French Flag Help

[Tippster]

Fellow B-Rollers:

i'm trying to procure a couple of French Flags for our kits. I'm looking for the ones that are mounted on an arm made up of interlocking plastic balls that has the flag on one end and a large spring-loaded clip on the other. Usually the clip is attached to the camera handle, but it's versatile (and large) enough to clip it to anything. Any idea who makes/sells these, and what they go for?

And yes, I did do a search first...

[Tippster]

Never Mind. I found it at B&H:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/items/123176.jpg Delta Grip-it Flag (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=123176&is=REG)

[Sportsguy]

Hey Tipp, would this work for you?
http://www.16x9inc.com/images/home_banner_noga.gif

Check it out at 16x9 Inc. (http://www.16x9inc.com/noga/index.shtml)

I would imagine you could put just about anything in the end of it...

[Tippster]

Overkill for what I need... But thanks for playing! :D

Those are kinda cool, though. Then I'd only need a monitor, PagLight, and other cool accessories - in other words: MORE TOYS!

Hmm...

[photogguy]

Originally posted by Tippster:
Never Mind. I found it at B&H:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/items/123176.jpg Delta Grip-it Flag (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=123176&is=REG) Tipp,

Forgive my stupidity, but what do you use that for?

Just wondering.

[<Guess Hazarder>]

I'm guessing to block extraneous light in tight shooting conditions....

[editor_dude]

Film tools
http://store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/clamfrenflag.html

there a good bunch I've gotten alot of cool stuff from them.

[Newshutr]

French Flags..?? For a minute there, I thought you just wanted a couple of white bedsheets tied to sticks.

[Marc Oldham]

Hey,

Ive ordered a few from these guys on Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4691&item=3819480575&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

$39 a pretty decent deal

[Tippster]

Originally posted by editor_dude:
Film tools
http://store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/clamfrenflag.html

there a good bunch I've gotten alot of cool stuff from them. http://store1.yimg.com/I/cinemasupplies_1801_47143255
Hmmm... same flag, different company... different prices:

Yours: $79.00 :eek:
Mine: $39.00 :cool:

I find FilmTools to be one of the most expensive dealers out there, although they do have many cool things.

Marc Oldham - Your guys' price is the same, but the spelling-nazi in me can't get over a line like this:
Don't loose out on this oppertunity.:D

[ August 03, 2004, 05:17 PM: Message edited by: Tippster ]

[Shaky & Blue]

Originally posted by photogguy:
Forgive my stupidity, but what do you use that for? I'm not sure how Tipp intends to use it :P , but usually a French flag is used to prevent lens flares.

A lens flare is caused by a reflection of light on the glass surfaces in a lens. If you get a lens flare, you can actually look into the front of your lens and see which light is causing it by looking for a reflection on the glass. Then you simply position the French flag so that it shades the lens from the light coming from that source. In other words, you use the flag to place a shadow over the front element of your lens, so that your lens can't reflect the light that was causing the problem.

The lens shade or mattebox on your camera serves the same function, but because it is fixed in one position it can't cut out all the flares. It blocks as much extraneous light from the sides and top as it can without cutting into the field of view. An "eyebrow," which is a flag that attaches to the front top edge of a mattebox, extends the range a little further, but it still can't catch flares from the sides.

The French flag on a reticulated arm, however, can be positioned anywhere above or beside the lens to cut out the lights that your lens shade or eyebrow can't reach. You wouldn't run around with that thing on your camera all the time while shooting b-roll; but for standups and live shots in situations where there are other light sources, it's a great tool to have.

I remember once having three of these things hanging off a film camera to solve a bad lighting job I did. The camera looked like some sort of mechanical squid.

[Coolfire]

I've configured one using these spare Lowel pieces.



http://www.lowel.com/images/controls/tota-flag.gif
Tota-flag
Code: T1-52
Weight: 4 oz (113 g)
Size: 8 x 12" (20.3 x 30.5 cm)
Black panel of aircraft alloy aluminum snaps onto Flexi-shaft to shade subject, back-ground or camera lens. Makes a sharper, more controllable shadow than a barndoor.
US List Price: $25.00


http://www.lowel.com/images/controls/flexi-shaft.gif
Flexi-shaft (2)
Code: T1-50
Weight: 4 oz (113 g)
Size: 16" (40.65 cm)
Flexible arm can be bent and rebent. One rotating end simplifies precise positioning of Tota-flags and reflectors as well as Blips. The other end attaches directly to DP, Omni and Tota-lights, a Tota-daptor, Tota-clamp, Tatch, or Tilter. (Pkg of 2).
US List Price: $29.50

http://www.lowel.com/images/controls/tota-tatch.gif
Tota-tatch
Code: T1-34
Weight: 3.5 oz (98 g)
Attaches to stands, shelves, tripods, etc. Accepts one Flexi-shaft.
US List Price: $15.50

[ewink]

...I need to get to a station with more toys! I thought this thread was going to be about cheese, wine and surrendering!

