Scott Sheriff
Forum Replies Created
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I stumbled across this old post, and just had to add my two cents worth.
I realize the OP was asking about the worth of this camera for day to day use. And I agree that even if it were free, it wouldn’t be worth trying to use it to shoot video in a digital age.
But…
The BVP-3 with the attached BVV-1 record deck is not just some old Betacam. It is THE Betacam. The camera that started it all.
The BVP-3 should be on the list of other gear that changed the TV world, and should have a place of honor, and not be dismissed as old junk.
Until the BVP-3 and the single tube BVP-1 (not really considered a broadcast quality camera) came along in the summer of ’82, if you wanted portability in a broadcast format you either shot on 16mm, or had your camera tethered to a separate 3/4, or 1″ machine. This camera is as significant as the RCA TK76, and since it was made in much fewer numbers than later Betacam models, anytime you can get one it might be worth having as a collectable.
Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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Do you mean you want to buy a generator, or a UPS?
I was a little confused by the post, but I’m assuming UPS since that is whats in the subject line.
For a UPS it’s really about how big a load you have, and how long do you need it to run.
If the UPS rating is in Watts, and your gear is probably in Amps, just remember that Watts=Volts x Amps. For example, a piece of gear that is 120V, and draws 8A is using 960W.
For comparison, a typical 120V circuit in a commercial building can continuously supply around 2000W before tripping a breaker. A home 15A circuit about 200W less than that.
Also note that a lot of quoted UPS capacities are input consumption, not output, be sure to read the fine print.First, add up all the gear you want to protect, and get a UPS that is at least 25-50% more than that. Keep in mind, not everything needs to be on the UPS if your budget is tight. Once the load gets over 50% of the UPS total, the reliability and the run time takes a nose dive. Also when the batteries start to age, you will loose some run time, and when most of the bigger UPS’ are running they have a cooling fan taking some of the juice, so it’s good to have some headroom.
Second, you need to look at how long you want to run the gear, and then ‘up size’ the UPS to meet that goal.
Since we don’t know how much gear your trying to protect, or what your budget is, it’s hard to take a guess at cost. Once you get into really big units, the cost per watt can be quite high, since they are not mass produced in the quantities that a typical large office unit of a 1000w or so.
Unless you have a really small load, or a lot of cash, you’ll find that your mostly looking at enough run time to get the gear shut down properly, with a couple of minutes to spare.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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[Darius Cornean] “I have a video files that I want to edit in FCP 7.03 but the software don’t recognize de file. (mpg extension)”
That is not a supported editing codec in FCP. It’s an output codec.
Tape captures from a 110 should be either HDV, or ProRes422.
What is your workflow for capture?Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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[Scott Sheriff] “Quinn Marin shows”
Quinn Martin…argh
They either need to make the keys bigger, or I need to make my fingers smaller!Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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“Hey Mark Suszko…”
Sound like an Adult Swim, or maybe Nick at Nite show title!
Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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[Anthony Atkielski] “Reading this reminds me of Quinn Martin Productions, which always seemed to have titles saying “Act II,” “Act III,” and so on after each commercial break in a series episode. I always wondered if that was just a stylistic touch meaning “we’re back from the commercials,” or if the episode truly was divided into acts in some formal way.”
IMO, Quinn Marin shows like The Fugitive, The FBI, and The Invaders are just using the 4 act plus epilog thing as a style element.
Seems like Quinn Martin was fond of the word “the” also.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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[Nick Griffin] “I’m pretty sure the matte box & follow-focus stuff was more than the cost of the monitor.”
Excellent point.
[Nick Griffin] “My greatest fear of Mr. Murphy and his immutable laws is when something happens to the camera.”
Sometimes the most innocent thing sets up a cascade failure.
I was shooting at an event in Boulder and there was at least one guy from every station in the market set up in the press area shooting B roll. One of the competitors photogs decided to move his sticks a little, to gives us some more elbow room. Like us, they had an Oconnor 50 head with a Peter Lisand quick release. He picked the sticks with a ‘bear hug’ type move, and his shoulder hit the release tabs and the Betacam came off the head, ass first, in a rotating motion, like a rock rolling down a hill, hitting the pavement lens first. It was unbelievable, and surrealistic. Kind of a car accident like slow motion. It was on the pavement before any of us could even react. We were all speechless (I know you can’t believe that) as 70 grand worth of camera and lens lay there shattered and bent. Back then a typical house in the ‘burbs didn’t cost much over 60 grand. It was clear that the camera was totaled, and we all felt very bad for this guy. Never saw him at any other gigs after that.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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[Nick Griffin] “As to risk, it’s a $2,500 monitor. If it were more, I might feel differently.”
I still think $2,500 bucks is a chunk of change to lose if Murphy shows up on set, but I know what your saying. But look at the OP. If I were in his situation, I wouldn’t take my one and only edit monitor on location.
Just sayin’
We are now living in a world where the on set monitor costs more than the camera. Never thought that would happen.[Nick Griffin] “Scott-
One of the few times we disagree.”LOL, you better get yourself checked out quick if this is true!
Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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Yeah, it’s cheap. But how long will the platform it runs on be around?
If the announcement that apple has suspended sales of all laptops and desktops came tomorrow, I wouldn’t be surprised.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if they announced the EOL of X either.
They have yanked the rug out from under users so many times in the past, including users that had a much bigger investment than 4oo dollars.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
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I’ll throw out a different opinion.
I wouldn’t take a big expensive studio-edit monitor on shoots. As soon as it leaves the studio, there are a hundred ways for it to get damaged. Dirty power, C-stand gets knocked over, vibration from traveling, etc.
I know people do it all the time. But unless I need a big studio type monitor to set up FX, or something of that nature that pays well enough to justify the risk, I say no. For most gigs a small lower cost monitor is risking a lot less, and is often more convenient to move around and place where it’s needed.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
Where were you on 6/21?
