The Quick & The Release (Part 2)

Canon TA-100 Review

Chapter 1

In short: The Canon TA-100 adds the capability to attach to a VCT-14 plate to Canon's professional video cameras & a good option for DIY rigs.

With the introduction of the Canon XL2 in 2005, Canon brought along the TA-100 & has continued support with every professional video camera since (even the growing EOS C#00 line).

  XL2 
  XL H1 / H1a / H1s
  XH A1 / A1s / G1 / G1s
  XF100 / 105
  XF300 / 305
  EOS C100 
  EOS C300 / PL
  EOS C500 / PL

The Canon TA-100 is made up of two main components: wedge & quick release plate.

The wedge is similar to the wedge found on the bottom of a shoulder mounted camera, except for the two pegs sticking up that line up on the bottom of supported Canon cameras (and cover the standard 1/4" tripod mount) with four small screws.

The quick release plate is similar to a VCT-14, except it is only 2/3 the length & doesn't have the rear guide pin.  While the rear pin is necessary for shoulder mounted cameras, I have found smaller cameras stay locked & steady without it.  On the bottom side it has four VHS pin holes, four 1/4" 20 & three 3/8" 16 threaded holes.

At a street price of $150, the TA-100 is half the price of a VCT-14 which doesn't include a wedge.

Right now I want to take a moment to show some appreciation to Canon for the creation & continued support of the TA-100.

[appropriate length pause]

Next, let us take a moment & say a little prayer that: Sony, Panasonic & JVC recognize the awesomeness of the TA-100,  & that they add similar capabilities to all of their future handheld cameras.

Chapter 2

Now I have never owned, nor shot with, any of these fine Canon / TA-100 cameras, yet I own multiple TA-100s.  Why?  Because I was left to create a DIY solution to the VCT problem for my Sony Z7U.

I first discovered the TA-100 in 2008 out of an empty wasteland of VCT / handheld solutions (a wasteland that thankfully no longer exists today). I was very excited by the price, compact sized & mostly the fact it included a wedge too.

I paired the TA-100 with a cheap wireless mount I got off eBay for $30.  Took some measurements, double checked the measurements, drilled a few holes, took out my tap & die set, & then made my very own custom VCT / wireless mic mount for my Sony Z7U.

I absolutely loved the ability to attach my handheld Z7U to a tripod in the same manner that I attached a shoulder mounted camera, as well as having the combined capability of attaching a Lectrosonics UCR-201 wireless mic receiver.  This combo enhanced the usability of my Z7U & it became a great compact run-n-gun ENG camera.

If you're looking to buy one, I've seen a few used ones pass across ebay or video classified forums, or you can find one at your favorite camera retailer, mine being B&H Photo.

Full disclosure: I do not work for Canon or any of their associates.  I was not asked, nor compensated to write this review.

The Quick & The Release (Part 1)

The Handheld Camera VCT-14 Quick Release Problem (& Solutions)

In 2007 I got my first taste of shooting professionally with a handheld camera, after years of shooting with shoulder mounted cameras.

While these handheld cameras have nowhere near the same "character" of shoulder mounted cameras, modern day cameras like the Panasonic HVX200 & Sony EX1 have been able to make nice pictures & have many of the professional features of the larger cousins.

Though one major thing that I missed from shoulder mounted cameras was the VCT-14 style quick release tripod plate.  The VCT-14 plate works with shoulder mounted cameras across brands (Sony, Panasonic, JVC), mounts to any tripod head, has extremely quick camera on / off action & is just a real pleasure to work with.



With a handheld camera I was left to the mercy of whatever tripod head I was using.  Each brand of tripod has a slightly different interface & proprietary quick release plate (none of which are as quick as a VCT-14).  And even sometimes the plates or styles aren't consistent within a single brand.

A Manfrotto 503's plate slides in the front or the back & can be a little difficult if you don't have the camera / plate coming in perfectly.  The knob to tighten the plate is on the right & the release button is on the left.

The Manfrotto 516 has a nearly identical user interface, but uses a different sized quick release plate.

A Sachtler FSB6's the tightening knob & release button are both on the right side.  The plate comes in at an angle, which is easier than sliding in, but you have to make sure the latch is in the unlocked postition.

A Vinten Vision 3AS & Vision Blue both use the same quick release plate, but the plate comes in at an angle on the 3AS & is slid into a Blue from the back of the head.

etc. etc. etc.  Any & all of these work just fine, but I missed the VCT-14 action.

The posts to follow are is the solution(s) I found for myself & three short reviews of these products:  The Canon TA-100, Libec AP-1 & Tilta BS-T03 baseplate.

Magnavox MHL1600 Headphones

 These are my - go to - throw away - field headphones.

  I've purchased & still own two pairs of Sony MDR-7506 professional headphones; I've purchased at least four pairs of these MHL1600's & still own only a single pair. (Hmm... Maybe I have an extra set in the trunk of my car?  So I probably still own two pairs, excellent.)

 Audio quality compared to 7506? Complete muddled garbage. But it isn't a fair fight at all if you're comparing these on their sonic capabilities. So why have I purchased & used these?

 They're cheap; light weight; compact; & not ear buds.

