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3D USER REPORT: VIDEO 18 AND 25 FLUID HEADS

An atmospheric sunrise over the Alps, a small church in the middle of blooming trees, perfect camera pans across turquoise-blue mountain lakes and sun-drenched vineyards: The Austrian director and (3D-) cinematographer Andreas Meschuh worked for his promotional film "Styria – The Green Heart of Austria\" with the Video 18 and Video 25 fluid heads f...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

Cameras for streaming

I first saw true HD pictures years ago at IBC. OpTex had a camera focusing on some beautifully lit fruit. The image on the screen was extraordinary, hypnotising. Leap forward a decade and Amsterdam brought Europe its first taste of Ultra High Definition Television - not 720p, not 1080i, but 4320p. The enveloping cinematic pictures and the embrace o...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 August 2011

BVE and the Year Ahead

In the IABM's market survey a year ago, the Director General, Peter White, forecast: “Although the worst appears to be over and a degree of optimism is discernible, 2010 is still shaping up to be a fairly lacklustre year. As we exit the year, however, we do expect to see better signs of market improvement with a more promising 2011 and 2012.” How p...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 April 2011

As a Videographer do I need a tripod and head

As you know, video has changed radically over the past few years, with even lighter and more compact cameras producing broadcast-quality HD footage. With new equipment opening up new ways to film and encouraging film-makers, videographers and former photographers to cross over their outdated boundaries, comes a need for new supports to match these...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2010

Meet Steadicam

1) What is Steadicam?Steadicam is a body-worn camera support systems that isolates the movement of the camera from that of the operator and allows the camera to travel with great freedom over almost any terrain without resorting to conventional track and dolly techniques. Invented by Garrett Brown, the first model was produced in 1976 primarily for...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2010

A conversation with Peter Harman, Vinten Product Manager

Vinten is celebrating its centenary in 2010. What were the origins of the business?William Vinten was an engineer with a passion for quality. He set himself in business to repair friends’ bicycles at the age of 13, did a full apprenticeship in a machine shop, and worked for Frederick Lamplough, the steam car pioneer. But it was seeing his first mov...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010

Precise panning for DSLR cameras

After buying a new DSLR camera with video function one usually works hard at getting good shots. It then becomes obvious that the selection of the proper tripod is crucial for clean horizontal and vertical panning. Sachtler, a brand of the Vitec Group, offers a variety of fluid heads in different weight classes that also fulfill the special require...

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

Accessorising DLSR video

Some DSLR stills camera manufacturers now include HD video capabilities within their top-of-the-range products. This raises the prospect of lower cost stills cameras shooting good quality HD video. While this is true in certain circumstances there is much more that needs to be included with these cameras to make them consistently produce their best...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2010

Adventure between two Oceans 2009

The route of this year’s Dakar Rally went through South America, subjecting participants and equipment to very extreme conditions. Bikers and quad pilots as well as teams in cars and trucks participated in this 31st rally of its kind in South America. Cameraman Len Jansen and his team DakarPress from the Netherlands were also there. They have been...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 October 2009

Choosing the right tripod

Camera support equipment is constantly changing as technological advances influence what can be created in the viewfinder. New generations of ultra compact cameras are enabling the camera operator to explore and get into the action as never before and longer lenses allow close-up views previously unobtainable. But with so much choice, how do you se...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 January 2009

A Cinematographers Companion, through hell and high water...

Miller Camera Support has never been more thoroughly tested than by Australian Cinematographer Wade Fairley, through Antarctic winters and summers, floods in Tuvalu, swamps in the Solomon Islands and the outback deserts of Australia. The most outstanding project of recent times for Wade was the trip for the BBC Natural History Unit, shooting footag...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 March 2008