DIY DSLR Follow Focus - Rack Focus

I am always at a complete loss when shooting DSLR video and needing to easily find the focus, or zoom ring.  I grab the wrong one or miss it completely and end up with noise and movement in the final shot.  What I needed was a follow focus ring that attaches to the lens.  These things make it as quick and simple as possible to rotate that focus ring while shooting.

A little internet research will provide a plethora of DIY solutions.  The one I liked the best was an idea presented by knoptop here.  It uses silicon jar openers.  The only problem was that the recommended vendor no longer carried these things.  I am not a patient person so upon learning that I couldn’t run out a grab a few, I went to work thinking of what I could use that was laying around here.

Enter the filter wrench (Adorama: small - big, B&H: small - big).  I have a bunch of these in different sizes.  So I tried a few.  They work great!  If you have followed at least my recent posts you will know that two criteria must be met for new gear and accessories and using existing filter wrenches perfectly met all the criteria – no added bulk or weight and it didn’t cost me a thing.

I eventually found the jar openers at Target and bought all they had left.  In practice I use a variety of combinations of both the jar opener and the filter wrench.  Sometimes I need a rubber band around the top of the filter wrench, but that doesn’t affect its function at all.

DIY DSLR Video Stabilizer – Mash Up

 

Somewhere previously I mentioned that I had made the jump into DSLR video, with my employer’s purchase of a beautiful Canon 7D.  It was only a matter of minutes afterward that I was looking for accessories to help me get the best material I could with this new body.

There are two important factors that are always considered and weigh heavily on all of my new gear acquisitions:

1. When I shoot for work, I am traveling on planes to get to sites and once on location I am carrying everything that I brought, day long.  So, it has to be something I really need or can use in a variety of beneficial ways AND it can’t add very much to the existing travel kit.
2. Money is as hard for me to squeeze out for new gear as the next guy, so if I can make something from stuff I have on hand; it is a win-win!

I have been shooting video with my old Canon Optura 20 for years and have used the great idea I saw on a Scott Kelby blog post: “It’s Guest Blog Wednesday featuring AaronGreene”.  In Aaron’s words, “I rigged a super clamp at the bottom of my collapsed monopod as a sort of steady cam. I’d hold the monopod with my right hand and pull focus with the left letting the clamp act as a weight about 18 inches below the camera... If you have a monopod and a super clamp, try it out! It should help you make smoother movements.”

This has been a great suggestion that I have used for years.  I always have a monopod and a Manfrotto superclamp with me on location.  While superclamps are heavy, they aren’t that big and I have needed one on almost every trip.  So, both of the above criteria were met and it was a perfect solution.

While looking around at other stabilizing rigs on the net that are out there for DSLR video, I ran into the “$14 Stabilizer”. I thought it was interesting and very much liked the horizontal handle, thus getting both hands off the camera body.  Building one of these was breaking rule #1 above though as it was just more stuff and weight to be dragging along with me.

The solution was to peruse all of the Manfrotto accessories that are available for superclamps.  Enter the Manfrotto 042 Extension Arm (Adorama, B&H).  Add another superclamp (why wouldn’t anyone want to do that) and you have what for me is the perfect stabilizer.  Criteria #1 was met and well, half of criteria #2 was met as I did have to spend a little cash. 

DIY – Ray Flash and PW miniTT1 Setup

[Inspiration for my setup came from a Photozo post here.]

You cannot use the Ray Flash as intended when you also have a Pocket Wizard miniTT1 on the hotshoe.  DIY fix:

• Camera on tripod
• PW miniTT1 on the camera hotshoe
• GI transmitter on the PW miniTT1 hotshoe – which now works thanks to the recent miniTT1 firmware update
• Sturdy light stand with mini-boom (fully collapsed and parallel to the ground)
• An old metal umbrella bracket attached to the mini-boom
• A new, common umbrella bracket attached to the metal umbrella bracket (this gives me lots of adjustment flexibility without relying on the mini-boom which wants to rotate due to the weight)
• GI trigger attached with a stud to the common umbrella bracket
• 580 EX II in the GI trigger hotshoe
• Ray Flash mounted upside down to the 580 EX II

A little troublesome to move around!.

DIY – Tri Flash Bracket

NOTE: Not claiming to be the inventor of this idea!

I do not recommend using this with an inexpensive, hollow tube umbrella.  Although having a flash on each side does provide nice balance, you still have to tighten it down a little hard.  Second, it is a little unwieldy to get set up, but I will admit that it never budged during the hour long session.

Details:

• Umbrella bracket #1 – set up normally, with one flash on top.
• Umbrella bracket #2 – a flash on each end.
• The umbrella goes through its normal hole in the dual flash bracket, then continues on to through the hole in the bracket mounted on the light stand.  Adjust the angle of the dual flash bracket as needed to get the best full coverage you can.