 I've picked these up for (if my memory serves me) $5.99 at Target; they only weigh 2.0 oz; fold up small enough to take up minimal space in your gear bag, yet big enough that they're still easy to find.

 Lastly, they're not ear buds. I like ear buds when I want something for easy iPod listening, but when I'm on a shoot I find ear buds get in the way & over the head headphones are easier to manage.

 Overall, if you're looking for some quality headphones for professional audio monitoring - look for something else. If you want some cheap, throw away, headphones that are good for confidence audio monitoring, these are an excellent buy.

A year ago...

A year ago I was clocking 30 hours of OT, and spent two weeks feeling like I was living in a "Green Zone."

Today I have grease under my finger nails from working on my car so I don't have to spend more money at the shop.

What a difference a year makes.

NPPA style nat-pack

This is something I shot & edited a couple months ago for the Chicago Headline Club's 32nd Annual Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism.

iPhone 3Gs, better than any other video camera EVER

I have seen in a few places now about how the new iPhone 3Gs is a great replacement for those "clunky" big professional cameras, and I thought I would hop on the band wagon with a few thoughts of my own...

XLR audio inputs are stupid, a 1/8" mini mic input is the GREATEST thing EVER. The whole self-locking thing on XLRs is just extra hassle. Anyone who warns that a 1/8" input can easily fail if it is accidentally pulled out of place, are the same people who say "Duck and Cover" won't save you from a nuclear bomb.

Two separate audio tracks? Who thought that was a good idea? Out in the field I want mono everything. Mix that wireless and camera mic together! Two person interview is of no concern because every human being on the planet speaks at the same level. Mayor at the podium? I think I should hear the camera guy next to me breathing just as much as I hear the Mayor. And if you don't like it, I'll just use the "remove Mono" filter in the audio effects, it is right between the "remove echo" and "make better" filters in Final Cut.

While we're talking about audio, why even bother with professional mics? Heck I'll just use the on iPhone mic, if I can't hear the Mayor at the podium I will just give running commentary, or fix it in post. It is always much easier to fix things in post anyways.

Now timecode? Man I have always hated that thing. Completely useless.

Setting TC to time-of-day is just something I would say to confuse the intern. We faked that whole reporter being able to take notes by just looking at the clock instead of asking me what the TC was.

Whats next... video quality? Yes video quality. The picture quality of 3CCDs on a HPX3000 or 3MOS on a HPX300 (and nearly any other Panny, Sony, Canon, JVC, Ikegami, etc.) always bugged me. I really like it when there is more movement from jello than from the objects in the frame moving.

I want my ENTIRE newscast's picture to be floating around like we are about to go into a dream sequence on a bad TV show!

Manual white balance? See above & fix it in post.

Batteries? Get rid of that "S." Purchasing extra batteries was just a scam. I am sure that I will be fine and never miss a shot with one (and only one) internal battery that will stay charged for 24 hours if unused, and drained in under 24 minutes if I use two of the built in features.


If I want have any control on my lens I'll just attach the iPhone to a Letus. That will be a piece of cake since those adapters are much easier to use than just having glass that attaches directly to the camera.

Ejecting media? Such a thing of the past. I have always hated tapes & flash cards, and being able to record for hours & hours by just replacing media in a matter of seconds. I don't want to hand off my raw footage to a reporter, editor or producer in tape or card form, when it comes time to log & edit, I want to completely lock up my camera from being able to be used as a camera.

Wait a second! Why have I bothered to edit video all of these years? Boy have I been a fool.

Now that I'm empowered by the iPhone, I will NEVER edit anything again. Raw video is always more interesting to watch. Voice over, cut aways, etc... forget about it, I'm uploading my raw video directly to YouTube, and since it is on YouTube, people will know it is better than "Gone with the Wind" and billions of people will watch it, and I will become famous and YouTube will pay me tons of money for just how great I am.

Man, this iPhone is totally a game changer.

Using Your Tools (or Obama Time Lapse)

Obama Election Night Time-Lapse HD.

When you are a photojournalist, what is better than having a camera at a major event? Having 2 cameras!



November 3rd 2008 I sacrificed a couple hours sleep because I knew the next day would be historic. Win or lose, Obama was in my home town and I had a press pass.

I had read up on the Canon Hacker's Development Kit (CHDK), but had been unsuccessful in the past trying to play around with it.

That night I had better luck. In only a couple hours I was able to turn my Canon A460 PhD (Press-here-Dummy) into a powerfully customizable camera in an unassuming package.

Pretty much after you get CHDK working, your camera will turn to you and say "I know Kung-Fu."

I installed an intervalometer script onto my camera and set it to snap a picture about every 15sec. I then attached the camera first to the tripod while setting up our riser space. A short while later I moved the camera on top of our main camera. While the second placement of the camera gave a better view, it also meant that whenever we panned or tilted the DVCPro HD camera, the Canon camera also panned or tilted.

A couple days later after recovering from the election madness I put the gigabytes of photos together to form the time lapse video. I added George Winston's "New Hope Blues" off his "Ballads And Blues 1972: The Early Recordings" album, uploaded the video and e-mailed it out to a few friends and family members.

While this video was never meant for any newscasts, it was a good field test of using a consumer product as a professional tool.