In LA

I want to try the multicam feature in the new FCP X 10.0.3 update, so I fire up Software Update. It checks Apple’s server and tells me that there are no available updates. How can this be? I’ve clearly got FCP X 10.0.2 installed, so the 10.0.3 update should appear. I run software update again, and again, with the same result. I ponder this a while, and then attain enlightenment.

Of course! FCP X is installed via the App Store application, and updates are likely also distributed via this route. –And so it is, I check for available updates in the App Store, and the 10.0.3 update is patiently waiting for me.

I’m happy to have found the update, but am a little surprised how unwieldy¹ the process of finding updates has become. Apparently I need to keep it straight in my head that OS, Safari, iTunes, and some other updates are always delivered via the system’s “Software Update” function, and updates for apps installed via the App Store (should I ever manage to remember their provenance) are to be found only in the App Store app. And then there’s 3rd-party apps that have their own update mechanisms — if I’m lucky they use the Sparkle framework, which informs me of updates as soon as the apps are launched –nice.

If I’m confused about where to look for software updates, other users may be as well. An easy stopgap measure Apple could implement would be to add a line to Software Update when App store App updates are available such as “there are also 32 available updates waiting in the app store for you. Launch app store?”. Here’s an ugly mockup:

I expect Apple will either do something like this, or will come up with some wonderfully elegant way to make this unnecessary, or will release a new Mac Pro². Maybe all of the above. If they make this happen via a Software Update, I hope I can find it.

1. One might say “Windowsy” [↩]
2. unrelated, but please please please [↩]

I made a couple of impulse Blu-ray purchases today, and am now looking forward to watching these fine films:

Time Bandits [Blu-ray] $7.99

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin [Blu-ray] $6.991

But I also showed some restraint. Here’s something I successfully resisted purchasing today:²

White Aphrodisiac Telephone (Salvador Dali, 1938)

1. features commentary by The RZA [↩]
2. probably because none were available for sale [↩]

If you’ve got an iPad and enjoy classic arcade games or have ever thought of building a MAME cabinet, you might want to jump on this deal. Bed Bath and Beyond is clearing out their stock of iCades for half-off, at $49.99. I haven’t tried this, but it may be possible to even bring the price down further — Someone online says “Sign up for emails and get a printable 20% coupon bringing it to $39.99!”¹

The iCade is a cabinet for the iPad that features an arcade-style joystick and eight buttons. It connects via bluetooth to the iPad as a wireless keyboard, and support for it is built into several gaming apps, including Atari’s Greatest Hits. Here’s one user’s review.

If you’ve got a jailbroken iPad² you can use the iCade to control imame4all³ and other emulators. It’s great to play such games with a real joystick and buttons. I’ve been using an iCade for a while, and still plan to replace its joystick with a real sanwa, which apparently isn’t that difficult to do.

I don’t know how long this deal will last, but I think it’s a good one.

1. Not my exclamation point, I should perhaps include a “sic” of disapproval. [↩]
2. jailbreaking the thing is very easy to do right now and is legal [↩]
3. just jailbreak and then install imame4all via cydia [↩]

I just happened upon a deal and figured I’d pass it along. If you’ve been thinking of getting a video-capable DSLR, you can now get a refurb T2i at under $500 shipped.

The Canon T2i is my bang-for-the-buck camera of choice. It shoots video that’s identical to that of their more expensive models T3i and 7D, and it’s also easily hackable to run the Magic Lantern open-source firmware. Magic Lantern gives the camera a ton of new useful features, such as time-lapse, HDR multiple-exposure bracketing, focus peaking, focus zoom, and more.

Canon’s discounted the price of some refurbished cameras by 15%. Which brings the T2i down to what must be its record low price.

The Deal:

• Here’s a link to the EOS Rebel T2i Body Refurbished – $475.99.
• They also sell it with a very good, cheap kit lens: EOS Rebel T2i EF-S 18-55mm IS Lens Kit Refurbished – $543.99.

According to the site at which I found the deal, “Shipping is $5 for $150+ purchases with coupon code SHIP11 [Exp 12/11]“.

Shoot right with this camera, and it can look ridiculously good. I bought mine back when the best price for the T2i body alone was $799 about a year-and-a-half ago, and have no regrets. It allows me to shoot video to a large sensor (APS-C size) using my excellent Canon lenses and even old Nikon lenses using an adapter.

A few clips I’ve shot on my T2i can be found here. They’re not best-of-breed, but should give some idea of what video from the T2i can look like:

• my first online DSLR video
• Looong Steadicam Merlin + Canon T2i shot
• On the streets of Hengdian, China

My first video shot on my T2i:

pizza and the dream of not being filmed from ZachFine on Vimeo.

