12Sep Noob Shock mount in the wild!
Stephen wrote in:
I’ve been working on a still/video project on a roller derby team and your shock mount has been essential! I’ve been using it as a plant mic to record nat sound, mounted on a little tripod with a shoe mount. It can go anywhere without those nasty vibrations coming through the outer case.
Looks like the shock mount has Black hair ties as a good replacement for the standard rubber-bands, now if only I could keep these guys in stock. Thanks for the Photo Stephen!
12Sep Another 3d printer for cheap.
3d printers keep getting cheaper and cheaper. If you keep your eye out you can sometimes find half finished printer projects on ebay. These open source printers aren’t for the faint of heart, it can be hours of frustration before you finally get things working correctly. But if you’re willing to give up your time there are deals to be had.
This is priced at $425 and has a lot of the work already finished. It could be a good take home project for someone looking for a cheap and dirty 3d printer to get them started. A lot of great camera projects are starting to show up that were made with 3d printers.
This motor controlled star tracking rig is a great example of what people have come up with. Many times if you can think of a need, there is a good chance you can print something that will do the job.
11Sep The Sony NEX-5n released.
I posted about the Sony NEX-5n awhile back and now the Sony NEX-5n body has started to show up on Amazon for $599. The overall impression is that the low light performance is about as good as the T2i with a slight gain in sharpness and all of this at 60fps. 1080p at 60fps is very nice, but until there is a hack or firmware release supporting 30fps I think i’ll have to stick to the Canon t2i with magic lantern.
Here is an unboxing of the NEX-5n if your interested, goforjared‘s video is a little shaky but its always nice to see the camera and what comes with it. I still think the Sony NEX-5n is a good buy, but It looks like the T2i is still the best low budget option out right now.
If you want to watch a much more artistic unboxing, take a look at this video from SonyConvergineer.
Stop motion makes everything more fun.
11Sep Building rampage, Fireball v90 CNC
I spent this weekending hunkered down in my basement, knee deep in sawdust. I’ve been tied up with so many other projects that I haven’t had time to setup a proper workflow for my Fireball v90 CNC router. I’ve been meaning to spend some time on a linear bearing slider for awhile now and I was finally able to set aside some time this weekend to work on it.
This design was just a test of my CNC workflow with a nice little 1 1/2 foot slider system that will probably become another 3d printer down the line. In 2 days worth of work I was able to design and build a linear bearing slider mount using Pillow Block Bearings and 8mm shafts. Total cost was about $20 for bearings and $10 for 600mm rails. Now that I’ve figured out a quick and easy workflow for the CNC router I think I have a good plan for a cheap and affordable linear bearing slider. If everything comes together, I should have a 3 foot linear bearing slider in the Noob store before Christmas, with a price tag of around $100 plus shipping.
On a side note, the rush of shock mount orders was so large that I’m sold out yet again. Parts are again on order and should be in before the end of the week. I should also have some very handy 1/4 20 studs and thumb nuts in the Noob Store starting sometime next week. I also have a give away coming up so stay tuned.
If you want the design files for this little demo you can download them here. I should have some actual DSLR slider pictures up in a few weeks. I’ll keep you posted.
08Sep Adjustable tripod mount for your field recorder.
Sometimes it’s nice to mount your field recorder closer to your subject and still keep it out of frame or place it close to something you’re trying to sample. You could use an adjustable friction arm, but a cheaper and easier way is to use a boom mic stand and add this On Stage 1/4 20 to mic stand adapter.
$7.00 buys you a ball head that mounts directly to a microphone stand with a nice little 1/4 20 thumb screw that you can attach to the back of a field recorder or even a small video camera. Microphone stands are generally cheaper then most tripod stands and work great for mounting small items like the Zoom h1 or Zoom h4n.
The adapter is designed to support up to 6 pounds, so that should easily be enough to hold most field recorders and might even be enough to support the Canon t2i with a small lens. Just make sure you microphone stand can handle the weight. If you like to record a lot of group audio or work on podcasts, this could be a great add on for the new Zoom H2n.