(Don't yell, I love French Fries!)

[photogguy]

Thanks, Shaky. As I began reading your explanation, I went "Ah". Makes perfect sense. I've had a need for one of those many times in the past, but had to make do with my hand or lens cap.

[Shaky & Blue]

Originally posted by ewink:
...I need to get to a station with more toys! Not really. Tipp needs this thing because he shoots in situations that call for it, like manning live shots at a political convention where thousands of lights are mounted in every direction to put him in lens flare hell. Your average local station shooter isn't going to use this but a few times a year, and chances are it will get lost before it really pays for itself. If I were still local, there would probably be other things I would rather my chief spend the money on than this.

Like I said earlier, it isn't practical at all to have this thing on your camera while running around getting b-roll. As soon as you move the camera, the flag is no longer effective. You would have to set the flag each time you set the camera, and it's easier then just to move a little more for your shot to avoid the flare. It would also get in the way while you moved. Tipp can get good use out of it in his job because he often shoots in situations where the camera doesn't move around.

Further, the lens coatings now are much better at reducing flare than they once were, making the whole problem less critical. Even if you get a brief flare in your b-roll, it often won't be too distracting if you don't hold on it. In a live shot where the flare would persist for the entire shot, it's a different matter.

[2000lux]

Aren't they calling them "freedom flags" today? :rolleyes: ;)

[ August 03, 2004, 07:30 PM: Message edited by: 2000lux ]

[<Frog>]

Originally posted by Newshutr:
French Flags..?? For a minute there, I thought you just wanted a couple of white bedsheets tied to sticks. Bingo! I was just waiting for good ole' predictable newshuntress to come through with an anti-euro statement. Good on ya mate!

[Lenslinger]

Originally posted by &lt;Frog&gt;:
quote: Originally posted by Newshutr:
French Flags..?? For a minute there, I thought you just wanted a couple of white bedsheets tied to sticks. Bingo! I was just waiting for good ole' predictable newshuntress to come through with an anti-euro statement. Good on ya mate! I dunno, Frog - from where I sit it's damn funny.

Rifle-dropper.... :rolleyes:

[Lense_Cap]

Originally posted by &lt;Frog&gt;:
quote: Originally posted by Newshutr:
French Flags..?? For a minute there, I thought you just wanted a couple of white bedsheets tied to sticks. Bingo! I was just waiting for good ole' predictable newshuntress to come through with an anti-euro statement. Good on ya mate! It sounded anti-French to me.... I'll just keep the rest to myself.

[Terry E. Toller]

Tipp,
I use a blip on barndoor that lowell makes for their tota light. It has two clips. I placed a peice of aluminum on my mattbox to clip the barndoor to and it works great. I did add another peice of metal as a stop so the flag would not come down into the frame.

This is something you can have on your camera all the time.

[Newshutr]

Originally posted by Lense_Cap:
It sounded anti-French to me.... I'll just keep the rest to myself. [/QB]WOW....You catch on quick.

Some more things about the French:

- During the cola wars, the French were occupied by Pepsi for six months.

-They've modernized their military by adopting the strategy of preemptive surrender.

-In ancient times, the French surrendered to thunderstorms.

-A Frenchman will fight without regard for his own life if you stand between him and a white flag.

[ August 04, 2004, 01:43 AM: Message edited by: Newshutr ]

[Newshutr]

PS- Thanks Lenslinger!!!

[texshooter]

Gimme a little:

http://store1.yimg.com/I/cinemasupplies_1801_31882804

and some:
http://store1.yimg.com/I/cinemasupplies_1805_386009

And I'm all set.

[Shaky & Blue]

So YOU're the one with that black tinfoil tree growing off your lens.

[Lil' Photog]

I've also seen them used to create a shadow on background lighting. It'll give you a lot harder edge than barndoors.

[<russ>]

I'm local and I take that French flag thing on every live shot I do in case I have to point my camera into the setting sun. You can also clamp it to a light stand and throw a nice shadow across the foreground of a shot. Thing has a ton of uses, and it's cheap.

[2000lux]

I'm thinking about getting one too. We often do live shots in front of this police department that has a really bright light just over the front door. because of it's brightness and position, we don't need to set up a hair light because if it. however, some times we get some glare from it. The last time I was down there the reporter was giving me an incredulous look while I was shading the lens with some paper. A proper French flag would be more reliable.

[ August 04, 2004, 10:46 AM: Message edited by: 2000lux ]

[Anton Saur]

Originally posted by Shaky & Blue:
So YOU're the one with that black tinfoil tree growing off your lens. http://www.christmastraditions.com/Merchand/FthrTree/TFOB26.jpg

----------------------------------------------
can be attached to camera and used to keep competition at bay.
----------------------------------------------

[Anton Saur]

http://jgbailey52722.home.mchsi.com/French_Flag.jpg

[Sound N Video]

Pardon my stupity, but is it actually a French flag, or is it just a name??? Why can't it be a Jamaican flag mon???

