Gear

Longest lens supportable with a video monopod?

ardilla_llameante — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 23:50:17 +0000

Hey all!

What do you think is the longest lens you can use with a video monopod? I am thinking of getting a mogopod, custom setup, Benro or Manfrotto. I have a standard footless monopod and I get some pretty unstable shots with a 135mm m42 lens. I am doing event videos with this setup, mostly wedding stuff, so being able to get some length would be really nice.

First time post, sorry if I screw something up.

Here's the sort of thing I would like to do: http://www.406films.com/wedding-and-event/

Anyone use a thumb Up Grip on a GH-2?

disneytoy — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 18:36:52 +0000

Anyone use a thumb Up Grip? I have a GH-2 and wonder if it is any good? Is it needed?

Thanks

Point Of View (POV) documentary filmmaking equipment survey

DanPV — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 11:40:45 +0000

Fascinating poll of filmmakers asking what equipment (cameras, lenses, audio equipment, tripods, software etc.) they use for documentaries:

http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog/2013/11/2013-doc-equipment-survey/#.Upt8n6vF35k

WDTV Media Player (Hacking) for Signage & Installation

alcomposer — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 03:55:45 +0000

Just thought that P-V users should be aware of a (quite old project) WDLXTV.
http://wdlxtv.com/

WDTV's are quite inexpensive now- don't get the new ones (Gen3) as they are not hacked yet.

Great for Art Installations (using one now) and Digital Signage, there are hacks for playback of 66mb/s material over HDMI!
(and the best thing is you switch it on and it 'simply works' for less than $100 USD!

My main motivation for posting this is that I almost swore not to buy one... thinking a MacMini or custom mini PC would be much better- but now I think completely opposite! If this works - and is cheap - just DO it... (anyway- I would rather use a PC for more productive stuff than looping video the whole day!)

What is this called?

digger — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 15:08:39 +0000

It comes with the FS700 to attach the provided mic (which is on a tiny 15mm rod) to the cold shoe on the handle. I want to get a sturdier one so that I can attach a short carbon rod to it and hang a field monitor off of that.

Static Electricity with Ziploc bags in Pelican Case?

matt_gh2 — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 00:01:30 +0000

I have a pelican case that I keep my camera, 3 lenses, 4 batteries, and 7 SD cards in. I have a few small parts that I'd like to just put in ziploc bags, and keep those ziploc bags in the pelican case too. Do ziploc bags introduce any kind of risk of static electricity that might negatively affect the SD cards or camera?

B&H safety vs Discounters

matt_gh2 — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 15:35:26 +0000

Wanted to get some feedback from people on their experiences with ordering cameras, lenses, electronics etc. from discounters online. I've always ordered from B&H because I knew they were solid in terms of delivering what they promised and dealing with returns without any problem. Usually the B&H price was only 5-10% more. But now I'm looking to buy the Panasonic 12-35 F2.8 lens. B&H has it at $1139, but I checked Amazon and see it's available "brand new in box" from various sellers for as low as $919. That's a 20% discount...so now I'm tempted to order from one of the Amazon sellers, but obviously don't want to get burned.

So what do you guys think - smart move?...dumb move? Thanks all

Thumb Up Grip

Vitaliy_Kiselev — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:58:44 +0000

Fun thing

Cost $10 shipped

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thumb-Up-Grip-Silver-for-Panasonic-Lumix-GH3-G5-GX1-G5-G3-GF2-GH2-GF1-G10-LF199B-/231002466267?pt=US_Camera_Straps_Hand_Grips&

My company is investing in new equipment, can anyone offer advice on camera packages!

thougts2uk — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 11:30:24 +0000

Hi there,

My company is going to invest in camera equipment and have asked me to give them an equipment wish list but with several options. What can anyone advise? We will be shooting high concept corporate videos and transitioning to commercials, to produce in-house at an ad agency.

I was thinking the following for 4k acquisition.

Option 1: Sony FS700 + Odyssey 7Q 4k Recorder
Option 2: RED Scarlet
Option 3: Black Magic Cinema Camera 4K + 2K Pocket Camera
Option 4: Canon 1Dc

For HD 1080p;

Option 5: Panasonic GH3
Option 6: Canon C100 or C300.

Lenses: Zeiss CP.2 lens 5 piece lens kit

Rig - Lanparte Rig

The company already owns Canon 5D MK3 with Canon lenses but I am happy to change.

Thanks in advance.

Checklist of beginner's kit for filmmaking

ahbleza — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 12:45:19 +0000

This is a nice comparison of the Panasonic GH2, the Sony NEX-5R and the Canon 600D. It also mentions the hacks, audio, lighting and support. The goal of the article appears to be an introduction to the gear required by a low budget filmmaker.

http://phloatingman.com/noob-videography-kit

Nauticam UW housing for RED Scarlet - Epic - Dragon

LongJohnSilver — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 02:30:01 +0000

New Nauticam housing NA-ROSSA for Red Epic and Scarlet.

