One of my main hobbies is photography. I’m also a video editor. So, naturally, when DSLR cameras started being able to shoot high quality HD video, it was a great opportunity to combine my two interests.

I, originally, had a Canon Rebel XTi but upgraded to a Canon Rebel T2i when that was released. I decided to upgrade, largely, because of the HD video shooting capability and my envy of the Canon 5D Mark II. Not wanting to spend the money for a 5D, I decided to sell my XTi and apply the proceeds to a new T2i.

I haven’t really purchased any major additional gear for the T2i until this week. I decided that I wanted to upgrade the audio quality while shooting video on the T2i. After researching various options I decided on the following gear:

Audio Recorder: Samson Zoom H4N

Microphone: Rode Video Mic Pro

I, also, researched various options for mounting the audio recorder and microphone. I wanted to stay as mobile and compact as possible. I, also, didn’t want to spend a lot of money on rigs. Fortunately, I found several items that I think will do the trick and not cost too much money:

Flashner 4″ Hot Shoe Mounting Bar

This connects to a camera’s hot shoe mount and the bar allows for other hot shoe mounted devices to slide onto the bar. Since the Rode Video Mic Pro mounts via a hot shoe, I knew that would fit onto the Flashner bar. The H4N does not have a hot shoe mount, so I needed to find a connector to connect the 3/8″ tripod mount of the H4N to the hot shoe mount of the Flashner 4″ bar.

There seems to be several options for this:

1. 1/4-20 Flashner (Hot Shoe to 1/4″ Mount adaptor)

2 Flashner Mini Ball Head (Hot Shoe Mount)

3. Spider Holster (belt holster for DSLR cameras, using a 1/4″ connector)

Option 1 would cause the H4N to lay flat with the display screen pointing upwards. Not ideal since I would not easily be able to monitor the audio levels or access the controls  on the H4N.

Option 2 – this seemed to be the best option since I could adjust the ball head to mount the H4N so it rested vertically, allowing me to easily access and monitor the audio recorder. To me, this is more ideal when mounting the camera, mic and audio recorder on a tripod. Since, the audio recorder adds a bit of weight which could cause fatigue sooner.

Option 3 – The Spider Holster was designed for DSLRs but I figured since it has the 1/4″ mount the H4N could still connect to it and rest at on my hip. This is more ideal than option 2 when I’m more mobile and not locked onto a tripod. It takes weight off of the Camera + Flashner 4″ bar. It also means I don’t need the Flashner bar, as the Rode Microphone can connect to the Canon T2i’s hot shoe directly. Having the H4N connected to the Spider Holster is convenient for mobility but I can’t really see the audio levels while the H4N hangs by my hip.

In the end, I ended up getting, essentially, all three options. The store I went to did not have the Flashner Mini Ball-Head and they only had a Manfrotto Hot Shoe ball head mount which they were selling for $100. Since I didn’t want to pay that much I decided to get the  1/4″ to 20 Flashner ($20) and the a regular small ball head mount ($25). I probably could have saved money by purchasing online or searching more stores.

Note: The Rode Video Mic Pro 3.5mm stereo cable is pretty short, as it is designed to connect into a DSLR’s audio input port. The the H4N on the Flashner 4″ bar or the ball head, there is no need for longer cables. However, when connecting to the Spider Holster, an extension cable is needed. I had a 3.5mm female to 1/4″ jack cable lying around. So, I’m currently using that.

I’m trying to determine if a 3.5mm to XLR adaptor and/or XLR cable would provide better audio quality than a stereo or 1/4″ jack.

So far, I think I’ve found the mounts that will work for me. I think the only thing left to find is a compact hard shell case for the Rode Video Mic Pro. If I find something suitable, I will post here.

I’ll try to update this post with photos of this set up.

Cheers!

Wistful Skies from Adam Richardson on Vimeo.

Time-lapse of a sunrise, storm and some clouds. Toronto, August 2010.

Music Credit:

Artist: Kendra Springer
Album: Hope
Song: Wistful
License: Creative Commons
Links:
http://www.kendraspringer.com/
http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/55571

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A storm was heading my way on Sunday, and I was hoping to get a timelapse of lightning. So, I set up my camera, tripod and intervalometer and started shooting. While there wasn’t much lightning, I was able to capture the storm as it passed by. I was even treated to really cool rainbow (rainbow rays!!!) that started its formation close to my apartment. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the start of a rainbow. Sadly, no pot of gold from what I could tell.

To get a shot of the beginning of the rainbow, I had to interrupt my timelapse and reposition the camera. Which in hindsight was a mistake. I could have had a timelapse of the rainbow forming and then disappearing. I cut these frames out of the video since there weren’t many and created an awkward cut. So, in the video, I have the rainbow fading away. The advantage to this was the new angle offered a nice view of clouds passing out to the horizon.

There’s a crappy audio edit in the video. I didn’t have enough material to fill a point in the song where I could cut to the last bit. Maybe with a few more timelapses I’ll re-visit the video. Enjoy!

