Homemade Accessories
 

Hello all, I'm new to the board, I just purchased a GL2, and I love it! I was just curious, have some of you all made your own stabilizers (glidecams)/dollies, etc.? I'd like to make my own, but there are so many tutorials out there, and I just wanted to know, which ones would work best for the GL2, and basically which ones work best in general.

Thanks in advance!
DeMarcus

Hi DeMarcus,

I have built a skateboard dollie based on this tutorial:
http://www.shadowgirlproject.com/dolly01.asp

The site is in french but the pictures speaks for themselves. This system work great to me and it is really inexpensive. I will post some pics from my version soon.

You've seen http://www.homebuiltstabilizers.com/?

Anybody have a good homemade windscreen for the built in mike theyd like to share? I keep thinking some kind of foam or sponge or something, but Id like to see what people came up with that does the best job for little $$.

How about a piece of thin foam rubber attached with a rubber band? I've found the built-in mic to do a good job attenuating the wind even without a screen, though YMMV. If I was shooting in the Grand Canyon or somewhere excessively windy, I would spring for some kind of screen.

I like the built in mike a lot. I think of the camcorders with built in mikes its one the best Ive used, but I have had wind noise problems from the beginning -- adjusting the volume levels notwithstanding. I do remember the days were kind of windy, but Im sure theres a $5 way to make a homemade windscreen that will do the trick. Id hate to fork over $100 or whatever it is for the Canon GL2 windscreen.

I also like the quality of the onboard GL2 mic. Its pretty windy here, but I didn't want to spend the $100 for the Canon windscreen, so I bought a Rycote mini windjammer (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=259936&is=REG). It sits loose on the mic, which I don't like, so I bought a cheap handheld mic windscreen (http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=33%2D4001) from RadioShack to use between the GL2 and windjammer. After a couple stitches (to make it a tighter, less generic fit) I have a much more presentable mic... it has actually recieved a number of comments. And boy howdy am I impressed at how well it does. I've tested it in 30 mph winds and all I could hear is leaves rustling in the trees, and my voice was clearly recorded.
That setup is going to end up costing about $50 which is much less than the Canon, but still pretty expensive in its own right. Personally, I feel it is very much worth the pricetag. But, it might be a good idea, if you don't have or want to spend the money, just to use the RadioShack windscreen ($5) and a thick, maybe inside-out sock. That would be inexpensive and probably provide a noticable difference. Also, with a little imagination and some sewing, you could make this simple setup look very nice.

Nicholi-

Interesting. I may try that. Does the Rycote completely cover the mike? Im thinking put the handheld mike on, then Rycote over the top, then rubber band the Rycote in the back??

Yes, the Rycote does fully cover the mic. With the foam in between, the Rycote actually sticks out over the hotshoe a little, so it is definately long enough, but still leaves access to the hotshoe.
Its not shown in the picture, but there is actually a strand of elastic with a snap that wraps around the base of the Rycote. So that's basically what you were thinking with the rubber band. I didn't like the way it fit/looked so I just cut the elastic off entirely. There is a little "V" notch cut out in order to keep the windjammer generic enough to fit on any sized mic - it looks bad. So I just turned the windjammer inside-out and sewed it up with a couple stitches. Then just stuff the foam into the Rycote (after turning it right-side-out of course) and pull it over the mic. I've found this to be easier than putting the foam on first, then trying to pull the Rycote over that.
If you're willing to spend the money and do a little surgery, then you'll be impressed with the result... quality audio and a much cleaner, more professional look.

Just as reference, the actual windjammer I recieved was size medium. I think that is what you'll recieve, its probably just a universal fit for GL2 and like-sized camcorders.