Whatup nerds? I'm Jay Shareef. Welcome to another episode of Tech Tuesdays.
Every Tuesday I make a short video about whatever tech or gadgets I've received in the last seven days.
I've had two parcels arrive this week. Both of them are small camera gadgets and
I think they're both going to make my videos a little bit better.
First up, let's talk about vlogging, and specifically the mirrorless camera I bought earlier in the year.
This is the Canon M6.
It's the first real camera I've ever owned, and by "real camera" I mean a camera with an interchangeable lens.
Now this is an excellent camera for many purposes.
It can give you a nice sharp image. It has excellent autofocus.
The internal mics are very good, but you can also attach an external mic as well.
And, the best feature of all, it has a flip up screen.
All of those features combined make it an excellent camera for vlogging.
Now I've mentioned in the past how I personally prefer the flip up screen,
while many other YouTubers prefer the screen to flip out to the side instead.
I think flip up screens are better because I like having the screen as close as possible to the lens itself.
However, this can introduce a small problem when it comes to external microphones.
You see, the cold shoe attachment on this camera is on top.
So the best place to attach your microphone is on top.
The clever ones out there can already see the problem with this.
Stick a microphone on top and suddenly you're blocking your flip up screen.
And on this model, the Canon M6, the screen needs to be pushed all the way up to work properly.
Otherwise the image on screen will show upside down.
Basically you have to choose between using the flip up screen or using an external microphone with your camera.
And, if you are vlogging or talking to camera, ideally you want to do both at the same time.
The first gadget I've bought this week solves this problem.
It's called the Ulanzi PT-3 and I've wanted to get one of these for quite a while.
It's basically a camera attachment that gives you a few extra cold shoe mounts to the side of your camera.
And this is what it looks like.
So here we have the Ulanzi PT-3 attached to the bottom of my camera.
What does this mean?
Well now I don't have to choose between a flip up screen and an external microphone.
I can have my screen flipped up and I can use my external microphone at the same time very easily.
Oh and another advantage, as you can see, it has a quarter inch hole at the bottom.
So I can connect it to a tripod or monopod as well. Let me show you that.
And there we have it. My vlogging rig is now complete.
I can now see myself and I've got an external microphone attached at the same time.
Now I don't like vlogging with my mirrorless camera and i'll tell you why.
Let me just put this set up onto the kitchen scales...
700 grammes!! That's how much this vlogging setup is.
Let me show you the difference. This is my DJI Osmo Action.
Yes, the picture is not going to be as good, but the convenience is in a different league.
210 grammes!! This is basically more than three times as much as this in terms of weight.
And also look at the size difference. Look at the the "footprint", as it were.
I'd be embarrassed to be seen out in public with something this size.
But there are vloggers out there who are more than happy to lug around 700g... 800g... a kilo,
and something of this size... very, very conspicuous.
I'm not one of them.
Anyway, the Ulanzi PT-3 costs less than £15 GBP from Amazon.
And the fact it exists tells me there is a demand for this product.
And it's worth keeping in mind that you can attach other accessories to these cold shoes as well.
You can easily attach a flash bulb, for example, a rangefinder or LED light, if you wanted.
In fact, it's possible to attach, in theory, three different accessories.
Although that'd be pushing it, to be honest.
So what's the point? What is this?
Basically, this is an alternative to a camera cage.
Except it's better than a camera cage, because it's cheaper and it can be used with multiple different cameras.
Camera cages are usually specific to only one type of camera.
The PT-3 does have a couple of disadvantages though.
Firstly, it's not as nice to use, or as versatile, as a camera cage.
Secondly, the footprint of your camera rig - the overall size of your setup - is a lot bigger with the PT-3.
So, it's a little uglier overall than a dedicated camera cage.
However, at a measly £15 GBP, I'm not going to complain.
And, if I ever decide to use my Canon M6 for vlogging,
I'll definitely take the Ulanzi PT-3 out with me.
Albeit with a much smaller microphone than this!
The second gadget I bought this week is a bit of a weird one, if I'm being honest.
And what I received was actually a little different to what I was expecting.
This is the Z-Flex tilt head for tripods.
I got mine for about £5 GBP from Amazon and it arrived very quickly. Prices for these do vary a lot though.
And there are some fancier, high-end versions that cost more than £50 GBP - so ten times as much as I paid!
So you're probably wondering "what the hell is this Z-Flex thing?"
Well it's a little difficult to explain, really.
Basically, like the PT-3, the Z-Flex is an attachment that sits between your camera and your tripod.
At the bottom it has two mounting holes - a 1/4 inch hole and a hole that's 3/8 of an inch.
So, basically, it works with pretty much all tripods, because those are the two sizes you normally have.
So this mini tripod has a 1/4 inch thread - as do most of my tripods, in fact.
Let's see how it looks when you put the Z-Flex on top of here.
So there we go. That's the Z-Flex sitting on top of my mini tripod.
However, this larger tripod has a thread that's a 3/8 of an inch.
And let's put that on here just to see if that works.
There we go. It works on the larger tripod as well.
This is the standard tripod you'll often see professionals using.
So there we go. The Z-Flex works with all different types of tripod.
But, what is the Z-Flex for?
Well, for me, it replaces these things.
These things are called "ball heads" and they're often attached to the top of a tripod or monopod
so that you can quickly tilt your camera to different angles.
The thing is... I hate these ball heads. I absolutely despise them!
I have two big problems with these.
Firstly, they struggle to cope with heavy cameras - especially if you have a big or heavy lens attached.
My second problem is the lack of precision.
And the fact that your camera can easily end up slightly off centre without you realizing
because you have to, kind of, guess which way is directly up,
and then tighten it... and then attach your camera on top.
The problem is ... you can never get it right! You will never, ever get it exactly right.
Simply because there are too many variables - it moves in 360 degrees.
You are bound to be wrong on one of these axes.
See? It look straight from one angle. But as soon as you spin it around a little bit...
Oh that's not straight! That's not straight at all.
See what I mean?
So, instead of a ball head, I want to use this Z-Flex on top of my tripods.
Because it only tilts along one axis. Which is much better, as far as I'm concerned.
Another big benefit of the Z-Flex is that it has a built-in spirit level, so you know your camera is level.
Now I will admit that this is a lot bigger than I was expecting.
And it's definitely a lot bigger than a ball head.
There's also the minor annoyance of securing it in place requiring an Allen Key (Hex Key).
They do supply one for you, and it's not that difficult to use.
But there are versions of the Z-Flex that come with thumb screws instead of Allen Keys.
Which is a much more convenient design and I wish I'd bought that one instead.
So, that's my second gadget of the week.
And if you want to get this Z-Flex, or this triple cold shoe from Ulanzi,
the links will be in the description below.
I do kind of regret buying the cheap and cheerful version of the Z-Flex
because there are some updated, upgraded versions of it available now.
And those are the ones I'll link to in the description below.
I don't recommend this one at all.
Anyway, this has been another episode of Tech Tuesdays.
I'll be back again next week with more.
Later nerds!