Painting The Camera

[casablanca]

Has anyone here attempted to paint the HV20 black?
I think doing so would make it look less "home" camera.
And if you add a matte box, or a stabilizer it will certainly look more pro.
I'm thinking about event videography, where the audience is watching your gear as a camera man.

Anyone?

-EDWIN

[sp8ce07]

:hv20-smilie121:

[tkmslee]

:hv20-smilie87:

I think that kind of alteration will void any warranty or service contract you may have.

Stick with add ons...even if they are just for looks.

[24Peter]

Edwin - my humble suggestion is to let the quality of your images speak for themselves rather than trying to impress people by painting your camera black.

[Thimble_Guy]

I don't see why you would want to paint it because the camera is nice as it is, but black would actually be nice as well, but i wouldn't even attempt it as some paint might leak inside the camera. I just recieved mines today and i think it looks much better looking in real life than in the pictures on the internet. If your worried that the camera looks like a "home" camera then if you add a lens hood and a nice sennheiser video mic, which is what i have done, it looks more professional, but at the end of the day it's not about how the camera looks it's how it performs.

[mik]

some pro photographers like to put a black tape (a special one for photo usage, that is removable and doesn't leave marks, used to mask the inside of filter tubes, adaptors etc - no idea how it's called) all over the camera, leaving only display and buttons. some say it's for a better grip but i find this a bit strange

[PWHerman]

Yeah, I wish mine was a nice black, but it's not, so I'm not going to try anything dumb here...

[Erik Bien]

STEP ONE: Stuff tape drive with oily rag dipped in sand
STEP TWO: Spray with Krylon Flat Black Barbecue Paint
STEP THREE: Scrape excess paint from lens with razor blade

:hv20-smilie81: !!KIDDING!! :hv20-smilie81:

[bluegrass]

STEP ONE: Stuff tape drive with oily rag dipped in sand
STEP TWO: Spray with Krylon Flat Black Barbecue Paint
STEP THREE: Scrape excess paint from lens with razor blade

:hv20-smilie81: !!KIDDING!! :hv20-smilie81:

Dang Eric. After following your directions I'm having a hard time screwing my WD H43 on. The threads are got filled with paint. Can I use turpentine to clean out the threads? Also, I didn't have any sand around so I thought I'd try sugar. It kind of got the oily rag a little sticky so it was hard to pull back out of the tape tray. I was smart though, I left the lens cap on the WD H43 before I sprayed it. I just had to use a razor to cut it off afterwards.

Hey, anybody want to buy this puppy. I really don't care for the look of Barbeque Black now that I'm looking at it. I'm just going to pick up another one from that $500 deal I heard about on eBay.

I actually was thinking how hot my camera would get if it was black. I was almost afraid to touch it when I was taping last week in the hot sun over at Bean Blossom.

[Tosh Layton]

Recomendation:

I say, once the warranty period is up:

-if you are a MASTER at putting things back to gether and having them still work-

Dismantle the camera
clean all parts to be painted with acetone and let dry
Apply very thin coats of vynil dye -NOT PAINT- letting dry between coats

once your done dying the plastic let is sit for a day and re-assemble the camera.

It will look AWESOME!

[darkprints]

Sequins or feathers might be nice. Bumblebee antennae or furry bunny ears. I wonder how difficult it would be to turn your camera into a chia pet....

[Murrelet]

Hey Eric and Bluegrass, just paint the areas in hot wax that you don't want that BBQ paint to stick to, then hit it with a heat gun after the paint has dried (heck, you could dry the paint with the gun as well, don't worry about the plastic deforming, adds character). The wax will melt and you'll have your threads back....lol ....could even give the cam a cool batik look....

[bluegrass]

Hey Eric and Bluegrass, just paint the areas in hot wax that you don't want that BBQ paint to stick to, then hit it with a heat gun after the paint has dried (heck, you could dry the paint with the gun as well, don't worry about the plastic deforming, adds character). The wax will melt and you'll have your threads back....lol ....could even give the cam a cool batik look....

