DIY Video Gear Build Log

[Luke]

Well, I am going to be doing a lot of filming, and I have been spending a lot of money lately. So i decided to save money. Built some low cost stuff that would have cost me literally hundreds

Fig Rig out of mostly PVC

Boom China Ball (The china ball part is on order though, wiring is done)

Mic Boom with home made shock mount

1000w Dimmer


Thinking about making a slider, but not until I see a need for one, not needing it right now.

For the moment I will be filming with a Nikon D5100. Not the best for video, but its what I have on hand. Will be upgrading to a Canon T3i or something similar as soon as I can.

Will be posting Pics of everything tomorrow.

 

[Matt77]

Cool man, enjoy!

 

[patonb]

I'm thinking youre not making the sliers I'm thinking of cause you can buy those froozen.

Good to see you back and about.

 

[overlord20]

Sliders taste better home made though.

 

[Luke]

Well. Got everything done. Fig rig was a bit tricky to get together, had to modify a few parts but got it together. The shock mount also had to be modified, but the new design ended up being quite a bit better.

Fig rig works awesome, just as good as the real thing, just doesnt look as compact.

This is pic of the mounting I used. Its just a 4 inch 1/4 inch bolt with two machined nuts, a washer, and butterfly nut. Pvc cap in the middle of the two nuts to attach it to the figrig. Makes it easy to take the camera on and off.

The Rig With my Nikon D5100 on it.

1000 Watt Dimmer Contained in a wall box, because i was lazy and used what I had.

Boom light. Really simple. Just an extension cord with one end not a plug, attached it to a light bulb receptacle, taped over the joint for it was secure. Looks pretty cheap but works extremely well actually. The china ball will go over the light once it gets here. Providing a softer omni light source.

Shock mount. A few design changes later and I ended up with a 2 inch PVC T, with a 2 inch to 1 inch threaded bushing, then a threaded 1 inch bushing to a threaded 1/2 inch bushing. Elastics are held on by some small brackets I got at my local hardware store. Zip tie was not needed, i have it on there to space the brackets out while testing it before i screwed them on, never took them off.

Mic in the shock mount snuggly

Foam Grips I added to isolate the disturbance of the boom pole moving even more.

3.5 MM gold plated 20 foot extension cable goes down the boom. Joint is near the top for i can take the mic off easily.

If I had purchased the stuff. The dimmer would have been 50 to 70 dollars. Fig Rig 320. Boom pole and shock mount anywhere from 150 to 250. The amount I spent on everything was 110, plus 24.99 for the mic extension cable.

 

[PP Mguire]

Super cool.

 

[steve10765]

wow really nice job man!

 

[Oreo]

This is some awesome ghetto video equipment. Love it.

T3i is a good choice... just be wary of it's low light video capabilities. There are DSLR's with sensors better suited to low light than that one.

Over all it is a great camera with a great choice of lenses and some useful features for recording video. I would say apart from the T4i it's the best all rounder. T4i has the benefit of STM for video. But if you plan on doing lots of low light video, there are cameras that are going to give you cleaner footage at night.

 

[overlord20]

While that may be there aren't really any prosumer quality in that price range that will be anywhere near as good..

Here is the home made stuff I have.

When using the bigger bottom mount handle, I mount my mic to the shoe and when using the shoe handle I mount the mic to an L brack that screws into the tripod hole.

 

[Luke]

T3i is a good choice... just be wary of it's low light video capabilities. There are DSLR's with sensors better suited to low light than that one.

Over all it is a great camera with a great choice of lenses and some useful features for recording video. I would say apart from the T4i it's the best all rounder. T4i has the benefit of STM for video. But if you plan on doing lots of low light video, there are cameras that are going to give you cleaner footage at night.

low light is actually a priority that i have. However in the price range I will have the best thing I can get is the T3i.