I’ve thought many a time about how much fun it’d be to have a very minimal but smooth little dolly, which I would use to move my DSLR in lines and curves on a smooth surface while shooting video. A number of products have popped up over the years. Here’s a list of the ones I’ve noticed:

Click any image thumbnail to see it embiggened.

Item	Price	Image	Note
The P+S Technik Skater Mini Camera Dolly	$5400		The one that started it all, I think. Costs a little less than the last used car I bought and undoubtedly moves more smoothly. Out of my price range until I start shooting for Spielberg.
Omni-tracker Slim-Line “LITE”	$495		The Omni-tracker looks a bit like a P+S Technik carved of purest PVC plastic and endowed with a carrying handle. This may be the only item in this list that will float in water1. They make heavier duty models as well, it costs $1500 for their top model.
KONOVA Scaled Rotational Axis Skater Dolly	$125		This looks a lot like what I’d probably build if I were to make my own, but I’m not sure that’s such a good thing. Something about them doesn’t appeal to me, but I can’t put my finger on it. If I put my foot on it I could probably skate. +Who named this thing?
DIY Skater Dolly	$20-$∞ + time		Pictured is dvxuser forum member Texanite’s rather gorgeous acrylic skater dolly, he sells them for around $400 when they’re available. This is an example of the kind of thing one could build with infinite time, materials, and skill.
Cinetics Cineskates	$275		An innovative skater dolly consisting of a set of super-engineered wheels that connect to a “GorillaPod Focus”. It’s a Kickstarter project, so the pricing will change soon. I’ve quoted the cost of a full kit, with tripod and ballhead. The wheels by themselves are $150 for a set of 3. I’m a little curious how rigid it’d be, but 930 kickstarter backers can’t be wrong. My resistance to spending $50 per wheel keeps me a step short of buying, but I’m tempted by its bizarreness and quality.
Pico Flex Table Dolly	$65, or $90 with friction arm extension		I give up. This newcomer looks like it will be too much fun. I’d probably spend $65 or more building my own, and mine would be less well engineered. Check out a video of the item in use here. It’s a very simple-looking item, but it does appear to be flexible enough, small enough, and smooth enough for my purposes. Their price for the friction arm is also very good. Ordered.

Cineskates popped up on the net the last week of August and got me interested in thinking again about skater dollies after more than a year of ignoring the category. The Pico Flex, which appeared on the net a week later, is where I’ve ended my search for now. I’m excited to play with the thing when it arrives.

1. I’ll keep that in mind for nautical use [↩]

My cousin Jenny is an internet superstar now due to the existence of this very entertaining music video.

I think Nathan J. Barnatt directed, edited, dances, and flips about in the video as well. Martin Starr tunes it in at the beginning.

Word on the street is that no green screens were used, it’s all implemented using early 20th century filmmaking methods –except for the digital music, camera, editing software, etc.

I like, +1, etc.

I’ve previously written on this blog about the Creative Vado HD solid-state 720p video cameras. I enjoy knocking mine about (both above and below the waterline) and I tend to recommend them to people who just want to capture moments with family, or to those looking for a simple video camera to give to a future filmmaker, or to folk who want a camera cheap enough to risk destroying in unsafe conditions¹, or to anyone who simply wants a convenient tiny video camera. The reason I particularly like the Creative Vado series as opposed to the now-defunct Flip cameras and other competitors is that the Vados feature the widest-angle lenses in this class of camera. I thought these were a good deal when their price fell to $129 a couple of years ago. Today I noticed refurbs are available for 1/3 that price. Perhaps they’re being cleared away due to the fact that some popular smartphones record video of equivalent quality, and are eating away the market? Regardless the reason for the discount, I think these cameras are fun, useful, and a great value.

The Creative Vado HD 8GB (refurbished, first generation), is currently² listed at $40, and the third generation Vado HD (refurbished, available in several candy colors) are on sale for $50.

Both of these are solid-state video cameras that charge and transfer video to computer over a concealed USB connector and record pretty nice (for the price) 720p HD video at 30 frames per second. The older Vado records to mpeg-2 codec and includes 8Gb of storage space (~2 hours of record time), and the 3rd generation records to mpeg-4 and includes 4Gb of space (also ~2 hours, possibly at the same or better visual quality than the older model due to the more efficient mp4 codec). I haven’t yet used a 3rd gen Vado HD, but it appears to include an improvement that was at the top of my wishlist for the earlier Vado HDs: improved dynamic range and some manual exposure control. These cameras clip highlights³, it’d be nice to be able to minimize that issue and knock the exposure down a peg.

Also available at a discount right now, and possibly of interest to anyone with a small camera or phone, is the Creative Labs Vado HD Underwater Pouch. This item has for some reason⁴ dropped in price to $10. I believe it is a rebranded Aquapac Mini Waterproof Camera Case, an item which normally sells for about $30 (under both the Aquapac and Creative brand names).

This pouch is basically a fancy polyurethane bag, with a strong seal⁵ and very clear vinyl windows on front and back. It can hold small cameras easily, and I’ll probably be using mine next month to keep my iPhone dry while kayaking.

For an example of the 2nd generation Vado HD and this pouch in action together, check out this a Green Sea Turtle video I shot in Hawaii. I also recently loaned out my Vado and pouch to The Perennial Plate, and they used it to shoot some underwater footage of an urchin diver for their web series.

1. such as underwater in a fancy plastic bag [↩]
2. last I checked — the price could change any moment due to the way Amazon operates [↩]
3. a characteristic of all inexpensive digital cameras [↩]
4. momentarily? [↩]
5. I trust it more than I would a couple of ziplocs, FWIW, and have had no problems with mine over a couple of years of use. [↩]

I was just paging through a bunch of photos I shot with my iPhone while in China and came across photos I’d shot of a menu that featured some amazing English translations. I present to you a collection entitled “Customer get angry”:

I really wish I’d asked if I could buy one of these menus, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Although I think many of these translations are hilarious, it is worth noting that I don’t think badly of whoever put it together –it was extremely courteous of them. Very very few English speakers ever pop into the small town of Hengdian, let alone drop into Ai Qi Coffee. So kudos to that establishment for trying (and largely succeeding) to accomodate the occasional English-speaker.
Customer not really angry.

1. Again, those not accustomed to China might also find "Super cows feet pizza" to be noteworthy [↩]
2. I suspect a scientific name crept into their woeful Chinese-English dictionary [↩]

By popular demand¹, and to give me a reference so I can remember my settings when I inevitably lose them, I present my Steadicam Merlin recipe for the Canon T2i with attached² Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lens. It’s the exact setup I used to shoot this little video of a sidewalk butcher shop in China.

These images show the combination of weights used, the span angle setting, the hole in the mounting plate to which the camera was attached (hole N), that the gezornenplatz screw was in place, and the position of the mount plate.

Full setup

middle weight and span setting	end weights	mounting plate
mount plate position

1. i.e., a single message sent to me on Vimeo [↩]
2. as opposed to unattached? [↩]

Sometimes Chinese parents show how they really feel about their child with a carefully-chosen bumper sticker.¹

What’s a “Tiger Mom”? If you have to ask, that’s good. You’ve obviously been studying math or practicing piano for hours and hours, keeping clear of the internet. I take back what I said about you being garbage.

When I saw this sticker I laughed aloud², then reflected on the fact that if my parents had sported this on their Toyota station wagon when I was growing up, I’d probably have been a better student. Fear of unknown unknowns³ is a great motivator.

OK, so the bumper sticker has nothing really to do with the “Tiger Mom” meme, but that phrase is all over the net and the whole concept alternately interests me and cracks me up. My theory is that any truth to Mrs. Chua’s newly-named stereotype has little to do with being Asian⁴, and much to do with the fact that it wasn’t easy for people to immigrate to the US from China in the 1960s-80s and the process disproportionately selected for the hard-scrambling type. Many of those immigrants later decided⁵ to imbue in their kids the same drive that served them in getting through that filter. It’s just like the Johnny Cash song “A Boy Named Sue“, but with the parental focus being toughness mental rather than physical.

But no need to be so serious; The best Tiger Mom jokes I’ve come across so far are the article “New Parenting Book Sparks Outrage” from The Onion, and Jen Kwok’s “Tiger Mom Rap!”.

1. Yes, I smudged out the license number, just in case China’s “Human Flesh Search Engines” are on the lookout for people with unharmonious bumper stickers. [↩]
2. …then I stopped laughing and wondered whether the driver could have purchased this sticker as a deliberate joke, which would still be funny but less so. Unlikely given that the median level of English literacy among locals of this area in nil. [↩]
3. Rumsfeld, Donald, “I never promised you a WMD”, Press Briefing (Winter 2002 Edition), GWB (ed.), URL = <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_known_knowns>. [↩]
4. …except for the Orientalist-tinge to the naming of the meme. [↩]
5. …or had less choice in the matter than that, since people may often just use the same parental behaviors that were modeled for them when young, or maybe their nature trumps nurture and the filter selected for genetically-driven type-A peeps. [↩]