I know we have all had fun with this. Hopefully we didn't embarrass Casablanca. I'm sure it wasn't any of our intentions. Actually I understood his point and it does seem like a simple thing a manufacturer could take into consideration when developing a product. It seems as though most of them have gone for the grey plastic look for consumer cameras. Maybe Canon should consider being a leader and develop a totally new look that wouldn't compete with their pro line yet be something cool providing it doesn't increase the cost any.

[duketh]

After all you lot gafwarfed at this idea, i'm still thinking about doing it. I mean it can't be that hard......................hahahaha. seriously i am close to jumping on to this crazytrain idea.

hopefully the 3 fingers on my left hand and the thumb on my right which survived the climbing expedition will be good enough...

I want to do it! not joking this time.

[Erik Bien]

Okay, in the spirit of helpfulness for which HV20.com is becoming famous (and because I have previously made my own smart-@ss remark) here's a tip that might work just as well or better:

Look in the yellow pages for "Signmaking Supplies," and buy the smallest amount they'll sell you of black "calendared vinyl" (the self-adhesive colored film that 90% of sign lettering/car graphics is done with these days). While you're there, get a hard plastic "vinyl squeegee." If you don't have an X-Acto knife with sharp blades, get one of those, too.

Fill a spray bottle with water and add ONE DROP of liquid dish soap. Cut a piece of vinyl slightly larger than the area you're trying to cover (for example, the LCD screen), peel the paper backing off, and give the adhesive side a good schpritz with the soapy water. Now, you can "float" the piece into place (like a decal, if you built models), coax it into every nook and cranny with the squeegee, chasing out all the air bubbles (if you miss any, carefully prick them with the tip of the X-Acto blade and they'll smooth right out).

As soon as it's stuck and dry, trim the edges, around any buttons, etc. carefullywith the knife and move on to the next section.

I still can't help but think this would be less perilous to the delicate mechanisms inside than a spray of airborne droplets of stuff designed to stick long and hard to whatever it lands on. Unless you can remove the innards completely and just paint the empty shell I'd be far too afraid of gumming something up!

[zephyrnoid]

1- I actually use an excellent hard coat spray that Krylon makes called Krylon® Fusion Hammered to black out some of my plastic toys ( the HV20 is not one). Be sure to do an excellent job of masking first
2- I LOVE the amatuerish look of the HV20 because it gives me HUGE access where my former fav Canon XL1 would not. For situations where I need pro access, I flash my Press-Card.
3- I love wowing people with the product. They then think they can run to Best Buy and viola! they are instant star film makers. Of course, that's the tongue in cheek of it all LOL !

[twoneil]

I painted this on photoshop; and even in photoshop I get hot spots, it would be difficult to do a proper paint physically.
Just to give you an idea on an HV20 painted in black.
http://aycu15.webshots.com/image/22974/2006179330143125979_rs.jpg

[tkmslee]

I was actually grateful that I had a small camera last week when I was just messing around downtown. I think with my adapter people gave me enough weird looks. Plus I don't want to get stopped and be asked for a filming permit.

[Rikki]

Now thats its black, does that mean its zoom suddenly doubles :D

[Erik Bien]

Rikki,

You're confusing cameras with cars ... the chromed/polished parts always make it go faster, right? :hv20-smilie02:

[duketh]

quick photoshop, yes i know its not great
Dennis Wood of Cinevate's hv20 rig - photopopped black (badly)

http://hv20.info/yopu/hv20black.jpg

dennis if you see this and want it removed i completely understand and already apologise but imho your rig is the pups! and i love it! so i wanted to see it in black (badly)

[tkmslee]

http://hv20.com/yopu/hv20black.jpg

quick photoshop, yes i know its not great
Dennis Wood of Cinevate's hv20 rig - photopopped black (badly)

dennis if you see this and want it removed i completely understand and already apologise but imho your rig is the pups! and i love it! so i wanted to see it in black (badly)

I can't see it.

