This is the first real test flight with my DIY steadycam. The ground was frozen so it was hard to walk. Also, I'm not a trained steadycam operator but I think the result isn't too bad. I'll practice a little bit and upload another video soon.
Check the posts below for more information on the steadycam.
Hope you like it,
jonni
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
2010/11/30
2010/11/27
2010/11/26
jonni's DIY steadycam
If you don't know what a steadycam / steadicam is good for, I'll try to explain it in a few words. When shooting video one of the most important factors is the stabilization of your camera. If you don't do it right, your footage will look shaky - and this is what we really want to avoid (in most cases).
You'll find yourself in situations when it's absolutely not possible to use a tripod. Even if some lenses do have build in image stabilization, they can't compensate the shaking that you'll get while walking or running around with your camera. So when you are filming while walking around and it's not possible to use a slider or track dolly you'll need another kind of mechanical stabilazation.
There are different steadycam models on the market. I think that most of them are really good, the only problem is their price. So if you have some time and the right tools you can try to build your own model.
This is my DIY steadycam:
My main goal was to built a steadycam for DSLRs that is as small as possible, fully adjustible, lightweight but still very strong. As you can see in the image above it is adjustible just like all the other models. But there are some more facts that I would like to point out. I used a high quality universal joint which is very agile and therefore the movement is compensated very effective. The handle is very soft and big which makes it possible to carry this thing around a while. The steadycam is made out of aluminum and therefore it's very lightweight. The weights are made out of brass. It is possible to loosen and tighten all the screws without any additional tools. This makes it possible to make quick adjustments when changing lenses or adding other equipment. It can carry my 550D wit a LED video light or other DSLRs with medium sized lenses easily. The first test runs went pretty well - I will upload a video as soon as the sun comes out.
The parts have just been painted black and are still drying - I think this thing will have a really professional look.
Hope you like it. Feel free to ask anything you want if you have some questions.
Cheers,
jonni
You'll find yourself in situations when it's absolutely not possible to use a tripod. Even if some lenses do have build in image stabilization, they can't compensate the shaking that you'll get while walking or running around with your camera. So when you are filming while walking around and it's not possible to use a slider or track dolly you'll need another kind of mechanical stabilazation.
There are different steadycam models on the market. I think that most of them are really good, the only problem is their price. So if you have some time and the right tools you can try to build your own model.
This is my DIY steadycam:
My main goal was to built a steadycam for DSLRs that is as small as possible, fully adjustible, lightweight but still very strong. As you can see in the image above it is adjustible just like all the other models. But there are some more facts that I would like to point out. I used a high quality universal joint which is very agile and therefore the movement is compensated very effective. The handle is very soft and big which makes it possible to carry this thing around a while. The steadycam is made out of aluminum and therefore it's very lightweight. The weights are made out of brass. It is possible to loosen and tighten all the screws without any additional tools. This makes it possible to make quick adjustments when changing lenses or adding other equipment. It can carry my 550D wit a LED video light or other DSLRs with medium sized lenses easily. The first test runs went pretty well - I will upload a video as soon as the sun comes out.
The parts have just been painted black and are still drying - I think this thing will have a really professional look.
Hope you like it. Feel free to ask anything you want if you have some questions.
Cheers,
jonni
2010/09/29
Favorite DSLR video sites
Just added some great DSLR related sites to my feed reader (after I deleted a lot of other sites) and wanted to share my favorite ones with you.
the site that let me fall in love with DSLR videos:
the guy that made me buy a Canon:
the site that shows the greatest equipment:
other great sites:
my little site:
Hope you'll take a look at these sites. Let me know if I missed a good one.
Cheers,
jonni
the site that let me fall in love with DSLR videos:
the guy that made me buy a Canon:
the site that shows the greatest equipment:
other great sites:
my little site:
Hope you'll take a look at these sites. Let me know if I missed a good one.
