" Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you’re a director. Everything after that you’re just nego tiating your budget and your fee.”   - James Cameron

  A solid choice for any photographer or filmmaker looking for an ultra compact DSLR that won't break the bank. Capable of 24.2megapixel stills and 1080p at 60 frames per second.  Paired here with the Canon EF 50mm 1:1.8 STM lens, it's perfect for low light, portrait, indoor and bokeh photos and video.  One could say it's the jack of all trades setup.

  The Canon EOS Rebel T4i DSLR Camera blends the experience of the best point-and-shoot features with the creative freedom allowed through traditional DSLR technology.   It's the first DSLR camera that can track and stay focused on moving subjects during video recording.  Making it a great buy for low budget filmmakers and photographers.

  Every photographer and filmmaker has a bag, and every bag has a story behind it. Tell us your bags story. Why that camera (or cameras) those lenses? what's missing from your bag?  

  Did you know?   The origins of Image Stabilization for 35mm DSLR lenses dates back to the EF 75-300mm 4-5.6IS USM lens released by Canon back in September of 1995.  These lenses predated the mainstream adoption of digital technology by a long shot, but pioneered the way for many more to come.  In 1995 you could buy an EOS DCS 3, but it was only a 1.3MP camera and would cost you around $20,000, so needless to say many continued to use film at that time.  Because Canon developed the technology prior to mainstream DSLR adoption, putting stabilization in the lens made the most sense. The only other way it could have been done would be to physically move the 35mm film up and down/left to right to counteract vibrations, which would be an engineering nightmare.   The system Canon developed works by physically moving elements inside the lens to counteract any vibrations in the camera body.   Utilizing a lens with image stabilization allows you to ...

  Up for sale is a used Canon EF 50mm 1:1.8 STM Lens. All photos are of the actual item. All exterior surfaces have been detailed.  Includes the original box! Canon ‘ s most compact 50mm lens, the EF 50mm f / 1 . 8 STM has a rugged metal mount, plus an improved minimum focusing distance of 1.15 ft. (0.35m) and a maximum magnification of 0.21x.  Known by many as the nifty fifty. Perfect for low light, portrait, indoor and bokeh photos and video. One could say the lens is the jack of all trades. Full specifications can be found on Canon’s website: https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/lenses/ef/standard-medium-telephoto/ef-50mm-f-1-8-stm

  Canon lovers have long enjoyed the 50mm lens, so much so that they nicknamed it the Nifty Fifty. Over the years Canon has come out with a few variations of it.  We're going to compare two of those, the Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 II , and the Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 STM . Both lenses are of course 50mm, have an aperture of 1:1.8, and lack image stabilization, so we're going to focus more on the differences between the two in this blog post. Lens mount - [Winner] Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 STM Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 STM: Metal Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 II: Plastic Starting with the painfully obvious difference between the two, the Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 STM features a metal lens mount, which means it'll hold up a lot longer when it comes to users that switch lenses on a regular basis.  If you're the type that sticks with just one lens, I wouldn't consider this a deal breaker. Aperture blades - [Winner] Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 STM Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 STM: 7 blades Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 II: 5 blades...

Behind the scenes look at machining the dolly wheels for a DIY Table Top Camera Dolly. Follow along with your own tools, or check out the link below for a set ready for a beginner DIY stabilizer project. Available at: http://www.balvanzenterprises.com/DollyWheels.html

Drizzy Dro- "Live or Die" A Panasonic Gh4 Short Film/Music Video(Panasonic 12-35mm 2.8) Long time customer Christopher Jared Cotton released a unique Short film/Music video yesterday. Blending together a fast paced custom rap song with an extended storyline with literally no budget, no script, and no planning in advance. Check it out and tell us what you think in the comments below!

