Popular Post DPStewart Posted February 25, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted February 25, 2016 This is a bunch of basic information about affordable camera support gear. A lot of people who are new to all this Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera stuff (or DSLR sized cameras), and folks who don't have much money to spend have been asking me about all this lately. I don't have a lot of time to do gear reviews, so I decided to try to cram as much information as I could into this one video hoping to answer as many questions as I can all in one place. Items covered in this video: BMPCC Cages Rail Systems Shoulder Rigs External Batteries Follow Focus Devices Matte Boxes Cats and Dogs Living Together Tripods Jibs Gimbal Carry Case *Note: The "one size fits all" cage I show here costs $149. I forgot to mention that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqzJlgPjL_c Some of the links I've been able to locate: "One size fits all" Cage - $149 Movcam BMPCC Cage - $323 Fotga Follow Focus - $170 Follow Focus Speed Crank - $13 Giottos Quick Release Adapter - $38 Offset Riser Clamp - $18 Cavision Matte Box - $99 Zak Forsman, Mars, Jonathan Lee and 8 others 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Great topic. I'll add to the list: Red Star DV DSLR Pro II Matte Box - $169juicedLink Little Darling Distributed Audio Recorder - $199 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPStewart Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 1 hour ago, SR said: Great topic. I'll add to the list: Red Star DV DSLR Pro II Matte Box - $169juicedLink Little Darling Distributed Audio Recorder - $199 Ha! The "Red Star" Yeah, that's the one. I wouldn't exactly give it high marks for useability - but that monster DOES do what it advertises, and it is cheap! And I guess NONE of has that JuicedLink Little Darling yet, but I am curious to give it a go. Right now I use a Tascam DR-05 for "Belt;Pack" audio recording. Works really well and has a full readout screen and navigation. Plus I got it for only $75. But the Little Darling is a lot smaller - that's why I want to get my hands on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 50 minutes ago, DPStewart said: And I guess NONE of has that JuicedLink Little Darling yet, but I am curious to give it a go. Right now I use a Tascam DR-05 for "Belt;Pack" audio recording. Works really well and has a full readout screen and navigation. Plus I got it for only $75. But the Little Darling is a lot smaller - that's why I want to get my hands on it. A recorder (bracketed audio, nevertheless), plus it's not plastic! I never even knew I needed it till I heard about it. If it's good as advertised, I'm ready to ditch the Sennheiser G3 + Zoom H6 for this. If I can get rid of even one item from my setup, I'm all for it. Check out their Word 95 presentation: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mars Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Sounds not too bad indeed... :-) By the way, what do y'all think of this one:http://tascam.com/product/dr-701d/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPStewart Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 2 minutes ago, Mars said: Sounds not too bad indeed... :-) By the way, what do y'all think of this one:http://tascam.com/product/dr-701d/ It's nowhere near cheap. It's $600. The point of this device is SMPTE Time Code. If you don't need it then you get a DR-70D for $300 - but it can usually be had on sale for closer to $250. I got mine for $169 on a B&H "Deal of the Day" thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronChicago Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I loved the stache. I forwarded from the middle to the end on YouTube and saw the mustache gone. Was like "what the hell..." Replayed it to see you take it off. Hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bioskop.Inc Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I wanna beat someone to death with some gear! Really useful, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPStewart Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 35 minutes ago, AaronChicago said: I loved the stache. I forwarded from the middle to the end on YouTube and saw the mustache gone. Was like "what the hell..." Replayed it to see you take it off. Hilarious. Well, this kind of material can get a little "dry"... So I try to keep it entertaining for folks. Cinegain and Liam 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Lee Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Thanks Dane. Awesome tips. Any recommendations specific to the BMCC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mars Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 1 hour ago, DPStewart said: It's nowhere near cheap. It's $600. Whoops, true... Yeah, it´s not dry at all! And your hints are very much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 3 hours ago, DPStewart said: Ha! The "Red Star" Yeah, that's the one. I wouldn't exactly give it high marks for useability - but that monster DOES do what it advertises, and it is cheap! Got a chance to finally check out your video (was outside earlier). That Cavision Matte Box looks quite ideal, being lightweight. I might get that instead of the Red Star now. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPStewart Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 I'd add some more links to my original post, but it seems the forum doesn't let you edit your posts after a certain amount of time. I don't really want to toss other links throughout the thread as that makes things difficult for readers who come to it. Any ideas? Am I missing some edit function? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPStewart Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 So what do you all think should I do? Since I don't seem to be able to edit the original post - Should I add the additional product links down here in the thread? Or should I start a new thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mars Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Here in this thread would be great! For example where to get that shoulder rig... I've been looking for some stuff recently and only found more expensive toys:http://store.redrockmicro.com/Mini-Mirrorless-Rigs.html orhttp://ginirigs.com/shop/run-n-gun-cage/ orhttps://www.edelkrone.com/eu/p/467/the-pocket-rig-2 It is mindboggling how many alternatives exist... Btw, I finally ordered the https://www.owldolly.com/products/beholder-ds1-camera-stabilizer Your "fault". ;-) No, seriously, looks really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Punk Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 For rig parts, rods, risers etc I can recommend www.smallrig.com They've moved more into cages now that look like very good value (but not tried personally), I've noticed their quality getting better and better...yet prices are pretty low. I've interchanged smallrig components with my wooden camera cage, and they match almost identically (build quality and finish), but at a fraction of the cost. DPStewart 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootsie Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 The same goes for http://www.coollcd.com. Great stuff and fast delivery! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPStewart Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 On 2/25/2016 at 4:44 AM, Jonathan Lee said: Thanks Dane. Awesome tips. Any recommendations specific to the BMCC? Well pretty much everything I talked about in the video applies to the Cinema Camera, but there IS one thing... I JUST got this cage - showed up in the mail yesterday. And I think it's going to be GREAT. - $237. It has a lot of similarities to the Movcam BMPCC cage - like the nice big base so the thing won't tip over when you set it down etc.. It looked like overkill to me at first but the price was great and I've had decent luck with "the cine city" before so I ordered it. Now I can tell I'm going to use this without the left handle - that's just unnecessary for most setups, but I like the right handle with the record trigger for sure. It's not made as flawlessly as the Movcam but it's definitely good. The included rods are cheaply painted and I already scratched them, but I'll be replacing the bottom rods with 40cm Fotasy rods anyway. the finish on the rest of it is better than on the rods. Some of the rigging it comes with I probably won't ever use - but it's nice to have it all included in the price anyway. You never know what you'l need...http://www.thecinecity.com/eshop/CAMTREE-HUNT-Pro-Cage-For-Blackmagic-Cinema-Camera-Production-Camera-4K-CH-CPRO-BMC.html Jonathan Lee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tupp Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 On 2/25/2016 at 9:02 PM, DPStewart said: This is a bunch of basic information about affordable camera support gear. Great video! Very informative, and it is further helpful that you demonstrated that some of the gear is booger-proof! For my personal gear, I tend to go for much cheaper and lighter solutions, such as those shown on the Frugal Filmmaker channel. The XTPower batteries are great. I have 3 of them as well. On the other hand, I sort of wish that I had instead purchased less expensive Sony NPF clone batteries, as they run at most cameras' (including the BMPCC) operating voltage of around 7.2v-7.5v. The 12v setting on the XTPower units is nice if you want to charge the internal battery on the BMPCC while you are shooting, but such higher voltages heat up the camera and sensor more than necessary, and, thus, produce more noise. The 9v setting on the XTPowers reduces the heat/noise, however, here is a video on how to easily use a cheap voltage converter to get 7.4v from 9v-12v batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPStewart Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 24 minutes ago, tupp said: Great video! Very informative, and it is further helpful that you demonstrated that some of the gear is booger-proof! For my personal gear, I tend to go for much cheaper and lighter solutions, such as those shown on the Frugal Filmmaker channel. The XTPower batteries are great. I have 3 of them as well. On the other hand, I sort of wish that I had instead purchased less expensive Sony NPF clone batteries, as they run at most cameras' (including the BMPCC) operating voltage of around 7.2v-7.5v. The 12v setting on the XTPower units is nice if you want to charge the internal battery on the BMPCC while you are shooting, but such higher voltages heat up the camera and sensor more than necessary, and, thus, produce more noise. The 9v setting on the XTPowers reduces the heat/noise, however, here is a video on how to easily use a cheap voltage converter to get 7.4v from 9v-12v batteries. The BMPCC is DESIGNED to run on an external power source of 12-18v. Any batteries will supply less voltage as they run down so using the 9v setting on the XT Power can cause an UNDERsupply situation that can cause internal operational problems. The BMPCC has an internal DC-to-DC regulator that wants 12-18v coming into it. That regulator is going to send the correct amount of current to that various internal systems. Using the 12v setting or even the 9v setting on the XT Power is not going to cause an overheat condition in this camera. That 12v power supply that comes with the camera? The engineers designed the camera to run off of that. I have run BMPCC's for over 2 straight hours of recording on both internal and external batteries (switching out the internals as fast as possible) and I have not ever noticed any housing temperature differences over all 3 of my BMPCC's. Simple test: Keep the lens cap ON and run the BMPCC in record for one hour each using both internal and external batteries. I saw no difference in noise. The SONY cameras like the A7s described in that video may be an entirely different design that does indeed require a lower input voltage. FWIW - I have a BSEE. That's a degree in Electrical Engineering. But then again I'm also a drummer in a rock band - so I might be crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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