[duketh]

whoops forgot the image

you can see it now

***
i'm new dont you know :P

[twoneil]

I don't like the shiny look of the black HV20. It seems like it was dipped in oil. Also, the streamline shape of the HV20 doesn't look good with the adapter. I'll stick with original silver thank you very much.

[duketh]

the oil look is my badness at photoshoping it and in reality it would look matt black.

i do agree with you on the shape though, somehow when i finished painting it i stood back and said it looks kinda wierd now its all black. Like some kind of traffic cone shaped thing.

hmm i am more confused now.

[SenorKaffee]

I think it is not bad for the "DV rebel" (TM) that the HV20 looks a little bit like a toy. Noone taking you serious enough to ask for permits. ^^

[Deimos]

I love the black look of the HV20. ¿Anyone has tried to paint it yet?

I'm going to ask a friend who works painting almost everything (helmets, cars, cellphones) to know what he think.

[Daan Pol]

I love the black look of the HV20. ¿Anyone has tried to paint it yet?

I'm going to ask a friend who works painting almost everything (helmets, cars, cellphones) to know what he think.

Tha'd be awesome.

How about painting the buttons and logos RED? :)

You can make it a fake RED that way :D.

[Je55]

I'm gonna send one to these people, i've got two mac pro's with pro tools HD 3 systems (with final cut studio 2 installed) customized by them and the paint job they did on them is amazing, it doesnt scratch and you can choose any colour.

They will do any gadget you send them!

http://www.colorwarepc.com/products/default.aspx

[daci]

I was just about to say that there should be a big enough market and business for colorizing gadgets. Of course smart people figured it out already! ;)

[redwave]

Hey all,
that's good subject.
I was actually painting mini mp3 player. look awesome.
I used Pernament Maker (those bold, usually to mark blank CD/DVD's).
It's best! I would never choose regular paint.
$2.50 and you have BLACK perfect shiny color. You need to apply two+ layers. Need to dry some time. You can get around any corner of HV20, safely.
Cheers ;)

[DaveReporter]

Can you image if Apple made the HV-20???

Do you want a red one, green one or translucent blue one? And... there would not be any annoying buttons to push as everything could be controlled from a single touch dial. Get Paris Hilton to use one and every teenage girl in the country would want one... and it doesn't even need to work and the batteries can die in under 12 months but they will still sell them.

Coooooooool!

[Tosh Layton]

Can you image if Apple made the HV-20???

Coooooooool!

I think if Apple made this camera it would cost 3 to 4 times what it costs now.

[muroshi]

I would love to see a picture. But it looks as nobody finally did it?

It probably destroys any resellvalue though :(

[zephyrnoid]

Actually, after making my first two DIY windmuffs for some mics I have, I'm giving serious thought to covering almost the whole HV20 in Fur! Kinda like Meret Oppenheim's fur covered teacup & saucer LOL! Might cause too many dogs to chase it however ROTFLOL !!!
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~ai342/graphics/furrycup.jpg

[betasx]

Gaffers tape, thats what photographers and event videographers use to tape up stuff, tape down cables, shut up interns and tape to co-workers arms to piss them off. They come in various roll widths and they're black!!! I use it to tape up my equipment to keep from scratching it.

[w.pasman]

Black also looks nice
But as said to paint properly you need to dismantle all visible plastic parts and mask off parts where no paint should go. Look at the silver 'canon' logo to get an idea of how difficult this may be... Then the usual stuff: degrease, primer, paint layers, clearcoat. Finally reassemble the stuff.

Make sure you show your result here!

[visugeek]

My suggestion would be a paint pen, or big fat Marks alot if you really must. It wil take time, but be safe for your camera.

You could also brush on black India Ink, but the Marks alot will give you better control.

Good luck!