DIY: Cheap Image Stabilizer for Your Cameras

Don't be the slave of your tripod.

Carrying the tripod everywhere sometimes, at least for me, it's a pain in the a.. It's heavy and I have a heavier and a lighter model but to carry it with me with my Powershot G9 seems a little too much for such a small camera.

After taking a Google search I found out a great solution that could be a helper on those occasions when you need to take that quick shot with your Point and Shoot and do not have any tripod or place to put it in.

I also bought another great very useful gadget, but will talk about it on another post.

---Update 06-02-2008---

You can check it out in here.

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Just build this Image Stabilizer and see how much better your photos and videos can become.

Get professional results, well at least that's what they sold me ;), or maybe would be better to say "Get almost professional results" sounds much better for me :)

This instructional video made by Abby shows you how to build your own stabilizer in 5 minutes for less than €1,00.

It is super light weight and folds up small enough to fit in your pocket.

With this stabilizer, you can hand-hold your camera with shutter speeds at least 3 stops slower than without it.

It works also well with video cameras.



Want to see some more about this easy DIY you can take a look at another wonderful and well written tutorial by shoeBlade with lots of pictures and follow along instructions.

And if you are into Panorama photos you can have this technique applied as fellow photographer Bob Lorentzen show in one of his lessons (Hand held "Virtual Pano Head" Panoramas) or take a look at Philippe Hurbain page for some more resources on the "Virtual Pano Head".

Here is a shot video for panorama shooting presented by Bob Lorentzen:

I guess this would be a great idea to improve stability on my Canon Powershot G9 since, sometimes, it get my grips for not getting that image stable at maximum lens length or low light.

Great solution to travel all the time with you and in your pocket.

DIY: Westcott sharp tips protection

I hope that everyone had a good Christmas and a fabulous Happy New Year's day.

What a better way to start 2008 than a Do It Yourself tip ;)

I would also like to mention a place in Europe where you can get the Westcott folding umbrellas for a reasonable price.

Well that's right, I finally found a place where we all can get our Westcott umbrellas in Europe without being afraid for the expensive custom taxes nor those horrible Adorama logos.

You can check the full story on another post "Adorama uses Strobist photographers as free advertisers" and follow the Flickr thread in here.

During December and after my failed attempt on getting some Westcott folding umbrellas from Adorama I phoned the main house and they gave me the direct contact for the European importer.

The company is called Creative Video (CVP) and Pete Trevena is the manager. The company is based in the UK and they are the exclusive importers of Westcott products for Europe customers.



I decided to give it a shot and ordered one 43" Soft Silver Collapsible Umbrella (# 2001) and three 43" Optical White Satin Collapsible Umbrella (# 2002).

After exchanging some emails with Mr. Trevena and explaining my problems and situation with Adorama logos He personally told me that they do not have the Westcott umbrellas without any company logo except for Westcott and that the ends were not sharp.

The price for each umbrella unit is €29,45 + €5,15 VAT (€34,60) plus shipping to your country this makes them a good option. The CVP company does not work with PayPal or VISA payments so you will need to make a Bank IBAN money transfer to their account.

If you visit Creative Video (CVP) website the umbrellas are not visible available through their products so the best way for you to get them is to send an email or call asking for prices and shipping to your country so they could send you an estimate email.

--- Updated 22-02-2008 ---
As per my suggestion Creative Video decided to make the Westcott folding umbrellas pictures and links available at their website you can check above the direct link for each model:

F J Westcott 2001 43inch optical white satin collapsible umbrella
F J Westcott 2002 43inch soft silver collapsible umbrella
F J Westcott 2011 43inch optical white satin collapsible umbrella

This way you no longer have to send an email asking for estimate, but if I were you I would send and email confirming availability and also the price to send it to your home country.

---//---

Here are the complete details of the company:

Creative Video Productions Limited
Castle Road
Studley
Warwickshire
United Kingdom
B80 7AA

Phone: 01527 854 222
International phone: +44 1527 854 222
Facsimile:01527 857 666
International facsimile: +44 1527 857 666
Email: sales@creativevideo.co.uk

Opening hours:
Monday: 09:00 - 17:30
Tuesday: 09:00 - 17:30
Wednesday: 09:00 - 17:30
Thursday: 09:00 - 17:30
Friday: 09:00 - 17:30
Saturday: 09:00 - 13:00
Sunday: Closed
Bank holidays: Closed



After placing the order at the beginning of December I received it 3 weeks later, not bad, concerning that they had to order some of the umbrellas from the US.



Although everything came with a good package I instantly noticed that the tips of the umbrellas were the sharp ones :(

Nothing that I was not expecting, since I had previously talked to Westcott headquarters in the US and they told me that the only umbrellas they make now with the round tips are the White one's with a removable black cover. They also told me that they had a few problems with the round tip production because they easily tear apart.

Well I have mine with round tips for a year now and never had any problem with them.



Anyway since they only had the Westcott logo I decided to keep these ones and start look for a solution to not hurting myself on closing them nor hurting other people with those sharp tips.

This is what you will need for todays DIY sharp tips protection and pencil reinforcement:

- A normal pencil (for the reinforcement)
- Glue
- Scissors
- Lighter
- Plastic Electrical Heat Shrink (Sleeve)



Get the pencil and cut it in order to fit inside the umbrella metal stick and had some glue to the pencil so it can stay inside after drying out.

Tip: The IKEA pencils do not fit tight so don't bother bringing them home instead get some of the office :)



Here is the pencil going inside the umbrella with lots of glue, now you just have to clean that extra glue :)

Tip: Use some UHU glue or some other but pay attention not to choose one that dries quickly or else you would risk of having the pencil glued before you put it all inside the umbrella metal stick.



Nice and easy. Take a look at the complete and detail article on another of my posts DIY: Westcott Umbrella Reinforcement.




Now let's move to the part of the sharp tips.

What do I call "sleeve"?

Well Sleeve is an electrical plastic thing that is used to isolate the electric wires when you weld them. I think you can find this on any electrical/electronic components store and is commonly known as Heat Shrink.

The Heat Shrink I use here measure 1,2mm thick and they fit very nice on to the umbrellas tips. They are identical to the ones I used on the article DIY: Flash Hot-Shoe MOD.



Now let's cut them up so they can be put on all of the sharp tips as a protection. Measure the tip by putting it through the tip just remember to leave a little bit out.



You will need to cut 8 of them to each of the umbrella tips.



Cut them like this and put them in. Leave a little bit out so when you shrink them they will not be too small.



Use the lighter to tight them up since as soon as you got them hot they shrink and mold to the shape of the tip.

Tip: use the middle part of the flame (blue) so you won't burn them out, this way you will get a lot of heat and will not burn the Heat Shrinker (Sleeve).



This is what it will look like when you finish. Make each one carefully so you won't burn any part of the umbrella.



Here is what it look like on the Silver umbrella.



And here is the look like of the finish of the white umbrella. This would not interfere with the lighting situations and would be much safer when you close the umbrella and also if anyone, by accident, pass by it.

I hope this would help you out with the sharp tips on the umbrellas.

I also would like to wish you all a great 2008!!!