Sima Quick-Connect version of Caleb Pike's "Top Handle Rig"

For those of us that were perusing the DSLR websites you might have come across Caleb Pike's DSLR Video Shooter  tutorial on making the "Top Handle Rig". However, for those of us who could not afford to set up with the Manfrotto base plates, and had set up our rigs with the Sima Quick-Connect there really wasn't a way to duplicate his rig.
I did, however, come up with an alternative using the Sima Quick-Connect. I have dubbed this ,with an enormous amount of  creativity in the naming of it, the  "Quick-Connect Top Handle Rig".


       

Materials Needed:

1- 1/4-20 Coupling Nut

1- 1/4-20 nut(standard)
1- Black spray paint

1- 1/4-20 Coarse/Standard Hanger bolt

 

Tools Need:

1- Drill with a 3/16 Drill bit

1- Crescent wrench
1- Oven
1- Hack saw(or other way of cutting the bolt)
1- Bastard File ( for cleaning up the threads)

Here is Caleb's Tutorial

          


Note: The Sima Top Handle Rig does not sit nicely like the Manfrotto/Cinevate base plates due to its smaller footprint. Should you want a way to stabilize the Sima Top Handle Rig add a small sheet of 1/8" aluminum (4 1/2" x 2 1/2" ) screwed to the 1/4-20 theads of the Sima Quick Connect (center the hole approximately 1/3 of the way towards the back of the sheet) and add 4 rubber bumpers on the bottom.

Behind the Scenes Timelapse using the I Phone

Just a quick behind the scenes of a video shoot for Gourmet Art Studio. Shot using an I-phone and the Time Lapse app. Edited/titled in phone using the Vimeo app. Music from Vimeo. "Wild Life" by Cheap Time.
Note the jib that was used for the overhead shot. More to come about this handy contraption

Is there always room for J-E-L-L-O ?

Despite the intrinsic insidiousness of the television commercial, most of my generation has been conditioned by countless hours of the wholesomeness of Bill Cosby's pitch, " There's always room for  J-E-L-L-O!". Now when I think of that wiggly, jiggly goodness, I begin to drool over the memory of incredible desserts made with this fruity concoction.
However, in the world of HDSLR CMOS sensors the moniker of "JELLO-CAM" makes the videographer mouth feel like it is full of cotton...... parched........!
Rolling Shutter commonly known as Jello-Cam, I first noticed this phenomenon while viewing some handheld foot shot of my family picking blueberries. While watching the footage there would come waves of slightly disorienting nausea by the seemingly unstable footage.

Things that I found to cut down on the "wobble" .

         

1: Add some sort of stabilizer i.e....tripod, mono pod, shoulder rig, fig rig, etc,etc....

2: Use a Variable Neutral Density filter to slow the shutter speed down to 50 or lower.
faster shutter speeds really accentuate the rolling shutter.
3: Fix it in post.
4: Wait until a camera comes out that doesn't suffer from jello-cam!

A quick tutorial by Mike Huetz on Vimeo.

Rolling Shutter Fix Tutorial

Caleb Pike brings it! A guide to adapting and using Nikkor glass on your EOS platform.

Caleb is one of the most reliable sources for information on DSLR news and equipment on the web.

Check out his blog at http://dslrvideoshooter.com/

Check out KEH Camera for reliable used lenses.

Buried under ART

Well since the inception of this blog you might have noticed that I haven't posted since July. My wife's art business has taken off and with it all of my time. You can view some of her work at www.GourmetArtStudio.com. Hopefully, I will get some time this year to do more with the blog. I have a couple builds coming up for a production I am working on. If I don't get tutorials done, I will get some behind the scenes footage put together and posted.

Here is the only production I have been able to do since July.