So what GPU really makes Apple’s Motion fly? Mark Spencer has the scoop on why the ATI Radeon HD 3870 should be your choice for Mac Pro towers (it’s Windows compatible as well, for all the dual-booters out there). Read on…

This video card is around $200 from Amazon and B&H. Purchases made via those links help support FreshDV.

Finally, the review you’ve been waiting for! Adam Wilt has posted his extensive review of the AG-HPX170, Panasonic’s complementary camera update to the HVX200 and 200A series. The HPX170 dumps that old-fogey tape drive and captures DVCPROHD and DVCPRO50 to P2 instead. Adam is extremely complimentary of the 170, and it looks like a worthy addition to Panasonic’s already excellent line of HD camcorders.

“Just as the HVX200 built on the success of the standard-definition DVX100, adding multiformat recording and multiple frame rates, the HPX170 takes the best features of the HVX200 and builds on them. The 170 makes a better picture. Added functionality, like HD-SDI, more frame rates, and Dynamic Range Stretch, makes it more versatile. Its lighter weight, refined ergonomics, and built-in waveform monitor make it an operator’s delight.

The HPX170 (US$5700 list, $5200 street price) can be considered a slimmed-down, tapeless, feature-enhanced brother to the HVX200. The camera records DV25, DVCPRO50, and DVCPROHD on P2 cards. The 170 drops the 200’s tape drive (which only records standard-def DV25), resulting in a 20% loss of weight and a thinner, better-balanced body that’s much more comfortable to operate handheld for long periods of time. While resolution, sensitivity, and basic scene-file “looks” are similar to those on the HVX200, the CCD block and DSP have been upgraded for cleaner,smoother, more naturalistic images with markedly reduced aliasing, and numerous operational improvements make the camera easier to control.”

That’s just a snippet from the introduction. The review takes no prisoners, going on in detail for three pages, covering all the key areas of this exciting new camera. An excellent read, I recommend it highly. Great job, Adam!

B&H is currently accepting orders on the AG-HPX170, listed at $5,195 USD and including a 16GB P2 card along with Barry Green’s HVX and HPX reference book. As is always the case with B&H, cards aren’t charged until the camera is in stock, and orders will ship in the order they are received. Purchases made via that link help support FreshDV at no additional cost to you.

British Columbia shooter Shawn Lam has written a Sony HVR-S270U review for EventDV, you can read it online here. Shawn concentrates on audio, connectors, and the overall shoulder-mount experience (he already talked about the CF recorder, etc in a previous review of the Sony HVR-Z7U). Here’s a short excerpt on audio features this camera offers over the Z7 model:

“The S270 supports 4-channel 48 kHz 16-bit MPEG-2 audio recording in HDV mode. While two channels are sufficient for most shoots, there are situations where the additional audio tracks are a requirement. Starting next year I will be producing video adjudication DVDs for dance competitions. These DVDs feature four audio tracks for each dance routine, with each of the three judges requiring his or her own audio track, and an additional audio track for the soundbooth audio and stage microphone mix. Four channels of audio is a requirement, and because this production will be a single-camera shoot, splitting the audio over two cameras is not a practical option.”

“The S270 features a channel select button that allows the user to solo an audio input to both ears, along with the ability to monitor either the first and second or third and fourth channels in the right and left ears. Unlike features such as the expanded focus that can only be accessed in standby mode, the audio monitoring select control can be operated while recording without changing the audio mix.”

B&H recently reduced the price of the S270U from $8,499.95 down to $7,950.00. Likewise, the Z7U has been reduced from $6,299.95 to $5,399.95.

I posted a short & ranty article over at ProVideoCoalition about the poor attention to detail that so many small, indie-minded companies seem to exhibit. While some of the most innovative and cost-effective solutions seem to come from these companies, they also tend to deliver some of the most shoddily packaged and presented gear. More often than not the new equipment arrives unbranded and requires a Ph.D. in box disassembly to even get at the gear. And don’t get me started on the utter lack of documentation and poorly written manuals (if you even get one). Here’s an excerpt:

“FreshDV sees a lot of gear come through our doors. Products generally arrive in nondescript brown boxes, wrapped in yards and yards of bubblewrap underneath layers upon layers of packing tape. It’s a demoralizing task to disassemble boxes that have been literally taped together around a product. There I am, waist-deep in packing peanuts on the floor as I feebly slash through the last few hundred layers of tape.”

