KitPlus | Articles

Around the globe with Q-Ball

The bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin was celebrated during 2009 by a variety of TV programmes studying the background to his 1859 book 'On the Origin of Species'. One of the most ambitious tributes was a 35-part series planned and produced by Dutch broadcaster VPRO. Rather than hire a studio, they commissioned the three-masted clipper Sta...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2010

Underwater DSLR Video Capture

Needless to say, DSLRs and their newly found HD video capability are a hot topic nowadays but many of us used to traditional video/film cameras are finding the transition a little vexing. The problem is that for years we’ve been able to immerse ourselves within that snug, comfortable viewfinder and get on with the job at hand. All of a sudden we ar...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2010

To buy or not to buy that is the question

When it comes to buying or leasing your equipment, should your head be in the clouds or your hands in your pockets? Azule’s Peter Savage investigates... As the theme of this month’s issue is archiving and storage, I thought it would be a good time to take a moment and look at different ways of acquiring the IT based storage and archiving assets on...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2010

Manfrotto 504HD tripod first hands on review

Well we’ve just got our grubby hands on the beautiful shiny new Manfrotto 504HD tripod system.... I believe this to be the replacement for the 503 head that we have many of and tend to use for cameras like the Sony EX1 and EX3 in our fleet. Couple of things straight from the box.. Its light – even though the legs are metal. Comes with the usual pad...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2010

3D diaries -Fix it in post. Dont go there

The more I look into it the more scary 3D is. Researching for 3D Diaries shows there are so many pitfalls and traps that would be all too easy to fall into; enough to put people off the whole idea! The answer is simply to learn about the subject before seriously jumping in with both feet. Clearly it adds a whole new layer to all parts of the scene-...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2010

3D Diaries Part 2 Cameras and rigs

The idea of S-3D is not hard to grasp: one image for each eyeball. But making it work well enough to maintain the 3D illusion for the viewer is far from simple or straightforward. The fun starts with acquisition that breaks into two types of operation; live (no post production) and not live (with post). Shooting 3D requires acquiring two streams of...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2010

19inch Racking, an evolution

If you have ever worked with 19” racking you probably have the scars to prove it. From its inception in the 1930’s to the present day the 19” rack has hardly evolved. Standards organisations, from BSI, ISO ANSI and DIN all have their own take on the 19” rack and, as you all know, you never could get that Dell server in the HP rack. With cage nuts,...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010

Eye to Eye: Getting a grip

Getting a gripCameras and camcorders are shrinking at such a rapid rate that a lot of today's established support devices are looking completely out of scale. In some aisles of the NAB 2010 Central Hall, visitors were at perpetual risk of colliding with excited demonstrators nipping hither and yon with hand-held stabilisers for DSLRs. Most were onl...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010

Why do poorly composed 3D stereoscopic images give headac...

The brain is used to being able to “fuse” the two separate views of the world seen from each eye into a 3D perceived scene. However we have a closed-loop system and the eye muscles constantly pull convergence and focus depending on the region of interest. When presented with two separate image streams originating from the left and right camera syst...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010

With Polecam to the Antarctic

Whale Wars is a documentary-style reality television series that airs on Animal Planet, and follows the activities of the eco-activist group, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Last year, I was aboard Sea Shepherd’s flagship, “Steve Irwin” as Director of Photography and, along with a 5-man camera team, documented the “war” between the Japanese whal...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2010

The Real Cost of Calibration

Calibration is the cornerstone of measurement confidence. Badly calibrated instruments are liable to produce measurement errors which can then propagate throughout an enterprise and even to the end-user’s product… and beyond! This can have a detrimental effect on a company’s reputation and profits, and could even have legal implications. The best w...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2010

3D home viewing

It seems the whole world is excited about the return of 3D to cinemas. Older sceptics said it wouldn’t last as it used to give them a headache. Sure, the old celluloid-based 3D delivery system had real problems and the production chain was slow and very expensive. This time is different, with rock-steady digital images in cinemas ensuring that the...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2010

POV cameras explained

John Chambers is Managing Director of Drivedata (UK) Ltd, which specialises in minicam solutions for broadcast, military and extreme-sports applications. Minicams, also referred to as POV cameras, are becoming increasingly popular as they get smaller, cheaper and easier to use. The POV camera is now a firm favourite in reality TV, sports coverage a...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 March 2010

The best job in the Met

If you have ever wondered “How did they do that?” when you watch the car chase in Spooks or the gun fight in Ashes to Ashes or even the thrilling gun shot scene at Waterloo Station in Bourne Ultimatum, then you may want to talk to the Metropolitan Police Service Film Unit (MPS FU). “COPS FORM A LUVVY SQUAD” was how one red-top newspaper commented o...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 February 2010

Robotic cameras on location

Television is such a natural extension of the human senses that I doubt if more than one viewer in a thousand gives much thought to the effort put into modern programme production. Much of the original push for creative freedom came from outside broadcast crews, initially using turret-mounted optics and later zoom lenses to obtain close-ups of dist...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 February 2010