I’ve been looking into getting a “slider.”  It seems the three top choices for me are the DP Slider, Glidetrack, and the Kessler Crane Cineslider or Pocket Dolly.

After looking at the different products from all three companies I decided on the Kessler Crane PocketDolly.  The primary reason I went with the PocketDolly is that it is has a belt drive system and has the option of adding a motor drive that can be controlled with a remote control.  Both the DP Slider and Glidetrack sliders are only controlled by hand which could result in inconsistant results if you’re after repeatable precision.  The Kessler products also have a hand crank as another option for moving the camera.  I went with the PocketDolly over the CineSlider for one simple reason: cost.  While I’m sure the CineSlider is much sturdier than the PocketDolly it’s also nearly twice the price.

The remote control for the Kessler Crane products (the Oracle) is pretty impressive (and expensive) but since I’m not buying one just yet I won’t get into all the details.  Philip Bloom just posted some pretty detailed information on the Oracle here.  There is also a basic controller for the Kessler sliders that is far less expensive but far less featured. I’ll most certainly be getting a controller in the future.

My one concern with the Kessler sliders was their length.  They only have 35 inches of travel.  I would like something longer although I know stability is a concern.  Philip Bloom messaged me saying that even “at that length balance on a tripod is already an issue.”   I don’t mind mounting on two tripods/stands to get the longer travel distance, but maybe I’m trying to make these sliders something they’re not: a tool for longer dolly shots.  Kessler does have a 5 foot option with the CineSlider, but at $900 more than the PocketDolly, it’s a bit more than I’d like to spend for 25 extra inches.

I actually eliminated the Glidetrack sliders right away because of some of the video I saw on their website.  In the video, the guy giving the demo never took his left hand off the track when moving the camera mounted on the slider (6:05), which made me suspicious. You could also see it wobble quite a bit as he was moving the camera back and forth and bow when the camera was in the center.

Contrast that with the DP Slider video (the last video here) where they put weights in the middle of the DP Slider and it looks like there was no bowing, even at 30lbs (0:35) and it’s longer than the Glidetrack.  After about 30 lbs. there was a little bowing, but not much (and they go all the way up to 61 lbs).  However, when they move the DP Slider to a tripod mounted in the center and show what the camera on the slider sees (2:55) you can clearly see the picture tilting at the extreme ends of the slider.  So, if you’re on a tripod/stand with these longer sliders, it’s best to use one on each side rather than center mounting.

If I were to choose between the DP Slider and the Glidetrack, I’d go with the DP Slider vertical series.

Kessler finally opened up their products to ordering again after a temporary backorder so I just ordered my PocketDolly.  Once I get it and have a chance to play with it I’ll post a followup review.  I went with the PocketDolly v2.0 with Hercules 2.0 and soft case for a total of $950.

If you’ve got any of these sliders let me know what you think in the comments section.

No related posts.

I just signed up for the cloud based offsite data storage service Backblaze.  If it works the way they  say, the service is actually pretty unbelievable since you get unlimited offsite storage for only $5 a month (less if you prepay for 1-2 years).

Their application works much the same way Apple’s Time Machine works, just over the internet.  Your initial backup will send all your files to the Backblaze server.  Backups after the initial backup will be incremental, only sending files that have changed since your last backup.  All files are encrypted for security.  Like Time Machine there are a number of settings to determine what is and isn’t backed up.

Restoring files that have been lost is as simple as going to the Backblaze website and selecting the files you want restored and downloading them.  If you’ve had a total catastrophie and lost all your data you can have Backblaze send you a DVD or external hard drive will your data.  There are additional charges for this: $99 for a DVD that holds 4.2 gigabytes and  $189 for a USB drive that holds 400 gigabytes.

Right now I’m in the process of uploading two terabytes of data.  Based on my math (which if you’re smart, you’d never base anything on my math) and a guestimate of the average upload speed I’ve been seeing over the last day this should take about fifteen days.  And despite the high transfer rates I’m not exeperiencing a noticeable effect on my internet service.  Browsing and media streeming (Netflix, etc) are all working fine.  Of course, those are mostly download uses.  If I were to do some heavy uploading on top of the Backblaze backup things would slow down.

There is an option in the Backblaze preferences that lets you throttle how much bandwidth Backblaze can use.  Right now I have it set to maximum bandwidth to help the initial backup finish as quickly as possible.  Additionally, I’m not seeing a noticeable impact on my system performance.  According to Activity Monitor, the Backblaze processes aren’t taking up much CPU or memory.

