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Most fun rig or piece of equipment?


kye
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Recently I've been playing around with modifying a sub-$100 action camera, and have been having more fun than I have in a long time.

What is the most fun piece of equipment or rig that you have had, or used?  Why?  What made it fun?

Post some pictures!

Here's my "cinematic beast" with a few M12 lenses in front of the GH5 for scale:

IMG_4520.thumb.jpg.0d6d6655c0e2aa39164da139a3bffc12.jpg

and here's the most recent video I shot with it:

Shooting with this thing is so much fun because no-one takes a camera the size of a box of matches seriously, and assumes that the lens is really wide (it's about a 60mm equivalent FOV so it's really not that wide) and the only controls you get are on/off, record/stop, and where you aim it.

What has put a smile on your face?

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I try and not buy anything that I do not think will not be fun!     Just using for amateur use so I have zero reason to buy something photo/video otherwise.

To that end, since i love shooting in low light, my old A7s is still the most fun for me and same with my all time favourite lens, the Canon 17 tilt shift.

Honourable mention to the little Sony Rx100iv as it has a really nice lens and so many features well it is a fun camera to use with ok results.

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I've ordered the Olympus 15/8 lens-cap-lens to put on my GF3 as a larger (and better quality) rig for my "go-shoot" project.

My Go-Shoot project is the inspiration for pushing forwards with the action camera setup, and is basically to get out of the house, film something, edit it, and publish it, just to do little experiments and to get more practice with editing and develop my editing style more.

I'm really looking forward to the Oly 15/8 and GF3 combo, because the GF3 doesn't have manual controls in video mode and the 15/8 is by far the smallest manual lens around, which will give me MF and take away aperture control from the camera.

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i have the 15mm f8 oly on my new e-m10 mark two, if i could find the 9mm bodycap lens at a reasonable price i'd probably buy it too. i'd hesitate to call it my sharpest lens but it does ok. For a go shoot project its probably ideal.

I did lash out today and layby a 12mm f2  olympus lens which will be the most modern lens in my bag of lenses. Took the camera on a 4  hour round trip to the big smoke and tried the lens in store. it should work well with the mark 2 on the little crane m2 gimbal.

Not the most fun thing perhaps but i am enjoying the little m2 gimbal i bought. i can throw either the s20 smart phone on it or the gopro or Olympus e-m10 mark ii with a lens 300 grams or less on it. that covers all my bases except for the bm p4k. 

Lets face it, while not everyone is a fan of the floaty look of gimbals, anything that reduces the cloverfield look of anything i shoot is a good thing, and compared to a millers tripod quite a bit more affordable at the moment. 

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I worked out that I have three different purposes for cameras: my family trips / events, camera testing and learning, and Go-Shoot.

Go-Shoot is the most fun one, and I'm wondering why, but I suspect it has to do with the fact that nothing is at stake.  The event isn't significant enough for there to be any consequences if I botch the whole thing and there's no edit, or even any footage at all.  

Thinking about the psychology of it, is there's something at stake then the mood changes and you have to "stop horsing around" and "let me concentrate on this" and "it's time to get serious now" etc...  Obviously on projects you can be having fun in-between shots when the pressure is off, but you'd have to be pretty darn skilled to be super-relaxed while also nailing the shot.

I think it's when you can do whatever you want that it becomes fun, like in Austin Powers...

image.png.07551e905ad6a8100113bf50a4502268.png

 

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Popped down the beach and caught a half-decent sunset...   

GF3 and Voigtlander 17.5mm lens.  

It only has a full-auto-everything video mode, so I used the old trick of setting it to manual mode for stills, selecting base ISO, 1/50 SS, then dialling in the exposure with vND/aperture then hitting record and letting it automatically choose what I want it to choose.

It's soft as hell due to the low bitrate of the GF3, the lack of focus assists, and the fact that it was windy and I forgot to take a jumper so my mild hand-shake created the need for stabilisation in post 🙂 

4 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

Until recently I'd have said my most useful piece of equipment was my untethered glass balcony clamp.

Most FUN...  not most useful!

I don't yet own a glass balcony clamp, but buying one will just add to the enjoyment of easing lockdowns and being able to actually go, well, anywhere.

3 hours ago, odie said:

At work

nice!

AFC1B4F7-57EA-42D6-A880-B4D826B28E84.jpeg

Very nice!