No specs on Nauticam housing but just some photos and a nice video of setup and using. It cost about 10k euro :)

FS: Gini GH2 Cage with top handle and strong arm and handles (SOLD)

stanlymanly2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:12:39 +0000

GONEEEE

Adapting PA Speaker Stands to Light Stands/Flag Stands- ideas?

silvertonesx24 — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:26:04 +0000

So I bought some LED lights off ebay, which came with stands so cheap it'd hard to believe how much worse they could be. They are essentially these stands.

http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-Photography-Light-Stands-Cases/dp/B001WB02Z4/

After having my lights fall on concrete, fall in front of clients, fall on my head, I decided that I'd had enough and bought these:

http://www.amazon.com/PYLE-PRO-PSTND2-Tripod-Speaker-Stand/dp/B000E0PPG0/

The problem is that they are 35mm speaker tubes standard for speakers, and my lights take the 5/8in light stand adapter.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to convert the 35mm tubes to 5/8 in via some clamp or something of sort? I plan on trying a few things myself but if anyone has any ideas as well before I start hacking and drilling that'd be great. If so, that would be amazing as these stands are ROCK solid and I only paid $44 for the two of them.

Cool range finder

Vitaliy_Kiselev — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:42:44 +0000

Max. measuring distance: 9999.99m, accuracy: +/-0.5%,

http://dx.com/p/qldz01-1-5-lcd-display-range-finder-distance-measuring-wheel-black-yellow-silver-2-x-aaa-185967

Deals plans

Vitaliy_Kiselev — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 01:50:47 +0000

Let me know that specifically you want to see in our deals in November and December.

Telescoping Poles not for mikes

Ambergris — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:08:33 +0000

I'm travelling to a far away place to fish and film. I need to find a telescoping/extendable/collapsible pole that extended reaches at least 8 feet, and collapses down to a max of 30 inches. I've looked everywhere on the internet and the closest one I could find was $200+ and a bit too long.

Has anyone come across something like this before? Made something like this themselves? Would appreciate any tips, solutions or links.

Thanks, Peter

My GH2 Rig Demo (Youtube)

fosterchen — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:42:22 +0000

GH2 Gini Rig with modified Rainbow H6x8-II F1.0 Zoom Lens, zip tie gears by Wide Open Camera, utilizing 2 Fifty Dollar Follow Focus for both zoom and focus. In shoulder mode, the levers adjust down for better use while gripping the handles for support.

Hard cases

Vitaliy_Kiselev — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 00:51:29 +0000

Protecting your investments is quite important, be it audio gear, camera, lenses or other stuff.

Zeikos ZE-HC18 Deluxe small photo and video hard case , $23

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001T9N12U/

Zeikos ZE-HC36 Medium Hard Case , $42

http://www.amazon.com/Zeikos-ZE-HC36-Medium-Hard-Case/dp/B001HJTK5Y/ref=pd_cp_p_0

Zeikos ZE-HC52 Large Rolling Hard Case , $75

http://www.amazon.com/Zeikos-ZE-HC52-Large-Rolling-Hard/dp/B001KPFUHW/

2.5 mm cable splitter for GH2 audio/remote control

dancerchris — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:23:24 +0000

Anybody use a particular configuration to split the remote function from the audio on the GH2's audio out 4 conductor jack? Does a simple splitter or y cable suffice?

Thanks

Keeping it simple (KISS) - using as little stuff as possible

Mark_the_Harp — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 07:29:05 +0000

Thanks to my experience with using an iPad for a music recording (and how the simplicity of capturing / editing / uploading all from the one device, allows you to focus on what you're capturing) I was inspired to keep it very simple for my recent shoot.

We spent a day in a church "playing" with some ancient music and various instruments. The day was for invited musicians and wasn't intended to have a serious outcome of any sort, just to be fun. While it was nice to be able to record some of it, it would have been totally wrong to throw a load of mics, tripods and lighting gear at this - it would have changed it from being a get-together. Equally, just in case anything turned out to be good, the iPad wouldn't quite cut it!

So I kept it simple: I did audio recordings all day with the Zoom and used a handheld GH2 for just one item, where our singer improvised to a written text. This was (obviously!) a single pass. I did a few cutaways afterwards. The improvisation - both the music and the audio quality - was wonderful. The "keep it simple" approach was perfect for that day. The audio from this video is making it onto UK radio soon and we're planning to make a whole CD with this singer. Given the amazing amount of stuff we got (not just this, but another complete item incorporating a recording someone had sent us from the US, and some fantastic sound effects we've created for a stage presentation, using our voices) I think it worked out pretty well for a minimal use of gear. So sometimes the question must be: "What's the least stuff I can use?"

