Gear

If you have not seen the Go Pro HD Hero camera before, let me introduce it to you. We have bought a few of these this summer for various projects and they are a lot of fun to play with and the footage is absolutely amazing. We will have some new Fstoppers videos coming out soon with Go Pro HD footage but in the meantime you must check out these videos. Click the Full Post for a few details about the Go Pros and to see two other fun videos. <

Tom Guilmette has been creating a bunch of interesting videos recently, this being no exception. Check out his new toy below.

Kessler Shuttle Pod Dolly System Tutorial - Oracle Controller and ElektraDRIVE Motor from Tom Guilmette on Vimeo.

One of our readers sent us this crazy video that must have been shot 40 years ago because I don't recognize any of this technology. Apparently it was really popular back in the day and I think I've even seen some kids carrying these as they left a local Urban Outfitters. If only they could make one of these that uses both Polaroid film and a memory card maybe I could experiment with one. Apparently the creator of this video didn't watch our previous videos on enjoyable audio :( <

Cris Matthews just sent this video over to me. He did a few tests with the iPhone 4 and a ring light. He also used his iPad to review and edit the images. I have gota say, if I can easily and instantly view my shots on an iPad like they seem to be doing I will buy one tomorrow.

VideoJunkie.co.uk - iPhone Fashion Shoot from Cris Matthews on Vimeo.

A few days ago I posted a video this duo created to help all the haters understand that expensive gear does not equal quality pictures. Well Zach And Corinne are back at it again with their contest entry. I was hoping for something a bit more in depth from these guys but they packed some quality into 3 minutes.

BTS Photoshoot from Zach Andrews on Vimeo.

We have all seen great slomo videos on the internet but rarely do you get to see what it takes to film them. Check out Tom Guilmette's quick BTSV.

Fastec Imaging High Speed Camera - Testing 718 Frames Per Second at 720p from Tom Guilmette on Vimeo.

This is going to be a busy week for FS. The contest submissions are starting to pour in because the deadline is only 6 days away. We are going to try to bring you at least one professional BTSV and at one contest submission every day. For her contest submission, Amber Williams teaches us about infrared photography (something I knew nothing about). Amber did a fantastic job of keeping the video interesting and informational. I'm just excited that there are some some cute female Fstoppers out there. Show Amber some love in the comment box below. <

Yes, this has been done before; but never this big. Amir took things up a few notches by shooting Paul Wall's new video "I Need Mo" featuring Travis Barker. I hope that Amir gives this another shot now that the iPhone 4 is out. The video quality is stunning on the new phone. View the finished music video in the full post. <

A few weeks ago I did a full fashion photo shoot with my iPhone 3gs. I posted a few of the images and asked people to critique them (never exposing that they were shot on my cell phone). I couldn't help but laugh when a few of our readers claimed that these were "the best images I had ever taken." Nobody ever claimed that they were too grainy, too soft, or lacked detail. View this full post to read the full story and see the high res shots from this photoshoot. ><

George Chatzakis is an advertising and fashion photographer based out of Greece. For the last Porcelana ad campaign, George used a bunch of small point and shoot cameras to get that "matrix" style effect where multiple camera angles are capturing in the exact same moment in time. It's a really cool, and expensive, trick you have probably seen on MTV or on the big screen. The little bit of talking in this video is in another language but I think there is still a lot to be taken from watching this short video. Hope all our American readers are having a good holiday weekend!

Porcelana - Making Of from Real Creations on Vimeo.

Chase Jarvis has apparently figured out the secrets of creating a viral video. I think he released this video 3 days ago and it already has 50,000 views. I don't mean to keep posting CJ videos but they are all really good so here another. Check it out! <

Okay I'm not an apple fanboy or anything (I'm the only photographer still using a PC) but this new iPhone 4 is pretty cool. I'm most excited that it can now take 720p 30 fps video which is perfect for shooting behind the scenes videos of your photoshoots. I got my iPhone 4 early and figured I would take it out on the water to do a little video comparison with the iPhone 3Gs. If you are an iPhone user, this new phone is a necessary upgrade if only for the HD video and LED flash for low light photos and videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc6PTHhFNEE<

The only thing this BTS video is missing is the actually images! But it is still really cool so I will give it a pass. They wrote: "Hand launching a custom built Canon 5D Mark II aerial drone from a boat in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico to capture oil spill imagery: Although we are able to hand launch our drones in very confined space, we've never done this from the back of a very unstable pitching and rolling boat...in rain and drizzle. Over $10,000 in equipment can be lost in an instant! Between boat movement and gulf winds this was an extreme challenge! What a great show of talent"

For the last 4 days I have been at Bonnaroo listening to music and living like a caveman. The biggest show of the event was Jay Z Saturday night and to get a decent view we camped out 4 hours before the show. The guy next to me happenend to be David Oppenheimer, a professional photographer, and we ended up chatting. He decided to camp out and shoot from the crowd with a monopod and a remote.

A reader emailed me this video a while back and I finally got around to watching it. If you enjoy watching how things are made you will really appreciate the amount of effort that goes into making pro level lenses. I have never thought of my lenses coming ultimately from a bunch of powder! Click the post to watch all three videos and see the final product <

Ray Demski, Marcel Lämmerhirt, and Chris Stadler were all commissioned by Red Bull to shoot their cliff diving event in Hamburg. Shooting the event was no easy task but luckily for us Ray Demski was kind enough to share how they did it. <

Dan Bartolucci and Gevorg Karensky over at Influxlab have put together a little montage video for everyone to see how they rigged the car camera up for the latest BMW M3 commercial. I'm sure many of you have wondered how they secured a camera when being so wreckless in a car; I guess now we all know.

