Broadcast
As
file-based and hi-def acquisition becomes a reality, we look at 10 of
the latest cameras and accessories which are likely to be among the
most in-demand this year.
Camera
operators have previously been saddled with heavy and power-draining
tungsten, halogen or fluorescent tube equipment but the low-cost,
low-heat, lightweight and low-power consumption benefits of LED
arrays and panels have led to a surge in demand.
A single LED
diode is likely to last until you retire, but it doesn't offer much
in terms of light output. Most manufacturers, such as Hollywood-based
Litepanels, mount hundreds of LEDs into a tray then add a reflector.
Its Ringlite Mini (pictured) slots over a camera lens distributing
light evenly and directly at a subject.
“LEDs
give amazing power efficiency and are a significant help for battery
life in ENG situations or if you're running HD cameras (which drain
more power than cameras in SD mode),” says Earls.
Japan's
IDX, better known as a battery vendor, offers the X3 which outputs
the equivalent of a 35W halogen bulb at ‘daylight' colour
temperatures and only requires 11W of power, while German firm Bebob
Broadcast markets the Lux-Led range for use as a freestanding,
handheld or camera light (distributed by Holdan in the UK).
Red
one
After
recalling its initial batch and subsequently delaying release, Red
Digital Cinema's hugely hyped Red One 4k camera is finally shipping.
Promising high-resolution digital cinematography on a low budget, the
$17,500 (£8,975) camera (body only, lenses extra) could prove
irresistible to film-makers or those interested in experimenting in
3D cinematography.
“Despite
the late delivery and all the other issues with the camera we are
convinced that it will have a dramatic effect on the market from
production through rental and through the post workflow,” argues
Paul Carter, managing director of hire firm Axis Films, which will
stock two models. “There will be a lot of opportunities not least
for rental companies and the accessory manufacturers to provide a
service for Red owners.”
Until
the camera is proven to be roadworthy, however, Axis will insist that
an in-house technician, familiar with all the quirks of the camera,
attends the shoot. “We envisage that this person would also be
responsible for the data-capture side of the operation,” says
Carter.
“Anyone
who has read the hype will be eager to see what this camera can do,”
he adds. “Some producers and DoPs want to be able to say that they
are among the vanguard to have shot on Red.”
Panasonic
AVC-Intra Compression
Whatever
the digital format there's a trade-off between file size and image
quality: the smaller the file size, the easier it is to move around
but the poorer the quality is.
Panasonic is pushing a new
compression technology called AVC-Intra in its latest P2 cameras
which enables the recording of HD data as smaller files on a P2 card
or alternatively offers much higher quality content at conventional
DVCPRO HD bit rates.
AVC-Intra, accessed from the menu of P2
cameras AJHPX 2100 and AJHPX 3000 can be set at 100 Mbps for 1920 x
1080 10-bit 4:2:2 recording or 50 Mbps for DVCPRO HD quality at half
the bit rate, but double the record time on a P2 card.
Panasonic
claims AVC-Intra, which uses intraframe compression, is twice as
efficient as the interframe-based MPEG-2 long-GOP scheme used by Sony
in its XDCAM HD and XDCAM EX systems. Sony says AVC-Intra does this
by throwing away half the original picture information during
recording, so it's really half-def quality.
“It's
a very interesting development,” says Prime TV's Earl. “Not only
is it good for capturing high end material at lower bit rates for
drama but also for the news and documentary markets.”
Polecam
When
extreme sports cameraman Steffan Hewitt was directing a series of
windsurfing kit commercials in Hawaii eight years ago he found it
impossible using conventional equipment to get a shot at speed, shot
from the front with a wide angle lens. He experimented with a minicam
fitted to the end of a boom pole and got the shots he needed.
Hewitt
designed and built a prototype rigged from lightweight carbon-fibre
tubes and began selling it. Polecam now has more than 200 customers
across the world, including 30 in the UK. “Most are hired by
freelance cameramen who then become owner-operators,” says
Polecam's Mel Noonan. “It is an extremely simple concept but
incredibly useful for achieving creative, out of the way shots.”
Users
can even accessorise this accessory with a number of camera heads
including Fish Face, a submersible pan and tilt unit, and DiveBag, a
latex glove that fits over a mini-cam also for underwater shots.
Iconix
Mini HD cameras
There
are a number of compact HD cameras on the market but the Iconix, from
Iconix Video, has a lot of supporters.
“Because
we service a need for small, high quality cameras to function with
Polecam we're constantly searching for new models,” says Mel
Noonan, marketing director, Polecam. “The one that seems most
flexible is the Iconix. It offers interlace and progressive image
scanning and can be switched to SD - useful if you want 16 x 9 SD.
You can even switch it to dual link mode for component HD recording.”
Polecam
has sold more than 60 of the£9,500 units, which weighs less than
four pounds, but now also offers the cheaper Toshiba IK-HD1, although
this only records 1080i. “The Toshiba is more useful for live
events and outside broadcast,” notes Noonan. “The Iconix has been
used just about everywhere from motorsport to natural history to
reality shows and demand continues to grow.”