[Sound N Video]

By the way, I just tried that French flag instructional and it works well. Though I lost my apartment, so maybe it worked too well.

[Newshutr]

Found this. Kinda says it all...


Eleven thousand soldiers

lay beneath the dirt and stone,

all buried on a distant land

so far away from home.

For just a strip of dismal beach

they paid a hero's price,

to save a foreign nation

they all made the sacrifice.

And now the shores of Normandy

are lined with blocks of white:

Americans who didn't turn

from someone else's plight.

Eleven thousand reasons

for the French to take our side,

but in the moment of our need,

they chose to run and hide.

Chirac said every war means loss,

perhaps for France that's true,

for they've lost every battle

since the days of Waterloo

Without a soldier worth a damn

to be found within the region,

the French became the only land

to need a Foreign Legion.

You French all say we're arrogant.

Well hell, we've earned the right--

We saved your sorry nation

when you lacked the guts to fight.

But now you've made a big mistake,

and one that you'll regret;

you took sides with our enemies,

and that we won't forget.

It wasn't just our citizens

you spit on when you turned,

but every one of yours

who fell the day the towers burned.

You spit upon our soldiers,

on our pilots and Marines,

and now you'll get a little sense

of just what payback means.

So keep your Paris fashions

and your wine and your champagne,

and find some other market

that will buy your aeroplanes.

And try to find somebody else

to wear your French cologne,

for you're about to find out

what it means to stand alone.

You see, you need us far more

than we ever needed you.

America has better friends

who know how to be true.

I'd rather stand with warriors

who have the will and might,

than huddle in the dark

with those whose only flag is white.

I'll take the Brits, the Aussies,

the Israelis and the rest,

for when it comes to valor

we have seen that they're the best.

We'll count on one another

as we face a moment dire,

while you sit on the sideline

with a sign, "friendship for hire."

We'll win this war without you

and we'll total up the cost,

and take it from your foreign aid,

and then you'll feel the loss.

And when your nation starts to fall,

well Frenchie, you can spare us,

just call the Germans for a hand,

they know the way to Paris.


Don Fichthorn, Major USMC (Retired)

[geezer]

Coolfire beat me to it.
You can find all kinds of stuff to cobble up a nice french flag from the Lowel catalog.
If you have a 5/8" stud on top of your camera then a Tota-daptor (T1-35) along with a flexi-shaft (T1-50) and a total-flag (T1-52) will do the job nicely.

[Tippster]

EDIT: ...must...not...feed...trolls...

Geezer: that's fine & dandy, but at the end of the day you're looking at a grand total of over $70 and the one I found does what I need for under $40 w/shipping.

[ August 09, 2004, 01:28 PM: Message edited by: Tippster ]

[Coolfire]

Originally posted by Tippster:
EDIT: ...must...not...feed...trolls...

Geezer: that's fine & dandy, but at the end of the day you're looking at a grand total of over $70 and the one I found does what I need for under $40 w/shipping. That's true but if you can scavenge some unused items that are lying around you can piece one together for free and it'll still look like pro gear unlike my used "peechee", duct tape and chopstick configuration.

[Tippster]

Unused items? BWUUUAAAAHHHAAAAHHHAAAAA!!!!

Sorry, man, but that's funny. The only things we have lying around are those same chopsticks, blackwrap, & gaffers tape. I think I'll make my company pay the $40. :D

[<JTD>]

I've been surprised what the engineers think is junk and want to throw away.


Originally posted by Tippster:
Unused items? BWUUUAAAAHHHAAAAHHHAAAAA!!!!

Sorry, man, but that's funny. The only things we have lying around are those same chopsticks, blackwrap, & gaffers tape. I think I'll make my company pay the $40. :D

[Tippster]

Ours is an ex-photog with the worst case of "Alligator Arms" in the city. If it can be fixed, somehow, it will. Plus, he's got an "awesome set of tools..." ;)

[Tazam77]

http://www.peterkuper.com/crime/hand.JPG
I like this tool!! It's great for getting rid of that lense flare! Nothing against tools. I couldn't resist. I own a steady bag for low shots. It doesn't get near enough use though!!

[Newshutr]

It's also a way to...

Nahhh...too easy.

[Run&Gun]

--------------------------------------------------
"It's also a way to...

Nahhh...too easy."
--------------------------------------------------

...relieve stress.

[ August 11, 2004, 10:59 PM: Message edited by: Run&Gun ]

[BluesCam]

I took an old barn door from a Colortran 600 added a bent, tape wrapped coathanger and bingo! Slides right into the shoe.