The On Stage 1/4 20 to mic stand adapter is made out of sturdy feeling metal and it’s ball head snugs down very easily. The 1/4 20 thumb screw plate has soft rubber that provides a little bit of vibration isolation. If you don’t already have a microphone stand laying around the house you can usually find them in a pawn shop for under $10, if you decide to buy one new a microphone stand without a boom is around $14, and a Mic stand with a boom is usually around $18. Either way something like this works great for voice over work and a lot of other audio applications.
06Sep DualEyes and Pluraleyes 2.0 Multiprocessor support
If you’re a Canon 7d owner like myself, you’ve probably learned to deal with dual system sound. The cheapest way to go is to keep notes on your footage and manually sync audio in post. This is usually fine for 3 or 4 min shorts, but when you start getting into bigger projects with hundreds of clips, manually syncing audio can turn into a real hassle.
If you get tired of manually syncing your audio, Singular Software makes a couple of options for auto syncing your footage in post. If you like syncing your audio up in a timeline, Pluraleyes works with most editing programs. I personally prefer to sync my audio before I start editing which is were Dualeyes comes in handy. Just drop all your audio and video into Dualeyes, set an output folder and hit start. When you come back you’ll have a folder with video footage synced and ready to go.
Version 1 worked pretty well, but it could take several hours to sync 40 or 50 clips. Version 2 is designed to work with multi-core processors like the Pentium i5 and i7, which means faster sync times. I haven’t had a chance to test a set of clips in both Version 1 and 2 but to me, Version 2.0 seem faster overall. I hope to run a few practical tests next time a shoot to get some actual numbers.
If you already have a Copy of Version 1, the upgrade is free. If you don’t, the price hasn’t changed, both versions are still $149. I know $149 seems like a lot, especially when many people are using sub $100 field recorders, but once you’ve spent 3 painful days syncing audio the price doesn’t seem so bad.
First 30 days are free so if you have a big project coming up, that would be a great time to try before you buy.
05Sep The Dead Lantern Ghost Chili Challenge
The guys I work with over at Deadlantern like to get together now and again for some poker and drinking. There has been talk over the past few months of trying a Ghost Chili Challenge. I didn’t make it down for the event but thankfully Mat managed to capture everything on video. Watch as this Ghost Chili Challenge unfolds. I must say that Steve really shines through this one.
05Sep Zoom H1 Shock mounts back on Tuesday
Thanks to everyone who’s already picked up a Zoom H1 shock mount. I’ve gone through 15 pounds of plastic and cases of rubber bands. The makerbot has been so busy printing shock mounts that I haven’t had a chance to create anything else. I have another 3d printer on order so hopefully once that’s up and running there will be some new stuff in the NOOB Store.
But for now Zoom H1
04Sep ARCH Follow Focus Rig
This one is interesting. A Cube rig that has a hoop over the camera mount. Use the hoop to set start and stop marks and you basically have a low end follow focus with easy to set start and stop points. Square camera cages are generally a good thing and normally give you plenty of mounting options. The price is a little high at $249
The video is topped with a little bit of cheese, but over all it seems like a good idea. You can find out more by visiting the ARCHRIG website. I wonder if mounting gear on top of this rig will get in the way of the follow focus design. Might need to make it a little bit taller.
04Sep Ape Case Pro Luggage Case ACPRO1600
This case has been around for years. It started out life as a snare drum case, then it was used to hold effects pedals, but it’s most recent use over the last few years has been to hold spare camera gear. The case is made out of heavy duty plywood, lined with hand stuffed bags of padding, and probably weighs more by its self then all of the gear I fill it up with.
I’ve had good luck with my APE cases over the past few years and I was looking for a lighter smaller replacement for this plywood box. The APE ACPRO1600 has about the same amount of space as this old monster and comes with plenty of pockets and sleeves to stash stuff in.
The thing I’ve always liked about APE cases is that they are bright yellow inside, which means camera gear stands out and small parts are easy to find. Cases aren’t the most exciting thing to go shopping for, but I think this should replace my old case just fine and reduce the amount of space my gear takes up in my little hatch back.
This should be a good place for me to stash adjustable arms and other random hardware without clogging up my camera bag.
