Review: cheap power

I really like the fact that the latest generation of accessories like lights and monitors facilitate the use of camera batteries. Many of us have a lot of spare batteries for their camera(s) and it is nice to be able to click one onto a light and have more power than AA-batteries can provide. Ever since I own a LED Z96 light, I have used it with my Sony L-series batteries. In the meanwhile, I have sold my Z1 but I kept one heavy duty L-series battery and the small NP-F570 that came with the camera. (which I alway considered useless since it wouldn't last more than 45 minutes) After I received my led-light, this little battery started a new life and has served me well.

Mailbox: power from Germany

Just for the name you should get this one: the Voltcraft Steckernetzgerät. (The German language sometimes sounds like good pastry or juicy sausages) It's less than half the price (26,-) of the overpriced Panasonic ac adapter and I can hereby confirm that it works perfectly in combination with the DC Coupler.

Conrad Electronics went totally nuts with the foam and box (it's an adapter, not a Swarovski egg) but at least they take their packaging seriously.

I know why I bought this!

A few days ago my C-shaped bracket arrived from mister Ming in Hong Kong and I had no idea why I had ordered it. There was nothing wrong with the product, as a matter of fact, it was a neat, solid little contraption, but I was positive this item was heading straight for the bottom drawer, not to reappear for many years to come.
But then  I started to play with it, disassemble it, and there suddenly was the solution for mounting both a lamp AND wireless receiver to my Sony EX1R. Why didn't I see that right away? Who cares! I'm one happy shooter and I still have half of the bracket left! Seems like this story is to be continued...

I owed you one

The day before yesterday I showed off my new prime lens collection minus one: the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 25mm f4. So here goes: she's got the stage all to herself. The Lego trainset was still out on the floor so I put on my conductor's cap back on and blew the whistle. It's not quite as smooth as a Konova slider, but a lot longer! Here's to boys and their toys...


I owed you one: back on track from Filmersblog on Vimeo.

Mailbox: an adapter for my prime lenses!

Now I'm finally able to mount my set of prime lenses both on my Canon 550 and the Panasonic GH2! Received my M42 to micro 4/3 adapter and it mounted to my camera and to the 5,- Raynox 25mm without a problem. Awkward that I paid 5 times as much for the adapter than I did for the lens...

Mailbox: a strong arm

I received another package from mister Wong Mai Ming today from Hong Kong. (no relation, no business interest) Whereas the day before yesterday I had no clue as to why I bought the item (a C-shaped bracket), today I am very content with my new purchase.

It is an all-metal articulating arm which is definitely not a cheap copycat of a product. On the contrary, I believe this is exactly the same product that is being sold by major US companies for much, much more. I have owned and been a fan of the Manfrotto Magic Arm for many years and I think it should be part of everyone's kit. Whether it is for mounting a camera, a light or whatever in unusual places, this arm does the job.

Now there is this baby version, about 30 cm long. Twist one knob and it secures all joints. Combine this with the nano clamp and you are very close to owning a Magic Arm mini. Cheesycam has a little video on the articulating arm. This 'baby' sells for 79 to 99 dollars in many places, but I paid 44 dollars including shipping. Great deal.

My new prime lens collection

So you have a new set of lenses and the first thing that comes to mind is to take out the Lego trainset, strategically place assorted Toy Story, Teletubbie and other fantasy figures around the tracks and start filming. So that's what I did. I actually left out one lens that is part of this 'set': the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 25mm f4 because I couldn't find it. So I owe you one.
No grading, no CC. Everything shot on a Canon 550D.

My new prime lens collection from Filmersblog on Vimeo.

Mailbox: why did I buy this?

What was I thinking when I ordered this item from mister Wong Wai Ming in Hong Kong? Perhaps I thought I could use it as a handheld stabilizer for low-angle shots. Maybe it was the solid, friendly round design that charmed me. Or the coldshoe mounts- I'm a sucker for coldshoes. (After a year of owning it, I still haven't mounted a second coldshoe on my Sony EX1R for my wireless receiver...)
Maybe I had the ludicrous thought that I could add the C-shaped bracket to my Gini-rig. Perhaps I wanted to use it for parts. Or was it just the fact that it was only US $12,80 including shipping from China?

Sharp lens, watch the cut

Finally able to play with my GH2, Canon 50mm 1.4 since I received my FD to micro 4/3 adapter yesterday. This a very sharp lens and so is the subject matter. Shot at 720P, no grading, no injuries.

Sharp lens, watch the cut from Filmersblog.nl on Vimeo.

Mailbox: an adapter for my Canon FD 50mm!

From somewhere between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, a Russian Israeli by the name of Alexander Shkolnikov sent me a brown envelope containing a black metal ring. Today it dropped on my doormat in Amsterdam, I opened it, photographed it and connected it to my GH2. A small chain of events which, because I chose to write about it, will not go unnoticed. (And that was my contemplation for the day.)

