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Watch these techniques to shoot smooth handheld footage on your iPhone without a gimbal

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Smartphone gimbals are pretty commonplace today. There are countless models from companies like Zhiyun, Moza, Feiyu, and a million other brands. It feels like we’ve had them forever, although they’ve only really been around for about four years. And sometimes, even today, we need to figure out a way to live without them.

You’re not always going to have it with you when you see something cool and want to whip out your phone to grab a sequence. Or perhaps, as filmmaker Brandon Li mentions in this video, carrying a gimbal defeats the whole purpose of using your phone. Putting his money where his mouth is, this 10-minute video shows us how we can get gimbal-like shots without a gimbal.

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Here’s how to create super fast video renders in DaVinci Resolve

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No matter what video editing application you use, one of the biggest pains is the speed at which your final video renders out. Even with a pretty powerful system, they can take a while, especially if you’re using high res footage with lots of effects. It turns out that Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve has a way to speed them up massively.

I recently switched to DaVinci Resolve, and so I’ve been following a few YouTubers pretty closely. One such YouTuber is Jamie Fenn, who puts out Resolve videos a couple of times a week. In this particular video, he shows us how we can optimise our settings to get some extremely fast renders in Resolve.

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A 43-megapixel 8K Sony sensor has been “leaked” but could it possibly be real?

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Recently, word of a new Sony IMX671AQR sensor was “leaked” via the Fuji Rumors comments. There isn’t much info about it except for what appears to be a screenshot of the first page of a datasheet. That screenshot details a 43-megapixel APS-C camera capable of shooting 12-bit 8K video. But is it for real?

Doubt is starting to be cast on the legitimacy of the leak on a number of sites, and I’m inclined to agree. Given that we’ve still yet to see a replacement for the ageing Sony A7S II or even a legit hint of a new sensor for a theoretical A7S III, I can’t imagine they’d be packing this much power into an APS-C sized sensor already.

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Google Photos may have sent your private videos to random strangers

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Always be careful what you put in “the cloud”, people. Google Photos is facing yet another controversy as Google reveals that a “technical issue” may have included your videos in somebody else’s export download archive. Google faced a similar issue last year with Vu Android TVs that were showing other peoples photos.

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FiLMiC DoubleTake is a free app that lets you shoot with two different iPhone cameras at the same time

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FiLMiC has launched a new and very cool app named DoubleTake. It’s is a free app that lets you shoot with two different iPhone cameras at the same time. You can choose between all available cameras on your device and simultaneously shoot two different videos with the same device.

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A GoPro spinning at 1800rpm looks like it’s entering a wormhole to another universe

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It’s difficult to come up with original GoPro footage these days. Everything’s just been done. But this is something I haven’t seen before. YouTuber Mr. Michal secured what looks like a GoPro Hero 7 Silver one into his lathe and spun it at various speeds up to 1800 revolutions per minute.

At slower speeds, it looks pretty cool, like a handheld motorised gimbal in “vertigo” mode. As the speed increases, though, so does the nausea factor. But at certain rpms, you see the rotational speed sync up with the frame rate and the shutter speed and it gets pretty interesting. At 1800rpm it gets very cool.

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How to film an epic B-roll sequence entirely handheld

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B-roll adds value to your videos and makes them more dynamic, and there are plenty of ways to shoot an epic one. One of the most common tips is to stabilize your camera, be it with a gimbal, a steadicam, a slider, or even a tripod. However, you can get a pretty awesome B-roll sequence even handheld. Josh Yeo of MAKE. ART. NOW. teamed up with Tommy Callaway to do it, and they ended up with some interesting footage. In this video, they take you behind the scenes to show you how they did it and inspire you to try something similar yourself.

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What are parfocal lenses? Are they important? And why do filmmakers want them?

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The term “parfocal lens” has only really come into common usage amongst the general population over the last decade or so as our DSLRs and mirrorless cameras have allowed us to start shifting more towards shooting video content. But what exactly are they? And what’s the big deal?

As this video from Michael the Maven explains, parfocal lenses are zoom lenses, but they are zoom lenses which keep their focus distance through the entirety of their focal length range. What this means is that as you recompose for a tighter or wider shot of your subject, you don’t have to refocus the lens. It stays exactly where it was.

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Instagram takes on TikTok with a copycat version of its “Duet” feature

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Instagram has launched a new feature for its users in Brazil, and it reminds a whole lot of TikTok’s best-known features. The new tool is called Reels, and it’s focused on short, creative video clips. It lets you shoot them, edit them, add music and adjust their speed. And if you use TikTok, then you know that this is very similar to its “Duet” feature.

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The 47.3-megapixel Leica SL2 is now official and it shoots 10-Bit 5K video

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Rumours of the Leica SL2 have been out for a while now. We saw photos and a list of specs leaked two months ago. But now, Leica has officially announced the Leica SL2; A 47.3-megapixel full-frame L mount mirrorless camera capable of shooting stills at up to 20fps, 4K video at 60fps, and 1080p HD slow motion at up to 180fps.

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