Profile on Libec/Ianiro Company Panasonic HPX500

FOR THOSE WHO ARE SERIOUS ABOUT DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCTION & NON-LINEAR EDITING
Is s u e 7 • J u l y 2 0 0 7 • ww w.dvuser.co.uk • A Free P ubl i cati on
Panasonic HPX500 Review
Simon Wyndham reviews the new
Panasonic HPX500 full-size HD camcorder.
Vinten Pro 6 HDV Tripod Review
Nigel Cooper checks out the new budget-priced Vinten Pro 6 HDV
tripod; with his usual brutal methods thrown in.
Final Cut Studio 2 Review
Jim Panks takes a look at the new features Apple have put into Final Cut Studio 2
as Apple continue to take over the world with this superb professional editing software package.
Reflect Media LiteRing/ChromaFlex Review
Ged Yeates checks out Reflect Media’s new LiteRing chromakeying kit with some successful results.
Profile on Libec/Ianiro Company
Some insights into the Libec/Ianiro company and their
demo studios based in the midlands.
Matrox MXO Review
High Definition professional post-production colour grading on a budget
with the all-new Matrox MXO box.
NEWS • REVIEWS • FEATURES • ARTICLES • TUTORIALS • TECHNIQUES • TIPS • COMPETITIONS
Opening Scene
Contents
NEWS
4. All the latest news from the world of
digital video production and editing.
ARTICLES
31. Profile on Ianiro UK
REVIEWS
6. Vinten Pro-6HDV review
12. Panasonic HPX500 review
16. Reflect Media review
20. Final Cut Studio 2 review
25. Matrox MXO review
REGULAR ITEMS
32. Trade Directory
35. Classifieds
The first thing I’d like to bring your attention
to is the large advert on the left. Most of you
will know that I run my own video production
company in Cambridgeshire (www.genericpool.
co.uk), which is what I spend 80% of my time
doing (DVuser is my charitable side). Successful
Wildlife Videography is our brand new training
DVD. I actually wrote this scrip 4 years ago, but
due to other productions this project got put on
the back burner. A year ago to this day I phoned
Mike Linley to ask him if he would be interested in fronting this training DVD and carrying out
the demonstrations. As luck would have it, Mike was very keen to be involved; in fact he was
positively excited.
For those who aren’t familiar with Mike Linley, he was the writer/producer of the long –running
Anglia TV wildlife series “Survival”. Mike also presented the famous TV series “Animals in
Action”. Today Mike runs his own production company in Norfolk called Hairy Frog Productions,
where he specialises in wildlife programming for television.
In August 2006 we started shooting the production using two JVC GY-HD111E camcorders
with various lenses and an arsenal of other pieces of equipment. We decided to use two
JVC ProHD camcorders simply because they are cheap and readily available; we wanted
to use equipment that student wildlife filmmakers could realistically afford. Filming took from
August 2006 to May 2007, well wildlife can be somewhat unpredictable; even in a controlled
environment. The postproduction side of things took 7 weeks and now the DVD is available to
buy. So if you are into wildlife filmmaking and want to learn camera shooting techniques as used
by professional wildlife filmmakers, then this DVD is for you. It’s packed with over 140-minutes of
hands-on wildlife filmmaking training, inside trade secrets and other great hints and tips.
If you aren’t into wildlife videography, you will still get a lot out of the DVD as it also covers
topics like composition, coping with natural lighting, equipment and shooting techniques. Or
perhaps you just want to see what the JVC ProHD range of camcorders are capable of. See
www.wildlifefilmmaking.co.uk for more details.
Next up, the soon-to-be Sony XDCAM EX compact solid-state camcorder appears to be
creating one hell of a buzz on the net; I’m personally receiving emails on a daily basis with many
varying questions about this new HD camcorder. Professional Cameraman Simon Wyndham and
myself are collaborating with Sony UK/Europe to produce the world first training DVD on this new
camera. We should have taken delivery of one by the time you read this and should be well into
shooting the production. See www.xdcamex.co.uk for more details. In the meantime, I’ve penned
a quick Questions & Answers section on the EX camcorder and it’s ExpressCard technology on
page 00. I’ve spoken to two people who have already been working with Sony Japan with the
testing of the EX and they are telling me that the footage from this little camera is simply mindblowing beyond belief. See page 00 for details.
There’s also a review on Panasonic’s new HPX500 HD P2 camcorder on page 00. The
outcome of which is pretty good with image quality every bit as good as Panasonic promised
when they announced the camera.
Finally, could you all please be kind enough to read the ‘DVuser Needs You!” News Piece on
the next page and please make a donation.
Nigel Cooper Founder/Editor DVuser.co.uk
DVuser product review star ratings – how we star up our reviews.
Cover photo: Wade Fairley
©2006 DVuser. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be copied, reproduced, or transmitted
in any form or by means of electronic, mechanical,
photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publishers. While every care
has been taken in the compilation of this publication, we
cannot accept responsibility for any publishing errors or
inaccuracies, or for any other loss, direct or consequential
arising in connection with any information contained within
this publication. The views herein are not necessarily
those of the publishers. Acceptance of advertisements
does not imply recommendation by the publisher.
1 star = poor, pitiful, appalling, atrocious, inexcusable - 2 stars = mediocre, second-rate, just average
3 stars = good, decent, fine, above average - 4 stars = great, first-rate, excellent, amazing, brilliant
5 stars = outstanding, exceptional, sheer brilliance, perfection, pure genius
Our final ratings are based on a combination of: build quality - durability - ruggedness - features
controls - functionality - usability - cost of ownership i.e. tapes/media cards/servicing costs etc.
Editor: Nigel Cooper - [email protected]
Sub Editor: Louise Wessman - [email protected]
Contributors: Simon Wyndham, Ged Yeates, Jim Panks.
Published by: DVuser UK. Tel: 01480 374036
Advertising: 01480 374036 Subscriptions: 01480 374036 www.dvuser.co.uk/magazine.php
w w w. d v u s e r. c o . u k
The independent magazine for independent video producers & filmmakers
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 3
DVuser NEEDS YOUR HELP!!
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR DV-USER READERS!
You might have noticed that not only is the DVuser web site totally free, but so is the quarterly printed
magazine too; absolutely nothing to pay for either of them. However, an inordinate amount of hard work
goes into both from the small team here, which are made up of myself, and three other people including
a web coder. All of who do it for the total love of all things digital video. Sure there are adverts in the
magazine, but the printing and postage costs are considerable, as are the behind-the-scenes expenses
of running/maintaining the web site.
DVuser does not (and never has) charge any monthly subscription fees for the web site, nor do we
charge any annual subscription fee for the magazine. We at DVuser have decided that once a year we
are going to put up a ‘DONATE’ button on the website. This DONATE button will remain on the website for just 28 days, we intend doing this once
a year. So if you appreciate what we are doing and all the man-hours and hard work that goes into both the DVuser website and magazine, then
please help us out and show your support by popping over to www.dvuser.co.uk and click on the ‘DONATE’ button on the home page. Don’t worry
about the amount, you could donate anything between 50p and £50, it is entirely up to you. But one thing is for sure, whatever the amount, it will be
sincerely appreciated and will assure the continued quality of the DVuser publication and web site.
Thanks for listening. Nigel Cooper. Editor
Please visit: www.dvuser.co.uk and click the ‘DONATE’ button on the home page.
Remember, the button will only be there for 28 days.
SanDisk and Sony announce SxS™ Memory Card Specs for Pro camcorders
A SxS offers high capacity and high-speed
data transfer.
SanDisk and Sony have announced that the
two companies have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the intention of developing the SxS
(S-by-S) memory card specification, with high-speed transfer technology compliant to the ExpressCard™ industry
standard.
SxS memory cards will leverage the technology strength of SanDisk and Sony, who have a long and successful
history of co-developing and promoting flash memory products. With this high-performance and high-reliability
memory card, both companies are targeting workflow improvements for professional camcorders and non-linear video
editing systems.
The SxS memory card specification uses flash memory and complies with the ExpressCard industry standard, and
the card connects directly to computer systems through the high-speed PCI-Express bus. ExpressCard has been
rapidly adopted by PC manufacturers to replace the legacy PC Card™ form factor, giving the SxS memory cards
broad support in post-production hardware.
Sony will adopt this high-speed SxS memory card specification in its XDCAM EX series of professional camcorders.
SxS memory cards from SanDisk and Sony are expected to be available later in 2007.
XDCAM EX Series professional camcorders will support SxS cards.
Benefits: High-speed data transfer of large video files.
SxS memory cards are the
first native PCI Express
solid-state storage media. PCI
Express has a maximum data transfer speed of 2.5 gigabits
per second, twice as fast as PC Card™-based storage
media. In addition, SanDisk and Sony have optimized the
technology protocol for controlling communication between
hardware and SxS memory cards to enable high-speed
transfer of large files, such as high-definition video, to PCs
for non-linear video-editing. The target transfer speed of
SxS memory cards is 800 megabits per second.
Compact Size: The SxS memory card specification uses
ExpressCard/34 modules (width: 34mm, height: 5mm,
length: 75mm), half the size of PC Cards. This enables the
design of professional camcorders that are smaller and
lighter, while still offering high storage capacities.
For more details visit: www.sonybiz.net
4 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
REVIEW €€€
Great Deals on Pro Video Systems from Calumet
Calumet Photographic’s Pro Video team has over 30 years experience in video & lighting equipment sales, to bring you the
best possible advice and assistance when selecting from our wide range of DV & HDV video equipment and accessories
Professional HDV
camcorders
Description
Part No
Canon XH-A1 HDV1080i
321-025A
Canon XH-G1 HDV1080i
321-025B
Canon XL-H1 HDV1080i
321-201J
JVC GY-HD111E ProHD 720p
941-000K
JVC GY-HD251E ProHD 720p
941-101T
Panasonic AG-HVX200 plus 4 x 2Gb P2 cards*
994-401A
Sony HVR-A1E HDV1080i
993-346Y
Sony HVR-V1E HDV1080i
993-347D
Sony HVR-Z1E HDV1080i
993-223A
*Fully warrantied demo model. 1 only
Batteries & Power
Price
£2149.00
£3694.00
£4350.00
£2894.00
£4766.00
£3043.00
£1358.00
£2341.00
£2893.00
Compact HDV
camcorders
Description
Part No
Canon HV-20 HDV1080i MiniDV
321-300T
Sony HDR-HC5E HDV1080i MiniDV 993-995X
Sony HDR-HC7E HDV1080i MiniDV 993-995Y
NEW Sony HDR-SR5E HDV1080i 40Gb HDD
994-998H
NEW Sony HDR-SR7E HDV1080i 60Gb HDD
994-998E
NEW Sony HDR-SR8E HDV1080i 100Gb HDD
994-998D
Sony HDR-UX3E HDV1080i DVD 993-167E
Sony HDR-UX7E HDV1080i DVD 993-996Y
NEW Sony HDR-CX6E HDV1080i MemoryStick
994-998C
Price
£680.00
£532.00
£723.00
Part No
†Terms
£63.00
£63.00
£187.00
£50.00
£50.00
£50.00
£50.00
£850.00
£528.00
£681.00
£680.10
Price
Price
Description
Part No
Price
Merlin handheld stabiliser
999-465Q
£549.00
NEW Arm & vest upgrade for Steadicam Merlin
999-492A £1150.00
NEW Steadicam Co-Pilot stabiliser with arm & vest
999-492B £2200.00
NEW Steadicam Pilot stabiliser with arm & vest
999-492C £2500.00
Steadicam Flyer stabiliser with arm & vest
999-466C £4549.00
Lighting
Description
Price
VCR, DVD & HDD
record/playback
Description
Part No
Firestore FS-4 HDV 40Gb HDD
600-499C
Firestore FS-4 PRO HDV 60Gb HDD 600-499C
Firestore FS-4 PRO HDV 80Gb HDD 600-044A
NEW Sony HVR-DR60 HDV HDD 993-996Z
JVC BR-HD50 ProHD 720p deck 941-101E
JVC SR-DVM700 MiniDV/HDD/DVD SD deck
941-000B
Sony HVR-M15E HDV1080i deck 993-223H
Sony HVR-M25E HDV1080i deck 993-223E
*includes FREE extra battery while stocks last
Price
£449.00*
£788.00
£995.00
£965.00
£1625.00
£850.00
£1494.00
£2209.00
Monitors
Description
Cambo booms, pedestals
& Unitrack systems
Price
£1425.00
£2075.00
£3050.00
£8675.00
£1343.00
£4245.00
Description
Part No
JVC TM-H150CG 15" SD CRT
941-101K
JVC DT-V1710 17” HD CRT + HD/SDI
941-101H
JVC analog component RGB board for DT-V1710
941-101S
Lilliput 7” 16:9 SD LCD
999-466T
Teletest 4.5” 16:9 SD LCD
999-468E
Part No
£2275.00
£150.00
£158.00
£399.00
Part No
Rode VideoMic minijack gun mic 995-100A
Rode NTG-2 XLR3 gun mic
995-100C
Rycote Softie & pistol grip set 999-375W
Rycote full windshield kit 4
999-375V
Sennheiser K6 power module 999-226Z
Sennheiser ME66 short gun mic 999-227A
Sennheiser MKH416 pro gun mic 999-466V
Sennheiser EW112PG2 radio mic 999-405B
Sennheiser EW100ENG-G2 radio mic
999-453N
Sony UWP-C1/67 radio mic
993-201T
CC-190 small camcorder bag
KTCC190
CC-191 small/medium case
KTCC191
CC-193 medium camcorder case KTCC193
CC-195 large camcorder case
KTCC195
CCC-10 large video case
KTVA00210
HB-207 medium backpack
KTHB207
BP-502 large backpack
KTBP502
NEW DVG-53 HDV Guard Canon XL KTVA60553
NEW DVG-54 HDV Guard JVC GYHDKTVA60554
Palms-1 3 head lighting case
KTVC2511
NEW OC-97 4 head lighting case KTOC97
Price
£339.00
Microphone systems
Kata bags
V-5 lightweight DV boom kit with tripod
Artes tilt boom kit with tripod
V-15 MPT full boom kit with tripod
V-40 motorised P&T boom kit with tripod
VPS-1 variable pedestal kit with dolly
Unitrack 5m track kit with vari-ped
Price
£789.00
Description
Description
Part No
PAG C-6 battery light kit
999-450P
£149.00
PAG C-6 spare battery pack
999-480B
£75.00
Arri 800 (Redhead) 3-head kit ARRI800KIT1
£870.00
Arri Junior 300/650 3-head kit
ARRIJUNIORKIT1 £1016.00
Dedo DLH-4 3-head kit
709-103Y
£1624.00
Ianiro Lilliput 3-head kit
LILLIPUTKIT1
£515.00
Ianiro Gulliver 3-head kit
GULLIVERKIT1 £675.00
£719.00
Tripods
Part No
Steadicams
£81.00
£93.00
Libec MP66DV monopod+bag
377-101W
£25.00
Libec TH650 tripod + bag
377-101T
£129.00
Libec LS22DV tripod, spreader+bag 377-101V
£229.00
Manfrotto MN529B Hi-hat
MN529B
£119.00
Manfrotto 745 tripod with 701RC head & bag
MN701RC2745BK £230.00
NEW Manfrotto 503 with 351 carbon fibre tripod & bag
MN503HDV525PKIT £351.00
Manfrotto 503 with 351 carbon fibre tripod & bag
MN503351MVCFK £613.00
Manfrotto 595B FigRig
MN595B
£170.00
Manfrotto 595CLA clamp for FigRig MN595CLA
£31.00
Formatt FM500 16:9 4x4 matte box with ring
340-103A
£195.00
Formatt 72mm adaptor ring for FM500
340-103B
£21.00
Formatt 82mm adaptor ring for FM500
340-103C
£22.00
Calumet is now a full-line Formatt filter dealer.
Please ask for details of 4x4 and screw-in filters
All prices exclude VAT.
£85.00
£765.00
Matte box & filters
Part No
Price
Description
Canon XL6X HD wide zoom for XL-H1
321-025C £1897.00
NEW Canon WD-H72 wide converter for XH-A1/G1
321-540Q
£315.00
NEW Canon WD-H43 wide converter for HV-20
321-007J
£144.00
Century 0.6x wide converter for Sony Z1E
993-230A
£307.00
Century fisheye converter for Sony Z1E
993-230B
£369.00
Century 0.7x zoom thru converter for Sony Z1E
993-997P
£587.00
Century 0.55x wide converter for Sony PD170
993-230C
£225.00
JVC 0.8x wide converter for GY-HD series
941-101C
£369.00
Description
Part No
Calumet 6600mAh battery for Canon XL-series
CJ0639
Calumet 4500mAh battery for Sony HVR-A1E
CJ0843
Calumet 6600mAh battery for Sony HVR-V1E/Z1E
CJ0839
Anton Bauer Elipz 10k battery+charger
999-476W
Elipz adaptor Sony PD170 etc
999-476Q
Elipz adaptor Sony HVR-Z1E/V1E 999-476R
Elipz adaptor Canon XL/XM
999-476S
Elipz adaptor Panasonic AG-HVX200999-476T
EgripZ universal flexible camcorder grip
999-477C
ElightZ video light for Elipz
999-476Y
IDX pro battery kit for Canon XL-series
993-230D
IDX pro battery kit for JVC GY-HD100-series
941-101J
£595.00
Lenses
Description
Description
Price
£58.00
£72.00
£88.00
£130.00
£179.00
£160.85
£212.00
£92.00
£92.00
£249.00
£268.00
Price
£85.00
£136.50
£145.00
£258.00
£180.00
£163.00
£695.00
£315.00
£499.00
£465.00
Tapes & Storage
Description
Part No
Fuji DVC60 MiniDV tape 63 mins 902-100A
JVC MiniDV ProHD tape 63 mins 916-333E
Bryco MDV-9 MiniDV case - holds 9
BRYMDV9
Bryco MDV-P24 padded MiniDV case - holds 24
BRYMDVP24
Bryco MDV-50 MiniDV wall rack - holds 50
BRYMDV50
Price
£2.97
£5.40
£8.50
£22.00
£13.60
and Conditions apply - call for details. E&OE.
08706 03 03 03
Order online www.calumetphoto.co.uk
Email [email protected]
Visit us 93-103 Drummond Street, London, NW1 2HJ
Telephone
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 5
I
t’s tripod review time again, and anyone
who has ever read one of my tripod reviews
will know that I’m a difficult customer to
please. When I found out that Vinten were
bringing out a new budget-priced tripod called
the Pro-6HDV I have to admit, I was hardly
excited. I figured Vinten’s new Pro-6HDV
tripod head was going to be a simple face lift
of the existing Pro-6. I didn’t like it then and
I guessed I wouldn’t like it now. How wrong I
was.
It is no secret that I’m a massive fan of
Vinten and Sachtler tripods. Many people
think I’m Vinten biased, so I was really looking
forward to ripping into the new Pro-6HDV
head and pointing out all its short-comings and
flaws.
So, you can understand my disappointment
when I tried the Pro-6HDV out for myself and
found it to be a pretty good little performer.
However, It Isnt perfect, more later.
Vinten themselves don’t actually make
a budget range of tripods. ‘Proper’ Vinten
tripods start with the Vision range. So that
they can offer an introductory product, Vinten
have taken existing Manfrotto designs, made
some minor engineering changes, re-branded
them and put them onto genuine Vinten legs
(with the exception of the Pro-5DC system)
to produce the Pro-5, Pro-6 and the Pro-10
introductory systems. So how is the all-new
Pro-6HDV any different?
Any Vinten Pro 5, Pro 6 or Manfrotto
501/503/525 kit owners will know that they
are lacking a quality ‘balance’ system. Sure,
they have controls for pan and tilt drag, but no
balance control; until now!
Sony Z1 on Pro-6HDV tripod.
Having worked extremely closely with
several professional organisations around the
world, Vinten decided, despite their popularity,
that the Pro-5 and Pro-6 had run their course
and that they needed a higher specified
budget-priced tripod aimed at the professional
corporate/event/wedding videographer (users
of the Sony Z1 size camcorder or thereabouts)
that had a proper balancing control feature;
enter the Pro-6HDV. Vinten have taken the
new Manfrotto 503HDV head and completely
changed its appearance and introduced a
fabulous new top entry camera feature. As for
the legs that come with the Pro-6HDV, they are
genuine pro-grade Vinten legs made by Vinten
with the traditional Vinten logo engraved into
them.
Enough rambling on, what is the new Vinten
Pro-6HDV like in use?
This is the second time I’ve had a go with
this tripod, the first time was when I drove up
to the Vinten HQ in Bury St.Edmunds back
in early May, where I spent an hour with a
pre-production unit. At the time I thought the
tripod was just okay
and was far from blown
away by it, but I did feel
somewhat inhibited with
Vinten staff watching my
every move.
More recently Vinten
kindly dropped off the
tripod at my house and
agreed to let me have
it for a week for more
‘vigorous’ testing. I like
to know that something
is going to last when I
buy it, so when I test
things I have a tendency
to knock them over with
force, kick them around
the floor, stamp on
them, try to force levers
and knobs beyond their
maximum point and
generally try to snap off
any bits that stick out
or look like they could
potentially break off in
time. Well now that I
was in the privacy of
my own home I took the
Pro-6HDV and got to
work on it. I knew Vinten
would not mind as my
contact Peter told me
that if there were to be
any weak spots on the
6 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
Pro-6HDV he
would rather
know at this
early stage
rather than 2
years down
the line. So
with Peter’s
blessing I set
about giving
the Pro-6HDV some serious abuse.
This testing included all the above. I then
set about testing the legs for the dreaded
‘torsion’ effect, this involves removing the
head, extending the legs fully and spreading
them, then grabbing the head and trying to
twist it. The Pro-6HDV sticks stood up to this
amazingly well, I could almost hear the legs
say “is that all you’ve got?!” As long as the
mid-level spreader is set to the middle of the
five white markers there is virtually no torsion
twisting at all. Pretty amazing for a tripod of
this price.
Next came the actual head. I first played
Sony V1 on Pro-6HDV tripod.
REVIEW €€€
Various controls for tilt drag, lock-off levers,
quick release switch and tightening knob
and illuminated spirit-level bubble.
around with it with no camera, getting a feel
for the drag controls for pan and tilt and the
3-step, plus zero settings for the balance dial.
So far so good, the head feels pretty smooth
and appears to work very well. I then put a
Sony Z1 camcorder onto it as the Pro-6HDV is
designed for cameras of this size and weight.
Canon’s XLH1 or JVCs ProHD 100 series are
about as big as you would want to go on this
tripod. Using a Sony Z1 camcorder, the Pro6HDV balanced really well, not quite as well
as a Vision 8, but then the Pro-6HDV doesn’t
cost £2,500. Unlike the Vision series which
are based around their “Infinitely Variable
Counterbalance” system which produces
perfect balance, the Pro-6HDV simply has 4
preset settings which are Zero (no balance
at all), 1, 2, and 3. Number 1 is the weakest
spring setting (around 2kg at 55mm CofG) and
is ideal for cameras like the Sony A1. Setting
number 2 (around 4kg at 55mm CofG) is ideal
for Sony Z1 and Pannasonic HVX200. And
finally setting number 3 (around 6kg at 55mm
CofG) is suited to slightly heavier cameras
like the Canon XL H1 or JVC GY-HD111, or
a HVX200 or Sony Z1 with matte box, larger
battery and other add-ons. The maximum
weight the Pro-6HDV can take onto its 75mm
bowl/head is 6kg (13.2lb).
Loaded with a Sony Z1 the Pro-6HDV head
responds well enough for the money, with nice
fluid movements. You have a decent amount
of control over the drag settings for pan and tilt
and it is easy enough to match them both up to
the same resistance. The tilt works especially
better than the old Manfrotto version. The
original Manfrotto 503 head always had a
horrible sticking sound as you tilted up/down,
especially if you
crank the drag
right up like I do.
The 503 also
has a ‘friction’
feel in the tilt too.
Vinten’s new
Pro-6HDV has
none of these
flaws. However,
the Pro-6HDV is
not perfect; there
is still a noticeable
amount of ‘drift
back’ in the head.
When you crank
the drag control
for pan anywhere
above about
65% the head
will drift back 2 or
3mm when you
reach the end
of a pan, which
could potentially
ruin your panning
shots. To alleviate this gremlin you have to dial
out most of the drag so there is virtually none
there, but then that would defeat the object of
having a drag system to start with. This is the
main reason I dislike Manfrotto tripods, and I’m
afraid this drift-back virus has also found its
way into the Pro-6HDV tripod too.
Having said that, the drift-back effect is only
really noticeable if you zoom right in then carry
out a panning shot. But personally I rarely
carry out panning shots when zoomed right
in, they are usually reserved for establishing
‘wide’ shots, so the minimal drift-back in the
head is not noticeable up to about a mid-zoom
range point; I can live with this tiny amount of
drift-back on the Pro-6HDV head, and I’m a
fussy bugger.
In fairness the drifback was not half as bad
3-step balance contol dial, plus zero
once the head actually thawed out. Oh yes,
didn’t I tell you. As part of my tests I always
stick tripod heads in the freezer for exactly
1-hour. I sealed the Pro-6HDV head in a
plastic air-tight bag and gave it some chills
for 60 minutes, then removed it from the
freezer and bag and put it back on the sticks.
60 minutes in a freezer is the equivalent to
an afternoon shooting in Antarctica. Now
some people might say that a camcorder
would break down if you put it in the freezer
for an hour, but this is not always the case.
Camcorders are warm when running off
batteries and frost can’t settle on a warm
product. I’ve seen Sony’s XDCAM HD PDWF350 camcorder in a freezer with a glass front
on at NAB running quite happily all day long.
With this in mind I feel it necessary to see how
well a slightly chilled tripod head performs.
We all film outside in the winter at some point
or another or we leave our tripod in the car
overnight and I’m sure you will want to know
if the head will freeze up or become stiff and
unusable. Sachtler & the top end Vinten TF
heads use a drag special fluid that is not
affected by temperature change.
After re-attaching the head to the sticks it
performed reasonably okay for a half-frozen
head. Sure it was slightly stiffer than before,
but all you have to do is back off the drag
controls a turn or so to compensate. But
basically the head is still usable. However, the
‘drift-back’ effect was exaggerated massively
because of the freezer antics, so if you are
shooting out in the snow on a cold winter’s day
I’d recommend slacking off the drag control for
pan considerably or your panning shots could
be totally unusable.
Personally I like the drag controls cranked
up quite high to achieve a nice fluid/heavy
movement. For regular use in regular weather
conditions I cranked the pan drag up to
maximum, and then backed it off just half a
turn. For the tilt drag control, I cranked it up
to maximum, and then backed it off just under
a quarter of a turn. With the tripod set up this
way it is possible to achieve something that
resembles ‘proper’ head action, providing you
carry out any movement by pushing/pulling the
pan handle just 3 inches or so from the actual
head; at the first bend in the handle. If you
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 7
€€€ REVIEW
My figure-of-eight laser-pointer head test.
