Reviewing my DIY Bodypod
May 29, 2010 - 9:46 pm - posted in 550D/T2i, gear reviews, hddslrI’ve promised to review on this little buddy for some time now, so here it comes. Check my video review for all you need to know about my 15$ DIY Bodypod solution (well, add about 40$ for the Manfrotto quick release and you’re good to go).
I got the idea from this guy here.
Basically this is a modified (very cheap) monopod from Delamax, which I found on ebay. But basically all monopods will do. I upgraded it with a Manfrotto quick release so I could attach my 550D very easily and take it off very fast.
Enough of the words, see for yourself:
Amazon links:
Couldn’t find the Delamax monopod on Amazon.com, this one looks good though. Or as I said, try any monopod.
The Manfrotto Quick Release can be found here.
Reviewing the LCDVF on the 550D/T2i
May 4, 2010 - 10:16 pm - posted in 550D/T2i, film, gear reviews, hddslrIt’s been some time since my last blog entry and I sincerely apologize for that! My LCDVF has finally arrived today so I really wanted to share my first impressions with you guys. Since I already wrote an article about the LCDVF a few weeks ago, I didn’t really want to write a whole review – also since there already are a lot of reviews on the VF out there.
So I decided to put together a quick video to tell you what I think about the LCDVF and give you an idea of what it looks like on my 550D. If you have any questions regarding the VF, please leave them in the comments and I will be very delighted to answer them as good as I can.
Check out the video on Vimeo:
UPDATED 3: LCW Fader ND filter tested on 550D
April 14, 2010 - 1:31 pm - posted in 550D/T2i, gear reviews, hddslr 
Update May 25, 2010:
Watch out when buying the LCW Fader ND on eBay! The only confirmed ebay seller is lightcraftworkshop-official-store, do not buy from “bonifaceleung”! The seller I got the Fader from is called vendilo-torinonord, this is the official eBay store from a shop in Torino, Italy, which is also a confirmed distributor of LCW (however, their ebay store is not officially confirmed).
Check this section on the LCW website for an overview of official resellers.
Update April 14, 2010:
You can now find a sample video of the Fader ND in action at the end of this blog entry and on my Vimeo profile.
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My new Fader ND filter arrived a few days ago and I got to testing it out in the field right in time before my flu knocked me down ;-) And now that I have to spend some time in bed I finally get to share my impressions with you guys.
When I first used my 550D for video shooting it didn’t take much time for me to realize the need of a ND (neutral density) filter when shooting in bright day light. The problem is pretty obvious: Since changing the shutter speed while shooting in movie mode is not a good idea (your shutter speed should always remain at double the amount of the frame rate you chose – ‘180 degree shutter rule’) the only possibility do decrease the incoming light is by stepping down the aperture. But in doing that, you also lose the shallow depth of field. So to be able to use high aperture even when it’s bright outside you have to reduce the incoming light in another way: with a neutral density filter, that is. When buying a ND filter you have to consider the strength of the filter – there are different ones, each of them letting through a different amount of light.
Now since I’m pretty lazy the idea of getting several ND filters and having to try out and find the right one to use in a certain situation didn’t really appeal to me. Fortunately the so called Fader ND filter makes it possible to simply put on only one filter and adjust the amount of light coming through by turning the filter ring. A great concept I thought, so I decided to get one.
UPDATED 2: 550D/T2i knock-off battery test with surprises (1400mAh)
April 10, 2010 - 8:46 pm - posted in 550D/T2i, film, gear reviews, hddslr
Update May 04, 2010:
Watch out when buying batteries from the ebay seller mentioned in the text (“trade-shop”); it seems he sends out different kinds of batteries (with less power than the ones i got) – check out Lucas Pfaffs blog entry on this matter (it’s in german). Thanks for the warning, Lucas!
Update May 06, 2010:
I have received word from quite a few people now the ebay seller (“trade-shop”) now ships batteries with significantly less power than the ones I got. Be careful when buying the batteries on ebay, try to get a statement from the seller first and feel free to link to this blog entry!
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Since the first knock-off batteries for the 550D/T2i appeared on Amazon and eBay a few weeks ago, I was eager to get my hands on some of them. The original Canon battery LP-E8 is still listed at something like 60$ and I believe it was even more before the first knock-offs were introduced. For me this is far too much money to be spend on a battery; even though they obviously are an essential piece of equipment for the DSLR filmmaker (especially when it comes to longer shoots).
Anyhow, since I was planning to get enough batteries to last for a whole shooting day (and still keep an eye on the money spent), I wanted to be sure the ones I got would be as long lasting as possible. After checking back with Nino Leitner’s experiences with some of the clones I decided to get some myself. Now the ones Nino tested lasted for about 47min compared to a total of 147min with the original Canon battery.
I decided to give a battery from eBay (Germany) a shot – it claimed to have 1400mAH, which is quite a bit more than the original battery has (1120mAh). I bought it for about 10€ (which is something like 13$) and didn’t expect too much. But hey, not much of a risk at 10 bucks, right. Well, prepare for some surprises.
