Final Rig Configuration for NAB 2014

The last piece of my "Frankenrig" arrived on Saturday - so here's the final configuration I'll be using for interviews and B roll on the show floor at NAB.

Instead of a static picture, as in my first post on "Frank", I shot a short video to point out all the pieces/parts - and try out my new Audio Technica AT8004L handheld mic (on sale for $89 plus shipping right now at Adorama).

This setup is for shoulder-mounted work and not really for mounting on a tripod, due to oscillation. But the ability to mount it on the tripod will still be convenient for interviews (and for giving my shoulder a rest).

And, given that it's NAB, there will probably be plenty of people with huge cameras and tripods walking around - so I won't look too strange.

If you have a mirrorless camera with an EVF, and you'd like to build your own in-line rifle style rig, the parts list is in the display ads below - or you can go directly to the video and order from the links in the "About" section.

Hope to see you at NAB!

My GH3 Rig for NAB

I finally broke down and bought a set of rails. I'll be doing some one-man band interviews and B-roll with my GH3, Sigma 18-50mm constant f/2.8 lens, Audio Technica AT835b mic and Hosa MIT-156 XLR to 3.5mm transformer adapter at NAB next week, and since I'll be putting a new F&V R-300 LED Ring Light in front of the camera, I needed a set of rails.

The least expensive option I could find was a set of $21 40cm/16-Inch rods with end caps, a $30 camera mounting plate, a $30 quick release, a $23 RainbowImaging pistol grip, a $7.50 Pixel remote cable for Panasonic cameras and a $35 convertible shoulder pad/shotgun rest.

Please subscribe to the blog to catch my updates from NAB next week - and I'll definitely let you know how the new rig works out!

The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Has Arrived!

It's here!  I've been out of town for the past couple of days, so I haven't had a chance to unbox it, but looking forward to getting it powered up and ready to shoot.  All of the accessories I need are here - except for the step-up ring I need to mount the ND filter, which should arrive in the next few days - so I'll stick to interiors for now.

In the meantime, my $27 Kamerar 20cm Hot Shoe Extension came in, and Professor Tu was right.  This is a great way to mount multiple accessories.  I especially like the way he tilted the external recorder back, making it easy to monitor sound levels from behind the camera.  For cameras such as the EOS M, Pocket Cinema Camera and GH3 (whose sound meters disappear after a few seconds of recording), this is essential.

Fortunately, the Pocket Camera and the GH3 both have headphone jacks (unlike the EOS M), so it's not a problem that my recorder doesn't have separate line and headphone outputs.  I do wish that this was a more common feature, however, and I'll never buy another recorder without separate output jacks.

Here are a couple of pics of my "poor man's rig" with the GH3, pistol grip, $27 hot shoe extension, $160 Tascam DR-40 , $29.90 CoolLCD top handle, with my $75 used eBay AT835b mic and $32 Windtech MM-21 mic muff mounted on a $25 Campro Deluxe Shock Mount.  I can remove the whole thing from the camera by unscrewing it from the hot shoe and removing the Sescom cable between the recorder and the camera, the setup costs less than a cage would have, it works like a champ and I look forward to trying it on the Pocket.

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Poor man's XLR jack for GH2/GH3

I was tired of noisy amateur "shotgun" mics with poor off-axis noise rejection, poor frequency response and flimsy little 3.5mm jacks and consumer cable.  I wanted to upgrade my mic quality - but I didn't want to spend a lot of money for a JuicedLink or Beachtek preamp/XLR to DSLR adapter.

 I heard that some people were running battery powered XLR mics directly into 3.5mm jack equipped camcorders and cameras with line matching transformers - so I set out on a quest to see if  could make it work - and I did.

I'm now running a $75 used Audio Technica AT835 mic (sourced from eBay) directly into my GH2 with a $15 Hosa Low Z to High Z transformer and a $5 Hosa GPM-467 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter.  The windscreen is a $55 Olsen Mic Muff MM-21. It works really well for my application (standups right in front of the camera for my vlog).

The preamps on the GH2 are not great, but they are good enough for this - and the GH3's are even better.

No phantom power - but that's what battery powered mics are for.

When this setup is connected to the GH3, I won't need the GPM-467 any more.  A lot less expensive than Panasonic's $349 OEM solution :)