I’m looking forward to using Backblaze and testing it out to make sure it works as advertised.  Offsite storage is a very important aspect of any data backup plan. Once all my files have been transfered to Backblaze and I’ve had a chance to live with and test the service I’ll do a follow up review to let you know how it really performs.

If you use Backblaze or another cloud based storage service let me know your experiences.

Related posts:

1. Gearing Up Part 1 | Computer & Storage

Here is another update to what will likely be an unending series documenting my initial costs in starting to shoot video (part 1 and part 2).  After talking with Thomas Broening, who also recently started shooting video, I discovered I’d need a floating tripod head since my stills head won’t be of much use to me when shooting video.

I’ve also been looking into external monitors and decided to get the Marshall V-LCD70XP-HDMI after talking to Thomas and reading forums and blogs.  The features that I liked on on the Marshall were the peaking filter to aid focusing and the onscreen crop markers.  I’ll do a proper review of the monitor once I get it and have a chance to play with it.

So today’s installment of “gearing up” includes a tripod & head and an external field monitor (and of course the always exciting, batteries):

• Manfrotto 028B Studio Pro ($285)
• Manfrotto 501HDV Pro Video Head ($190)
• Marshall V-LCD70XP-HDMI-SL 7″ LCD Field Monitor w/Sony ‘L’ Mount ($900)
• Sony NP-F970 Info-Lithium Battery Pack ($95) x2
• Sony AC-VQ1050D AC/DC Adapter and Battery Charger ($95)

Total: $1660

Next up will be a camera rig with follow focus, matte box, and all that other fun stuff.  I’m currently researching the options to see which system will work best for me and will hopefully make a decision on something soon.

No related posts.

Yesterday I posted about the costs to upgrading my computer for shooting and editing video.  Today I’m going to go over the initial expenses I’ve had on the camera gear side.  And what photographer out there doesn’t love the opportunity to buy new photo gear.

First of course is the camera it self.  I had a Canon 1DS mark II that in all honesty I didn’t use very much.  I primarily shoot a medium format system with a Contax 645 and Phase One digital back.  My 1DS mark II was mostly a backup camera so moving to a Canon 5D Mark II was a no brainer.  I also really don’t like cropped sensors, so a 7D was never a question.  For some photographers this may not even be an extra expense because they’re already shooting a 35mm digital camera that shoots video.

Since I already had a Canon system that means I already had all the lenses.  However, although I didn’t really need to, I decided to switch out my Canon lenses for their Zeiss equivalents.  As I said, I normally shoot with a Contax 645 so I love Zeiss lenses.  I’ve never really liked the feel of my Canon lenses (I did keep my Canon 85mm f/1.2L though).  The Zeiss lenses feel like tanks and the focus ring is firm and exact. Even when shooting stils I found the focus ring too “loose”  on the Canon’s and for video focus pulling is even more important.  Of course, the Zeiss lenses are all manual focus, but that isn’t an issue to me since I never use auto-focus anyway (and can’t in video mode).

Here were my camera upgrades:

• Canon 5d Mark II ($2500)
• Canon BG-ES Battery Grip ($240)
• Canon LP-E6 Battery x3 ($225)
• Zeiss Distagon 35mm T* f/2 ZE ($1005)
• Zeiss  Planar 50mm T* f/1.4 ZE ($670 “barely used”)
• Sandisk 32GB Extreme CF (x2) ($308 after rebate)

Camera gear total: $4948
Estimated Ebay sale of replaced gear: $2700
Net upgrade total: $2248

So when you combine the computer upgrade expenses I wrote about yesterday with these camera upgrades I’ve effectively spent nearly $4900 ($7800 if you don’t count the resale of old gear) so far and that doesn’t even include any gear specific to shooting video other than the camera itself.   To some this may seem like a small amount and to others it may seem daunting.

I know what you’re going to say… a lot of my purchases weren’t really necessary, which is true.  My computer was likely more than adequate without the memory upgrades and I didn’t really need to switch my Canon lenses to Zeiss lenses (although it won’t be too costly of a switch since I should be able to sell my Canon lenses for only a tad less than the Zeiss lenses).  But, the bigger expenses like storage were necessary and likely going to be short lived before I’m upgrading again.  And as for software, I was glad to find Final Cut Pro cheaper on Ebay (full version new in box) but I have a feeling there will be a lot more software purchases later if I want to get into something like After Effects and other tools for color correction or the many other plugins and apps out there.

Next up will be the gear specifically for shooting video.  Focus systems, monitors, finders, matte boxes, etc, etc, etc.  Whew… now those will be pricey and I have no old gear to sell on ebay to recoup some of my costs.  Since I don’t have a bottomless pocket I’m doing some research on what I want to buy first and the most cost effect models to buy.  Any suggestions welcome.

