Old Glass Rocks

Shoulder Rig For HDSLR Use

I use this shoulder support rig a lot with my dslr. This is known as the Cowboy shoulder support, and can be purchased on Ebay for around $30.00. This thing really works great! When you watch the video you will see him make the point that the add on parts are not very strong, he is right, mine broke. The reason it broke was that I found that downward pressure on the shoulder rig made It much more stable. I put to much pressure on it and it snapped. I always keep the camera strap around my neck when using it, so that saved the camera.

DIY DSLR Shoulder mount

<a href="http://www.vimeo.com/19468027">http://www.vimeo.com/19468027</a>
This guy does a nice job at making a shoulder mount dslr rig out of cheap materials. I have to say that using shop tool like a drill press, ect. make a job like things go alot faster, with better results. I like the part in which he shows bending the part that rests on your shoulder with heat over the stove. Notice that he is cutting the tubes or pipes with a pipe cutter. This tool under $10.00 is a must have for diy, simple to use and does a great job. By the way shoulder mount is probably the most useful devise you can have for dslr movie making.

Posted in DIY, shoulder support for dslr | Tagged DSLR, low budget, shoulder support, stability, Stabilizer | Leave a comment

Carl Zeiss 135mm manual lens review

In this test focus is on the Chirstmas lights on the left. Notice the nice smooth bokeh of children playing in the background. This is a great example of getting great B footage without requiring a release because the children are blurred out.

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Carl Zeiss 135mm manual lens Bokeh Test

YouTube – Carl Zeiss 135mm manual lens Bokeh Test

Extreme bokeh effect shooting into the sun, water in the background, and people walking in the middle ground. Of course focus is on the fence on the right. Notice that there is no lens flare. the Contax T is multi coated, and does a great job protecting against flare.

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Carl Zeiss 135mm manual lens Contax T

This is a Carl Zeiss 135mm manual lens Contax T mounted on a T2i. Good test of bokeh and shallow depth of field

Posted in Carl Zeiss, Manual Lenses | Tagged bokeh, Carl Zeiss, Shallow Depth of Field, Zeiss | Leave a comment

Carl Zeiss 135mm manual lens test 2.8

YouTube – Carl Zeiss 135mm manual lens test 2.8

This is a Carl Zeiss 135mm f2.8 CONTAX T mounted on a CANON t2i (550d). Testing shallow depth of field and bokeh. It is easy to get a shallow depth of field effect with this lens even when stopped down.

Posted in Carl Zeiss, Manual Lenses | Tagged bokeh, Carl Zeiss, manual lens, Shallow Depth of Field, Zeiss | 1 Comment

DIY DSLR Cage Part 1

<a href="http://www.vimeo.com/14314145">http://www.vimeo.com/14314145</a>How to build a DSLR Cage

This is a easy to do DIY project with your best return on investment of time and money. This 4 handle cage is a true cage, having much more stability over the 2 handle cage. Be sure to see part 2 of Jarrod’s DIY Project in which he lightens the weight of the cage.

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DIY DSLR Cage four post

<a href="http://www.vimeo.com/14380333">http://www.vimeo.com/14380333</a>How to build a four post DSLR Cage -Part 2

This is part 2 of Jarrod’s DIY cage project. He is taking apart his first diy cage and replacing some parts with lighter material. This is the great diy cage project. A huge benifit to this four corner cage is added stability and balance. Using the front two handles while resting your wrists against the back two handles helps make this a very stable support system.

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DIY JIB $40

This wins my vote as one of the best low budget, simple to build, diy jib projects out there.

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DIY DSLR Follow Focus and Shoulder Support $15

Simple to build DIY friction follow focus. To improve on this design you may want to use a slot instead of a drill hole to hold skate wheel, so that you can slide and adjust for different size lenses. I really like the idea of using the mono pod with the shoulder support, reusing or combining what you already have. Holding this combo above the ground, not letting the stabilizer touch the ground can be very effective in minimizing micro vibrations.

Posted in DIY, Follow Focus | Tagged diy, follow focus, shoulder support, Stabilizer | Leave a comment