Cheers,
jonni
2010/06/03
jonni's 35mm DOF adapter (for M42 and Canon EF lenses)
This is the DOF adapter I built for my Casio EX-F1 when I wanted to achieve a cinematic look in videos I shot with this cam. It is very cheap and one of the shortest adapters I've seen so far. It works with regular Canon EF lenses like the 50mm 1.8 and also with old M42 lenses that you can find for cheap on ebay (I got my 55mm 1.4 lens for 40 Euros).
The image is recorded upside down, but you can solve this problem very easily with a 180° rotation in post production. I also tried to attach this adapter to a Panasonic camcorder and it worked fine - I just needed some cheap stepping rings to make it fit.
Here are some videos to show the abilities of this adapter:
As you can see in the videos the adapter works very well. It is a very cheap solution to get some shallow depth of field in your homevideos that you shoot with your camcorder. The only problem is that you have some light loss and that you can see some grain in the videos (depending on the focusing screen or ground glass you use). To avoid this you have to let the ground glass (screen) vibrate or rotate. I don't like vibrating adapters because of the noise they make and I also think that the vibration has some bad influence to the sharpness (because the movement of the screen changes the flange focal distance). A rotating adapter would be a much better solution. But I have never built one because now I have this superb Canon 550D and I don't need this adapters any more ;)
Here are some tips for all of you that plan to build an adapter like this:
- try to make it as short as possible (light loss)
- don't use a cheap macro lens (distortion, chromatic aberration)
- don't use a cheap ground glass / focusing screen (hot spotting effect)
- use a high quality condenser lens (reduces the hot spotting effect)
- screw don't glue.
If you have trouble with the quality of your adapter read this:
- The distance between the lens and the ground glass (GG) is the most important thing and has to be absolutely correct. It is called "flange focal distance (ffd)". Check wikipedia for the right ffd of your lens.
- Next thing is the quality of your GG. You will loose less light if it is thinner. It also has to be very fine if you don't want to see a lot of grain. So if you have enough money and if you don't need a circular one go for a Canon screen.
- If the quality is still bad check the tips above again. Hope this helps.
If you're interested in the process of building my adapter, here's the original post in a german EX-F1 forum.
Got any questions? Write a commet.
Good luck with your project,
jonni
The image is recorded upside down, but you can solve this problem very easily with a 180° rotation in post production. I also tried to attach this adapter to a Panasonic camcorder and it worked fine - I just needed some cheap stepping rings to make it fit.
Here are some videos to show the abilities of this adapter:
As you can see in the videos the adapter works very well. It is a very cheap solution to get some shallow depth of field in your homevideos that you shoot with your camcorder. The only problem is that you have some light loss and that you can see some grain in the videos (depending on the focusing screen or ground glass you use). To avoid this you have to let the ground glass (screen) vibrate or rotate. I don't like vibrating adapters because of the noise they make and I also think that the vibration has some bad influence to the sharpness (because the movement of the screen changes the flange focal distance). A rotating adapter would be a much better solution. But I have never built one because now I have this superb Canon 550D and I don't need this adapters any more ;)
Here are some tips for all of you that plan to build an adapter like this:
- try to make it as short as possible (light loss)
- don't use a cheap macro lens (distortion, chromatic aberration)
- don't use a cheap ground glass / focusing screen (hot spotting effect)
- use a high quality condenser lens (reduces the hot spotting effect)
- screw don't glue.
If you have trouble with the quality of your adapter read this:
- The distance between the lens and the ground glass (GG) is the most important thing and has to be absolutely correct. It is called "flange focal distance (ffd)". Check wikipedia for the right ffd of your lens.
- Next thing is the quality of your GG. You will loose less light if it is thinner. It also has to be very fine if you don't want to see a lot of grain. So if you have enough money and if you don't need a circular one go for a Canon screen.
- If the quality is still bad check the tips above again. Hope this helps.
If you're interested in the process of building my adapter, here's the original post in a german EX-F1 forum.
Got any questions? Write a commet.
Good luck with your project,
jonni
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