Lots of you have been asking if we plan on having any holiday specials. So we have decided to offer a limited edition Static adapter. We are practically giving it away as its the cheapest adapter you can buy, anywhere. You can't even buy the parts for the price were offering it. How can we do this you ask?
Well because we have been doing this for a while and our designs have changed, then some of the parts of previous designs were no longer needed so they sat in a box collecting dust. So instead of discarting them we though we would put them to good use, there is nothing wrong with those parts apart from not working with current designs of our adapter line. All optics are new and these have never been used before so your not getting a second hand adapter here or one that does not perform better than production units, it just looks a little different on the outside. One advantage I would like to mention is that this limited edition static is the first to be offered in an EF mount, so if you are one of the many that are starting to move VDSLRs then EOS lenses might alredy be in your camera bag, so why not put them to use with your video camera?
These will be produced on a limited basis, We only have enough parts to make around 100 of them, and we will be offering them on Friday Nov. 27 and in the month of December. We are not sure how long they will last but once gone then the price of the static will go back up to normal. The limited Edition JAG35ST will be selling for $69 + S&H and you can find it here: http://jag35.com/limited
*Note: We got a message from one of our clients that tried using the Jag35ST Limited Edition w/ his Canon HFs100 model camera. After testing this ourselves, we realized that the Canon HFs series is design a little different than most other cameras, and since the lens sits far back in the barrel, our Limited Edition Jag35 adapter won't work with this setup. Our Regular Jag35ST adapter works fine, but not the Limited Edition. Sorry we didn't catch this earlier.
Problem:
We have been offering a nice little product called the D|Focus, which is basically the most affordable follow focus system out there, starting at $100. It's a great fit with our very affordable Jag35 adapters because of the price. However, one of the things we lacked was a Lens Gear Solution to go with this system. There's a few lens gears out there, but we found a couple of problems with most solutions. Price mainly, and flexibility.
Solution:
Design by Dave came up with an amazing little design that fixed most issues we had with other lens gears. A one size fits all gear that utilizes interchangeable tension legs to firmly grip any size lens.
Design:
The design consists of a one size gear which ships with multiple length interchangeable contact legs that will fit any lens at any diameter all the way up to the bigger 400mm lenses.
Price:
As an on going trend for us here at Jag35, we continue to provide affordable solution for aspiring filmmakers, so we'd like to offer these at the very affordable price of $30 which will include all the different size contact legs.
They are on sale now, and have started shipping this week. CLICK HERE
For the story behind how Dave came up with his design read his blog here
Video on how to set it up:
Shooting video today has very quickly morphed into a new and exciting way to share memories or communicate your ideas as well as promote and express yourself artistically. With the introduction of HD cams and now DSLR's with full HD video capabilities it's becoming more and more accessible for any one to jump on board this form afford-ably.
With the change in technology, new shooting techniques have evolved and the way you approach your projects will also vary because of the new equipment. To help you get up to speed quickly, Philip Bloom along with Den Lennie of The F-Stop Academy have developed 2 DVD's which will go into detail about learning Cinematography using the most popular DSRLs with video capabilities, 5DmkII & 7D
Acclaimed digital film making guru Philip Bloom reveals the exact techniques, cheats and secrets he uses every day to create incredible films in this packed DVD that will transform the way you shoot video in less than 90 minutes.
Scott Bourne Said:
The hour plus production covers things like recommended lenses, how to set the camera to shoot video, using matte boxes and follow focus and how to avoid rolling shutter. There’s also a fairly detailed explanation of Bloom’s suggested workflow. As long as you use Final Cut Pro and the 5D MK II you’ll get plenty out of this tutorial.
Scott Bourne Said:
I have also been granted access to the Canon 7D version of this tutorial. By the second time around Philip seemed to really hit his stride. I feel like the 7D version was more cogent and flowed better. There is some information that is common to both titles. The 7D title is a bit more up-to-date. I don’t know its release date or price but I feel very comfortable recommending it. 7D version is 10 out of 10!
