little bit confusing and others find the size of the Sony units a down side.
Having owned both, I think the size of the Sennheiser system still wins me over, but if I had to do it again and the price was $100 less I would probably have gone with the Sony UWP-V1. Either way both of these units are very rugged and well made, I don’t think you’ll go wrong with either if your willing to spend the money.
On a side note the Sennheiser ew100 G2 can often be found on ebay for much less then the retail price. So if your willing to wait a little bit then .
20Feb Canon 35mm f1.4 Review
It seems like this question always comes up. What is your number one go to lens? The answer of course is the Canon 35mm f1.4, but I don’t like pointing it out. Why? Well it’s because this lens is almost $1300 which then always starts a debate about wither or not it’s worth it.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing but good things to say about the Canon 35mm f1.4. The build quality is as nice as any of Canon’s L series lenses, the corner and center sharpness is very good, the lens focus motor is quiet, and the color performance is outstanding. All that said there is still a but, and that but is the price tag of $1300.
As much as I love this lens, $1300 is a lot of money for someone shooting on a t2i. With that much money you could easily get the Sigma 30mm f1.4, the Canon 50mm f1.4, and the Canon 85mm f1.8 and have a little left over for a Zoom H1. So for the price of a single Great lens you could have 3 good lenses and a audio recorder.
To me 3 lenses seems like a much better use of your money then a single lens for the same price. I say this while still being the proud owner of both the Canon 35mm f1.4 and the Sigma 30mm f1.4. I also drive a beat up old car, have no kids, and sit on a couch that was new when Nixon was still in office. So if you are independently wealthy or willing to live on Ramen Noodles for a year then the Canon 35mm f1.4 is definitely the way to go.
If you are looking for video footage of this lens in action just check out my youtube channel. I would say about 75% of my videos are filmed with this lens. On a Side note, did you know that Amazon Sells Ramen Noodles? Yea me neither.
19Feb Zoom H1 V.s. Zoom H4n quick head to head.
I often get questions about the quality of the built in microphone on the Zoom H1. I can safely say after running a few tests between the Zoom H4N and the zoom H1, I can barely tell the difference. The Zoom H1 is basically just the Zoom H4N without all the features and the built in microphones preform about as close as you can get to the Zoom H4N without being the H4N.
The Zoom H1 is ruffly half the size of the Zoom H4N. It is probably easiest to start by listing all of the things that the Zoom H1 is missing compared to the H4N. The zoom H1 doesn’t have XLR inputs, no 4 track recording mode, it can’t be used as a usb audio interface for your computer, it doesn’t have a remote control option, the built in microphone capsules don’t rotate, it isn’t as durable, and the 1/4 20 threaded hole on the back is made of plastic not metal.
So what does the Zoom H1 have? Well for starters it has a price tag of $99, it can record in a few audio formats including wav and mp3, it has a low cut filter built in to reduce rumble, it has good built in stereo microphones, very good battery performance, it has a big red recording button on the front that screams “don’t panic”, and it is smaller and lighter then its bigger brother. That last one makes it ideal for hot shoe mounting.
There is a way to add some of the functionality of the Zoom H4N to the Zoom H1. If you pick up a XLR audio adapter and attach it to your Zoom H1 it allows you to feed 2 XLR inputs into the H1 and gives you independent audio level control with a real knob (the built in button isn’t very handy for adjusting levels while your recording). You can usually find these XLR adapters for between $40 and $150, they used to be very popular for cameras like the HV20 and if your willing to wait then Ebay is often a good place to look.
The Zoom H4n has way more features then the Zoom h1 but maybe you don’t need all of those features or maybe you only have $100 to spend. Either way the Zoom H1 isn’t bad for the price I tend to use it almost as much as the zoom H4N.
I have a full video review of the Zoom H4N I did over the course of a six pack if you’re willing to sit through it. I will post a more coherent review of the features on the Zoom H4N in the future since this really ended up being a Zoom H1 Review.
19Feb CPM FILM TOOLS DSLR Flyer Kit and Indisystem indiSQUARE review
There are a number of rig manufactures and no lack of options. The trick is to find a good balance between design and price. Products from companies like Cinevate, Redrock Micro, and Zacuto are designed well but are often out of the price range of most low budget film makers. With that in mind here are 2 very affordable DSLR Rigs to consider (I own both).
First lets start with the indisystem indiSQUARE. As you can see I’ve made a few changes to this rig. I started off by replacing the Giottos mh652 quick release plate with a Manfrotto 577 quick release plate. This works better for me since all of my equipment is setup for 501pl plates. After that I removed the rails. There isn’t anything wrong with the rails themselves it’s just that the shape of the rig doesn’t make the rails very useful. They would probably be fine for a matte box, but the indiSQUARE is much to wide to use a follow focus with out a whip.
Mounting options are limited on this unit with 2 threaded 1/4 20 holes and 4 3/8 none threaded holes. I would normally say thats plenty but because the holes are so close together you end up with very little space for gear to be mounted. I actually installed the arm upside down in order to leave room for a RODE VideoMic to be mounted. I will also point out that the none aluminum hardware on this unit is beginning to rust. The indiSQUARE is also very heavy, and the corner peaces are somewhat sharp. The handles are made of soft foam and after 8 months are starting to come apart.
The indiSQUARE isn’t a bad little rig for the price range. I miss spoke in the video, It looks as though the current price for the indiSQUARE is $130 plus shipping. But if you can squeeze together just $100 more you could have yourself the CPM FILM TOOLS DSLR Flyer kit.
The CPM FILM TOOLS DSLR Flyer kit is made of carbon fiber making it much lighter then the indiSQUARE. The handles are a nice rubberized grip that can be moved and adjusted. The unit feels very well made and very sturdy. The Flyer kit includes four 8 inch rails, 2 rubberized handles, a DSLR cage, and a 501pl compatible quick release plate.
