[Ken Zukin]

You might also consider having your correspondent/producer hold a small battery powered light. Doing that insures the light is coming “from the right direction.”

Trade shows ARE well illuminated — the problem is the light is all coming from the top (ceiling). You are right in planning to augment what’s there. That way, you’ll illuminate your subject’s eye sockets. As Mark suggests tho, you’ll want a natural look, with your supplemental light basically matching the level off the ambient light.

One other thing you should look into is audio. Trade shows are notoriously loud; you may want to hire an audio tech for the day. If there’s no budget for this, I’d consider using a stick mic very close to your subject’s mouth.

Good luck.

[Ken Zukin]

I have a very workable Sachtler Video 18 III tripod that is stamped “Made In West Germany.” The point here being that a good quality tripod will FAR outlast whichever camera you are using. So don’t cheap out.

Think of a tripod as 2 pieces — head and legs. If you’re on a budget, buy a top quality head and maybe some aluminum legs to support it. Aluminum is heavier than carbon fiber, but less expensive. It sill does a commendable job, and it’s even better with heavy cameras, jib-arms, teleprompters, and the like. I’m not trying to steer you away from carbon fiber; I use carbon fiber tripod legs but have an aluminum set for my jib arm. With tripod heads, you really do get what you pay for. What you’re wanting is something that’s silky smooth, like a knife thru honey.

Try before you buy. Trade-shows, like NAB are great because all the manufacturers have their product lines there.

Be wary of anyone who says, my ______ is best — most people are talking about their older sticks which may or may not have any bearing on what is currently available.

Having said all that, if you can pony up $5K, you won’t be disappointed.

[Ken Zukin]

Fluorescent fixtures have been something of a god-send, at least for me, in that I can roll into a work space, and immediately respond to the light that’s there — be it daylight, or indoor-type light. The bulbs stay cool which is easy on the talent, and the workspace doesn’t over-heat. The don’t draw much, so overloading circuits isn’t an issue, and the light they produce is generally flattering, if a little on the green side. Bulb changes take place quickly, and there are no re-strike issues. They’re even slightly dimmable. Reliability hasn’t been a problem, at least for me.

Even tho older students are less prone to accidents, in this day and age, other than for teaching the benefits of focusable instruments, I’d stay away from anything that can cause injury. We live in a litigious age, unfortunately.

Good luck,

Ken

[Ken Zukin]

If I were running working with students, I’d probably go fluorescent if for no other reason than safety. Tungsten bulbs burn skin rather severely, and the basics of lighting can be taught with either fixture.

It would be nice to have a fresnel or two on hand just for instructional purposes; as you probably know, fluorescent fixtures don’t have much punch for out-of-the-studio applications.

Buy some new fluorescent-type fixtures, and pick up some used 1K, 650w, & 300w fresnels.

Just my $.02

[Ken Zukin]

I had no idea about any of this — I just blindly assumed that most P2-related problems occurred in the post-production arena — not while recording in the field. So then, is “repair” a camera-based feature?

Thanks much, Shamus, and have a nice holiday!!! (joke)

Ken

[Ken Zukin]

It is one of many cards that I own — I figured just by re-initializing the card it would be OK.
Now you’ve got me worried….
Shawn, does this kind of occurrence happen often in the world of tapeless acquisition??
Thanks.

[Ken Zukin]

Thanks, Shane….

One last dumb question — I’m using a 17″ MBP 2.5 GHz that’s about 3 years old. How would I connect up to the MX02 — firewire?? Looking at the Matrox website, it appears that I would need an HDMI output spigot, which I don’t believe my MBP has.

Gracias.

[Ken Zukin]

I have a full-sized Panasonic HPX-2000 P2 camera, so that’s not really going to fit into the post production workflow. I’m really in a tapeless world at this point. I do have an old Sony PVM 20″ monitor kicking around, so I would need some way of pulling a component signal out of the system.

Would the little Matrox box be a good solution??

Thanks again.

[Ken Zukin]

I can only imagine your delight realizing that no less than Bob Zelin, Mac-Guru, has answered your question, and then your horror to realize that he’s just having some fun at your expense and hasn’t given you an answer!! Oh well, it WAS funny.

I think the best answer is whether or not the piece of gear you are contemplating will make money for you. Will it pay for itself? How long? Does it enable you to tackle projects you couldn’t have in the past? Does it give you an edge over the competition?

You might consider a used IO-HD if you can find one too. Pretty bullet-proof — no moving parts.

[Ken Zukin]

Well, the imager size of your camera is the important thing, and in your case, it’s 2/3″. It’s my understanding that most guys with small format cameras, like the HVX200, are trying to deal with the unwanted extra depth of field inherent with 1/3″ or 1/2″ chip blocks.

So, throwing the backround out of focus should be a pretty simple operation with your HPX500. A matte box with some neutral density filters of varying strengths is a much cheaper option than prime lenses.

Having said that, I did attend a Sony Cine Alta workshop years ago where we shot some scenes around a campfire that were purposely under-exposed. Some primes were brought out, and they blew away the high-end Fuji HD Zoom lens that was mounted on the camera. It wasn’t just the extra stop or two, the quality of the image was much, much superior. So, I think image quality is what you’re buying with primes. If you’re just wanting to run the lens wide-open, there are simpler solutions. Also, working with fixed focal lengths lenses is not very fast.