“So when a product arrives that is neatly secured for shipment in packaging that looks like it was actually designed for the purpose of said product…I breathe a sigh of relief and raise my glass in a silent toast to those who took the time to treat their gear like it matters.”

I realize that in everything there is a tradeoff, that affordability sometimes means sacrifices must be made in packaging or design. However, it is my opinion that the companies that make those extra little efforts to properly brand, package, and support their products, those companies will be far more successful in the long run. And their users will be all the more thrilled to support the company. Say what you want about Steve Job’s “reality distortion field”, but there are real reasons why Apple users are so cult-like in their support of the brand. It’s time for indie gear manufacturers to tap into that level of branding. Read the entire article here and then pass the link along to your favorite indie gear company.

I recently posted my First Impressions review of the Zylight Z50 and Z90 lights over at Pro Video Coalition. Zylight’s unique line of LED lights are dimmable, have integrated color and gel modes, and can be wirelessly linked (yes, really) for centralized control. The review focuses on how the LED lights integrate in an event shooting environment, here’s a short excerpt:

“The Z50 was mounted directly on a monopod, which the lighting assistant would hold above and slightly-off to the side camera while shooting. This enabled us to keep a nice, controlled level of light directly in the vicinity of the camera(s) on the dancefloor, with an additional light on a stand providing overall fill and a nice kick to play off at times. The lighting assistant was able to dim and color gel the Z50 on the fly, which in turn reflected those changes wirelessly on the stand-mounted Z90 light. We were particularly impressed with the color gel features of the lights. It is trivial to make very minor adjustments to the color temperature and matching the ambient lighting is a dream. It made our lights appear to be less jarring to the people dancing, and mixed perfectly on camera. Lighting color changes can be saved on the fly as one of the two user presets and recalled later.

Prior to the reception event, we did some testing and determined that both lights would probably benefit from a little additional diffusion. We gaff-taped two small squares of Rosco diffusion film over the Z90, and a single layer over the Z50. This was pretty close to optimal, and helped to soften the output even more. The result is a light that wraps quite nicely around the subject, and doesn’t hurt the eyes when aimed directly at them (when properly dimmed). The output of the Z90 was cut a bit by this double layer of diffusion, but it still enabled us to nicely fill light a 12’ square area.”

Go check out the full article for all the juicy details on these sweet little lights. You can purchase Zylight gear at Amazon and also direct from the manufacturer at www.zylight.com

Here’s an early “first impressions” type Avid Media Composer 3.0 review, along with Mojo DX.

 Shoot35 SGfollow focus [4:13m]: Download

Last fall FreshDV posted the results from our 2007 Follow Focus Shootout, which compared 5 different popular models for 15mm rod configurations. We intend to continue updating that review series as new models and features hit the market, and to that end we are offering this video review of Shoot35’s follow focus, the SGfollow focus unit. You may know Shoot35 more commonly as the makers of the SGPro 35mm adapter. The SGfollow focus is a £199 unit that now ships with a standard accessory port…our review unit did not include the accessory port, only the 4mm connection shaft that the port attaches to. More details on this update here.

You can watch the review below, at FreshTV, or view all 6 follow focus reviews conveniently in one playlist here.

Digital Cinema Course
Reviewed by Kendal Miller, FreshDV Contributing Editor
MSRP: $439-$529
Fresh Score: 4/5

Fresh Points: This series provides an incredible wealth of information previously attainable only at school or on set. The price places it firmly in the reach of most independent filmmakers making it readily accessible.

Stale Points:
At times the presentation runs long, and I would like to see more first person presentation of the material rather than continual voice-over. I also often found myself craving more advanced, high end setups with more elaborate lighting etc.

Film School on a Budget
It has been said that when you are through learning, well, then you are through. This is especially true in an industry that is as rapidly evolving as ours. I tend to subscribe to this philosophy myself and make every attempt to set aside time routinely for professional development. Whenever I’m on set I always make a concerted effort to take aways some new trick, or tip doesn’t matter if its the Assistant Director, the Gaffer, or a Production Assistant. I want to sharpen my skills and therefore my marketability.

