[John Sharaf]

Bob,

The Divas put out about twice the light of a conventional Kino Flo, that’s why the factory diffussion is so heavy. That’s not to say that you can’t use other traditional diffussion, like Lee 216, 250, etc. I use 216 quite a bit on my conventional Kino Flos and it really smooths them out. You can either mount the gel on the eggcate which will cause the lamps to burn hot over time and change color, or on the doors for a much cooler thermal flow, but less directional quality.

The eggcrates on the regular KF’s are black, I don’t know why they’re different on the Divas; I’m sure the concept is the same, to make the light a little more directional and to cut the spill. I’d be careful painting them unless you use High-Temp paint that you get from a theatrical lighting supply house, and be prepared to replace them after you find that you’re not happy with the modification!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Bill,

Your intuition is spot on! The solution to your problem is to adjust the coats, not your lighting. I don’t know that you need purchase colored coats, just use dye or even coffee to “take down the white”. Consult a wardrobe person, I’m sure they will have done this before.

Of course if you were shooting with one of the latest HD cameras, like a Varicam or F900, you’d probably find that there is enough dynamic range to handle even the white lab coats in cunjunction with the lighting efforts you describe. If the shots are static the wardrobe can often be adjusted with double net over the offending part, leaving the face clear, but maybe your shots move or zoom so this simple fix does not work.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Richard,

Red and Yellow only refers to the color of the plastic case; the tape inside is the same!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Leakin’,

The rebate only helps tthe dealer tp close the deal. I’m fairly certain you can get the basis package (camera, mike, vf and plate) for close to $40-42K. Check out Abel Cine (Milton Brinkley in NYC) or Birns and Sawyer in Hollywood and let us know what you paid!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Nancy,

Here’s link to their website:

https://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelList?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&catGroupId=14569

See section entitled: $14000 cash back, or contact your nearest dealer!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Pat,

This is one of my major gripes with the HVX; it takes the same size tape as the SDX, namely the “medium” size whereas the Varicam takes the “large” size. Everyone must beware that on shoots where these two cameras will be comingled that two different sized tapes will be required.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Hop,

you need not apologize; I hope that this forum will become the de facto place for all “full sized imager” Panasonic HD questions, especially as the HVX900 starts to arrive in the marketplace.

I can tell you with high certainty that the memo card will not work from the SDX; there are many mismatches in the Pnasonic system, For example even amoungst the Varicams, the memo cards do not match between the “F” and the current “H” models. The tape is a different size between the Varicam and the HVX900. The remore CCU’s are not interchangable, etc.

As regards the lens, while of course the lens mount is the same it is ill-advised to use a SD lens on an HD camera; because the imager consists of many more (double) the number of pixels this affects the “circle of confussion” making a better quality (HD) lens de rigour for use on the HD camera. Now, on the other hand the HD on your SD camera will make an even better picture, especially as regards color aberation.

Even though you might intend to down convert the HVX900 pictures, with the use of a SD lens you’ll have a less sharp picture to start with and I’d guess that the resultant picture would be less sharp than a comperable SDX900 picture because of the circle of confussion issue. Sorry!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Redflag,

Drop-frame time code does not apply to 24p. If you leave the setting at DF the camera will automaticly override it.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Fatkid,

The problem with you scheme is that you’d need to create the 3:2 pulldown out of the J3H for the 1200A to record the HD-SDI signal (it can’t handle the Cine Alta style 24 Psf) and that will not have “A” frames for FCP to pull out the individual frames to create a 24p project. That’s not to say you can’t make a 29.97 project, but you won’t be able to conform it to your origional HDCAM footage in online.

Perhaps a Kona card could convert the 24 PsF coming in HD-SDI to DVCPRO100 codec; you’d have to contact them directly to inquire. They are generally very helpful on the phone. Contact the manufacturer “AJA”.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Mike,

First off, you’ll need to bond your equipment with a carnet to avoid seizure and other delays at foreign airports. See this website for more info:

https://www.uscib.org/index.asp?documentID=718

Second, consider hiring local assistants/technicians to help you in each location. It’s very helpful to have someone who speaks the language, knows the local customs and the good places to eat! Check our this website:

http://www.mandy.com

Also check out the electrical specifications in each country, and bring 220v globes for your lights and plug adapters for each country. If you have time upon arrival you can just go to alocal hardware store and buy the connectors to fix to your units.

Bon voyage!

JS