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Thanks JG! The mini par's look the business & small too, but i think your 2 for £500 is a little off.

The Tair 11a 135mm f2.8 (preset aperture with 20 aperture blades) - awesome lens & fits anamorphics perfectly! For M42 lenses & compatability with 5D, use this link: http://www.panoramaplanet.de/comp/

I don't have an iPhone, so its a non-starter for me & it was really curiosity. I need something that's good & portable - for when natural light just shits on your day!

I've been following threads about cheap gimbals on a few forums & I just don't know. You're right about being overpriced, but they are so tempting. I think i might just get a chest/shoulder pad to go with my hacked together mini non-rig thing & then see how i cope.

This surprised me when i saw it a while ago, the lens looks really nice. Really would like a gimbal of some sort as i'm going to have to film at some festivals & a carnival soon, but need it to be cheap & there lies the problem.

Has anyone tried/used the KIck light yet? http://riftlabs.com/kick/ Not ideal, but looks like it could be a good small portable device to use - anyone?

This was my first time with the Pocket cam & it was probably too soon to use it, having only had it a couple of weeks. This is an extended sequence from a doc i'm making about the band, so there are shots in there that won't be in the final cut - just thought it was a shame to loose some of them & others i'll be glad to see the back of. NB. The original venue for the shoot was an old dance studio, which had lots of mirrors & tons of light - my heart sunk when they changed venue the morning of the shoot...

!?

This is so true. Even if you work for a big company (BBC) like i did, the whole understanding & getting rights for stuff is a complete nightmare. In fact, so much of a nightmare that they have a department just for it & they are the most grumpy people on planet earth - due to the fact that their job is/must be so frustrating because no one but them understands all the ins and outs. I remember being asked to draw up an internal guide for film & music rights - worst week of my life! The last time i tried to pay for some music, it took so long that i ended up writing a piece myself - the band did enventually say no, because they thought it might affect their sales & they no longer exist! I don't blame people for just using something if its "Not for Profit" - its probably those that do make money that are probably to blame for all of this. Here's an [easy - LOL] guide to getting rights to music: http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/before-you-start/music-rights

The crazy thing is that its the music companies that are doing this because they feel they are getting ripped off, which is exactly what they are doing to their artists. Vimeo could quite easily pay a blanket fee per year for its users, so they are being a bit cheap as well.

If you've written a song or a piece of music, you absolutely have the right to choose how it is used. There can be no argument against this, its the most logical thing in the world & is why copyright exists and has done for quite some time. However, you could be helping someone get more expossure by using a song/group not mant people have heard of - as long as you don't link to iTunes but their website! I think where Vimeo might have hit a snag might be the whole "Tip Jar" button - which is basically saying give me money for my efforts, even if i'm not paying for the music... If you've ever had to deal with music liscencing, then you'll know that there are a handful of bands that absolutely don't want you to use their music - David Bowie & The Rolling Stones being the big 2 (of course if you pay through the nose they will let you use their tunes). Conversely, you don't have to pay if you only use a few seconds (check/google to see how many). And, Educational stuff is pretty much the same as using film clips, but they can still be bastards about it because you still need to get permission. Also, it doesn't actually cost that much...

Congrats Nick, its all looking v.nice indeed!

I'm glad someone actually read that book, it really does give you an excellent foothold into understanding colour grading & how to create various grades (the new edition has been expanded & split into 2 books). At the moment i'm having a nightmare grading some BM Pocket footage - not sure whether it is IR pollution, the studio's brownish walls (nasty faded 70/80s style), not enough light or a combination of the three. Yet another learning curve to understand how Filmconvert works in combination with FCPX & BM footage!

I just got one of the cheap clones (RJ M42-M4/3) so i could use my Russain lenses with my Iscorama 54 & get wider on the BM Pocket - no problems whatsoever. So if you want a cheaper option for FD lenses then (to try out etc...), then this would be the way to go - the cheap clones aren't perfect wide open (could be the lenses too), but stopped down a little everything is sharp across the whole frame. This was an experiment for me too & i'm so impressed I might just go the whole hog - buy more Nikon lenses & get the Speedbooster for the Pocket camera (when i get the cash together).

