Open Aperture: Life is a Bokeh

Canon 7D Tripod Setup For Still & Video

2010-03-19T23:17:54-07:00

My Canon 7D Hybrid Still/Video Tripod Setup

If you're like me and have either purchased or thinking of purchasing a Canon 7D, you're probably a serious amateur familiar with still photography but captivated by notion of HD video. Unfortunately much of the still photography hardware isn't suitable or adaptable for video.

I owned a Bogen carbon fiber tripod with Kirk ball-head when I purchased my Canon 7D. With just a slight bit of research under my belt and I knew the tripod/ball-head combo just wouldn't work for video. The tripod would flex too much and a ball-head would not allow for a stable panning movement.

Even though I hadn't done a stitch of video, I knew that I did not want to carry around two sets of tripods so I sought out to find a hybrid alternative. Unfortunately, there wasn't much out there yet to satisfy my requirements. Dedicated video tripods have leg spreaders that won't allow placement on an uneven surface. Video heads can't be shifted into portrait position and are very expensive.

The alternative I've come up with is a compromise. Bogen (aka Manfrotto) made the 475 tripod with independently adjustable leg spreaders that allow use as a still camera tripod and they are fairly easy to find used. I wanted the fluid movement of a video head however which doesn't allow for portrait orientation.

Then I discovered that Really Right Stuff began altering their L plates for the Canon 7D so the Arca style plate at the base of the camera is squared so it can be used in a forward/rear orientated clamp typical with video heads. The L-plate allows for easy Portrait orientation. I then picked up an inexpensive used Bogen 3063 video head on eBay and mounted a Kirk Bogen/Manfrotto hex adapter clamp.

While the combination is far from perfect. It's heavy and definitely a compromise, far from ideal for either video or still photography. But, I did not have to spend a huge amount of money and now only carry one tripod in the trunk.

I hope the next person to read this is able to come up with an even better solution and would be happy to publish suggestions.

New Eye-Fi Center Desktop Software Unveiled

2010-03-17T12:56:05-07:00

Eye-Fi Adds New Adobe Air Based Desktop Software

A Couple days ago I wrote about how I was able to upload my photos to Pixelpipe via Eye-Fi by modifying a Gallery account. Today I noticed that their new long awaited Eye-Fi Center software has been launched and ready for download for both PC & Mac. Although I have yet to use it in practice, it looks like the interface will be easier and more intuitive while adding some new drag & drop features. It is worth noting that changing to the new software does prevent you from using the old web interface. Give it a shot and let me know what you thing. You can watch a video demo of how it works below:

Download Eye-Fi Center Desktop Software

Photo Sharing via Eye-Fi & Pixelpipe

2010-03-15T21:22:48-07:00

The Eye-Fi Pixelpipe Connection

Most people who know me know that I'm a big fan of Eye-Fi wifi memory cards. But, I'm also enjoying uploading photos from my Android phone to multiple photo sharing services via Pixelpipe.

The other day I caught wind of a blog post that illustrated how to upload to Pixelpipe via Eye-Fi even though they are not an officially supported service, naturally I had to give it a shot. My test photo...just an unimaginative photo of my Eye-Fi control panel with the settings applied per the instructions.

Moments after taking the photo I saw the upload window appear so my image was transferring to Eye-Fi. Next I refreshed my browser that was logged into my Pixelpipe account and sure enough my photo was there! It was also over at the other sites I configured for the test, Tumblr, Picasa and Flickr. I could have added more but the point was made.

This feature is very handy since I have friends spread out through numerous photo sharing and social media services. If you will be photographing an event, you can pre-determine the description text. Unfortunately, the Twitter notifications from Eye-Fi don't work but you can always have Tumblr or another service tweet directly so that is easy to overcome.

For my next trick, posting photos to Eye-Fi from my Canon 7D without a CF adapter. Wish me luck...I think I can make it work.