I’ve uploaded some photos on my flickr account from the Road Trip I went on over Thanksgiving Weekend.

I have some more to go through and some time lapse videos I made. Some spectacular views!

Now that I have said some stuff I”ll just say, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah balh <—got that far before a typo. I am sad. I shouldn’t post pictures of that Pumpkin Pie…it was way too good…I must go back to Vermont to get more!

In fact, I’ve just added a review of the place I got the pie from,  P & H Truck Stop

I got a bit bored in the back seat, so I set up my blog to work with the word press iPhone app – which I just downloaded! I love 3G data network!

We are heading to a border crossing near Montreal then we’ll briefly be on a highway in New York State (Excelsior). From there we’ll cross into Vermont (Freedom and Unity), and stay at a hotel over night. Tomorrow, we drive to New Hampsire (Live Free or Die).

The plan is to see the site’s around and including Mt. Washington. If I can figure out how to blog a photo from my iPhone, I’ll be sure to post, as that should be a spectacular view

Once I’m home I’ll post some proper photos.

Dang lost 3g data network. I was going to check on the MLB Playoffs on the iPhone MLB @bat app.

I’ll try to blog a few more times over the weekend.

Oh, found out how to insert photos into the blog post. Cool stuff!

Here’s one of the 68 photos I posted on my flickr account:

Siberian Tiger cooling off in a pool

Started working as an assistant editor on a 4-episode tv series – things have picked up quite a bit lately.

When I’ve had a spare moment, I’ve been working on some motion graphics/video work, which you can see here:

http://www.vimeo.com/user900995/

Here’s one of the videos I have put up at vimeo:

Tilt-Shift – Edwards Gardens, Toronto from Upsidedownjim on Vimeo.

I’ve been starting to work in Cinema 4D with the goal of having a pretty decent graphics/editing reel put together by the time my current assistant editing job ends.

Hopefully I’ll stick to that plan!

Beetle in High Park, Toronto

I spent a few hours today trying to resolve some of the issues I’ve been having and have come up with some form of solution(s) to those issues.

After this blog post got incredibly long(er) I decided I would break it down into parts so that each issue would be a separate blog entry. This way I can detail what the issue was and how I solved it without boring you all at once.

Part 1: Flickr Photostream

The first issue I tackled was getting thumbnails of my flickr site to display on the side bar to right.

The Evidens theme originally came with a Flickr preview plug-in, Flickr RSS. I wasn’t able to figure out how to get the plug-in to display my flickr photos, so I decided to look for another plug-in. (It’s a solution!)

Searching through Wordpress’ Plugins directory (Plugins>Add New>Search: “Flickr sidebar”) I came across the plug-in, “Flickr Thumbnail Photostream” This plug-in seemed easier to implement, even though it required applying for a Flickr API key – which was painless to set up. The install instruction walk you through the set-up process.

I added the plug-in by installing and activating it within Wordpress and then by going to Widgets>Current Widgets>Sidebar 2 (from the pull down menu) and clicking “Show”. I then clicked, “Add” on the plug-in, “Flickr Photostream”. By selecting sidebar 2, I was able to place the widget on the far right column. Sidebar 1 is where the “Categories”, “Archive”, and “Links” column is located – something I didn’t realize yesterday.

Despite the easy set-up, I am having several issues with the plug-in. In order for the plug-in to know that I have added new photos to flickr, I have to manually go into the plug-in options (Plugins>Flickr Control>Update Photos) and click a button, “Update Photos,” that will then allow the newly posted photos to be included.  There is a way to set this up automatically but it involves a provided PHP script and something about a CRON. (A solution for that will hopefully come soon!)

Another issue is that when clicking the “Update Photos” button, the plugin searches my flickr site to see what photos are there and can be displayed here. I think due to the amount of photos I have on flickr, the plugin times out and no new photos are added. Somehow this error did not occur once, so that is why I am currently getting photos. The solution for this seems to involve something to do with a PHP Curl.

Finally, I still want to make the title, “Flickr Photostream,”  a link to my flickr site, while using the style for the links on the rest of the site. I haven’t figured that one out yet, but I will update once I do so. I’m sure it has everything to do with finding the right PHP file or the correct section of the CSS code.

Nevertheless, the plug-in works, as you can see to the right – 9 (amazing!) photos from my flickr site.

I should note that the issues I am having with the free themes and free plug-ins are pretty minor. The time, effort and skill that went into making them is definitely appreciated. Having to figure out a few lines of code here and there is a far cry from having to learn CSS, PHP and who knows what else to achieve similar results. I’m sure if I tried there would be a whole host of issues.

Well, a few issues with the Flickr Photostream still need to be resolved but I’ll update once I find a solution. The next parts will be about getting the RSS feeds and email link to work in the header and fixing the text colour issue in the comments box.

Until next time, don’t flail your arms at an oncoming falafel.