Sliders

Posted on Aug 19, 2010 in Accessories, DP Slider, Featured, Gear, Glidetrack, Kessler Crane, Reviews | 1 comment

I’ve been looking into getting a “slider.”  It seems the three top choices for me are the DP Slider, Glidetrack, and the Kessler Crane Cineslider or Pocket Dolly.

After looking at the different products from all three companies I decided on the Kessler Crane PocketDolly.  The primary reason I went with the PocketDolly is that it is has a belt drive system and has the option of adding a motor drive that can be controlled with a remote control.  Both the DP Slider and Glidetrack sliders are only controlled by hand which could result in inconsistant results if you’re after repeatable precision.  The Kessler products also have a hand crank as another option for moving the camera.  I went with the PocketDolly over the CineSlider for one simple reason: cost.  While I’m sure the CineSlider is much sturdier than the PocketDolly it’s also nearly twice the price.

Backblaze – Unlimited Offsite Storage

Posted on Aug 17, 2010 in Featured, Reviews, Tech | 12 comments

I just signed up for the cloud based offsite data storage service Backblaze.  If it works the way they  say, the service is actually pretty unbelievable since you get unlimited offsite storage for only $5 a month (less if you prepay for 1-2 years).

Their application works much the same way Apple’s Time Machine works, just over the internet.  Your initial backup will send all your files to the Backblaze server.  Backups after the initial backup will be incremental, only sending files that have changed since your last backup.  All files are encrypted for security.  Like Time Machine there are a number of settings to determine what is and isn’t backed up.

Restoring files that have been lost is as simple as going to the Backblaze website and selecting the files you want restored and downloading them.  If you’ve had a total catastrophie and lost all your data you can have Backblaze send you a DVD or external hard drive will your data.  There are additional charges for this: $99 for a DVD that holds 4.2 gigabytes and  $189 for a USB drive that holds 400 gigabytes.

Gearing Up Part 3 | Monitors & Tripods

Posted on Aug 13, 2010 in Accessories, Featured, Gear, Manfrotto, Marshall | 0 comments

Here is another update to what will likely be an unending series documenting my initial costs in starting to shoot video (part 1 and part 2).  After talking with Thomas Broening, who also recently started shooting video, I discovered I’d need a floating tripod head since my stills head won’t be of much use to me when shooting video.

I’ve also been looking into external monitors and decided to get the Marshall V-LCD70XP-HDMI after talking to Thomas and reading forums and blogs.  The features that I liked on on the Marshall were the peaking filter to aid focusing and the onscreen crop markers.  I’ll do a proper review of the monitor once I get it and have a chance to play with it.

Gearing Up Part 2 | Camera Gear & Lenses

Posted on Aug 6, 2010 in Cameras, Canon 5D mark II, Canon EF, Featured, Gear, Lenses, Tech, Zeiss ZE | 1 comment

Yesterday I posted about the costs to upgrading my computer for shooting and editing video.  Today I’m going to go over the initial expenses I’ve had on the camera gear side.  And what photographer out there doesn’t love the opportunity to buy new photo gear.

First of course is the camera it self.  I had a Canon 1DS mark II that in all honesty I didn’t use very much.  I primarily shoot a medium format system with a Contax 645 and Phase One digital back.  My 1DS mark II was mostly a backup camera so moving to a Canon 5D Mark II was a no brainer.  I also really don’t like cropped sensors, so a 7D was never a question.  For some photographers this may not even be an extra expense because they’re already shooting a 35mm digital camera that shoots video.

Gearing Up Part 1 | Computer & Storage

Posted on Aug 5, 2010 in Featured, Final Cut Pro, Software, Tech | 3 comments

One of the big commitments to properly shoot video is a financial one. So one thing I’m going to try to do on this site is provide as much detail as possible on the costs I’m incurring.

One of the things I wanted to do before I even received my Canon 5D Mark II was get my computer system in order. I would assume most photographers will already have a computer system in place as I did. I’m sure any decent system that can handle a photographers workflow would be adequate for video work as well. But since I’m a bit of a tech geek I’ll use even the most flimsy of excuses to make my system faster and the demands of shooting and editing video was the perfect opportunity to do just that. My system was pretty good to begin with so I didn’t need to do too much. Mainly I just upgraded the memory and storage . My system prior to the upgrades was: