Here’s another episode of GearIn60 on an underwater housing from Nauticam. Nauticam has a ton of housings for all sorts of DSLR cameras, this particular housing is the NA-60D which is specific to the Canon 60D DSLR camera. In this short review, I show how the housing enabled us to get a dynamic waterfall jump shot, a reverse of this shot from below (that was shot in a pool with scuba gear), and also another shot that required splashing the camera lens. Watch this Gear in 60 Seconds video below, and detail pictures follow…

The story is a narrative short adventure film for Christ In Youth, for their “Believe” youth tour event. In this scene, the main characters are being chased by “sandmen,” and are forced to jump off the waterfall to escape. We figured the best way to add drama to the jump would be to follow our characters off the falls, similar to what has been done in the Bourne series of films. The film was directed by CIY’s MD Neely, gaffed by Kendal Miller, and myself Matt Jeppsen was the Director of Photography and operator on these shots.

This was shot on a Canon 60D at 720/60p, with the Canon L-series 14mm prime lens. The slow-motion shot from the side angle was a FS100 using the stock 18-200 lens, at 1080/60p. The Nauticam NA-60D housing was equipped with a beautiful DP-230 port by Zen Underwater, and delivered perfect clarity and controls. It’s the best underwater housing I’ve had the pleasure of shooting with to-date, with a plethora of hard buttons that control every feature of the DSLR. It’s also built like a tank, and rated to 100 meters. It retails for around $3,000 USD.

I own a SmallHD DP6 monitor, and love it. It’s a fantastic monitor, and it works equally well with HDMI DSLRs as well as cameras like the HD-SDI equipped EX3, or the HDMI and HD-SDI equipped RED camera.

I’ve discovered that I can perfectly shoehorn the complete DP6 monitor kit (and accessories) into an affordable Pelican 1150 case. Here’s a Gear In 60 Seconds video that shows you how. Watch below…

GearIn60Sec_smallhd_case.mov

Gear List:
* SmallHD DP6 with HD-SDI
* Pelican 1150 hard case
* Zacuto Zicromount III
DP6 accessories that fit into this case with the monitor: Removeable screen protector, neoprene monitor case, neoprene sun hood, HDMI passive pass-thru box, Mini-HDMI to HDMI cable, power cable, 2x SmallHD batteries, battery charger & cable.

As a side note, the SmallHD DP4 + accessories also fits snugly into this case, providing that you include a little extra foam on the top or bottom.

In addition to this monitor kit, I’ll generally bring a Zacuto Zamerican arm and a Zaffer clamp in another one of my bags, so I can easily mount the monitor to 15mm rods, or in some cases on the audio boom stand for my director (who is often the interviewer). See the following photos for an example of that setup…

As you can see, I’m using a Zaffer clamp mounted on the top of a c-stand to clamp onto the audio boom. On the side of the Zaffer is a Zud fitting that accepts a Zamerican arm, which is supporting the SmallHD DP6 monitor. You could use other varieties of arms and clamps as well, like the Bogen Magic Arm/Super Clamp kit. For this interview setup, the DP6 is hooked into a Sony EX3 via HD-SDI cable, and my interviewer now has a monitor to quickly check and see what the frame looks like, and whether the camera is moving or re-framing while our talent may be answering a key question. It’s also very helpful for me as a DP…I can turn the monitor around and quickly adjust my lights without having to run back to the camera.

Special thanks to the ever-creative Jesse Rosten for conceiving and building our GearIn60 logo intro.

In our last Gear In 60 Seconds video, I talked about my travel grip kit. Here’s an episode of GearIn60 that discusses the lightweight LED lighting kit that I use with my grip kit. I’ve included links below to each piece in the kit, if you are interested in building a similar kit of your own. Watch below…

GearIn60Sec_flycase2.mov

I’ve been loving shooting with these affordable ePhoto LED lights. You can find them branded through other companies as well, but they all seem to be based on the same design (CN600), and are commonly available for around $300 on Amazon and eBay. They aren’t perfect, as all things in life, you do get what you pay for…certainly the more expensive LitePanels brand LED 1×1 lights will give you a little better build quality and improved color accuracy. Indeed, one issue with these cheap heads is a green spike in the color temperature. But if you use them with the included minus green filter (magenta gel), you’ll find them to work well, very close to daylight balanced when corrected.

I have a set of two 600 LEDs, and use them often as key + rim for single-person talking-head interviews. I’m using a Lowel 250w generally as my background light, but will be adding a 3rd and 4th LED head to my kit soon. I generally use my Road Rags diffusion frames to turn the key LED into a softer source, and position that very close to my subject, about 2-3 feet away, just out of the camera frame. If I need to reduce contrast, I’ll position a RoadRags frame with reflector material just off the subjects cheek opposite the key, and fill in some of those shadows with bounce. Or you can use the black flag material in your frame to increase contrast the same way. The rim/backlight LED light is generally undiffused and I choke it down a little with the LED barn doors. If you get the battery-powered versions, they will run off a 14.8v V-mount battery (and RED bricks will do the trick), so if you are without power or in a run-n-gun situation you can handle that. And of course you still have the AC adapter for power. Speaking of, their AC adapter plugs are not really production-ready…I am just waiting for one of mine to get trashed on set. Way too weak of a design. So I’m looking for a more robust 3rd party power adapter to replace them with. Again, you get what you pay for.

