Tech Toys for 2012

We asked our crews what favorite new gadget or piece of equipment they look forward to using in the New Year. Here are a few of their picks:

Dustin Farrel — Crew West, Phoenix, AZ
"My new favorite product is the Dynamic Perception dolly. (http://dynamicperception.com/) It is a very durable, yet light weight, motion control system that I can set up in minutes. In the past, setting up time lapse shots that had a dolly move required a lot of manpower and time. Now I can do it by myself in ten minutes. The DP dolly is also very portable making it possible to take with me to remote locations."

Dustin's amazing time lapse work has been featured on ABC News and can be seen at http://vimeo.com/29950141.

DP Dustin Farrell adjusts his new Dynamic Perception dolly for a time lapse shoot at Horseshoe Bend near Page, Arizona. The shoot was for the Japanese program "Discover Wonders of the World" which was doing a segment on Dustin and his time lapse work.

Sandy Abernethy — Abernethy Media Productions, Dallas, TX
"Probably what I'm most excited about right now would be our three new Panasonic HPX250's. They're the much-improved replacement for our workhorse HVX200's. The first, most obvious difference is the absence of the SD tape drive of the 200. That may sound like a weakness until you realize it saves pounds off of the weight and makes room for improvements like 10 bit sampling, variable frame rates, SDI monitoring and TC in/out as well and a bigger LCD viewfinder. It's also faster, due primarily to a CMOS imager that replaces the old CCD and improved optics. Those optics help it achieve an amazing 22x image (28mm to 616mm) magnification while featuring manual zoom and focus and a much-welcomed manual iris ring.

So, this camera will enable us to shoot in multi-camera setups with synced timecode and allow single-cable monitoring of both video and audio. It's great for lower-budget multicam as well as being a great add-on for shoots using primarily 2/3 inch cameras."

Mark Walker — Boxx Communications, Los Angeles, CA
"Our new HD zero delay wireless transmitter is a great new toy. It's called the Boxx Meridian system. The Meridian system is the new era in HD microwave transmission. It delivers zero delay and extremely high quality uncompressed SD and HD video instantly over license exempt channels. It works with all formats (composite, component, SDI and HDSDI), breaking new ground in affordable SD and HD transmission for broadcasting and viewing. What makes it unique is the zero delay and it works with all cameras in HD or SD. If you are filming a sporting event, for example, this enables you to have a wireless camera which allows you to move up and down the side line or through the crowd without cables, making it a lot safer for the camera person and fans alike."

The Box Meridian System has been used on shows including "X Factor", "Who Wants to be a Millionaire", "Australia's Got Talent", "Sons of Anarchy", and many more. To learn more about it go to http://www.boxxcommunications.tv/.

Blair Holmes — Blair Holmes Productions, Chicago, IL
"Although not totally new, I have become a big fan of Lite Panels LED lights. They are one foot square panels that are only two inches deep and are AC or battery powered. The lights are daylight balanced (tungsten available) and can be used on any production from interview lighting to night lighting the inside of a car. They are extremely light and very portable. The light is dimmable with no color temperature shifting.

They pack such a punch that I've recently been using them on the floor or table, just below and in front of an interviewee. This adds an extra catch light to the eyes and a nice subtle glow to the image. A terrific versatile tech toy."

Alex Kovacs, Tampa, FL
"I recently purchased the Sound Devices PIX 240 video recorder, which records to ProRes 422 or DNxHD codecs from any HD-SDI or HDMI equipped high-definition video camera. It records the QuickTime files to either CompactFlash cards or removable 2.5-inch solid-state hard drives using the Pix Caddy. I own two high quality tape-based cameras, the Panasonic Varicam and the Panasonic HDX-900. The Pix 240 will prolong the life of my cameras as I can use it to record QuickTime files, which then can be transferred to an external hard drive. The Pix 240 will record up to 220mb/s in ProRes 422 or DNxHD in 10-bit at 1080P. Now, when a client asks me to provide the footage on a hard drive, I can easily do it.

The PIX 240 also has a 5" LCD monitor, which displays images at 800 x 480 resolution. Although the monitor quality is not HD, it still works well for framing a shot or to provide instant confirmation of recording, playback, audio metering, and setup menu selections. I love how easy the menu is to navigate, and the large buttons and knobs make it very user friendly."

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