Other
claimants to the title “world's smallest HD camera” include
Bradley Engineering's €5,000 remote head BE-HD10, a new
two-megapixel camera which captures HD (1080i or 720p 50/60), and TV
Skyline's HD 1100 unit which records 1,100 lines (compared with the
900-line resolution of the Iconix).
XDCAM
HD 422
Although
Sony has been pushing its disk-based recording system XDCAM HD as a
workhorse for broadcast work, few producers have so far adopted it.
That may change with the introduction of a higher-spec model due for
release this spring.
The
PDW-700 XDCAM HD 422 camcorder features a 2/3 inch chipset compared
with the existing XDCAM HD model's half-inch CCDs, to record full
1920 x 1080 4:2:2.
What's
more, Sony is outfitting all its XDCAM HD range with new 50GB
dual-layer disk media which doubles the storage and recording
capacities of the original single layer version making it ideal for
applications that require long continuous recording.
“A
camera like this might finally twist people's arms to go tapeless,”
suggests Video Europe general manager Matt Marner who plans to
purchase multiple units. “One thing that has put people off moving
to file-based systems has been the image quality available from
half-inch sensors. That barrier is removed with this release which
should deliver quality on a par with HDCAM. That, combined with
greatly increased record capacity, should prove very attractive to a
wide range of producers.”
Movietube
Lens Adapter System
The
Movietube from Germany's Kinomatik allows fixed lens camcorders like
the Z1 to achieve the same depth of field, imaging characteristics,
and viewing angle as 35mm film. Its lens adapter is compatible with
Panasonic's DVX100 and HVX200, as well as Sony's Z1U and FX1.
“We've
had increased demand for this product in recent months from
cinematographers who haven't the budget to shoot 16mm or full scale
HD,” says Danny Howarth, facility manager, Provision. “It's a
great product that can put 35mm lenses in front of a standard HDV
camera to achieve incredible depth of field and a far better
picture.”
The
system accepts all film lenses in Arri PL or Panavision mount, as
well as 35mm still lenses from Canon, Minolta or Leica or Nikon -
optics which many camera operators may own, thus saving themselves
the cost of hiring a box of primes.
Analogue
to digital conversion
Despite
the HD revolution, hundreds of thousands of legacy analogue users
still exist - and so does their content. As a “missing link”
solution, Shining Technology's Beetle bridges the analogue-digital
divide by offering a simple and efficient mechanism for working with
content digitally even when captured on Betacams.
The
small Beetle DV 1850 device will convert and store analogue video to
a hard drive in DV, DVCPro50 and MPEG-2 formats and could also export
edited digital video to an analogue VTR or display. The catch? It's
still being tested but could be launched in April at NAB.
“Even
though our industry is undergoing a massive shift to HD, we can't
forget that a significant sector of the market still uses analogue
equipment,” notes Shining marketing manager Chris Wang. “By
bridging the gap to help these users convert their content to digital
formats rather than losing it altogether, we're making their HD
transformation a bit easier.”
Solid
state camcorders
Producers
reticent about shooting HD with a tapeless workflow may have their
concerns alleviated by Sony's new entry-level HD camcorder which
records full 1920 x 1080 HD onto memory-based cards.
“The
biggest restriction to the take-up of solid-state production until
now has been limited record times,” says Mitcorp business
development manager Dennis Lennie. “The PMW-EX1 enables operators
to shoot up to 70 minutes of HD at 25Mbps or 50 minutes at 35Mbps per
16GB ExpressCard.” That's equivalent to a single HDV tape recorded
by a Z1 - the staple format for factual productions.
Mitcorp
has already sold 50 of the£4,000 (approx price) EX1s, including
units to Special Treats Productions to shoot behind-the-scenes
material for forthcoming James Bond film Quantum of Solace and for
Raw Cut's Sky One documentary Road Wars.
Film-maker
Phil Grabsky, who owns Seventh Art Productions, has his eye on the
EX1. “The workflow needs to be thought through, but if you think
that 15 years ago people weren't comfortable with email, 10 years ago
with an Avid or five years ago with an iPod the concept of disk or
solid-state based recording will soon be very familiar.”
Interchangeable
Lens HDV
Sony's
next generation of HDV technology, the HVR-Z7E and HVR-S270E, feature
interchangeable lens systems allowing a far greater choice of lens
for producers working in this format.
“These
are ideal for budget independent productions, corporate video or
videographers,” notes John Preston of dealer H Preston which
purchased 100 of each model. “A lot of customers have wanted to
upgrade but have felt unable to do so until now. Now they can have
their choice of HD, prime, stills and wide-angle lenses.
“The
S270E is also the first shoulder-mounted HD camera available at a
reasonable price,” he adds. “Some operators prefer not to use
tripods in order to be as unobtrusive as possible and they can now
stabilise shudder.”
The
S270E uses larger tapes for more than four hours of continuous
recording - practical for filming live events. “You no longer have
to swap tapes at crucial moments,” Preston says.
Additionally,
both camcorders feature hybrid solid-state recording of HDV1080i,
DVCAM, or DV to a compact flash card while simultaneously recording
to tape.
“That offers a great introduction to file-based
workflows without any of the worry some users have about shooting
without tape,” adds Mitcorp's Lennie.
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