Related posts:

1. Video Killed The Radio Star

One of the big commitments to properly shoot video is a financial one. So one thing I’m going to try to do on this site is provide as much detail as possible on the costs I’m incurring.

One of the things I wanted to do before I even received my Canon 5D Mark II was get my computer system in order. I would assume most photographers will already have a computer system in place as I did. I’m sure any decent system that can handle a photographers workflow would be adequate for video work as well. But since I’m a bit of a tech geek I’ll use even the most flimsy of excuses to make my system faster and the demands of shooting and editing video was the perfect opportunity to do just that. My system was pretty good to begin with so I didn’t need to do too much. Mainly I just upgraded the memory and storage . My system prior to the upgrades was:

• Mac Pro 3Ghz 8-Core  (2007 1st Generation)
• 8 GB RAM
• ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB
• 150 GB WD Raptor main drive
• 75 GB WD Raptor scratch drive
• 2 TB Seagate Barracuda content drive (x3 for backups)
• Lacie 321 LCD

The upgrades:

• 8GB -> 16GB RAM ($400)
• 600 GB WD VelociRaptor main drive ($280)
• 64GB Kingston SNV425-S2 SSD scratch drive ($100 after rebate)
• G-Tech G-Raid 4TB content drive ($475) x3

Software: Final Cut Pro Studio ($640)

Computer/Software upgrade total so far: $2845
Estimated Ebay sale of old gear: $215
Net upgrade total: $2630

I could have upgraded my computer to 32GB of ram, which would have been nice but it would have cost about $1400.  I decided 16GB would be enough and still leave room for upgrading later.

I also opted for a Western Digital VelociRaptor drive over an SSD drive as my main OS drive.  While SSD performance would have been much better than a traditional hard drive (even a 10,000RPM drive) I decided the cost wasn’t worth it for now.  A 256GB SSD drive would run about $650 and still be less than half the size of the VelociRaptor.  Again, this is something I can easily upgrade later when prices go down.

The biggest costs in the computer upgrade was the main storage.  While I’m sure it won’t last long I opted for a 4TB raid drive from G-Tech.  I bought three so I would have the primary drive and then two drives for backups; one onsite and one offsite (I’m going to do a post a later on my storage system).

So now I think I have a great system for my video editing that still has room for upgrades.  Tomorrow I’ll be going over my initial costs for my camera gear upgrades and purchases.

Have your own opinions, experiences or tips? Post in the comments?

You can subscribe to the RSS feed here and follow my motion specific Twitter feed here.

No related posts.

I’m a commercial and editorial photographer and to date I’ve been apprehensive about jumping on the video bandwagon.  My thought was always, why should I start shooting motion just because a stills camera now shoots high def video. If I wanted to do motion I could have been doing it all along with traditional motion cameras.

Well, I’ve finally decided that I do want to start playing around with video so I went ahead and purchased my first motion camera, the Canon 5D MarkII. What will I do with it… I have no idea just yet. That’s what I’m trying to figure out now that I have this video capable camera starting me in the face. For now, as I think about what I want to do with video, I’m laying the educational and technological ground work. Because, as anyone who’s shot video can tell you, just because you have the camera doesn’t mean you’re ready to get out there and do something with it. Video is a bit more complicated that stills. With stills I could walk out and shoot great pictures with a $20 plastic camera and a roll of film. Video is a little more tricky… you can still go out with just the camera and get good footage but there is a lot more to it if you want to do something that doesn’t look like your dad shooting home movies in the back yard.

I’m starting this blog as an off-shoot to my regular photography blog. Here I’m going to post about everything I’m learning about shooting video from the creative to the technological side:  Videos, gear, software, computer technology, product reviews and more.  Since I don’t know much about video you’ll get to see the what it takes as a photographer to get up and running with video and learn from my successes and failures. I hope it will be a good resource for other photographers who are just getting started or thinking about getting into motion. And hopefully an expert or two will drop by now and again to let me know if I’m doing something completely bat sh*t crazy.

So hopefully you’ll enjoy the new blog and get some use out of it.  But, if nobody ever reads it, well then it will at least be a resource for me to think about what I’m doing. You can subscribe to the RSS feed here and follow my motion specific Twitter feed here.

Please forgive the bare appearance of the blog.  Obviously I’m just getting things started.  I’ll be making some changes to the design and layout as I go along.  So if you’re reading this soon after it was posted the site probably isn’t much to look at just yet.

No related posts.