Sydney Seeber

They all do, they just all look terrible. Borderline unusable if you ask me, there really isn't much comparison between the two outputs. I actually own the blackmagic version, but the Aja works better. I swear there was a thread a while back that asked the same question

you pretty much answered your own question Aja is pretty much your best solution, shot of using a different camera like the 1D Mark IV.

hoorah for another $1000 product with an 18 month life span... That seems to be more and more popular. What I don't get is their follow focus that supposedly controls three motors... But only one at a time. Maybe I missed something.

The "Something like that" I was referring to is this photographer's wireless solution he's building out of his garage... I have been tempted hundreds of times to buy one of those 2.4ghz thingies at Fry's and try to use them as a wireless solution... Then I see the demo model drop out, and I remember why it's a bad idea. wireless HDMI (When it's 1/10th the current size) for the win

you can find something like that at Fry's or Wal Mart And they have warranties

d'oh rhymes with doe that's what I did there

well if "antler" is unavailable, maybe d'oh?

like I said, athletics are played on an emotional level just as much as a physical one. The closer the camera physically gets to the action, or accidentally gets in the middle of said action, the greater the risk of "Problems". Personally I don't hold much weight to this whole spitting thing. If he's a doucher off the field, (I really have no idea) well that's unfortunate, but I'm of the opinion that what happens on the field has very little to do with what happens off of it. Some of the best athletes in history are well known in athletic circles for being uber competitive on the court/field, and in some cases, real assholes. Michael Jordan is a great example. Most people out there know how dynamic and nice he seemed off court.

see, now there's your problem. A camera op is on a playing field to find a usable shot and stay the f*ck out of the way... 50:50. As far as you wanting a particular shot... c'mon, bro. Find it. Sports isn't narrative drama.

the closer the cameras get the more this is gonna happen. No matter what the sport is, the game is ruled by emotion. If you're a sports camera op guy, you're just that... A camera op. Emotion does not rule your day. sensing when to back the f*ck up should be part of the job responsibility. (That particular comment wasn't directed at this scenario in particular... Just in general, as this happens more and more these days) I'm of the opinion that there's too much crap on all playing fields these days. On the other side of the fence, it's both cool and annoying at the same time.

yeah, that's probably electronic. I use a lot of Canon DSLR cameras and it happens all the time with them. It'll just jitter for a half second or so, and sometimes drop a frame or two, maybe freeze for 3 frames. It happens here and there with other prosumer cameras as well when you throw a lot of sustained movement at them, which a Steadicam will introduce. Running through a forest with lots of tiny leaves isn't helping

gonna be honest... I did the same thing during my athletic days back in 1998... It was handheld, but the camera dude swung around and clocked my upside the head with the lens when he did so... I slapped his camera pretty hard, so I can relate a bit

your numbers aren't adding up there... Sure, you may have to add a weight here or there to make up for a camera's wacky balance, but that camera had been used countless times in the very setup you mention. Are you sure you're not adding extra peripherals or something?

no, they just attach the lens to the rail system

you have to use the lens gear adapters, for the most part each Canon lens has a unique adapter... Lots of places rent them now, they're insanely cheap. The cool ones attach together as two halves via magnets. Definitely my favorite, but they cost a little more. Sometimes the matte box is enough to keep the camera from moving when the motor is in motion, but I'm of the opinion that a lens stiffener is almost a requirement.

You could always use another of their products, this thing http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/EyeTV-HD/product1.en.html then EVERYone can watch the live video over wifi and 3g on their favorite Apple device of course you'd probably need like 11 pounds of converter shit attached to the camera, but you're paying for convenience

You're not going to notice 1 rainy day much. It's going to fly by at 1/30th of a second (Or 1/24, 1/25, depends on the final chosen frame rate) I mentioned 1 a day, because any other number will require a special timer or many more frames you end up throwing out. I mentioned noon because it's the time of day that changes the least throughout the seasons. 1 frame a day is going to play back at around a 30 second animation, depending on the frame rate chosen. That's a pretty decent length. Interval timers (There's a couple of names for them out there) work simply by triggering the shutter at specific intervals. In other words, if we were to use your 12 times a day, the shutter would release every 2 hours, making at least half of those frames unusable, as it would fire at night. (As with anything, there's a solution, but it will cost you.) During winter, clearly less would be usable... a minimum interval for that would be 1 frame an hour if you wanted close to 12 usable frames per day. So now you're talking close to 20,000 recorded images. Certainly a doable thing, but that will require some work on the part of the OP in that he'll have to change out media every once in a while, which I would recommend doing anyway. I mentioned 1 frame a day as a a starting point as it's the easiest option. More is nice sure, but it's going to get complicated pretty quick. You'll have to do a test to see if the camera can use auto iris (And maybe shutter) to give you a usable image at all times of the day, as manual is not an option. Shooting at noon alleviates this somewhat, but not entirely. One thing that might be pretty cool is that if one were to shoot 24 frames per day, the animation could be created in After Effects (Or whatever your favorite tool might be, Final Cut is not an option) to play back as starting in the morning and finishing up in the evening. That would take some time, but would be a pretty cool result.

If it were me, I'd just take one image per day. That's a pretty decent length for a timelapse. I'd set it up to record that single image at 12PM every day, as there's not much you can do about the seasons changing. I highly recommend against moving the camera. That never turns out well. Don't use batteries either... I'd leave it on a power supply. Who knows if it'll last that long, but it'd be fun to try

I do time lapses all the time. If it were me, I'd get an older Nikon, maybe a D300, that you can set and forget. The reason I'd go that route is that interval recording is already built into the Nikon firmware, and you need extra parts to do it with Canon. If you don't care about the quality, you can also do it with countless small camcorders (Many of them have that option built in) cameras that you could just leave on a charger/power supply. The difference in quality between a DSLR and one of those cameras would be pretty significant though. The thing is, you've got a REALLY long time to work with. As far as an automatic timer, it might be easier to go with the external shutter controls that both Canon and Nikon make for their cameras, as that interval may be to great for the built in option... With such a huge time interval, you may even be able to do it manually.

I'm gonna reiterate my point because it wasn't understood clearly. The tone in the responses you received has less to do with the product itself and more to do with the way you pitched it. On a side note, I said Snuggie, not Snuggles.

To be honest, your original post reads like a Snuggy infomercial. I really think the negativity you feel you're receiving has a lot more to do with that than the product itself. You have to admit, there are several unrealistic statements in that post.

While I may not be the Steadicam expert, I have been lifting weights on a regular basis for over 2 decades and played a team sport on a national level for a few years. During that time I had access to some of the best strength training this nation has to offer. I can say without a doubt that after maybe 6 or so years working with a Steadicam, none of that physical training helped make me a better operator. If it did, guys like Lawrence Taylor might put down the cocaine and/or underage prostitutes and pick up a rig. While I do believe some sort of pack mule ability is necessary, I am of the opinion that probably 95% of what I've needed to learn over the last 6 or so years has been finesse, and I have a pretty long road to travel still. I guess what I'm saying is, going to the gym is good for your health and keep doing it... If your vest is expanded to its max and you're thinking about getting longer straps, or you're in danger of a light breeze blowing you into oncoming traffic, then your abilities might benefit from regular visits to the 24 hour fitness

No

I was gonna make a joke (I assumed almost the entire thing was created in post) and say how hard it must have been for the actors to freeze in place the whole time... Until I saw there that in fact, that's basically what they did