Gear

It is insanely difficult to bring an idea for a product to market. One of the biggest impediments is, of course, cost. That's why I have the utmost respect for folks who put it all on the line to follow their dream, folks like Chris Field. Chris has invented the Lens Apparatus, a universally compatible lens controller for timelapse and DSLR videography follow focus control that looks like something all of us DSLR videographers will love.

Well first off, I am not positive anyone actually retained what the specs on the new iPhone 5S are going to be. Mostly because I'm sure the only thing running through their minds was 'I love goldddddd' from Austin Powers Goldmember. But lets push aside the fact that you can rock a phone that will glisten in the sunlight like a shiny olympic medal and talk about some of the much needed upgrades on the new 5S.

When you ask most filmmakers what their next purchase is, you'll like hear an answer like "A new camera body, some lenses and better audio gear". It's always easy (and fun) to lust over new and expensive gear, but often we forget to buy the little things that make our life on set much less stressful. Although these tools are extremely affordable, they will often be the ones that make you a hero on set. Here are some tools that every filmmaker should have in their gear bag:

Remember the Olympus E-5? If you don't, I can't say I blame you. It was Olympus's last attempt at a "professional" DSLR that was anything but. Everything about the E-5 felt outdated as soon as it was released. It's been years since the E-5, and Olympus is finally ready with its successor, the micro four thirds OM-D E-M1.

Think Tank announced a new bag and accessory case today that focus specifically on jiving with your favorite Apple products. The "My 2nd Brain" bag comes in three sizes for iPads and the different sized laptops, while the PowerHouse is an accessory bag to keep cords and whatnot in place. It's an interesting direction for the camera bag maker, to say the least.

The D7000 is an amazing camera. I shot weddings with it exclusively for 2 years and during that time we also filmed every Fstoppers video with them as well. Today only Adorama is selling refurbished versions of them on eBay for just $580! If you need a mid level DSLR, don't let this deal pass you by.

Ever taken a photo only to find dust and small hair particles on your sensor. It can be quite aggravating. Here is a quick and easy way to clean up your sensor and only spend $8 doing it.

Canon rather quietly snuck a new lens onto the market today, announcing the CN-E35mm T1.5 L F single-focal-length Cinema prime lens designed for large-format single-sensor digital cinematography cameras employing Super 35mm or full-frame 35mm imagers. This brings Canon's cinema lens family up to six.

Advertised as the "first consumer 4K camera by Sony," the FDR-AX1 is now available for pre-order at a (consumer friendly?) price of $4,499. It shoots 3840 x 2160p video at 60 fps on a 1/2.3" Exmor R 8.3MP CMOS Image Sensor through a Sony G Lens with 20x optical zoom. Sony says it has packed technology developed for their professional video cameras to create a compact, easy-to-operate 4K consumer model that's designed to make 4K video and professional-quality audio available to the masses.

Sony's highly discussed and hotly debated cell phone cameras (accessories?), the DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100 are now available for pre order. These camera/lens combo devices attach to Android and iOS devices using WiFi, but can also store images on a microSD card of up to 64 GB capacity. The products have been the subject of a lot of speculation and rumor over the past few weeks and they are finally available to order.

Beginning now until September 7, B&H Photo is offering $200 off of the Canon 35mm f/2.0 IS lens. Normally it goes for almost $800 but right now it's $599.00. In our review of the 35mm, we found it to be pretty on par with the L glass in terms of performance. It's tack sharp, has image stabilization and is equipped with a quiet, fast and reliable autofocus motor. Also on sale for a limited time are the Canon 24mm f2.8 and the Canon 28mm f/2.8 lenses.

Cell phone makers are really pushing the envelope with image quality in phones these days. It seems like new phones can't be released onto the market without some totally new and crazy feature enticing you to buy it. First was the Nokia Lumia 1020, now the Acer Liquid S2 which is the first smartphone to record 4K video.

One of RED digital cinema’s biggest strengths is building up hype around an upcoming product. The company is praised as innovators by the film community, for building cameras like the Epic and Scarlet. When other companies were content with 1080p, RED was building cameras with 4 times the resolution. Years later, RED users can’t help but chuckle as companies like Sony are developing 4k televisions – technology that RED’s competition once thought to be excessive.

Umbrellas have been a staple light modifier for decades. But if you’ve ever wondered why there are so many types, or how the light quality from your strobe is affected by the size, lining, fabric or shape of the umbrella, then this post is for you.

Red Rock Micro recently had the chance to interview Captain Hook, the person behind the latest BlackMagic Pocket Camera footage, and answer a couple of questions about the BMPC and it's performance. For you that do not know about the BMPC check out our earlier post on it.

