Sony Hi8 Tapes (P-6120HMPL/3B) (P6120HMPL3B)
From Sony
No complaints!
We use these tapes in our Sony Camcorder and have never had a problem with them. The picture is clear and concise, colors are vivid and are good in both indoor light and outdoor light. Price is very good, usually more expensive elsewhere. I always feel comfortable with the Sony name.
Manfrotto 585 ModoSteady 3-in-1 Camera/Camcorder Stabilizer and Support System
From Manfrotto
Bogen Manfrotto MODOSTEADY: a unique innovative-designed, ergonomic, multifunction stabilisation system for lightweight camcorders. A "three-in-one" product: 1. A shoulder support. its bi-injected foot can be used as shoulder pod, so that the MODOSTEADY becomes an extension of the body. 2. A camcorder counterbalancing stabilizer, the counterbalancing stabilizer needs to be set in order to find the proper counterbalance position and weight, considering the weight and the centre of gravity of the camcorder. When balanced it is a very useful camcoder stabilizer, which improves a lot the quality the image when shot in movement. 3. Table Tripod: folding the extension arm, the bi-injected handle can be opened and MODOSTEADY becomes a table tripod, useful also for still-pictures. The Modosteady concept was invented by the design company Sapio and developed by Bogen Manfrotto.
A great little stabalizer
For the price it's well worth it, but not for every camera. I have quite a few cameras and I first tried setting it up for my EX-F1. The camera is right at the upper edge of it's capacity and found it hard to get the right setting. I was a bit tired and didn't work at it for too long and thought I just screw in this Aiptek 1080P I had sitting in the drawer and Wow! It took just a few tries at the settings and I was gliding around like a pro around the house. I downloaded the video and was amazed (I never thought I can shoot scenes like that). This may be my favorite setup for a while but of course I still love my EX-F1.
I have tried the Merlin Steadicam but returned it after a week of frustration using it for my Sony A1U. Too complicated for a hobbiest like me. It only balanced correctly once (hours of trying and watching the video) and never again, even after writing down all the settings.
Some here said the gimbal was too loose, the screw should be loosened not tightened when in use. I feel the gimbal was as good or better than the Merlin's. As for the price, have you ever purchased video camera accessories? Some look like they were made in the back of someone's garage and charge as they were made and developed in a ISO-9000 manufacturing plant. Not with the Modosteady, they really went all out to develop a great little stabilizer for the consumer venue. Yes, it's not a glidecam or a Merlin that will handle more weight capacity, it's just a great little stabilizer for a small modern camera. This is something you can take anywhere without lugging around an extra suitcase of equipment.
This is the first time reviewing something I purchased on Amazon, but had to on this one since I wasn't expecting this surprise.
Bogen Manfrotto camera system
An excellent product for the price. It doesn't match a $3000 hollywood camera "steadycam" set up, but it sure comes close. For my independent filmmaking I will be using it consistantly. Anyone will love it.
For 1/8th the price, a good steadycam
The Manfrotto Steadycam is a strange beast. In terms of effectiveness, it is on the low end of moderately effective steadycams. But it also comes in at about an eighth of the price of the next model up, the 800 dollar Merlin. By that metric, it's pretty amazing.
The Manfrotto specifically is a handheld gimbal - based stabilizer. It works because you carefully balance the swing arm underneath with whatever camcorder you put on top, so that no matter how you move your hand the camera stays forward and up. Small wrist shakes and other movements are absorbed by the carefully balanced gimbal, keeping your camera steady.
This is not an easy thing to do. It will take about 1/2 hour of configuration your first time to get the counterweights and positions right. Furthermore, shooting with a handheld steadycam is a somewhat different experience, considering you no longer have direct up / down control and left / right drifts with the gimbal. It takes quite a bit of practice to be comfortable shoot with a steadycam, and this one is no exception.
However, the Manfrotto does get high marks for convienience and accessability. Setup is genuinely easy to do (though a level indicator would have been nice), and can happen within about 60 seconds if you know what you're doing. The unit folds up to be about the size of a small camcorder. The plastic, while still plastic, doesn't feel cheap. And the tripod functionality has actually been occasionally useful. The weighting is not heavy enough for cameras above 5 lbs or so, but that is beyond pretty much all consumer-grade cameras.