Stop! Adapter madness

A SELECTION OF MY UNUSED ADAPTERS

I have 20+ fixed adapters lying around and none of them output 8.4v. I have one 'universal adapter' that outputs from 1.5v to 12v in steps of 1.5. No 8.4v option. Panasonic charges around 55 euro's for their 8.4v AC adapter. Why 8.4v?
I went to several different electronic stores and they roll their eyes when you say you're looking for an adapter that outputs 8.4v. "No, we don't carry that. It's a very unusual output voltage. Why do you think Panasonic made one different from all the others? So you'd have to buy theirs! Har har har!"

On the job

Live from Zwolle, central Holland. There goes my weekend- all day 2
camera shoot for training institute.

Lav mic went off the air 15 minutes into recording... 20 minutes
later and 5 channels later it worked again, thank god.

Greedy & ignorant

That headline applied to me just yesterday. I walked by this giant thriftstore and there is all this delicious junk, used furniture, surplus inventory and entire households lying around like a huge yardsale. And there in a corner is a neat glass display that contains jewelry, porcelain, watches and other 'precious objects'. I naturally gravitate towards the case and instantly spot the familiar and most desirable black metal shafts: 'lens alert!'

True 24P out of the Panasonic GH2

24P out of the GH2 is wrapped in a 50i container, if I have read well. Now I'm not the most technical of persons. As long as it works I don't have to know how or why. But luckily for me and and many others like me, there are users and consumers very much involved in the inner workings of the soft and hardware that make up our cameras.
They know that these camera's can do better and they set out to prove it. Now someone has been able to figure out a way to record true 24P through HDMI onto an external recorder. It's a big deal, not necessarily because you get a much cleaner image but because it opens the door to many more possibilities on the GH2: the camera is not the impenetrable vault everyone thought it was. Here's the thread discussing this new development: http://tinyurl.com/6azfoya

Extra install instructions for new Konova Slider

Just received some install adjustment instructions for the new Konova slider. Apparently this does not ship with the 4 bearing slider, at least it didn't with mine. So for all you new Konova slider owners, just print or copy and paste the jpeg.
Obviously they didn't get to printing the new set of instructions yet, neither did they employ a translator. (Except for 'Good' and 'Bad') But hey, considering the economic shift to the East, maybe we should all take up Korean and Chinese. That's a market of 1,5 billion people- 20% of the world's population, and growing.. Can you imagine the amount of movies that are just waiting to be produced?

Zooming in on a Follow Focus

Cinefocus R2

I've got several nice camera's, a beautiful Gini rig, a Lilliput monitor, a sleek set of lenses... so what's missing? A follow focus system. I love the touchscreen focus feature on my GH2 in combination with the pancake 20mm 1.7 but that's not going to work with my old prime Carl Zeiss and Meijer-Optik lenses.
My lenses have fixed gear rings so I could focus manually, I mean literally, by getting my right hand to the lens but I just don't see that happening smoothly. Try to keep a relatively heavy rig balanced with one arm while turning the focusring... nah, I don't think so. And even the follow focus is not going to solve the problem of having to let go of one handgrip. But it will be easier to access and make fine focusing a breeze.

McDictate Speech: godsend for documentary makers

A few years ago I finished my first feature documentary which I directed and for which I did the camerawork. My 70-year old mother did the research and together we edited the film. (along with a very capable film and documentary editor) We co-produced this no-budget doc and although it was selected for the Dutch Film Festival and aired on a major Public Broadcaster, we did not even break even. But I'm not complaining- the film is here and here to stay.
Since there was no money, we did everything ourselves: preproduction, production and in postproduction we were thankfully assisted by aforementioned editor.

Filmersblog is going English

To regular visitors it won't come as a big surprise and parts of the content of this blog were already in English, but now it's officially formal, final & approved by the Board of Trustees and the shareholders committee: filmersblog is going English.  It wasn't an easy decision because I started this blog primarily aimed at the Dutch market and I wanted to create a unique place for Dutch video and filmmakers.

But since half of my visitors are from all over the world and the language of filmmakers is a) visual and b) English, there really is no use going on in Dutch. For those who want to continue reading the articles in Dutch -or any language other than English- there is a translation button on the blog. (and if you have questions and/or would like to communicate in Dutch, you can always contact me personally)
The blog remains the same in sharing its passion for solid gear, good deals and videoproduction in general. Bless you.

Mailbox: my new used prime lens

Just received a neat little box in the mail containing my new, I mean, used lens. It's in great shape, has recently been serviced and it looks beautiful. Now I just have to wait for my FD-to-micro 4/3 adapter from Israel. Why Israel? Because it looked good and was only 1,25. Apart from the 15,- shipping fee...
But it still worked out cheaper than other options.Will post first video of this lens in combination with my Panasonic GH2 as soon as I can.

Canon 50mm 1.4 unboxed from Filmersblog.nl on Vimeo.

The week of the great, small ideas

In het kader van huishoud-spullen die gebruikt worden voor gear, en daar hebben we deze week al een paar goeie voorbeelden van gehad, kwam ik weer een prachtige vondst tegen. Adjustable focus-rings, in vrolijke kleuren (geen pré, overigens), 5 jaar garantie en wasbaar. Drie stuks voor US $2,50 -ongelooflijk? Kijk maar!

$2.50 Follow Focus Assist Solution!! Cheap Awesomeness!! from Tony Carretti on Vimeo.