The Digital Cinema Course, produced by Rush Hamden, offers the possibility of learning a lot of information, 18 DVDs and 24hours worth to be exact. The course is divided into four parts which I will refer to as modules. The command pack consist of four modules Gear Guide (DCT-GG07), Basic Production (DCT-BP), Movie Production (DCT-MP), and Lighting Set (DCT-LS). There are several other optional courses things such as audio production, green screen, and compositing available as well. First lets examine the aims and goals of this course, an overview of the course and then what will you learn, what you won’t .

The Aim and Purpose

” The Digital Cinema Course is the first fully-comprehensive film-school on DVD. The course is designed to educate novice and experienced filmmakers alike, either for entering the production world or getting more from it. The course has something to offer everyone. It’s been praised for focusing on the “physical” filmmaking production process and avoiding much-discussed “business” subjects such as financing, marketing, and publicity. It plainly teaches you how to physically write and direct a movie, not how to produce it. The course has been described as covering a year’s worth of classroom instruction for 2% of the cost of attending a University. For a fraction of the price of a single college course, it ventures deeply into Scriptwriting, Formatting, Editing, Camera Operation, Lighting, Exposure, Audio recording and mixing, Cinematography, Green/Blue-screen keying and Directing. It’s over 30 hours of filmmaking savvy, wisdom, examples, demonstrations, tips and tricks, by people who work in Hollywood day in, day out. The entire course is resolution- and format-agnostic: Concepts apply no matter what format you shoot in (Film, HD, DV, Analog, 16:9, 4:3) The gear used in the video is easily accessible on a microscopic production budget. The advantages and disadvantages of each piece of equipment is discussed. The course is pragmatic, and tries to reach every viewer. It is pure at heart, devoid of pretense or precocious tone. Unlike other film-school-in-a-box courses, it exists purely to serve the student rather than showcase the talents of the producers.” -Digital Cinema Course

Overview
The course begins basically by showing a short film project shot pretty much entirely on the JVC HD-100/ Panasonic AG-HVX200 series cameras. The Director then begins to work backwards starting with the screenwriting process and begins to give you an insiders view into how the short was created. Each finished scene is then shown and then deconstructed from a lighting and camera perspective behind the scenes. This is the heart of the Basic Movie Production Module. Other modules follow each offering insight into a different aspect of production. The one module that took me most off-guard was the gear guide. I anticipated a dry explanation of film gear explaining its use. Instead what I found was in-depth information on how to use gear provided by industry experts, and manufacturers. It was really very informative. One thing I would have liked to have seen more of was the interaction between the crew during the process and spend a little more time on set etiquette and protocol. A lot of information is provided by voice over and narration and I would have liked to see a more hands on approach as the DP explains his process as he walks you through it. There are several segments where this presentation style is adopted for a short time, although sometimes the presenter failed to give thorough explanation on screen so we come back to the voice over to provide more in depth in formation. Generally I found the segments presented in first person to be a more engaging presentation style. However, I must ad that at no point did I feel removed from the learning process due to the presentation style. At times the material ran long and could have been explained in a more concise manner, but it gets the point across that filmmaking can be a tedious process. There is no way to explain in depth what each module teaches so I suggest you visit www.DigitalCinemaCourse.com to find out in depth what is covered. The breadth of this course is simple too wide breakdown each DVD individually.

This course covers a lot of information and I honestly think for someone wanting to learn filmmaking this isn’t a bad place to start as a beginner. The information is presented in a manner that easy to grasp and at a mere fraction of the cost of a semester of film school. While it doesn’t teach you everything you need to succeed as a cinematographer it will give you a firm footing to begin to find your way, and equip you with tools you need to become comfortable on set. There is value in the DVD presentation format as well, bringing the ability to watch, pause, rewind and re-watch at your convenience. Lets face it, we creative types lead pretty hectic lives so the ability to process this information a piece at a time is well appreciated.

What You Can Expect To Learn
Expect to take away a good fundamental understanding of camera control as it relates to a video camera, screen writing, script formatting, shot composition, set etiquette, and lighting. For the beginning filmmaker you will learn a ton of information in a relatively short time, then its just up to you to put it all into practice. This is easily one of the more advanced courses I have seen, and yet in some ways it feels kind of basic to the more advanced cinematographer, however there is still a lot of things you can take away from here. Let me give you a quick quiz, if you can tell me the color of a double net, the light loss, and how it affects the quality of light over a single silk, then while you will learn a good amount a sizable piece the material will be beneath you. If you answered, “Why do I need a net I’m not going fishing?” then this course takes aim right where your sitting. DCC assumes nothing and walks you through the very basics and set etiquette all the way up to the slightly advanced lighting setups. Now while I say it covers the basics it does so in exhaustive detail, so be prepared to walk with a great understanding ready to build on.

