DIY: Video Clamp

This is one useful piece of equipment.  Really simple and cheap.  Has multiple uses.  I grew to rely on it for almost every shoot.  I have no idea what to call it, so I just call it video clamp.  Put together in one short session from parts found in my grip box.
You take eBay C-clamp ($9), remove the spigot and attach in its place a metal shelf bracket ($6) and add to its tip a small ball head ($6). Done.
I use it to mount audio or video recorder to the light stand.  The substantial length of the bracket ensures that the camcorder's flip out screen can be manipulated freely.  I also like the clamp's rubberized surfaces being gentle on my equipment.  Nice!

New Project Idea: A Day in the Life - Campbell

Inspiration: A Day in the Life: San Francisco 
Minus aerial shots.
Plus a female figure (camera following her, her face never seen) unifying all the experiences.
Sometimes others (a kid, her girlfriend) joining her.
About 3min total clip length.
Iconic locations, may not be in this order:

• water tower and the swingset
• Library and surroundings
• Ainsley house
• Farmer's market - live music
• Basketball field and the Los Gatos Creek trail

Retail:

• Whole foods
• Pruneyard - dining, live music
• Sports Basement

 Dining

• Orchard Valley
• Sonoma Chicken &

Businesses:

• eBay
• Barracuda
• On-Site

Shooting Video with GH3 - Impressions

BorrowLenses.com delivered!
GH3 and 35-100 2.8 lens fit and finish are nice.  I'd say similar to my D600.  Feels good in the hand.  Light.  Lens focuses fast and quietly.  Bad news is the flip out display is wobly.

Almost immediately I bumped into GH3 stopping recording unexpectedly.  Scared me! Actually it's just that about 10 seconds into the recording display changes.  Weird.  They say this is to avoid burn-in on the OLED display.  To pop display back all you need to do is to either press display button or to wave your hand in front of the eye piece.  Hmm...

Planning a GH3 Test

Delivering value to my customers is my highest priority.  And shallow depth of field screams value.  At least I think so.  Even for event video.  So now I consider replacing (at least one of) my camcorders with a larger sensor camera.  The D600 and lenses I own proved to be a poor choice for shooting event video.  On the other hand I love the way my Canon VIXIA HF G10 does face recognition and auto-focus.  I am comfortable with its image quality provided I keep AGC below 10dB.  Offcourse given the size of its sensor it is not surprising the depth of field is big.  Anyway.  A separate audio recorder takes care of audio so I have no pressing need to have a camera with XLR inputs.  Here is what I am looking for in a video camera....