Read the full review by Scott Bourne: Click Here
A while ago i came across a tutorial on how to remove the aperture clicking out of your fd lenses, this makes them more suitable for video work, almost like a cinema lens.
Click here if you can't view above
I know we've been testing out a lot of DSLR cameras, and shooting video with them, however, we haven't forgotten about all the Jag35 users out there.
We're actually looking for some of your videos shot with the Jag35 adapter to feature on our home page. If you have a video or have come across a great video online either on youtube or vimeo that you think would be worth checking out, please send us the link, we'd love to feature them on our home page. You can either post a comment below, or send us an email to jag35pro@gmail.com, either way it's fine.
Can't wait to check out some of your videos!
So you've got your 7D on your hands and it shoots incredible pictures and even better looking video So what else do you need?
Ah yes, lenses. If you've been shopping for lenses then you've probably noticed that because your new 7D has a APS-C sensor, which is smaller than full size (24mmx36mm) there is a crop of 1.6x (sometimes called focal length multiplier), So for example if you have a 50mm lens, on your 7D, after the crop factor it becomes 80mm.
On the long end it's great because your $1600 70-200mm lens now becomes a $4300 112-320mm f2.8 lens, without adding cost, weight, and size. But where it hurts is in the wide end, my awesome 16-35mm f2.8 is not as wide as on my 5Dmk2.
Canon doesn't make many wide angle lenses and the ones it makes do cost a lot of money. So if you're looking for a wide angle lens for your 7D there are several available options, so first lets look at canon's full frame lenses:
EF 14mm f2.8 L USM x1.6=22.4mm sells for $2200
EF 15mm f2.8 Fisheye x1.6=24mm sells for $700
EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM x1.6=25.6-56mm sells for $1600
These lenses are great, top quality and versatile as you can use them in full frame and on crop systems, problem is they are not cheap nor very wide, best value there is the 15mm fisheye, but not everyone likes the fish eye look. You can also look at canon's EF-S line they are somewhat more affordable, but keep in mind that these only work on the smaller APS-C sensor bodies, so if you were to later upgrade to a full frame model like the 5Dmk2 you would not be able to use these lenses without seen massive vignette on your image, and it seems you might not even be able to actually mount EF-s on full frame bodies.
EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 x1.6= 16-35.2mm sells for $760
EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS x1.6= 24-136mm sells for $800
EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS x 1.6= 27.2-88mm sells for $1060
EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS x 1.6= 27.2-136mm sells for $450
EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS x 1.6= 28.8-88mm sells for $180
EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS x 1.6= 28.8-320mm sells for $600
Sigma makes one lens that would work:
Sigma 18-125mm f3.8-5.6 x 1.6= 28.8-200mm sells for $340
Tamron Also makes a good Wide lens:
Tamron-17-50mm f2.8 x 1.6= 27.2-80mm sells for $450
Tokina lens:
Tokina AF 11-16mm f2.8 x 1.6= 17.6-25.6mm sells for $600
And Finally a Wide amongst Wides, The very affordable and very wide Opteka lens:
Opteka 6.5mm f/3.5 x 1.6= 10.4mm sells for $290
Now this lens is awesome Not only is it super Wide, but at only $300 bucks you cant beat it. I will be writing a review on it very soon as I just received my copy, here it is sitting on my desk:
Quick Shot of my Shop at JAG35 HQ
And the Garage, Soon all those racks will be filled with tripods, lenses, DSLR bodies.
So if dramatic effect is what your after and just how wide is the deciding factor, here is how they rank:
Opteka 6.5mm f/3.5 x 1.6= 10.4mm sells for $290
EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 x1.6= 16-35.2mm sells for $760
Tokina AF 11-16mm f2.8 x 1.6= 17.6-25.6mm sells for $600
I remember buying an anamorphic lens for or DVX100 camera a few years ago in the search for more resolution. The idea is that if you bend the light of a 2.35 aspect ratio image to fit into a 4:3 sensor, then stretch it to the 2.35 aspect ratio on post, then you get more resolution because you'll end up using the entire sensor instead of just cropping the top and the bottom of the 4:3 image.
