the editman.com

My camera slider has been in use for a couple of times and I just bought one of the smallest fluid heads to put on. It's a Manfrotto 701HDV and the same model as I have on one of my tripods. These heads are not for heavy cameras but since I don't plan to put anything heavier than a 5D mkII on, or a similar camera, it will work just fine.

I also wanted a rather small head to fit in my bag and one that has the same quick release as my tripod. This makes it very easy to go from tripod to slider. Now this head is far from the best ones but on the other hand Manfrotto is so well spread that parts are easy to get and many DSLR gears are built around a Manfrotto 577.




This makes the slider even heavier but as all things heavy has it's pros. It makes for very smooth pulls. It's all up to the operator if the slides are smooth because the slider it self never (so far) fail.

During a vacation trip to the southern part of Sweden - Skåne I took my 5D mkII, Canon 70-200/4 IS, Zeiss 35/2.0 and camera slider with me.

I captured some of the beautiful sights I saw and made this short piece showing this part of Sweden and some of my camera work using these lenses and the slider. The slider I have is the pro version from www.slidekamera.com.

A went a bit different this time with settings on the 5D mkII. I used higher shutter speeds to preserve as much detail as possible, avoiding motion blur. In my bag I even had a Fader ND but I'm leaving these to others. They take away to much sharpness even on shorter focal lengths It's better to have fixed ND but also more cumbersome or do what I did - raise the shutter.

I used Avid MC but didn't do any grading this time. All exposures is pretty much spot on and these days I seldom miss exposure because I know DSLRs very well after using D90, GH1, 7D and now 5D mkII.

The 5D mkII is such a great camera for both stills and video and I love the mix when having Zeiss lenses on. They are superior even to Canon L lenses I think.

Sadly I had a mishap with the Zeiss 35/2.0. It was in the backseat of the car and when I had to break hard it got a bump on the focus ring. It got stuck but when I came home I manage to make it work again albeit with an ugly bump on the ring...

This is my first wedding video shot with Canon DSLR cameras. I used two 7D and one 5D mkII. Lenses was all Canon L or Zeiss ZE lenses.

I started of six months pre wedding day to capture some of the things the couple were doing in preparations. A month before the wedding I did an interview with them and the whole concept is to have them tell the viewer about themselves and people around them tell.

As this job was to try out the concept I learned alot during the process. I started of shooting with Canon 7D cameras and got the 5D2 late in the game. If I would choose one camera to cover a wedding with, it would be the 5D2. Nothing bad about the 7D but there is something very beautiful about 5D2 images.

I did both still and video and this proved to be somewhat stressful to get both stills and video where I wanted it to be. Nevertheless I enjoyed making it and have tons of experience from such a day.

I used many of my gadgets. My selfmade skate dolly, two different camera sliders, Manfrotto monopod and tripods, Juicedlink preamps, Sennheiser and Audio Technica microphones, JAG35 cage and stuff I can't remember. A monopod and decent head is the most used support I've used and it's just so great and versatile to use. It's light and small, doesn't get in the way and takes the stress out of hand held shooting. I have dipped my toes into steadicam but I don't feel at easy with the complex setup. Maybe an easy one like Merlin will suit me fine.

Avid MC was used to edit it together and final output was PAL DVD. Everything shot in 1080p25.

I got another microphone from Audio Technica - the AT875R. It's one of the shorter shotgun mics and this one is more sensitive compared to the AT897 or PRO24. One undocumented feature of many DSLR cameras with video capability is that they do have plug in power to power a small microphone. What's great about these Audio Technica microphones is they can run on very low voltage and still deliver sound.



I admit I'm fond of how Audio Technica mics sound, I like them because they sound natural. They can run on low voltage and they are not super expensive. I'm planning to use this on mounted together with the JAG35 and Sennheiser G2 wireless lav to capture speeches at weddings or as a sync/backup mic when having a sound guy on set. But they even work mounted with the PRO24 hot shoe mounte which is rubber dampened to avoid to much pick up from camera operator sound.

A friend of mine has a Sennheiser MKE400 on his 5D mkII and this is the smallest mic I've seen on a DSLR. But I don't think you can power it from the camera and it's so easy to forget to turn it on. The AT875R has no switch. As long as it's connect and has plug in power it works. Compared to the PRO24 I can turn down the gain inside the 5D mkII half way and still have the same volume with much less hiss from the cameras noisy pre amps. I guess once plugged into the DT454 I will get very good sound quality.

I had to try rods from Shoot35 and got four 15cm rods. They all have one end male threaded and one female threaded so that you can extend as you please.

In my toolbox I have many different rods. Some are thinner and some are wider. These rods are on the slightly wider end but still fits all 15mm clamps and blocks. If I compare these with rods from Gini I like the Gini better. They are better machined but both work great and if I didn't known about Gini I would think they are great. You can screw both Gini and Shoot35 rods together but not mix these. The threads are not the same sadly.

The best rods I've encountered are the ones from Berkey System. They on the other hand does not screw together but fit and finish is topp notch with all Berkey System hardware. I have many things from Shoot35 and besides other brands can have better things I think the strength at Shoot35 is that all things they do make are of great quality at a decent price.

I have Zacutos Zipgears for six of my lenses. These are expensive and I've asked myself are they worth it? Really there was no choice before Shoot35 came with their version called FLEXIgear. Seams similar right? Well they are very similar yet not entirely. Zipgears have two parts which holds the gear strip together, the FLEXIgear has a one piece lock and it's much easier to assemble.