At approx 85%-100% power at the LED 600 key light, I can generally shoot at around f/4.0 to f/5.6 on a Canon 5D MKII DSLR, at 320 ISO and 1/50th shutter. For a camera like the EX1 or EX3, you can shoot at around F/1.9 at -3dB gain, and 1/48th shutter. For the EX, this still delivers a nice effective DOF separation from your background when you zoom in a bit. So in my opinion, the 600 LED is enough for small interview setups, but the 900 or 1200 might be more helpful when you need more stop on your lens, or wish to shoot multiple subjects at a single time. And if you are looking to shoot larger groups of people, you should also consider the 24×36″ Road Rags II kit, which offers larger diffusion frames. The original 18×24″ Road Rags kit is what I’ve got, and it’s sized nicely for a single LED light…but larger lights and more people in your frame will begin to push the limits of what it can do effectively.

Gear List:
* Pelican 0340 Cube case
* ePhoto 600 LED Light (Alternatively: ePhoto 900 or 1200 LED Lights, or LitePanels 1x1s)
* Lowel 250-watt Pro-Light
* Smooth Skin Loose Face Powder (Translucent Rice Powder)
* FilmTools KleenSlate Markers

Here’s a few set pictures from a recent interview shoot that show this LED lighting kit in use.

For more info on these cheap ePhoto LED lights, watch Caleb Pike’s review below by DSLR Video Shooter.

Important footnote: When putting your kit together and packing for travel, I cannot stress enough the importance of carefully weighing your gear cases before you head to the airport. DO THIS. If you don’t have a good travel hang-scale, use a bathroom scale…first weigh yourself on the scale, and then pick up the gear bag and stand on the scale. Subtract your weight, and you’ve got the weight of your bags. I’d recommend that you weight them twice, and make sure you have at least 1-2lbs of overhead, in case your scale is off. If you are over the 50lb maximum by even a single pound when you check-in, or your bags/cases exceed the 62 linear inches maximum, you’ll pay exorbitant overage fees. Airlines have zero sympathy these days for overages. Each airline also has additional restrictions for international flights, so be aware of those weight and size limits.

You should also be aware that some airlines like US Airways charge ridiculous fees for more than two bags…currently it’s $25 for the first bag, $35 for the 2nd, and the 3rd bag is a whopping $125. This means that three normal-weight bags on US Airways would cost you $185. In my opinion, that is outright highway robbery, so caveat emptor when you are booking tickets. Or better yet, fly with an airline that gives a flying rip about their customers…fly Southwest. With Southwest you can check two bags free of charge, and the 3rd bag is a reasonable $50. But regardless of who you fly with, know their baggage policies and restrictions before you book.

Special thanks to Jesse Rosten for conceiving and creating the GearIn60 logo intro. Seriously, you want to work with this guy.

Like a lot of freelance shooters, I travel regularly for various projects. A common need when shooting on the road is a lightweight grip and lighting support kit. You need stands, lighting modifiers, and various odds and ends that you will inevitably use on-set, whether you are shooting interviews or narrative. And to avoid paying overage fees, you need it to be within the weight and size limitations for checked airline baggage; currently 62 linear inches (length + width + height) and 50 pounds or less for US airlines.

To that end, I’ve put together a simple three-point lighting and grip travel kit. Here’s a FreshDV Gear In 60 Seconds video that talks about the grip case that I travel with, with links below to each piece in the kit, if you are interested in building a similar kit of your own. I’ve also got another GearIn60 video that discusses the lighting kit I support with this grip gear kit, you can see that here. Watch the grip kit video below…

GearIn60Sec_flycase1.mov

Gear Links:
* Pelican 1750 grip case (under 62″ linear size)
* Lowel Gel File
* FilmTools Black C47s/Clothespins
* MSE RoadRags
* MSE MiniGrip
* MSE C-Stands
* Manfrotto Nano 6′ light stands
Or get the Matthews C-Vival Kit, which includes RoadRags, MiniGrip, 2x C-Stands, and the 1750 Pelican case.

In the next Gear In 60 Seconds video, I’ll talk about the LED lights I’ve been using on the road, and how I use the Road Rags to modify and control that light. Here’s a few set pictures from a recent interview shoot that show this grip gear in use.

Important footnote: When putting your kit together and packing for travel, I cannot stress enough the importance of carefully weighing your gear cases before you head to the airport. DO THIS. If you don’t have a good travel hang-scale, use a bathroom scale…first weigh yourself on the scale, and then pick up the gear bag and stand on the scale. Subtract your weight, and you’ve got the weight of your bags. I’d recommend that you weight them twice, and make sure you have at least 1-2lbs of overhead, in case your scale is off. If you are over the 50lb maximum by even a single pound when you check-in, or your bags/cases exceed the 62 linear inches maximum, you’ll pay exorbitant overage fees. Airlines have zero sympathy these days for overages. Each airline also has additional restrictions for international flights, so be aware of those weight and size limits.

You should also be aware that some airlines like US Airways charge ridiculous fees for more than two bags…currently it’s $25 for the first bag, $35 for the 2nd, and the 3rd bag is a whopping $125. This means that three normal-weight bags on US Airways would cost you $185. In my opinion, that is outright highway robbery, so caveat emptor when you are booking tickets. Or better yet, fly with an airline that gives a flying rip about their customers…fly Southwest. With Southwest you can check two bags free of charge, and the 3rd bag is a reasonable $50. But regardless of who you fly with, know their baggage policies and restrictions before you book.

Special thanks to Jesse Rosten for conceiving and creating the GearIn60 logo intro. Seriously, you want to work with this guy.