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Everything you need to know about adapting lenses

Adapting lenses has become a lot more common in recent years as now that pretty much every DSLR and mirrorless camera out there shoots some form of video. Older lenses give us a favourable aesthetic that’s often lost with the latest high tech lenses that try to eliminate every lens imperfection possible. I’ve been doing it myself for about a decade now and it’s a lot of fun to see what some of those old lenses can do for your footage.

While adapting lenses might seem quite easy now, there are a few things you’ll want to look out for when buying an adapter and a couple of “gotchas” you’ll want to beware of. In this video, Caleb Pike at DSLR Video Shooter walks us through the adapting process and things we will need to think about when buying adapters and using old lenses on our current cameras.

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This detailed comparison shows how the Sony A7 IV stand up to the Sony A7S III for video

People waited a long time for Sony to replace its ageing A7S II body. It finally came mid-2020 in the form of the not surprisingly named Sony A7S III. And despite being no slouch at stills, its video capabilities were its big selling point. It lacked the 8K capabilities of the Canon EOS R5 and it can’t record internal raw video, but it does offer the core of features that many Sony video shooters want.

Last year, we saw the release of the Sony A7 IV, the successor to the popular Sony A7 III. It, too, brought some very impressive video features with it and it offers some distinct advantages over the A7S III when it comes to shooting stills, but how do the two stand up when shooting video is your primary need? Well, in this in-depth comparison video, Caleb Pike answers exactly that question.

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These are the best and worst brands you can buy for shooting video… maybe

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Camera gear talk is always quite interesting and often pretty amusing. So many are loyal to their brand, not that I’m pointing any fingers, and just can’t seem to look at things objectively. And while most brands these days have got things pretty good when it comes to stills, the sub-$5,000 camera market for video shooters is still a bit all over the place. Relatively speaking, though, it’s a pretty young sector of the market and everybody’s still trying to figure things out. One or two might have it almost right, though.

In this video, Caleb Pike looks at all of the manufacturers currently producing cameras for less than five grand to see how they really compare to each other, including everything from build quality to ergonomics and features to overheating issues and some 30-minute time limits in between. And while Caleb doesn’t really cite any specific camera models here, just the brands as a whole, it’s pretty interesting to hear his take. Even if it is still pretty subjective.

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Check out these 20 filmmaking gear items you can buy for under $20

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For filmmaking and photography there are a lot of expensive pieces of kit out there that we either need to do our jobs or will make our lives easier and save us time in our workflow. But there are also a lot of very inexpensive items out there, too, which can make our quality of life much easier when shooting and working. There are also a bunch of cheap alternatives to expensive gear, too, if you get a little creative.

In this video, Caleb Pike at DSLR Video Shooter walks us through 20 of his favourite filmmaking accessories that each cost less than $20. It includes a variety of tools covering lighting, grip, power and various other aspects. Some of these are things that Caleb’s been using in his workflow for over a decade and still prove useful.

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Is this the perfect camera rig for video shooters?

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When it comes to shooting video, we all have our favourite rig setups that we like to use for different tasks. I have three Panasonics here that I use for different things and they’re all set up differently so that I can just grab one and go whenever I need each. But is it possible to build the perfect camera rig on a single perfect camera that meets 99% of your shooting needs?

That’s the topic Caleb Pike explores in this video, and he believes that he’s found it. At least, he has for his needs. There are so many different ways of setting up a camera and everybody has their own personal preferences but Caleb’s setup offers a lot of versatility and options for different shooting demands.

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This DIY YouTube studio-in-a-box lets you film anywhere instantly

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For some, the prospect of setting up a bunch of tripods, stands, equipment and wiring it all together is just too much of a pain to want to deal with when you want to shoot a 5-minute video. It’s what puts a lot of people off wanting to even try starting to make YouTube content. Or at least, it stops them posting as often.

But Caleb Pike has the solution. A full YouTube studio-in-a-box. Well, in a Pelican Case. He’s designed and built it to be a fully self-contained solution that you can just stick on your desk, open up and start filming. Or take on your travels and set up anywhere in an instant just by flipping the lid open.

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Use these ten tricks to save money when buying camera gear

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We all know that photography is not a cheap hobby. But hey, just because the gear is expensive, it doesn’t have to be that expensive. There are some tips and tricks that will save you tons of money when buying gear, and Caleb Pike of DSLR Video Shooter will show you as many as ten of them in his latest video.

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This DIY ATEM Mini case is a whole multicam streaming solution in a box

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The Blackmagic Atem Mini (and Atem Mini Pro and Atem Mini Pro ISO) have quickly become very popular tools for multicam live streaming. They allow you to feed in up to four cameras and a separate dedicated audio stream with an easy ability to switch between them in real-time while offering a lot of features typically only found in much higher-end systems.

But it can be a pain to keep setting up and tearing down if you’re not using it in a permanent location. Caleb Pike has solved this issue by creating what is essentially a whole multicam streaming solution in a box with everything self-contained inside a little Pelican case. In this video, he shows us how he made it.

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This is how to turn Sony video colors from horrible to awesome

If you use a Sony camera for video work, you may not really like the colors that it produces. Luckily, there are ways to fix it and make those skin tones look natural. Caleb Pike of DSLR Video Shooter shares some tips and his picture profile settings to help you nail those colors the next time you shoot a video with your Sony.

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Watch to see how a 30+ year old VHS camcorder holds up in 2020

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It seems that retro-looking music videos and even short clips on Instagram have been all the rage lately. Sure, you can add a filter to make them look as if they were taken with a VHS camcorder, but as Caleb Pike puts it: “we ALL know it’s not really the same thing.” If you want the real deal, you can still shoot with a 1980s camcorder in 2020. In this video, Caleb will show you how to do it. He will even show you how to pimp it to add a few modern features while keeping the vintage feel in the footage itself.

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