So much of what we do comes down to collecting good footage in the first place. Although we can put a lot of time into choosing the right camera there are a whole heap of camera accessories that we should carry in our bag to make videoing easier and better. Here is a run down of some cool accessories you might add to your camera bag.
Joby Gorillapod
This come in a few different shapes and sizes. You can see there full range here; http://joby.com/ These are great to have in your bag. If you ever want to set up a fixed camera in an odd positin or where you don’t have the space for a full tripod.
I have seen loads of Tennis Pro’s use them where they simply attach them to the railings around a court and then get on with their coaching. But you can use them in almost any situation.
You could also use this if you wanted to just fix your camera to a certain part of the pitch while you video with a second camera.
Starting Price around £30
Make Your Tripod Better
So We’ve all been there. You blow your budget on the latest camera and then you have nothing left for the tripod. You think there can’t be too much to it so you get the cheapest one you can afford! Except there can be a big difference between tripods.
It might not be necessary to spend a fortune on one but you do get what you pay for. All is not lost – even if you have bought a bad tripod you can rescue the situation. You can actually buy the Ball -Head separately.
This one here cost around £100 and is really good quality. Here is a good article explaining why this is so important. http://improvephotography.com/12062/tripods-ball-heads/
Looxcie Wearable Camera
So it’s all about wearable these days. Looxcie 3 Social Wearable Video Cam offers tech enthusiasts a way to record anything they want with a sleek hands-free feature. Useful to put on players? Costs around $99 so much cheaper solution then some on the market.
Here is a quick review by Cnet;
Picosteady
Apps like Ubersense, CoachesEye and Dartfish Express are becoming more and more popular for coaches taking their iPhones or Tablets onto the field to take quick video. This is a great development but some of the footage can be really bad.
Coaches really don;t want to bother with tripods here, this great little tool can be a very simply way to improve the quality of the footage taken without adding anything to the set-up time.
This device costs $179 and is made by 2 brothers. You can check out there website here. http://www.picosteady.com/
It doesn’t look like there is an iPad version yet but I’m sure that’s only a matter of time.
WVIL Concept Camera
Ok so I’m cheating here – you can’t actually buy this but it is worth looking at. WVIL stands for “Wireless Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens.” It may only be a concept for now — Artefact has made physical models for ergonomic study and user interface mockups — oh, what a concept it is. “If you look at camera architecture, there’s a missed opportunity that the camera industry has brushed away,” says Markus Wierzoch, the WVIL’s lead industrial designer.
“With the first digital cameras, the industry was quick to replace the medium, film, with a sensor, but the rest stayed the same. But modern connectivity opens up a lot of different options, like being able to detach the lens from the viewfinder. What if you could go to a party, mount three or four lenses all over the room, and control them all wirelessly with one ‘camera’?”
There is a nice video of it here; http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663674/wvil-a-glimpse-at-the-future-of-photography-after-cameras-die-video