BMW M3 - Behind The Scenes - Complete from Dan Bartolucci on Vimeo.

Normally I would not be too interested in this sort of thing. Honestly I don't really get the hype with these shoulder mounts. However, this is so well made and the follow focus he added is genius. Check it out.

DIY DSLR Wooden Shoulder Rig from Jonathan Clifford Bergqvist on Vimeo.

So this is really cool. Ryan Hughes was in film; then he got into still photography; and now he is blurring the mediums together. Watch Ryan explain how he shot his latest short "RGB MOVE" below and then watch the final product in the full post.

RGB MOVE Behind The Scenes Documentary from Ryan Enn Hughes on Vimeo.

The guys over at Zacuto have released their second video of their series that compares film cameras to the current lineup of DSLR cameras. In this video you will see how different ISOs compare across the various cameras tested. It's pretty interesting and this is about as thorough of a test you would probably ever care to run. The guys over at Zacuto have released their second video of their series that compares film cameras to the current lineup of DSLR cameras. In this video you will see how different ISOs compare across the various cameras tested. It's pretty interesting and this is about as thorough of a test you would probably ever care to run.

Zacuto Great Camera Shootout 2010 Webisode 2: How Sensitive Can You Get? from steve weiss on Vimeo.

Many of you have already seen this but if you haven't you should check it out. Zacuto (the company that makes add-ons for DSLR video) has put together the most extensive video quality test I have ever seen. You can check out this weeks video at http://www.zacuto.com/shootout . Below is just a trailer since the full video is not able to be embedded any longer

The Nikon D3s is Nikon's only DSLR capable of giving the user full manual control of video capture on the camera. This means you can control aperture, ISO sensitivity and shutter speed. In this post we'll explain how you can easily gain manual control of video on the Nikon D3s.

At this point we have discussed camera settings and audio gear. Now it is time for editing. If you shoot Canon or have a Mac this post really isn't for you. In this video I am talking directly to Nikon D300s users who will be editing with Adobe Premiere CS4. If you would like to learn quickly how to use Adobe Premiere CS4 then view the full post to see a list of helpful videos that we used to teach ourselves the software. UPDATE: EDIT NIKON VIDEOS IN FINAL CUT ADDED TO FULL POST.

So yesterday we talked about setting your camera to shoot video. Today we get a little more complicated. Let's chat about audio. Tomorrow we will take it one step further and discuss the most dreaded part of video... editing! If you have a Canon camera that shoots video, view the full post to check out a video on audio made just for you. We are slowly turning all of you photographers into videographers; you'll thank us later... or you could thank us now in the comment box below. >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XpjkBheeOQ<

3 months ago Patrick and I didn't have the slightest idea how to shoot or edit video but in seeing the importance and the power of this movement we decided to teach ourselves how. It was challenging and frustrating (especially with Nikon gear) but we finally learned enough to produce decent videos quickly. If you own a DSLR that shoots video we are going to make this simple for you. In the next 3 days we are going to release 3 videos that discuss: camera settings, audio, and editing. Today let's start with the camera settings on the D300s. View the full post to see a similar video for Canon cameras. <

I actually made a video about this over a year ago when I had no clue how to use Premiere. I also didn't have and wireless mics so I edited the whole video in movie maker and everyone who saw it said they couldn't hear me over the music. So we decided to reshoot it with our fancy D300s cameras, Sennheiser Mics, and Adobe Premiere. Hopefully you can understand me now because I am not going to do this again. Youtube version after the jump. ><

Have you ever had to move between 3-5 different environments and maintain consistent exposure and color among each scene? Many photographers move between several locations every half hour (studio setup, indoor bounce flash, outside natural light, low light video) and have to quickly reset their camera's settings over and over again. Imagine only having to hit one button to revisit your camera's settings for an environment you were just in 20 mins ago! There could be a faster way to make those transitions.

Why am I using digital SLR cameras and wireless radio triggers that are at the forefront of technology but I am also forced to use the PC sync cord which has been out for over 60 years. It never works and I want it to die. If you are on an iPhone click this article to watch this video on Youtube.

Have you ever been told by a professional photographer that the only way to increase your flash's refresh rate is to carry one of those frumpy battery packs that attach to your belt and wire up to your flash? What if there was another way to improve your flash's performance that did not require any extra cables or bulky battery packs? I may have just come up with the best alternative yet... <

In this video I discuss some of the pros and cons to both the Steadicam Merlin and the Flycam 5000. Obviously the Steadicam system is much more expensive than the Flycam system but the Merlin really does have some features that will make your life a lot easier especially when traveling. That being said, the Flycam does a really good job for the price, and I have no doubt that a good operator can get amazing results out of either system.

I own the Nikon 24-70 and 17-55 so why in the world would I choose to shoot video with the Tamron 17-50? Because it has VC (vibration compensation) which helps me keep my video nice and smooth. Head over to the full post to learn more about why I use this lens and to view the vimeo version of this lens.