What You Won’t Learn
Because this was intentionally shot with a small crew and aimed at the lower budget indie crowd, what you won’t learn is some of dynamics and protocols of working with a larger crew. You won’t learn techniques for working with film as this course reside firmly in the land of digital video and HD production, and while many principals translate fine, others don’t. Lighting setups while better than most tutorials are still relegated to rather small setups so you’ll learn a large amount of lighting theory but techniques for larger scale scenes and more advanced cinematic lighting are relatively unmentioned. There are however a number of tips and tricks waiting to be uncovered throughout this entire series for even the more advanced user. Finally you will not learn the pre-production side, script breakdown, call sheets etc… the more formal side of filmmaking necessary to surviving on a larger set.

In collaboration with DCC, FreshDV has partnered to bring you the following segments exclusively from the DVD set. I hope it will help you get an idea for the presentation style, if you like what you see then go buy the whole set, you won’t regret it!! Also Rush Hamden has offered FreshDV readers $40 off the DCT-COMMAND Course. Just follow the instructions below.

Directions:
1) Goto www.DigitalCinemaCourse.com
2) Order the DCT-MP/COMMAND-FULL Course
3) Send an email to info@digitalcinematraining.com telling us you heard about the course on FreshDV
4) A partial refund will be sent to you via Paypal

Watch the segments:

 Cinevate Pre-Production Ballare Dolly Review [6:25m]: Download

We recently had the opportunity to check out Cinevate’s Ballare dolly solution. The Ballare is almost entirely constructed of aluminum, and as such is quite rigid. It breaks down into a relatively small size for transport, and weighs around 45 lbs. It can run on schedule 40 PVC pipe, or any other 1″ or 1 1/4″ track. This was a pre-production model, and it is my understanding that since our test Cinevate has integrated a few of our suggestions into the production model, like a more robust pushbar design. For a detailed look at the dolly system, download the attached video or watch online at FreshTV.

The following article is a review by FreshDV guest contributor Eugenia Loli-Queru.

Geeks.com sent us over a Kodak Z885 for a review, one of their 8 megapixel digital cameras they carry on to their store.

Description
The Z885 is an 8.1 MP camera, with a 2.5″ LCD screen. It features a 5x optical zoom, 32MB internal flash storage, SDHC support, digital stabilization, JPEG capture, MPEG4-SP VGA capture, A/V output. It uses two AA batteries to power. In the box we found the camera, batteries, a USB cable with a proprietary port on the camera side, a hand-strap, a dock for Kodak’s printers, a CD, and a getting started guide.

The top of the camera has a dial button where you can select between “Favorites”, “video” mode, scene mode, auto mode, manual mode, ISO mode and image stabilization mode. Next to the dial you will find the on/off button, the flash, the burst/timer button and a mono speaker. On the back side you will find the zoom in/out rocker button, a “delete” button, an “info” button, the 5-way operational joystick, menu, review and “share” button. On the side you will find the USB port and the SDHC port. A mono microphone with no windscreen is found next to the 36ñ180 mm (35 mm equiv.) f/2.8ñ5.1 lens and the flash.

Usage
The usability of Kodak’s cameras has been improved a lot in the latest generation of their cameras. It’s very easy to figure out what is what and how to get there. The software allows for presets of white balance (although no custom white balance is possible), several algorithms for focusing and exposure, sharpness levels, redeye removal support, sensor orientation, power management and color mode (high color, natural color, low color, sepia, black and white).

There are over 20 scene modes for those who can trust the camera to pick the right settings, although the true benefit of using the Z-series from Kodak is their manual mode. In it, you can select focusing distance, ISO, exposure, aperture and shutter speed.

HDR photography
My favorite feature of the Z-series is exposure bracketing. With it, the camera captures three images with a single shutter click, but at different exposures. Then, you bring these images to applications like Photoshop or Photomatix and with some lite manipulation you can add new details to your picture. Or, you can artistic with it and create some crazy looking pictures like the one below. I believe that this Z885 camera is the cheapest camera on the market that supports exposure bracketing. You will have to pay $450 to get the Powershot G9 if you want the same feature from a Canon, for example.

