VariCam Pricing…

[John Sharaf]

Mike,

The major dealers on the left coast are Birns and Sawyer in Hollywood and Abel Cine Tech in Burbank. I’ve bought from both and can recommend them highly!

Perhaps you know, but Panasonic makes a point of shipping new cameras by boat rather than expose the ccd’s to the possible gamma radiation when shipped in airplanes. You might consider doing the same when you buy your new camera!

JS

[Michael Peele]

Hey thanks for the info on where to look for VariCam resellers!

I am intrigued by the gamma ray concern. Is this more of a concern for HD cameras (smaller, more sensitive pixels?

Researching gamma ray shielding on the web has turned up info such as this…

The most effective gamma shields are materials which have a high density and high atomic number

[John Sharaf]

Mike,

That was my thought too, but apparently you’d have to completely seal the lead protection around the camera; one little opening and the cosmic rays enter! Obviously the weight and logistics, as well as the new lead-free environmental rules preclude this course.

That’s not to say that I have not travelled on airplanes with my Varicams, I have, and as yet, no lit pixels, but just a thought! The camera does have pixel correction, but if they’re in a clump the correction will result in a visable area!

JS

[Matthew Romanis]

Hi Guys,
Just a little correction on this. It’s not actually Gamma rays as such (This is ionising radiation and is of much more concern to organic materials than electronic components.)
The main concern is larger particles travelling at extremely fast velocities, most of these come from the sun everyday. In normal situations most of the Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field deals with these particles by drawing them to the poles of the Earth, much like a magnet. But during periods of violent discharge from the sun (solar storms and such) many more of these particles are flung out in the solar wind. The Earth in turn passes through these “storms”, usually resulting in more activity of Northern lights and electrical disturbances. During periods of intense solar activity these storms can cause a lot of damage to electrical systems in far Northern and Southern areas, and be of particular nuisance to high flying aircraft, particularly polar flights such as those freight flights between Japan and Northern America.
Lead lining certainly helps but we are talking about many kilograms in weight because of the thickness required.
The best thing to do is monitor solar activity via the many observation web sites and avoid shipping anything (monitors and batteries included) during these periods. Equatorial flights are less of a concern, but should not mistaken for “SAFE” either.
Panasonic’s move to ship rather than fly is a responsible one.

[Dennis Burns]

Aloha Mike,
I am a Varicam owner/operator in Honolulu. I purchased my system from Abel Cine in NYC in June 2004. Their L.A. office is also very responsive.
I frequently ship my package inter-island via airfreight. I figure it’s safer than allowing the baggage mishandlers to maul my cases. As to gamma rays, I haven’t seen any lit pixels — so far.

Dennis Burns

[John Sharaf]

Anecdotal evidence not withstanding, Panasonic must have suffered some damage to CCD’s (lit pixels) in shipment of cameras to the states that led them to change to boat shipments. Fact of the matter is that I too have shipped my Varicams (and Betacams) on airplanes many times with out damage, but I must admit it does cause some concern, especially on long trips such as to and from the Hawaiian islands!

JS