In our continued effort to bring camera flight to low budget filmmakers, we've put together a Low Budget 3-Axis Gimbal perfect for the DIY crowd. Featuring a two piece CNC design to offer you a low price, without sacrificing precision.  This would be a great addition to any DIY Camera Stabilizer build. Learn more at the link below Low Budget 3-Axis Camera Stabilizer Gimbal - Perfect for your DIY Project

The MiniDV Stabilizer is back with a NEW and IMPROVED design based exclusively on customer feedback! Check it out>> http://balvanzenterprises.com/MiniDVStabilizer.html Lighter than the original, designed for compact point and shoot cameras like the GoPro Hero while still supporting compact DSLR's like the Canon T3i, T4i and T5i , Featuring a new head plate and so much more... New Head Plate makes balancing the camera stabilizer faster than ever! Featuring a new design that reduces the weight of the base plate by 44%. Designed to be slightly taller than its competition to offer more stable footage, as well as a wider weight range.

As a filmmaker you are unique, so shouldn't your gear be too? There is nothing more unique than a prototype. Add three more shooting modes to you gear bag with our Multi Mode Balanced Shooter. This product is truly one of a kind as only one will be sold.  Check it out at the link below:   http://balvanzenterprises.com/ProtoTypeProducts/ItemPage/Prototype%20%20Multi%20Mode%20Balanced%20Shooter 3-Shooting modes Low Mode Over Shoulder Gun Stock Over Shoulder/Gun stock Low mode with extendable counter-balance weights Low mode shooting

Post by Balvanz Enterprises . Like if you agree, share if you are following your film making dream.

Long time customer Ben Hughes of Ben Hughes Studios just dropped Part 1 of his suspenseful, thrilling feature length film. Check it out!    

Whether you're interested in building your own DIY camera stabilizer, or just enjoy seeing the process behind the product, follow along the hand crafted journey as we go from raw material to finished product.   The process begins with the top plate of the camera stabilizer head.  A paper template is glued on to the surface, then 27 holes are hand drilled with the help of a laser guided drill press. If the head plate is intended for use with our Specter Stabilizer , the holes are also counter-sunk. 7 years and an estimated 100,000+ holes drilled by none other than the owner himself, precision can be seen in the alignment test. Moving on to the middle plate, slots are machined with the help of our manual 3-axis mill.  These slots allow for the front-to-back adjustment of the camera. Holes are drilled for the mounting screws that connect the middle and bottom plates.  Then counter-sunk on the drill press. ...

We would like to thank Ted Cole for sending us his most recent music video filmed with a Canon T3i and our MiniDV Stabilizer .    You can learn more about the MiniDV Stabilizer at the link below: MiniDV Stabilizer - Supports 1-2.25 pound cameras

We would like to give a special thanks to Christopher Jared Cotton from Cotton Films for sending us one of his latest projects.  He filmed the following music video using only our Specter Stabilizer, a Canon EOS 6D with Canon 24-105 f4l lens and a reflector.  Overall amazing results, keep it up Cotton! If you're in the market for a camera stabilizer and want to learn more about our Specter Stabilizer , check out the link below: http://www.balvanzenterprises.com/SpecterStabilizer.html

Over the course of several hours thirty four different parts come together to produce just one of the high precision 3-axis camera stabilizer gimbals found in our Specter Stabilizer .   For precise alignment of the mounting holes, the middle layer of the gimbal starts out as a square .   Once the holes are drilled and threaded the corners are cut off prior to final rounding( Shown on right) . Designed with three layers that are machined together for a perfect fit, lighter weight, and calibration adjustment for perfect balance. .  It takes over seventy different parts to assemble just one of our Specter Stabilizers , seventeen of which are custom machined with tolerances of just a few thousandth of an inch. Here’s a close up look at just two of those custom parts found in the 3-axis gimbal. With high precision ultra low friction surfaces, the new fully ceramic main bearing will give you the super smooth footage you need. ...

A special thanks to Dave Andrade on YouTube for sending us his review of our New  MiniDV Stabilizer Pro V2 Camera Stabilizer .

Setup Tutorial for the MiniDV Stabilizer Pro V2 Camera Stabilizer .  The Canon T3i was used for example purposes, but the instructions apply to any camera both DSLR and Camcorder format within the 1.25-4.25pound weight range of the camera stabilizer. Learn more at: http://balvanzenterprises.com/MiniDVStabilizerPro.html