Before and after:

Video
The Z885 only shoots VGA video at 30fps, or at QVGA resolution. Quality is not too bad and it has the added bonus to save the video in MPEG4-SP of 3.5mbps instead of MJPEG. This means that you will fit more VGA video with this camera than any other camera in the market that uses MJPEG. Unfortunately, there is no exposure compensation for when shooting video. If VGA is not enough for you, you can consider upgrading to the Z1085 or the Z1285. These 10MP and 12MP versions of the Z-series have all the features of the Z885, plus 720p 10mbps HD recording (the Kodak V-series have a 13mbps high quality HD mode, but they don’t have any manual settings).

Conclusions
The Z885 is a good camera especially for the mere $110 it costs. Picture quality is pretty good, it has manual controls, battery life is acceptable, stabilization, and even exposure bracketing. You can’t go wrong with all that and at that price. The only feature we would have liked added (except HD video with exposure compensation support), would be custom white balance.

Rating: 7.5/10

FreshDV guest-contributor Eugenia Loli-Queru is a Senior News Editor at www.OSNews.com. You can catch up with her online at eugenia.gnomefiles.org.

When Holophone announced the H4 SuperMINI some time ago, I was very intrigued by this unique product offering. The SuperMINI is a on-camera microphone system that captures six discrete channels of audio and mixes it down into two channels on your camcorder. Holophone also offers true multi-channel surround recording products, but those of course require some method of recording all the channels discretely…this solution puts relatively affordable surround sound recording in the hands of a single videographer in the field with a minimum of hassle. There was a review by Carl Mrozek in DV recently, you can read it online. Looks like a very interesting niche product.

ARRI 300/650 Fresnel Combo Kit
Reviewed By: Jessica Creech

As many microfilmmakers know, lighting is often one of the most sacrificed elements in a low-budget production. Whether that is for lack of knowledge, inadequate equipment or an improper understanding of lighting’s impact, it seems that this line item gets cut from budgets all too easily. Knowing that the funds of microfilmmakers are limited (me included), I set out in search of an all-around kit that would provide the most value in terms of cost and versatility. The results of that search let me to ARRI’s combo kits. The model I’ve chosen to review is the 300/650 Fresnel Combo Kit (although others are available). Take a few moments to read our review that explains the full extent of its capabilities and I believe you will find it well worth the investment. Continue reading ‘ARRI Fresnel Lighting Kit Review’

Canon’s new HV30, the update to the revered HV20, is the only camera in this price range to offer three major framerate modes: 60i, 30P, and 24P. Canon has suggested that the 30P mode is ideal for online video creators, since most online video is cut to 15 frames per second and that allows the encoder to simply remove every other frame, resulting in better quality video. Or so goes the theory. Camcorderinfo recently tested this assumption with Youtube, and has provided side-by-side examples of their test footage so you can compare it in realtime. Check it out.

The HV30 is available at B&H, currently at $899 with the $100 instant rebate. Purchases made via that link help support FreshDV at no additional cost to you.

The following article is a review by FreshDV guest contributor Eugenia Loli-Queru.

Geeks.com sent us over for a review a Kodak V1233 12MP cheap digital camera that has a 720p HD recording capability. Along with it, they also sent us a 4 GB SD card to test the camera with.

The V1233 uses a 1/1.72in CCD that captures 12.1MP pixels JPEG images. It features a 3x varizoom, an electronic image stabilizer, and a 2.5″ LCD screen. It comes with 32MB flash storage and it accepts SDHC cards up to 8 GB. The camera sports a microphone and a flash. This model is largely the same as the V1253, a $40 more expensive model. Their only differences are the larger LCD, stereo mics and higher video bitrate that the V1253 enjoys. Delve in for more.
Continue reading ‘Kodak V1233 12MP and 720p HD Camera Review’

Digital Camcorder News has posted a review of Premiere Elements 4. Here’s an excerpt:

Adobe makes it easy to create quick, appealing home movies with the latest installment of Adobe Premiere Elements. A slick interface, better integration with Photoshop Elements, and better support for Flash-based sites like YouTube make Adobe Premiere Elements 4 a great choice for video projects, but the current lack of AVCHD support makes it a product I cannot fully endorse for anyone wanting to edit non-HDV video.