Danny Grizzle
Forum Replies Created
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I also have a Stedicam Merlin with Arm and Vest, but frankly I don’t know that I would buy it again given what I am doing with the HX9V. I did purchase a pistol grip by Barska at Amazon for $12 – highly recommended. Afterwards, I found a video review of this exact rig on cheesycam.com, and it is accurate about the tripod screw being a bit too long. However, you don’t have to grind the metal screw shorter as they suggest. You can fix the issue by adding a shim using a few layers of gaff tape or a single layer of any other adhesive pad that can be cut to fit the camera stage and basically make it a tiny bit taller.
OTOH, the Jobi Gorrilapod Video Tripod achieve the same end result by simply gripping all three legs as a handle, though the Barska is a much nicer pistol grip and the rubberized finish is very nice to the touch. Considering the low cost, I recommend purchasing them both.
One further thing I did was to purchase a Zacuto Z-finder glue on frame so that I could mount my existing Z-finder to the HX9V. I had an older Z-finder; I don’t know if the latst version still offers a glue on option. But the size and fit is perfect. The finder costs more than the camera, and I wouldn’t have done this except I already had the finder, so cost to me was only $11 for an extra glue on mount. But if you are working outside in bright sunlight a lot, this is an option. Frankly, shooting indoors, I don’t use the Z-finder. You can get great Steadicam like shots using only the Barska grip, and with a camera this featherweight, all the things you read online about the value of multiple points of contact with your body are really overrated.
Don’t get me wrong, the HX9V is not perfect. Lack of manual control can be an issue, but not a terrible problem.
FYI – my next camera is going to be a Sony NEX-7, but *not* as a replacement for the HX9V. It might be easy to think the NEX-5n or NEX-7 are an upgrade, but for me the HX9V has earned a place in my package, and knowing what I know about it, I would make the purchase again instantly even if I already had an NEX camera.
My motivation on the NEX-7 is large sensor, full manual control, intercutting with my 5D Mk II. But the big attraction is I have 10 Canon FD lenses that have been in mothballs for a decade, and the NEX will put these back into service.
I actually view the small sensor of the HX9V as an asset, because large sensor shallow DOF and lack of auto focus is a real dangerous combination on a handheld camera being used for Steadicam type work.DSLRs are a challenge to begin with, and it is easy to push them beyond the limits of the most skilled operator. I’d rathe have sharp footage and interesting shots than to ruin my reputation with constant failure on overreaching, always soft and even horribly out of focus camera work. Shallow depth of field is great, but not if you can’t control it.
The HX9V is a really sweet camera. For $300, you can’t go wrong.
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I’m even more jazzed about the Sony HX9V today than I was yesterday.
Go to Amazon.com and search for “pico dolly”. Perfect inexpensive tabletop dolly for the HX9V – in fact, the HX9V is featured in many of the promo videos.
I just bought the $99 Pico Dolly kit, which includes a flex arm and a carry bag. Cool.
BTW – I also purchased a Cinemover this morning from moveyourcamera.com. These are two different animals. The Pico Dolly is tiny and cool, but looks limited to smooth counter tops. A major plus is the Pico Dolly can be set to track on a radius, an added dimension similar to curved dolly track.
The Cinemover looks like a poor man’s Kessler Shuttlepod, able to use improvised track that can be virtually anything that is smooth and straight with parallel sides, like a rail or a piece of lumber. Cinemover has the ability to use elevated track in rough terrain with dolly travel limited only by the length of improv rail you can find. I’m thinking a 12′ board would easy to get — a major increase over typical 3′ slider limits, all at very low cost. You could run the thing beneath a car in your automotive production. I’ve seen neat shots with guys running a dolly move over things like a flowing stream, an impossible shot with a conventional dolly but easy considering propping up a board to create a bridge.
Both Pico Dolly and CineMover can carry cameras up to DSLR size.
The CineMover costs about $80.
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Something else you should look at – the brand new Sachtler Ace. So new, in fact, it has not shipped, but it is due any day now:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/822102-REG/Sachtler_1001_Ace_Fluid_Head_with.html
I’m a believer in quality support. Cameras these days are changing every 6 months. But I’ve got one Gitzo tripod for my still cameras that I bought 30 years ago, and it is still going strong.
B&H is listing the Sachtler Ace at $535, which is half what I paid for the Gitzo.
There are already reviews online for the Sachtler Ace – search YouTube and Vimeo.
Is this the first time you have bought a video tripod? If so, I can tell you this: it all comes down to balance and backlash. This is much different than a still tripod head, because a video tripod head must move, and the movement is visible in the shot.