Of course, having a solid gold instrument and an attractive singer helps so it's worth a look at this very short section, even if only for that. The language is Akkadian and the words are around 2000 years old. I used GH2 / 14-140 / Cake. Looking forward to doing a proper grade of the whole thing when I get the time.

For those on ipods, the URL is vimeo.com/53405266

Water housings

brianluce — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 23:56:25 +0000

Is there a topic of water housings? I'm after the soft ones, just for stuff on the surface, not scuba.

GH2 and BMCC-MFT Mutually Incompatible Gear

cupanudles — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:46:52 +0000

I am very shortly going to purchase a GH2 camera, but very much plan on purchasing the BMCC-MFT after around 3-6 months of it's approximate release in December. I wanted to start this thread as a possible reference source for all the gear/accessories that are mutually compatible with both cameras to help everyone who is in the same position to save money in the long-term.

Cheap handle for your GH2 (or other small camera)

QuickHitRecord — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 18:59:17 +0000

For those run-and-gunners:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SURE-GRIP-DIGITAL-FILM-CAMERA-HANDLE-TRAY-bracket-TRY-you-love-/130752581099

I haven't picked one up myself yet but it looks promising and the price is certainly right.

MFT Lens Pinouts?

BlueBomberTurbo — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:01:38 +0000

Panasonic specifically. Anyone know what each pin does? Just wondering if you can cover one or more up to prevent the built-in sharpening/distortion correction on Panny lenses.

Time lapse controller for GH1 and GH2

stoney — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:58:57 +0000

PClix or TC-252... I don't know.

Which one do you use?

Camera waist belts with steel buckle

Vitaliy_Kiselev — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 03:20:40 +0000

Just QR buckles, $39 - http://www.dealextreme.com/p/debo-universal-stainless-steel-waist-belt-buckles-set-for-camera-silver-150649

Waist + buckle, $56 - http://www.dealextreme.com/p/debo-universal-stainless-steel-buckle-w-waist-belt-for-camera-black-150650

Waist + buckles for two cameras, $100 - http://www.dealextreme.com/p/debo-universal-stainless-steel-dual-buckles-w-waist-belt-for-camera-black-150651

Underwater housing on the cheap

apefos — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 17:51:25 +0000

please take a look and give your opinion if it deserves trust.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Waterproof-Underwater-Housing-Camera-Case-Dry-Bag-for-Nikon-D90-D7000-D800-D3200-/170873131450?pt=US_Camera_Underwater_Housings&hash=item27c8d511ba

HD video link?

gizmo — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:26:31 +0000

I would like to use some HD video link from my multicopters for some live events coverage. This link should be small and lightweight as much as possible and not to cost a fortune. Do you have some suggestions?

How do you store your gear/rigs?

jodydb — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 11:20:48 +0000

I've been looking for a place to put my rigs other then the dinning room chairs, lenses on bookshelves and curious what others have done.

Possible ProRes external recorder hack

Brian202020 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 14:20:00 +0000

The rumor is Blackmagic will eventually release a firmware update for the Hyperdeck Shuttle 2 that will add ProRes support. The rumor is they are concentrating on releasing the Cinema Camera, so the Hyperdeck Shuttle 2 update got put on the back burner. Blackmagic has said most of the Cinema Camera's internals come from the Hyperdeck Shuttle 2, and that will record ProRes. I'm writing this just incase Blackmagic decides to scrap the update or incase the rumors just aren't true. I believe the Hyperdeck Shuttle 2 firmware could easily be manipulated to add ProRes support. The Hyperdeck Studio records ProRes as well, and both the Hyperdeck Studio and the Hyperdeck Shuttle 2 get firmware updates via the Blackmagic Hyperdeck Utility software for Mac or PC. I know nothing about hacking or programing so I may be way off base here, but I would think you could take some of the code from the Hyperdeck Studio's firmware and put it in a hacked version of the Hyperdeck Shuttle 2's firmware. The Hyperdeck Shuttle 2 is $330. This would be by far the cheapest ProRes external recorder.

Does anyone think this is possible? Does anyone want to take this project on?

Hyperdeck Shuttle/Shuttle 2/Studio/Studio Pro firmware updater for Mac:

http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/detail/?os=mac&sid=3960&pid=3968&leg=false

Hyperdeck Shuttle/Shuttle 2/Studio/Studio Pro firmware updater for PC:

http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/detail?os=win&sid=3960&pid=3968&leg=false