The FLEXIgears are stiffer than Zipgears and I tightened just a turn to have it stick perfectly onto the Canon 70-200/4 lens and it's broad rubber ring.



I have tried lens gears that are bulky and screws onto the lens barrel from all angles and they are nothing I would like to use again. Zipgears or FLEXIgears are much better but the Shoot35 version is cheaper and feels better to adjust and assemble!

When I still was in Nikon-land I had a Sigma 70-200/2.8 II. It was a decent lens with a very good optical performance the only downside was the rather hefty weight. Now that I have Canon cameras a new classic 70-200 without the weight is what I was looking for.

I do not like "slow" lenses. That is above F2.8. But when it came to 70-200 I really had no choice but the Canon 70-200/4L IS. This lens is lighter than my 135L lens and is one of the sharpest lenses in the Canon line-up. Image Stabilizer is a must when you shoot video and have a greater focal length than 85mm, even 85mm is borderline unless you have a very good shoulder support. The next step up is Canons 70-200/2.8L IS II. It's an excellent lens but still to heavy and costs more than twice as much...

I already have a Canon 100/2.8L IS Macro but the IS engine inside the 70-200/4 IS is way noisier. I did expect my on camera microphone from Audio Technica to pick up the IS strongly but to my surprise it didn't! To use these lenses without IS, now that you can have it, is not a good idea. IS just takes the micro jitter out of the footage.

Before the 70-200/4 IS I had a Canon 200/2.8L. Besides the later being faster the 70-200/4 IS is way better and the smaller size, lighter weight and decent prize makes it a must unless you need that extra stop.

Last week I got another microphone. I already have an AT897 and a PRO70 from Audio Technica and I like the quality compared to the price. They are all decent and are useful in various situations. Since my Canon 5D mkII has manual control of audio I wanted to try a small on camera microphone and the PRO24 CM seamed to fill the void.

I got a fury wind shield and a smaller foam shield but the fury one is way better so I'll stick with that one. It's a powered microphone but the 5D mkII does have plug in power and it works to power the PRO24. The only downside to this microphone is the rather low sensitivity. If you use this one with a noise free pre amp everything is fine but the 5D mkII has a noisy pre amp when you turn it up. Around 15% it's very good but turned up towards 75% there is a constant hiss. Not a fault in the microphone but a bit disappointing never the less.

The fury wind shield is excellent! I shot some tests and it's very resistant to wind. No ugly pick up from the housing of the microphone thanks to the fury shield. I would not hesitate to use it even if there is a heavy breeze.



PRO24 has a power switch but since you can use it with plug in power there is no need to fiddle with it. Just leave it on at all times. This is a stereo microphone and I like the sound quality. It sounds natural and picks up a broad area both in front and at the back which makes it easy to hear both the person behind the camera and the one in front.

I will try it with my Juciedlink DT454 and it's low noise amplifiers and later on with another Audio Technica which might work as a great on camera microphone for a DSLR camera!



As you can see it's a small microphone that suits a DSLR nicely.

I got this one meter camera slider a couple of months ago but haven't really used it until I shot a wedding two weeks ago. This slider is made in Poland and feels really solid. I didn't have a good head mounted so the head itself wobbled around a bit and made the shots jerky before I put my hand on top of the head. But with a decent head nothing wobbles on the slider.

Didn't have much time but I put together these short clips to show how it performs. Used my Canon 5D2 camera and 135L lens.

The AG-AF100 is a professional AVCCAM Series HD camera recorder equipped with the Micro Four Thirds optical system commonly used in digital single lens still cameras. It directly accommodates Micro Four Thirds digital single lens still camera lenses, and an adaptor can be used to mount 35 mm film camera lenses and prime lenses. This lets you capture a wealth of film-like images with distinctive lens characteristics, like a shallow depth of field and an attractive soft focus.

Designed for stable camera work, the AG-AF100 is packed with functions and specifications that combine comfortable operation with superb images and extended recording times. It features HD-SDI output and mic input, remote control terminals, and versatile system interfaces that you normally find only on professional camera recorders.

The AG-AF100 also offers PH mode recording to deliver optimal AVCHD image quality in multiple HD video formats — including 24p and 30p. The variable frame rate enables slow/quick motion recording. Use the AG-AF100 to produce videos with stunning image quality, such as music, promotional, TV commercial and other short productions.

The AG-AF100 records in 1080:59.94i/50i/29.97p/25p/23.98p or 720:29.94p/50p/29.97p/25p/23.98p with its multi HD format. When recording in 720p mode, you can render movie-like images with effects like slow and quick motion. The Dynamic Range Stretcher, Gamma Select and other image features have also been inherited from previous Panasonic professional camera recorders.

The AG-AF100 features HD-SDI output, XLR audio 2 channel input, and other interfaces that are typically found on professional camera recorders. Time code recording also supports precise video production. In addition to its compact, lightweight body, the AG-AF100's professional camera recorder design with grip, handle and large viewfinder firmly support reliable camera work.

This PDF file has more info on aspect of the upcoming Panasonic AG-AF100.pdf (3,44 MB)

It will be exiting to see this camera in action once released. Everything is in place for a very nice camera. Let's hope that Panasonic delivers.