[Dan Brockett]

Hi Walter:

“Not possible. The Kona 3 only works in the G5 Quad 2.5Ghz machine and up. That was the only G5 PCIe machine. We have one of those machines here and we are running a Kona 3 in it.”

Not trying to be a nit picker but we run the Kona 3 in a dual 2.3 GHz G5 just fine, the G5 Quad was NOT the only PCIe G5. Just wanted to clarify for the benefit of other dual 2.3GHz G5 owners who may be considering the shock and awe of the Kona 3 😉

Best,

Dan

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[Dan Brockett]

I charge $400.00 per day for HVX-200, Three 8 GB and Two 16 GB P2 cards, HD monitor, tripod, batteries, laptop and Duel adapter. Don’t have a P2 Store. Drives are charged to the client without markup or client can provide drives.

Grip/Lighting and audio are extra, depending what is needed.

I may eventually pick up a 32GB card or I may wait for the 64GB cards, not sure. Depends on how business goes this year.

Best,

Dan

Providing value added material to all of your favorite DVDs

[Dan Brockett]

When I FedEx, depending on the job and what I am lighting, I take part of my Arri kit, wrap each light in a towel and put all of them along with gels, reflectors, stingers, headphones, etc. in a Contico Yellow Plastic tool box. I then put TSA locks on either side of the lid, just so it doesn’t come off. The TSA locks are a joke but you can at least tell if someone got into the case, they have an indicator.

I then take tripod, light stands, grip arm and head, Chimera and speed ring and put them into a golf club case with casters on the end of it.

Unfortunately my new golf case came back from my Philly shoot last week via UPS and one of the skateboard wheels on the golf club case was broken off. Fortunately the gear inside of it was all okay but now I have to buy another case, bummer.

The bottom line is, whether you fly with it or ship it, it’s going to get tossed, crushed and abused and possibly lost. UPS lost my Arri kit on January 4 of this year, it took them a month to find it and get it back to me. That’s the reason I don’t fly with my Sachtler, I only fly with my cheap Bogen. If they lose it or screw it up, I am only out $500.00 instead of $3,000.00.

The best idea is to have a travel gear package and a normal local package. I still like Todd’s idea of a Pepper pack for travel, I haven’t used them for a while but Peppers are nice, little and light and have a nice light quality to them. Another good idea would be some lower priced lights like CoolLights tungstens/CDMs. The idea is to obtain a kit that is good enough to do the work but not so expensive that if it’s lost or damaged it kills you financially.

I have flown with my Arri kit and when I landed, they had tossed it so hard that the lock and hasp were bent beyond recognition, I had to use bolt cutters to get it open. The reason I will only ship the gear now via FedEx/UPS is at least they will pay for it f they lose or damage it. If you fly and your gear becomes lost or damaged, you are S.O.L. so why would anyone fly with gear unless they have to? (and I have had to many times but will now tell those clients to give me their FedEx or UPS number and will only ship gear unless they client agrees to replaceing any gear lost or damaged by the airlines).

Best,

Dan

Providing value added material to all of your favorite DVDs

[Dan Brockett]

Hi Michael:

Not natively in display resolution, of course. But do the research, all of these monitors are capable of 1:1 through zoom or a dedicated function button. The only one I’m not sure if it a been implemented on yet is the Nebtek. Rob from Nebtek told me last year it would be implemented in January or February of ’08.

From what I am told, the focus on red on the Panasonic and the focus on white on the Nebtek are better aids for focusing than the 1:1 feature anyway.

Of course not everyone can afford $1,500.00 and up for a monitor, but you should know what you are getting if you buy a cheapo monitor, essentially something that is disposable. I would rather have a cheapo monitor than no monitor at all.

Best,

Dan

Providing value added material to all of your favorite DVDs

[Dan Brockett]

Just remember, any SD monitor for the HVX-200 will be totally and completely useless for focusing, the color space will be totally off too (NTSC vs. HD color space)

The ones that are truly useful for the HVX begin at $1,500.00 and go up from there. All of the other HD designs have no 1:1 pixel setting, poor construction quality and too low resolution screens to be of much use. Also, most of the cheapo monitors have the video connectors soldered directly to the main board, meaning if you drop it or break a connector, you might as well throw it in the trash.

The most useful ones are:

The Carrion from LSDesign
The Nebtek NEB-70
The Panasonic BT-LH80

Best,

Dan

Providing value added material to all of your favorite DVDs

[Dan Brockett]

I think your concerns are very valid. I really like the EX-1 but this issue also is a deal breaker for me. Keep in mind that even the RED camera has this issue and unfortunately, it seems as if all of the manufacturers are leaning toward CMOS technology with a rolling shutter.

If you are around flashes, flashing lights or a lot of motion, rolling shutter artifacts can really nail you. While I like many of the features on the EX-1, I am sticking with the HVX-200 for the time being. We’ll see what Panasonic has up their sleeve to fight against the EX-1, we are getting more and more due for an HVX-200A or an HVX-300 or something new that I am sure will be amazing.

Best,

Dan

Providing value added material to all of your favorite DVDs

[Dan Brockett]

Peppers are a nice way to go. I am not familiar with their kits but as long as they have one with a Chimera or a light and speedring you can put a Chimera on, I would be all over that.

BTW Todd, I am doing a shoot in Philly Friday, I just shipped my lighting kit and a plastic tote with the extras via UPS. It works well and I get to go through the airports with only a backpack with the camera. Suhweet!

Best,

Dan

Providing value added material to all of your favorite DVDs

[Dan Brockett]

I too have an Arri Softbank kit. These days, I FedEx it and UPS it more than I fly with it, although you can fly with it. But it is a hassle and you have to pay the overweight charge.

That said, as much as I don’t like them, the Lowel kits would be good to consider. Lowels are flimsy and they are junky compared to our Arris but their kits are really small and do have what you need or most of what you need. A lot of people love the Lowel Rifa kits.

Forget Amvona stuff, IMHO, it’s junk for amateurs. If you are used to pro gear like Arri, you will even realize that the Lowel stuff is junky but better than Amvona.

Best,

Dan

Providing value added material to all of your favorite DVDs

[Dan Brockett]

Hi guys:

FWIW, my K3 box lost the analog audio. AJA tech support ran me through the same drill Bob is recommending and we came to the conclusion that the analog audio output stage on the K3 box was bad. They sent me a new one with an RA number and I sent mine back.

AJA has the best customer support. But yes, you do need to narrow down the possibilities.

Dan

Providing value added material to all of your favorite DVDs

[Dan Brockett]

Hi Michael:

I would suggest that you actually listen to the microphones before choosing one. I tested eleven different models, a couple of which were very low cost.

Read, listen and learn https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/right_mic_brockett.html

Dan

Providing value added material to all of your favorite DVDs