Nobody really wants to carry around camera manuals (at least I hope not), and if you're frequently using different cameras, it can help to have a lot of the basic information about the camera handy. That's why Evan Luzi, who runs a fantastically practical site about being a top-notch camera assistant called The Black and Blue (and even wrote a guest post for us), has put together a total of 20 pocket guides for basically every major filmmaking camera in use right now -- from the Canon 7D all the way to the RED EPIC and Arri Alexa.
Here is a visual representation of all of the guides he's offering:
This is what Evan had to say about the guides:
The pocket guides have been completely redesigned to provide a more consistent experience from guide-to-guide. That means they’re faster and easier to navigate in the chaos of a shoot...When you download the pocket guides, you are automatically signed-up to receive free updates. So if a camera’s newly released firmware changes any of the material on the guide, you’ll be alerted as soon as you can download a fresh copy of the pocket guide. And if a new pocket guide is added, you’ll be given instant access to that, too. (At anytime you can unsubscribe from these updates and your info won’t be sold or used for any purpose besides letting you know when a new pocket guide is available.)
Evan is offering these guides on a pay-what-you-want basis, so you can give as little as nothing (which we don't recommend), or as much as $1 billion (which would probably make Evan very happy). The recommended donation is $20, which comes out to $1 per guide. If you've ever visited Evan's site before, you know how unbelievably valuable his on-set information is, so a donation just for that content is certainly in order. The guides are really fantastic, and the best part about them -- in my opinion -- is that they aren't written by an engineer, but by someone who spends most of his working hours on a set where speed and accuracy are critical. I know I've found myself in situations where it took valuable time to find a specific piece of information about a camera, so having a pocket guide would have been incredibly helpful.
Head on over to Evan's site using the link below to learn more about the guides and download them for your own use.