Balance is critical in a video tripod head because it is essentially levitating a weight in the air above itself. Here’s the catch: when you tilt forward or tilt back, it needs to remain in balance. Not close, but perfect. To accomplish this, good video heads incorporate springs and cams. Even if you tilt forward so far the lens is aiming at the floor and the camera is hanging off the side of the head, it is all still in balance. Perfect balance. In other words, not dependent on operator muscle pressure to maintain position. Muscles become fatigued, and shots are ruined.
Which brings up the second essential for video tripods: freedom from backlash. Backlash is what happens when your muscles cause a move in the tripod head, but at the end of the move, muscle pressure is removed. Cheap tripods suffer backlash – a slight rebound movement as pressure on the pan bar is removed. This backlash resets composition slightly. It is visible and ruins the shot.
Manfrotto video heads are notorious for these kinds of problems. Don’t get me wrong, I know a lot of people like them and they have a huge market share. But they are strictly entry level in pro gear.
It is critical that you buy a tripod rated at the weight of the camera you intend to use. The Sachtler tripod mentioned here is a very low priced model from a company with a very high end reputation. So everyone has their eye on it.
I’ve used the phrase “perfect balance” several times. My Vinten Vision Blue has a feature called “perfect balance” which specifically means this tripod has a mechanism where the internal balance springs can be continuously tensioned to dial in exact compensation for the weight of a specific camera. BTW – there are 3 Libec tripods with the exact same capability, which is why I mentioned that brand to you. You’ll have to read up on their website to find the specific models and determine from there if it is priced within your abilities. Or, buy a Sachtler Ace. No perfect balance, but probably a better product than Manfrotto and certainly a lot more brand cachet.
One final note on the tripod. A ball head allows you to level the camera almost instantly. This is essential so that pans don’t skew off towards the sky or down at the floor. Without a ball head, it is a time consuming pain to work with leg locks individually until the platform is level. Center colums are strictly for still camera tripods. With video, you are applying lateral thrust as you operate the head to pan and tilt. This works great on a real video tripod, where the force is applied at the convergence of all three legs, the point of maximum strength. But if you crank up a center column, you are asking for problems with backlash because there is some degree of flex that is unavoidable in an extended center column. No big deal for stills, but fatal for video.
Too much information, but maybe it will save you or someone reading this from learning things the hard way. I bought a half dozen cheap video tripods before I figured it out.
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I recently purchased a Sony DSC-HX9V for $300, and I am smitten. So much so I have been using it all week as my only camera for the birth of a grandson, even though I have 5D Mk II, 60D, and T3i at my fingertips.
You will need a 32GB Class 10 SD card ($40) and spare batteries (amazon has a 3rd party bundle with 2 batteries and a charger for $12). I also got a Jobi Gorillapod Video Tripod for under $18, and it is very cool.
Here’s the best trick with this camera: get a Giottos mini ball head, the smallest one they make, only $12. You also need a Rode Micro Boom Pole, maybe $79. Now you have a camera mounted on the end of an audio boom pole, much like how a microphone would normally be positioned.
For about $400, you have an HD camera system that will do 1080p at up to 60fps(!), and it will get shots that are impossible with normal cameras. I have found this little rig will do extraordinary things documenting men working, because you can get angles and into positions that would interfere with a larger rig, or be dangerous. Not only that, but the camera audio can be very good also, thanks to getting the camera’s on board mics in close to the action.
Mounting the camera on a mic boom pole allows shots that look identical to conventional crane or jib work. You can fly the camera like a Steadicam also, either on the boom pole or handheld.
The video is so good, this may become your main camera for the mechanic productions.
The HX9V lens is great, 24-300mm equivalent. Full time auto focus, even while recording. A fantastic optical image stabilizer makes all this handheld work possible. Finally, the HDMI output is live during recording, making monitoring possible.
I like it so much, I have ordered a SmallHD DP4 EVF/monitor, plus some RAM brand mounting hardware to affix the monitor to the Rode boom. Actually, I am probably going to upgrade my boom to the Rode full 10′ model, to get higher crane type shots.
You should research this further by searching for the HX9V on YouTube and Vimeo. I own tons of equipment, but this little camera is the best bang for the buck I have ever purchased.
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For sports video, I’d give serious consideration to a Sony NEX-5n. You can inexpensively adapt any lens known to man onto it, except Canon EOS due to electronic aperture. 1080p @ 60fps!
