Maurice Ali
Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 8024
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|
 Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:19 pm Post subject: My P&S and My "Franken HD Camcorder!" |
 |
|
My P&S and My "Franken HD Camcorder!"
By Maurice Ali, Journalist
After a disaster of a time at The Opera House where I was denied entry with my video and then photographic camera, I could not let that happen again, so I bought a point and shoot camera. It was the cheapest camera I could get and turned out to be better than I ever expected. Reviews stated battery life was bad but I filled a 500mb card and multiple downloads and such to attempt to drain the battery. I gave up and am presently recharging the thing. The photos rival my other cameras in quality and are natively larger than the rest which are 6mp - the only exception here is the D1x which can offer up a 10mp image in tiff form with a little help from interpolation in the vertical axis..... The bottom line is that I am happy and any photographer with any ability can work within the limitations and save a shoot gone bad which is what this camera is for.....
Truth be known, my point and shoot up till that moment was a Pentax seen above. This was a special camera an early digital one that could still use the screw on lens collection I had of fifty years past. That screw on lens in the picture is probably the best 50mm lens ever made commercially: the 50mm f/1.4 Super Takumar! Probably the sharpest prime ever made and - in professional hands - and a razor thin focal plane with incredible depth-of-focus! This lens is also famous for being one of the few lenses that are radioactive. Yes radioactive! this is due to the heavy elements in the lens, but the amount is not sufficient to case any problems in humans. Any ways I now have the D1x, D70, *istD and the L15 for digital (with my original 1.3mp Largani) for digital cameras and the F4, K1000 and SX70 for film based photography. That should be enough for now.....
Now onto the video cameras, we have four with the largest shown above (The other one is a pocket Sony). The big news here is that I am comfortable enough to start shooting all production footage natively in 16:9 HD video! I will still shoot the clubs and midnight shots with the PD170 and crop if need be, but it is all HD now.....
Also note that we are festooning the camera with indoor and outdoor microphones for better audio. The rode NT3 mounts on the hot shoe since I never use the light anyway. Also note the custom cable from BRTB in Markham just above Toronto - it is the right handed one from the Rode windbreaker shotgun.
ZOOM H4!
Actually I can record four tracks at the same time from this camera if I hook up my ZOOM H4, and I can record that at 24bit 96kHz! This gives me entry into 5.1. surround sound.
Anyway, here are some quick reference photos of how I am working the rig at this point. More later.....
 |
|