If you've found that watching your home movies makes you nauseous, and you're interested in spending the time to learn to handle it, the ModoSteady is a good choice. It works pretty well, and you really can't beat the price.
Canon 6255A003 Neck Straps for Eos Rebel Series - Pro Neck Strap
From Canon
Pro neck straps for Eos Rebel series cameras.
A durable pain in the neck
My Canon 20D weighs about 5 pounds by itself and when purchased, included this durable fabric neck strap. The supplied neck strap is simple, basic, and advertises Canon boldly. That may be okay if you don't make much use of the strap or use light weight lenses. Take my camera however, and add any one of my heavy L lenses to it. The supplied neck strap can still do the job, but quickly becomes a pain in the neck.
Some people may feel the bold advertising brings attention to their camera equipment, causing one to think thieves are paying closer attention to them. While I think the camera itself is enough to get a thieves attention, I don't really know if this is a legit concern.
If you are looking to replace your camera strap, I would recommend saving some cash and consider the Tamrac N-45 foam padded leather camera strap with quick release buckles instead. For about $10 US less, the Tamrac N-45 quick-release padded leather camera strap provides comfort, durability, and convenience.
PROS:
Durable construction
CONS:
A pain in the neck when used with heavy cameras
Great Item for A Great Price
The only issue I have is that I brought this item for a 35mm film camera, not a digital. The picture does not show it, but the writing on the strap includes the word "digital". Other than that great strap!!
Great strap, but cheap buckles
I loved every aspect of this strap until one of the plastic buckles broke and dumped my 20d on the asphalt. ouch!! I just replaced it with the Op/Tech pro loop strap, which has much more subtantial buckles. The Op/Tech seems to be a much better strap for 10 bucks less.
Sony HVL-20DW2 Video Light for use with DCRVX2100, HDRFX1 & FX7
From Sony
switchable single-bulb/dual-bulb operation * mounts to compatible Sony camcorder's accessory shoe * lamp power consumption: 10 watts (one bulb)/ 20 watts (both bulbs) * lighting distance: approximately 40 lux (10 Watts), 80 lux (20 Watts) * lighting direction: horizontal * lighting angle: 26 degrees * Color temperature: 3,000 degrees K *
Sony's HVL-20DW2 double-decker camcorder light shines either 10 watts or 20 watts of light on the scene to help you capture footage in nearly any condition.
Compatible Models
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Sunshine on my shoulders...makes me happy.....
My Sony FX1 has great low light capability, 3 lux, but eventually you WILL need extra light. Using your software to lighten dark shots will likely reveal some degree of graininess, no matter which camera you use.
I'm so glad I bought it. Used it for my birthday party. Though the overhead light was good, dark corners of the room require more light. If you consider yourself advanced, semi-pro, or a pro videographer, you MUST HAVE a light.
My only major beef is it runs at either 10 or 20 watts. No variable for 5, or 15. It is worth getting a long life battery like the NP-970. Independent power source (battery) is a plus. But no outlet plug adaptor that I know of.
must have for low light digital stills
if you have pretty much ANY digital camera and want to do closeups or see what you're taking pix of before flash, you need this or similar light. A german company makes a high-wat LED video light but it has speckled pattern, not good for closeup stills. The light pattern on this is VERY even. Closeup up with light in one hand and camera in other, to cover an object 6 to 8 inches. pull back to widen light to 2 feet or more across. Keep the video light as close to camera as possible, will reduce shadows the camera sees. Even outdoors at 9000' in Colorado I found use for this, taking picture on shady trail where a plant was half in shade, will fix this.
bulbs are replaceable. Yet in 4 years of having one bulb never wore out, and heavy usage, 8 hours at a time. (3 fp-970 batteries, such as batterybarn.com sells will give you 8 hours light. the last time I got it off amazon, FP960 for $47 from computer brain. the new 15 hour camcorder batteries power this light for about 2 1/2 hours)
The onlything that eventually broke was the switch. Don't force it, push down the middle safety button when turning it on or eventually will break it. take battery out when travelling so won't go on accidentally. you can add a grip by getting a disk shaped tripod adaptor and screwing a hand grip such as hakuba's monopod / tablepod combo (the most comfortable grip there is, about $25 at places like Fry's) into the tripod adapter.
