I’ve been using some of this gear from 4 DSLR for a while now, thought I’d share it with you. They make 2 great accessories for the H4n and Manfrotto tripod heads.

Check them out at 4DSLR.com.

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Gear I mentioned in the video:

• H4n Cradle.
• Manfrotto Adapter.
• Magic Arm.
• Manfrotto Nano Clamp (love this little thing).

Thought I would share a couple tips on buying vs. renting, and selling gear as well as a little economics class.

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1. Opportunity Cost – Understand that everything has an alternative cost.
2. Buying – Figure out what you use for every shoot.
3. Renting – Rent for those special gigs that require kit you don’t usually need.
4. Selling – Get rid of the gear you haven’t used in the last 6 months.

So check it out, remember the top handle rig I talked about? Well using the same parts you can mount any follow focus with a 1/4 inch mounting point to your Magic Arm! Check out the video to see how I did this with my D|Focus.

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Parts List

Affordable Manfrotto Style Base Plate

Not as many mounting options as the cinevate baseplate, but it is a fraction of the price. Get a couple if you can so you can use the same baseplate on multiple rigs, tripods etc.

Friction Adjustable Arm

These are great. There are so many uses for these arms so if you every switch up your rigging you will always have a use for one of these.

UPDATE:

Looks like Express35 Changed their handle design so it functions more like the Cinevate handle. So you might be able to find a more affordable option elsewhere or just use the Cinevate handle.

Friction monitor arms for a top handle, who knew? Check out this simple yet efficient rig.

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Parts List

Cinevate Base Plate (Option 1)

Fairly expensive but a truly solid baseplate. If you plan on building out larger rigs this thing is build for larger work horse uses, as well as simple minimal setups.

Affordable Manfrotto Style Base Plate (Option 2)

Not as many mounting options as the cinevate baseplate, but it is a fraction of the price. Get a couple if you can so you can use the same baseplate on multiple rigs, tripods etc.

Friction Adjustable Arm

These are great. There are so many uses for these arms so if you every switch up your rigging you will always have a use for one of these.

READ UPDATE ABOVE - Express35 Grip (Handle 1)

Really nice grip and can be used on 15mm rods. This is the grip you saw at the beginning of the video above.

Cinevate Grip (Handle 2)

This grip is a little more affordable than the Express35 one. And it has a 1/4″ male thread for accessories.

I was just asked on Vimeo how I export and compress my projects. Thought I’d share my process with all of you. What do you use?

Like I mentioned in the video I go from FCP > Mpeg Streamclip. You can get a copy of Mpeg Streamclip here.

Also check out my settings below the video.

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First off I have to apologize for taking so long to get this review up. I had this camera in for review the same time Dave Dugdale did and he posted his quite a while ago. Check out his review below as well. Unlike Dave, I did not shoot a lot of footage with this camera. Sure I dinked around with it but whenever I reached for a camera to shoot something I chose the 7D, or the Sony 5n. That should say a lot about what I think about this camera.

My general synopsis is this: Cool new focus and EVF tech, slow camera, ISO cap at 1600 ain’t cool, the cropped sensor turns me off. These things may have been accepted back in the “dark ages” when we didn’t expect better video features from DSLRs but that time is no longer. Think I am totally off? Whats your opinion?

If you are seriously considering getting this camera for video use please watch the whole review.

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Dave Dugdale’s Video Review

Check out his post here for more info.

Gear mentioned in this video

Sony A77 with Kit Lens

Sony 24-70mm F2.8 Zeiss Zoom

Sony 50mm F1.4

Check it out, DVD Spindles are actually 15mm in diameter! So you can use them as rods. I’ve tested them will some Redrock gear and they work great.

NOTE: These “rods” are plastic. So don’t put too much faith into them. So if you put your 5D and a huge lens, monitor and battery pack on them and it breaks, don’t come running back here to flame me. Be smart.

There are many great tools out there, but every now and then you come across one that changes how you shoot. Well, today I am sharing a review of one of those tools. Xume Adapters have changed the way I use filtration on my projects. What use to be a hassle when working with filters and multiple lenses, is now an effortless task.

Ethics Statement: I did not pay for this review unit. I am not being paid for this review.

UPDATE:

The guys from Xume contacted me and shared a solution to the lens cap issue:

We’ve already solved the lens cap issue: Pop your lens cap into a holder and it works great. We’re offering additional holders at discount with our kits so you can dedicate a holder or two to your lens cap(s).

Xume Team

Xume Adaptors