A New Drive - Canon 40mm STM f/2.8

Step by step I get closer to my goal of being able to create short films on a DSLR. Over the weekend I ordered my first STM lens. From the research I've done these seem to be better suited to creating smooth focus transitions when in video mode. UCM can be too fast even though you can dial back the focus speed in the 70D I don't think it's enough and you don't get the same control you would with a stepper motor drive like ease-in and ease-out. These parameters define how quickly the focus goes from standing still to changing and can really change the feel of the focusing to make it look more like someone doing it by hand.

It is also my first pancake lens (and Canons also) and if you don't know why it earns that name, just take a look at it. It's probably going to look like a toy on my camera but hey from the reviews I've read it looks good, nice and sharp across the whole frame.

 
You can buy it here: Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Lens

Canon 40mm STM F/2.8

I'll post more when I get it in the post. Looking forward to it.

Jury rigged jib

In my understanding, to jury rig something is to temporarily construct something to achieve a purpose and in photography, a jib is a construction designed to hold a camera usually for the purpose of moving the camera in some fashion. To this end I have managed to put together a rig for my iPhone to enable me to create tracking shots. 

For those that are not familiar with that term, a tracking shot is one where the camera moves sideways as opposed to rotating on a tripod but staying in the one spot. Having recently bought a Belkin Lego case for my iPhone the possibility came to me that I could rig something up to hold my phone to enable tracking shots. Turns out you need reasonably smooth wheels, whilst most Lego wheels are nobbled to some extent. 

The other thing that is useful is three points of contact with the surface that you are tracking across. Unfortunately, I could only find two smooth wheels so I improvised for the third point of contact as you will see. 

Lastly, you need to ensure smooth motion and that turned out to be the hard part. I can understand now why people would want motorized jigs as getting smooth motion via just your hands is tricky especially when your camera is inches from the floor or surface.

So without further delay, here is my jib that I've jury rigged.

In using it I've found it to work quite well. Here is a video of one of my tracking shots.