It gets warm, almost hot but keeps running no problem with vent slits. Even using it caving in Anza-Borrego, as we knew that we had for sure 2 hours on Li-ion batteries.
Anyway, for indoor shooting in converence halls with bad flourescent lighting, this brings out the colors. You can't use flash closer than about 2 feet with most objects or you get too much glare from reflection..
so use a video light instead for serious indoor shooting where you can't have a fixed light stand. use it in 10 watt mode for most objects, for tall or dark objects, switch to 20 watt. When battery is starting to run low, the light will only go into 10 watt mode.
I have the sony video light 3watt for dvd-403. I keep this on top of camera sometimes when too much hassle to get out video light. But it drains camcorder battery unlike this one, and light output alot lower. good for small objects tho.
and by all means, TURN ON FLASH when farther than 2' and object looks slightly dark. this helps ALOT in your pix. if it looks OK in viewfinder / lcd LEAVE FLASH OFF!
see flashlightreviews.com for general light patterns and battery life of other flashlights incl led lights you might want to buy.
IF sony would just come out with an LED version I'd be happy as a lark! It would last 10 hours or more.
Most flashlights throw uneven ring pattern so are unsuitable for lighting photos.
Worth the money
I do profesional videos. This light has a good lighting patterna nd seems to hold up under heavy working conditions. It is light and fairly durable. I highly recomend it to anyone who does interior or exterior shoots. Light range is optimal from a distance of 6 to 15 ft. Get it and get a upgraded battery it will last for hours.
Canon VL-5 Video Light for Mini Advanced Accessory Shoe
From Canon Video
Compatible for use with the following camcorders: VIXIA HF10, VIXIA HF100, VIXIA HF11, VIXIA HG20 and VIXIA HG21 or others with mini shoe
Not much brighter, but an upgrade from the Vixia's HF100's onboard light...
I just bought the Vixia HF100 camcorder and the built-in video light is adequate if in a situation where you MUST shoot in a very low light setting. Unfortunately, the HF100's light is very much on the cool-blue end of the light spectrum and makes for some ugly skin tones and just plain awful video in general. The VL-5 light, while perhaps emitting only 25 to 50% more lumens than the onboard light, has a distinctly warm tone, which translates into better skin tones and an overall acceptable image. The VL-5 is small but not "tiny" (protrudes 2 3/8" from top of camera, and measures 2 1/2" from front to back at the widest point). The light has a switch for "On, Auto, and Off." You can't use both the onboard light and the VL-5 at the same time (the HF100 won't allow it). IMPORTANT NOTE: You'll have to update the firmware of your Vixia camcorder to 1.0.2 in order to use this light (download from Canon's website). I attempted to use the updater on my Mac Pro and had a glitch with the update: it said that my camera could not be updated. I think I needed to disconnect all of my computer's connected USB devices (other than keyboard, mouse) so the updater would get a clear "read" on the camera). I used my MacBook Pro to install the update and it worked fine (took about 8 minutes). Though it's a certainly overpriced, I'm going to keep it; my night-time videos will at least progress from the camera's default unacceptable and dreadful blue tone to an acceptable warm tone. Note: I think that this is the only accessory light that will currently work with the new Canon Vixia camcorders' "Mini Advanced Shoe."
quality accessory
I bought this to use with my Canon HG-20 and the light works fine. It will turn on automatically when you begin to record when the light is not sufficient. It can also be set to stay on full time if you wish. The light runs on the camera's power so you don't have to worry about batteries, which is a feature I like alot. It also attaches easily as well without any undo effort. Once you slide it into its bracket, it has a small adjustment you turn to lock it in place, and it stays tight without moving until you unscrew that piece. The purchase was delived on time and I am pleased with the way AMAZON does its business. AMAZON clearly is one the best online merchants I have dealt with, and there are some real nightmares out there in TV land.
Overpriced, but I'm glad I bought it!
I just got this product for my Canon HG20 and I am very happy that I purchased it. It got rid of a lot of the low light noise that the HG20 has For such a small light, it is very bright and helps show the potential that the HG20 has. Highly recommended. I'm only taking 1 star off due to the price.