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54 minutes ago, kye said:

Most FUN...  not most useful!

I am dull enough to get my fun through utility though so it works on both levels for me.

I've decided that the German word for people who get their fun through the misfortune of others who have over tightened their glass balcony clamps and caused the destruction of said glass balcony should be "Shardenfreude".

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I am on my second Oly m43 15mm body cap lens.     I sold the first when i sold my GX7.

I got another really cheap just to play around with again on my FF Sony A7s.

The (very thin tiny and sharpish edged) metal adapter is almost as big as the lens.

Not for serious use and not used often but again fun.

Using it FF, FF with 2x clearzoom (both "focued" at 0.3m) and photos of it with adapter mounted, on the lens.

DSC00134.jpg

DSC00135.jpg

DSC00138.jpg

DSC00139.jpg

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My funnest camera was probably my Sony RX100V.

I missed that little pocket rocket so much I bought a ZV1 a few months back to both replace it and to be my backup.

If times were better, I would have liked to have played with a latest spec GoPro with some longer lenses.

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7 hours ago, kye said:

 

I don't yet own a glass balcony clamp, but buying one will just add to the enjoyment of easing lockdowns and being able to actually go, well, anywhere.

i read this and thought bloody hell, he's taken up abseiling or not paying for his accommodation  😉

remember try not to feed the trolls 😛

btw i liked your sunset

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6 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

I've decided that the German word for people who get their fun through the misfortune of others who have over tightened their glass balcony clamps and caused the destruction of said glass balcony should be "Shardenfreude".

Well, the English word for the overwhelming emotion on set when some is seriously injured or killed is "Shattered."

 

The entire location goes silent and all the work stops.  While the paramedics are busy, most stand around looking distraught, while those who might be involved in the cause of the accident wear expressions of anguish.

 

After experiencing such a mishap, one usually becomes serious about avoiding accidents, and one tries to instill the same sense of safety in others.

 

 

19 minutes ago, leslie said:

remember try not to feed the trolls 😛

By all means, don't let those trolls succeed in preventing dangerous set practices. 👍

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6 hours ago, noone said:

Not for serious use and not used often but again fun.

Using it FF, FF with 2x clearzoom (both "focued" at 0.3m) and photos of it with adapter mounted, on the lens.

DSC00139.jpg

Interesting - a good amount of vignetting on MFT sized sensor readout.  All I can say to that is...  EXCELLENT!

I may end up slightly compensating for that in post, but maybe not.  We'll see.  In theory, mine arrives tomorrow 🙂 

5 hours ago, MrSMW said:

My funnest camera was probably my Sony RX100V.

I missed that little pocket rocket so much I bought a ZV1 a few months back to both replace it and to be my backup.

If times were better, I would have liked to have played with a latest spec GoPro with some longer lenses.

What was it about the RX100V that you most enjoyed?  

How is the ZV1 as a replacement?

Do you mean modifying a GoPro?  with something like a backbone mod?

I was looking for c-mount lenses and came upon this which I thought was an interesting concept: https://cmount.com/product/c-mount-modified-sony-rx0-3-lens-atomos-shogun-inferno-4k-recorder-package/

4 hours ago, leslie said:

i read this and thought bloody hell, he's taken up abseiling or not paying for his accommodation  😉

remember try not to feed the trolls 😛

btw i liked your sunset

Thanks Leslie!

I'm not sure that taking up abseiling is a substitute for travel, but thankfully I have enough toys at home to keep me from getting desperate and grabbing some string and jumping off buildings 😛 

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I personally kinda feel its getting a bit trollish to drag comments/ jokes from one thread to another unrelated thread. I'm sure no real intent was meant. But like workplace accidents,  jokes can go horribly wrong pretty quick as well.

Its usually me thats ringing for the ambo's. I'm all for safety, but the issue can be getting other people to think in the first place.

getting back on topic i have a couple of photos with the gimbal and 15mm olympus body cap lens, cant quite get the olympus and the 15mm lens far enough forward to balance properly, however i can get it to balance with the takumar 24mm and a light adapter. I'd take some footage but its horribly windy here today.  

gimbal-side.jpg

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59 minutes ago, leslie said:

I personally kinda feel its getting a bit trollish to drag comments/ jokes from one thread to another unrelated thread.

I mostly tend to agree.  I had to scroll up to see who it was who dragged comments/jokes from another thread into this one.

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