There are 8 holes(4 of which are taken up by the handles) and 2 threaded 1/4 20 female holes on either side. The handle position makes it much easier to us a Follow focus and mounting holes on either side make the Flyer Kit a much more balanced mounting configuration then the indiSQUARE. The other nice thing about the DSLR Flyer kit is that with the addition of a few parts you have a shoulder shooter kit. So down the road when you’ve donated plasma 5 or 6 more times you can afford to upgrade. This option isn’t really available with the indiSQUARE.
As I’ve said before I own both of these rigs. If you’re looking for the cheapest DSLR cage on the market the Indisystem indiSQUARE is it, but if you can scrape together a little more money I would definitely spend it on the CPM FILM TOOLS DSLR Flyer kit. At $230 the DSLR Flyer is worth every penny and the extra $100 gets you a great deal more in value and build quality.
18Feb Adding a battery Grip makes your DSLR RIG easier to use.
Batteries are a very important and over looked part of filming. Not having enough batteries or easy access to them can slow down filming by hours. Pulling your rig apart to get to the battery compartment can also be very frustrating and time consuming.
If you plan to film projects lasting a day or more, it’s a good idea to have at least 4 to 6 camera batteries with you. It’s also a good idea to have a few extra chargers. Or better yet and double charger like this
Adding a battery grip to your DSLR Rig makes it much easier to replace batteries and allows the camera to run longer between battery change outs. I personally like the Zeikos battery grips
But if you’re looking for something cheaper, then their are several models out there for under $40
New generic batteries are chipped, which means they will work the way canon brand batteries will in your 7d. I’ve had good luck with the Opteka LP-E6 2400mAh brand batteries
The other nice thing about adding a battery grip to something like the t2i is that it makes it easier to hold. I have large hands and with out a battery grip on the t2i I can only get 2 fingers on it before i run out of space.
17Feb Juicedlink Camera Rigs and other DSLR Cages.
Juicedlink has released a few interesting DSLR camera rigs. The first one is the Juicedlink DIY107 which is designed to work around the Rode VideoMic. Basically this unit connects to your Rode VideoMic via the 3/8-16 mount on the back of Microphone. At $36 this could be a handy little bracket.
The Juicedlink DIY101 is the normal square camera bracket with 1/4 20 holes spaced across the outside of the unit. It doesn’t have soft handles and doesn’t include rails so it seems a little pricey at $164.
The last one on the list is the Juicedlink DIY102. This bracket is a nice unique T type design that allows you to have most of your gear mounted to one side of the camera. I often use a $15 flash bracket for this. But the flash bracket really only allows you 2 mounting points (unless you buy 2 of them and mount them together) where the DIY102 has 6 or 7 mounting holes. At $108 the DIY102 looks like it’s probably built better then most of the flash brackets and might prove to be longer lasting.
In my Opinion the DIY107 and DIY102 look the most interesting. For the price the DIY101 doesn’t look nearly as well thought out as some of the other rigs on the market. If your in the market for an aluminum camera square you might want to consider the IndiSQUARE by indisystems. At $129 you get carbon fiber rails, soft handles, and a rugged build.
The Indisquare is a bit on the heavy side, but it’s a great starter cage if you’re on a budget. If you can squeeze together about $100 more I would check out the DSLR Flyer Cage Kit by CPM FILM TOOLS. I have both the IndiSQUARE and the DSLR Flyer Cage and I can safely say that I like the CPM film tools rig better. At $100 more then the indiSQUARE you drop over half the weight, add 2 sets of rails, add a better quick release and upgrade to much nicer handles.
Plus if you ever need to upgrade to a shoulder kit the CPM FILM TOOLS rig is much more expandable.
15Feb Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens review and video test.
Finding a wide angle lens for you t2i, 60d, or 7d can be a little hard thanks to the crop factor created by the APS-C size sensor (1.6x lens focal length). On a full frame camera 16mm to 35mm is what I would consider wide angle, but on a APS-C sensor 35mm is about 56mm (not very wide). That’s where the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lens comes in. At 11mm on an APS-C sensor camera you have about 17mm and at 16mm you have about 26mm. That’s a pretty good wide angle range and a fixed f2.8 is faster then Canons 10-22mm f3.5-4.5.
The Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 is a great wide angle lens for crop sensor cameras. It’s very sharp, very quiet, and uses a standard 77mm filter size. I would consider this lens to be the best wide angle option for APS-C cameras in its price range.
14Feb Zoom h4n Firmware update.
A few people have had problems trying to use the audio trick I pointed out a few weeks back. If you want to record a single microphone into both channels of your zoom h4n with different audio levels using a splitter then you’ll want to upgrade the firmware on your zoom h4n to 1.72.
The old 1.50 firmware only allows you to adjust the audio level on both channels together. The upgrade allows individual audio levels to be adjustment. This allows you to set channel one lower then channel two.
I cover everything you’ll need to know for this upgrade in the video and if you still need a splitter they’re dirt cheep.
13Feb Fixing the Blink problem on the Lilliput monitor with the 5d 60d and t2i.
So one of the most irritating things about shooting on pretty much any of canon’s camera line (minus the 7d) is that the HDMI port goes from HD to SD when you press the record button. This normally causes most field monitors to blink, but thanks to a little info from dzoemie you don’t have to put up with this blink any longer. If you set your Lilliput monitor to DVI mode the video footage stays in SD output but you get no blink when you press record.
The nice thing is that you can use the hdmi port for video output which frees up the usb port for a usb Follow focus. So if you don’t want to use the RCA output on your camera for monitoring then DVI mode on your Lilliput monitor could be handy.
The Lilliput monitor