The 54 is the dream, but its damn heavy - however, they don't go for as much as the 36s, so its worth a look out. Kowa for B&H has a big rear optic, but i've recently rediscovered my Isco Widescreen 2000 - smaller rear element than the B&H & it is a fixed focus (@5m), but if you stick a low powered diopter on it & stop down the taking lens to f4-5.6 you can use it as a focus through. Also, Sankor/singer 16D has a big rear!

Got mine through his Ebay store: http://stores.ebay.com/rjcameraaccessorystore/ @ dhessel - sounds like you're going to be needing a dremel to adjust it yourself!

So my RJ M42toM4/3 adaptor arrived 30mins ago & all seems fine. Slapped a few lenses on it - a couple of Super Taks (35 + 55) & a couple of Russains (Mir-24M + Helios 44-2). Well as expected they get a lot wider & faster now on the BM Pocket. Sharpness wideopen does have some roll off towards the edges, but this could be due to the lenses. Stopped down a little & they do appear to be tack sharp. No blue spot so far... For the price all is good.

Don't be silly, all you'll need is one clamp & some stepping rings, you'll end up with a few - we all do. You don't go and buy a clamp per taking lens!

Tito's video clearly shows that a 58mm lens will vignette with the Kowa on a FF camera. Using an 85mm lens is being safe, but remember that you'll get an Anamorphic FOV of about 47mm. So if you can find a 75mm lens then that should be ok, since the widest that you'll be able to go to is an Anamorphic FOV of about 40mm & that is plenty wide (you can try to push it to a 65mm to get 35mm). Just don't get hung up about the fact that you'll seem to be using lenses that aren't v.wide. Also, the lenses that you use are up to you, since they all produce a different look - the general rule of thumb is that anamorphics tend to like taking lenses with simple recipes, which is why most people advocate the Helios. But some people like Super Takumars, Canon FDs, Nikon ai-s, Russain or Zeiss, there are others & each lens can play differently with a specific Anamorphic. Zooms are out really & the only Anamorphic lens i've found that was made to be used with them is the Iscorama 54. Start with what you have & then move on from there. Watch videos posted & make a judgement call.

This is a tiny x2 anamorphic & really really good quality - Here's a test done with this lens in comparison to other ones: > Fixed focus is exactly as it sounds, stuck at 4m - so you set your taking lens to 4m as well. The diopters will allow you to get closer to a subject. I think if you stop down the taking lens then you can focus further than 4m (i'll check). Because the glass in this anamorphic is so good any diopters will do (cheap ones if you're skint) - there is a thread on here giving you all sorts of options/prices. > Clamps, as you're in the UK you should get them from REDSTAN as they are the best - you'll need a Front clamp (to attach the filters) & a Back Clamp (to attach to a taking lens). If you let him know what you've got he'll send you the right things. http://www.redstan.com/

Here's a really good breakdown of filters (scroll down to see the quotes from David Mullen), v.useful/interesting: http://www.scarletuser.com/showthread.php?t=5941

Here are some that might go cheap on ebay, you'll need clamps to fit them to a taking lens - but they aren't that expensive. This one is worth keeping an eye on, as a similar one just went for £150 (its not a rare Gold coating, as advertised in the listing): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Iscorama-Centavision-anamorphic-cinemascope-lens-like-kowa-lomo-anamorphot-/251523271002?pt=DE_Foto_Camcorder_Objektive&hash=item3a8ff4895a This is an Excellent fixed focus (@4m) lens, v.sharp (one of the sharpest i've ever owned) & all you'll need is a few cheap diopters to get closer: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Anamorphic-Lens-ISCORAMA-Set-Boxed-Complete-/151294971187?pt=UK_Photography_Projection_Lenses&hash=item2339e20d33 This is quite good as well: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Used-Sankor-Anamorphic-16-D-Lens-/331190597314?pt=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item4d1c7f76c2

I just really want my M42 - M4/3 RJ adaptor! Russain glass+Isco 54+Pocket=Perfection I suspect that they are v.similar too & that they will only get better, assuming that someone figures out the SB glass recipe or just simply improves on it. The one thing that puzzles me is why Metabones chose the Nikon mount & didn't just release more versions for the BM camera SBs? They could've made a killing!

Show us your results when you get it - i'd be interested to see what it does to the Sigma & moire, of course!

I've got an RJ coming - the post from Shanghai is being very slow! But as soon as it does turn up, I can give you another point of view - if that helps. But if you need aperture control, then you don't have much choice...