Ken Zukin
Forum Replies Created
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the link I meant to post: https://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/action/?movie=aja
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Here’s the AJA movie – taken from the Apple FCP site:
https://aja.com/html/products_Io_IoHD.html -
Thank you SO much.
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I think what John is saying is that you can purchase a Kino fixture, and replace the fluorescent bulbs that would normally be used (daylight or tungsten) with bulbs that are used in the office you are videotaping. In other words, you eliminate color-balance issues by white-balancing on the same fluorescent bulbs are being used in the overheads. This is accomplished by making friends with someone in the maintenance dept., and borrowing some bulbs. Make sense? It works.
Also Jeffrey, you can spice up the boring backrounds in these offices by purchasing an inexpensive ellipsoidal fixture that can project a pattern onto the walls. Source 4/ETC makes some nice units that are reasonably light weight and simple to set up. I use a Source 4 Jr. Zoom that is part of my everyday arsenal.
Ken
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Bob & Jeremy,
Many thanks for the advice. I guess my simple mind has a hard time wrappiing itself around the idea that ONE card can’t do it all. Editing gear is much cheaper than camera equip. – my G5/Pipe set up has paid for itself many times over, so I’m not opposed to spending some $$$ so that I can stay reasonably current.
One last question though – isn’t the AJA IO a little less in quality than the LH card? I’ve tried to wade thru the info on the AJA website, and haven’t been able to figure this out.
Thanks.
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Bob,
Suprised to hear you recommed the IO over the Kona LH card for those of us still working in SD. I’m primarily a cameraman who uses a Panasonic SDX900 camera (DVCPRO 50), and some Beta SP. Not planning to migrate up to HD for a couple of years. I thought the preferred way for me to go would be the LH card. I’m currently editing with an Aurora Pipe cap. card, but Aurora is teetering on going out of business – if they haven’t already – and I’m going to need to buy another capture card.
Your thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Ken
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I’m not familiar with the Miller DS-25, but a few years ago at NAB I stopped in at the Miller booth, and their product line seemed nice.
I tend to look at heads and sticks as two separate items, with emphasis placed on the tripod heads.
Generally, whatever tripod combo you buy is going to far outlive whatever camera you are currently shooting with, so I would bite the bullet and buy the best head you can afford.You do get what you pay for. Here’s a good test: Put your camera on top of the tripod you’re considering and pan and tilt at the same time – like you are following a race car thru an S-curve with the focal length of the lens fully extended. This will pretty much separate a good head from a wannabee.
As far as exceeding the manufacturer’s weight recommendations – you should contact them directly for advice.
I have a very beefy set of Gitzo legs that I use under my jib – I know from personal experience that carbon fibre Sachtler legs aren’t up to that job. So let common sense dictate the direction you go.
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I’ll just jump into the fray here and say that my experience pretty much dovetails that of Leo’s.
For me the flourescent fixtures are a time-saving godsend. It’s super efficient to be able to go into virtually any situation with my Mole Biax 4 rig and not have to worry if I’m going to end up shooting in a tungsten or daylight world.
A bulb change can be handled in less than one minute, the units are cool to the touch, don’t pop circuit breakers, are natively soft and flattering, and with their higher “fall-off” they don’t pollute the BG. They’re much faster to set up than a typical Chimera type rig. And they’re dimmable.
If you do decide to move forward with a tungsten-based assortment of fixtures, I’d stay away from Lowell from a durability standpoint. One way you can save some money though is to use a cheaper (and lighter) open faced unit, as opposed to a fresnel, behind your Chimera.
But the smart money in the long run is on the Diva, and the new Barfly product that Kino will be releasing shortly.
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Well I think John hit most of them, but I always ask if they “need” to wear them – you’d be surprised how often people will remove their glasses once I explain about reflections. I’ve also used the trick of raising the glasses’ temples above their ears an inch or so – sometimes it’s enough to change the angle & eliminate the reflections.
One other trick I haven’t yet tried is to cut some wide strips of black tape and apply to your chimera-type source – this produces a window-frame-like reflection in the eyeglasses which supposedly looks more natural.