Well turns out these lenses are still around and some people are saying, Why not?
Stu Maschwitz from 'Pro Lost" Has posted some sample videos of footage shot using a 7D and 50mm f/1.4 lens. Mounted to that with a stepper ring is a Iscorama-Anamorphot 1.5x-54 (Isco-Göttingen) anamorphic lens.
Update: The folks at hunterhrichards.com posted this video shot on a 5dm2 + lomo roundfront anamorphics
As many of you may already know, I am a big fan of Philip Bloom. I have been following his work since early on as i started researching 35mm adapters, and because he has many videos explaining 35mm adapter things, I used to keep up with his updates. Had a chance to meet him at this years NAB show back in april, and got to see him at work a month later when he shot a video to introduce panasonic's GH1.
Then in September we had a chance to hang out and hear the F-Stop conference in Orlando FL at the WEVA convention. At this time we also had to chance to shoot the behind the scenes for the F-stop Academy's 7D video trainnig DVD
So this past week Mr. Philip Bloom was back in SO CAL so we caught up with him in Venice beach and we had a chance to hang out, chat and meet other Bloom fans and friends, including Rodney Charters ASC, DP of the tv show 24. All in all there was about 30 of us that showed up, had a great time meeting new people and we even got to shoot a little video that I'd like to share with you.
David Alrich from designbydave.net shot this video while there:
Philip Shot this the following day, a fourth of his "People" series:
One of the guys there had his rig that included a giroscope to help stabilize it. You can info on it here
Some people have asked why a 35mm adapter Maker would blog about a DSLR cameras like the 5DMk2 and the new 7D, after all they are without a doubt the start of the death of 35mm adapters aren't they?
Well, the answer is yes, and no,
YES in the fact that this cameras are already affecting adapters sales, not so much JAG sales yet as we are on the low end but I can imagine the mid price adapter sales must be slowing down. This makes sense because for many that are buying a product for the first time going the video camera plus 35mm adapter way is actually more money than just buying a GH1 or a 7D with a kit lens.
And NO because a lot of people already own part of their kit and only need to expand on it so buying a 35mm adapter is more affordable than buying a whole new set up, for example say you already have your beloved hvx200 and granpa left you a set of nice nikon primes in the attic, getting an adapter opens up the shallow depth of field world to you and you don't have to give up the ability to shoot good audio and sequences longer than 12 minutes, so you get more for way less than buying a whole new DSLR system.
But the reason I use and blog about this cameras is that they are the future, they shoot amazing video and they do it JAG style, and by that I mean, that they are to a certain extent affordable, they are small, light and they help you shoot everyday life, all things that were on top of my list while designing the JAG35 line of adapters. This is the reason I believe a large percentage of JAG users will eventually migrate to some sort of DSLR in the near future. And by having used and played with these systems as they are coming out, hopefully I could post useful stuff to all once JAG35 users and everyone else interested in using DSLR cameras for video use.
So should you get a DSLR right now? Should you throw away your hv40 and get a 5Dmk2? Well It all really depends on what you'll be using it for. You need to keep in mind that DSLR's still have huge limitations like a 12 minute continous recording time limit, poor sound recording capabilities, No auto focus, and you will need lots of lenses to match what you might be used to on your video camera's built in lens. Also keep in mind that although the camera bodies are relatively affordable, good lenses cost a lot of money, So for example if you buy a canon body like the 7D you'll be spending about $2K but if you want the matching canon glass that goes with it, you will need another $8-10K for a set of fast primes as the good ones almost cost $2k. Of course you can always rent them or use older nikon glass found cheaply on ebay, but trust me eventually you will want modern quality glass to go with your amazing DSLR body. Bottom line is, if you can afford to buy one and all the add on accessories that will help you work around its limitations then go for it. Just do keep in mind that at this point it cost more to switch to a DSLR than to just add an affordable JAG35 adapter to your existing camera. Of course this will not always be the case as prices keep coming down and more manufacturers come out with video capable camera bodies. We currently live in very exciting times for digital video with all the coming products that are just in the horizon.