Phottix has been steadily working its way up the ladder when it comes to reliable and affordable photography equipment. Much like Yongnuo, Phottix started in the marketplace as somewhat unreliable, but in recent years has done a lot to turn that around. Introduced a few months ago, the Phottix Luna collapsible beauty dish caught many an eye as a perfect answer for beauty lighting on the go. But the question remained: does it produce the same results as a real beauty dish?

Last week I posted a gorgeous video from Wolfe Air - their promo reel for aviation cinematography, and explained a bit of the process behind it. This week, I've found and put together a few videos which detail how they equip their planes and helicopters with some of the most advanced camera technologies available, and it's pretty mindblowing. In these videos, Wolfe Air loads up a Learjet with

If you've early-adopted to Canon's new STM motors, then you've probably been wishing there were a few more lenses available that you could make use of. Canon is releasing new STM lenses at a steady pace, and today announced the 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM, expanding the lineup of STM lenses to six total models. The new 70D will have STM compatibility, so this is certainly an area to keep an eye on.

Canon, makers of some of the more trusted point-and-shoot cameras, have announced four new members of their lineup, the PowerShot G16, the PowerShot S120, the PowerShot SX510 and the PowerShot SX170. The cameras feature advanced DIGIC imaging technology for high-quality images, and all four models have the ability to achieve faster autofocusing speeds than was possible with previous PowerShot models.

Following in the footsteps of Samsung who have the convenient "Share" button on their cameras, Canon has updated their tiny point-and-shoot with a feature they think fits right to the audience looking at a camera of this class: an built in Facebook share button. Canon is Facebook ready... are you?

Keeping up with the latest consumer demand, Wacom has just announced three new exciting products. The first two are portable Cintiq products. Thirdly, they've also come out with a stylus for the iPad that is pressure sensitive.

The always entertaining Kai from DigitalRev TV takes to the streets, armed with 3 different models of Canon 50mm lenses: The 1.8, 1.4, and 1.2L. Using phrases like "sphincter twitching" and "buying meth", he colorfully illustrates his points about choosing the right lens based on your budget and compares the look and feel of each model.

When calling ourselves artists, we also inherently accept the title of “story teller”. We each use different mediums, but our goals are ultimately the same: Creating memorable and engaging content. We use art to tell stories in beautiful and unique ways, which in turn helps connect us together.

Voightlander, maker of one of the sharpest pancake lenses I've ever used, has a new lens on the market, and it's unbelievably fast. Their new 42.5mm f/0.95 lens has the potential to be amazing if you're in the market for a new micro four thirds prime, and with an equivalent to 85mm after factoring the crop magnification, this lens could be amazing for portraits and is available for pre-order now for shipping by August 21.

eBay rolled out a new feature to their website with "My Gadgets" which can track current prices of the gear you are looking to sell.

I am sure some are out there saying "Ya that's what eBay does, you big dummy" but this looks to be a different feature on the surface. It is more like a location on your account to track and manage items you add to your gadgets page and keep tabs on current selling prices.

Because we cover a lot of news, we often get sent a slough of press releases from companies looking to get their product out to the masses. Today I received a release from Fotopro who announced a new line of colorful tripods. Sound familiar? It should, because they look exactly like MeFoto tripods.

Think Tank just announced the release of it's new sling camera bag collection, the TurnStyle. Designed to be lightweight with easy access to your gear, the bags come in three sizes to match specific needs. Think Tank says the new bags are ideal for DSLRs in the larger options to mirrorless and smaller cameras in the more compact sized bags. These hybrid bags can be worn as a shoulder sling bag or as a belt pack for increased versatility and comfort.

A small team based in Melbourne, Australia wants to change how you view your studio lights. They say their new invention, the LED Light cube, offers answers to age-old problems. Their Cube has no recycle time, better control over light output and no external battery packs. Due to The LED Light Cube using an LED model rather than a filament, the Cube can just as easily double as a video light as well as a flash. Sounds cool right?

A few months ago, wedding photographer and Fstoppers writer, Trevor Dayley made a post about his favorite thing in his camera bag. Spoiler - it was a tilt shift lens, and the work he was able to produce with it made for some interesting and beautiful wedding and engagement photos. However, Trevor and I shoot entirely different styles, so what's my favorite thing in my camera bag?

We've all had that moment. You're out shooting on location, the shots are looking great, the weather's perfect, and then CRASH... a rogue gust of wind tears through your set and blows over your light stand. Bummer, but there's one piece of gear you can take on a shoot to prevent this kind of catastrophe, and it's not a sandbag.