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My advice is don’t cut corners on your support or audio. I’m off Manfrotto gear, although I appreciate their comprehensive line of specialty items. My most recent Manfrotto purchase was a magic arm, and I also bought their video monopod recently, though it has had issues with binding in the foot ball joint that has transmitted jarring jolts that are visible on camera as tension builds in the joint, then releases like a little mini earthquake.
At an absolute minimum, I would look carefully at the Libec line of video tripods out of Japan. This manufacturer seems committed to high quality and value pricing. I would not consider any Manfrotto tripod with a geared center colum and a flat mounting base for the head. Any proper video tripod should have a ball mount.
Libec is available at B&H, and the prices start very low. See:
That said, I’ll warn that I have never seen or used a Libec product. But I was shopping for support recently, and read everything I could find about them on the net, plus lots of reviews on YouTube and Vimeo.
Ultimately, I purchased a Vinten Vision Blue. Do your homework on this, and good luck!
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Yeah, I was doing the math on crash costs. Still, considering what I’ve spent on real helicopters in the past, these things are not out of the realm of possibility. Frankly, the RC helicopters fit my shooting style better anyway, and they could be flown a lot closer in to the shot than a real helicopter.
I don’t live in L.A., and I don’t get to work with pilots who are experienced flying for real cinematographers. So it is always an issue to get them to understand what we are going for, and everything about flying slow and low goes against their natural instincts to get high and free and clear of obstructions soon as possible. You get these guys low to the ground, and they want to start evasive maneuvers on any radio tower 2 miles distant.
If you let the typical helicopter pilot call the shots, you might as well download satellite imagery from Google Earth.
As I was watching the online videos, I was looking for tight shots and proximity to obstructions. These guys delivered, which to me shows confidence in their equipment and skills. Most impressive are the low altitude work, passes past trees, the trucking shots over rough terrain beside a group of mountain bikers, and some over the shoulder shots of mountain bikers with the helicopter flown down a forest trail.
Over water shots of white water rafting were also great, inside a rocky gorge. Also, the tight shots of mountain climbers on a sheer rock wall were very impressive.
What they don’t say is how framing is accomplished and what kind of shooting ratios & time were involved. There is bits and pieces of information on the site about camera gimbal mounts, implying a monitoring downlink and separate controls for the cinematographer apart from the pilot’s flight control. If so, that would be awesome. There is also reference to GPS and software programming and control on a dedicated netbook laptop. If the copter could be programmed to fly a repeatable pattern highly accurately, that would open up tons of possibilities for staging shots.
If anybody has experience, I’d love to hear about it. This is all fascinating, but certainly not an impulse purchase.
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Jason, I actually meant the comment in terms of where my purchasing is directed right now, at support systems. I’ve recently updated my Microdolly jib to retrofit it to DSLR production, plus added a Kessler Pocket Dolly, Revolution Head, and Oracle Controller with motors.
The build quality on Kessler equipment is not up to Microdolly standards, and Kessler is a bit rough around the edges with lots of basic hardware store fasteners, etc. Kessler is also not as well thought out for transport and travel. Lots of loose parts, machine work less than awesome, square tubing without radiused edges, and tools required for assembly. But overall, I love the Kessler gear I have purchased; it is priced right, and it adds amazing production value. Microdolly does all that and is manufactured to a high standard of industrial art, but lacks any motorized motion control.
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I’ve already got an OKII. The #2 option is most interesting to me.
#3 seems a bit overreaching. I’ve got a SmallHD, and Marshall monitors are highly regarded also. Monitoring is a different kettle of fish. If you try to do everything, chances are you won’t get anything really right.
These devices are most interesting for people who have to operate a camera from a remote position. Like a crane or jib. In which case, there are other issues. I just purchased a Kessler Revolution head with Oracle Controller. This will be delivered middle of the week. If Kessler were to add OKII like functions to their pan/tilt controller, that would make for a more interesting device than USB follow focus combined with a monitor. But perhaps things are best as they are, because this gets to be too much for a single operator anyway, and separate controllers are best if working with an assistant.
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P.S. – 1080p 60fps does not display on the SmallHD. Reviews pan the audio, and how can they not given stereo mics on top deck of camera. Nevertheless, if you use this in wide angle in-your-face angles like I do, that puts the mic very close to the subject and yields better audio than you might expect. The built-in lens is phenomenal, 24mm -300mm equivalent. One downside – almost no manual controls. I can confirm that it tends to overexpose, and I routinely set auto exposure -2/3 stop when outside in daylight. The battery does not last too long when shooting video, and it must charge inside the camera. I bought a spare, but you can’t charge while shooting. I agree with one review that “the HX9V is the Canon 5D Mk II” of compact cameras for video.