Laser-pointer attached to Z1 hotshoe
hold the pan handle by its, well, handle, any
slight imperfections in your movement will be
hugely exaggerated; this goes for any tripod.
Carrying out the ‘figure of eight’ test
surprised me. I thought the tripod would
fall down completely during this test, but it
survived it amazingly well. This is something
I picked up from my ‘geared head’ training
days. Panavision make a geared head with
two crank handles on it. To tilt, you crank
the tilt geared handle either clockwise, or
anticlockwise depending on if you are tilting
up or down. And to pan you crank the other
one in a similar fashion. When I learned how
to use one of these heads there was a red
laser pointer attached to the head, then on the
wall about 10 feet away was a medium sized
figure of eight drawn in chalk. The idea is to
crank both the handles in such a way that the
laser follows around the figure of 8 on the wall;
easier said than done.
I still use this as part of my tripod testing;
only I have to use the pan handle as opposed
to two geared cranks. Basically if the head
has any ‘dead spots’ in it or air-bubbles in the
fluid, this test will
be impossible and
the laser pointer will
keep jumping off the
chalked figure of 8
on the wall. It’s like
playing one of those
children’s games
where you have
to move a small
electronic metal loop
over and around a
bending wire without
touching the metal
and setting off the
alarm; only much
more difficult.
I printed off a
figure of 8 onto
an A4 sheet of
paper, with a fairly
thin font. With the
Pro-6HDV head I
could keep the red
with it for 20 minutes I decided it wasn’t that
bad after all. Although it looks a bit petit it is
actually quite rugged and the spreader levers
work well enough locking the spread very
securely. Of course I tried to over tighten these
to see if they would break, but they did not.
The mid-level spreader also has another
nifty feature in that you can twist the middle
ring section half way, this will then prevent
the legs from spreading more than half way,
enabling a smaller footprint which is ideal for
tight locations. This has to be done when the
legs are virtually folded together and there is
a bit of a knack to it, but once you’ve done it
a few times it is pretty easy. The only gripe I
have with this mid-level spreader is that when
you go to open the legs out, you have to push
each leg out individually, which is a real pain.
The Vision series mid-level spreader extends
all three legs simultaneously and is much
smoother in operation. The legs that come
with the Pro-6HDV use the standard size/type
Vinten mid-level spreader fittings so if you
really wanted you could buy the ‘Professional’
dot from the laser
pointer on the black line that made up figure of
8 for the most part. It left the black line of the
8 on a few occasions during its journey, but
only by a small margin of a few millimetres.
This is why it is important to set up the drag
for pan and tilt so the resistance is exactly
the same; otherwise movements that involve
panning and tilting at the same time (corner to
corner of the frame) would be impossible. The
Pro-6HDV head is in no way perfect here, but
pretty good. Remember, the entire tripod kit is
built with price in mind and only cost between
£540 and £565 plus VAT.
The Pro-6HDV is available in two kits:
the Pro-6HDVF (F stands for Floor) and the
Pro-6HDVM (M stands for Mid). This refers
Vision series mid-level spreader, but this would
double the price of the system.
Now for my favourite bits. The newly
designed head has a new ‘quick release’ top
entry plate, which makes attaching, adjusting
and removing the camcorder a much simpler
affair. This has been well thought out and
works very well with a sliding plate and
plenty of forward/backward slide for balance
adjustments.
The pan handle is of high quality, straight
from the Vision range production line by the
look of it. There is also a spirit-level-bubble for
when levelling the head. This has a little button
to press for illumination. A red light flashes
when the battery is nearing the end of its life.
Adjusting/levelling the head is very easy. It’s
simply a case of loosening the large knob
under the head half a turn, level up the head,
and re-tighten. All takes just a few seconds.
The Case, ah yes, the case is just superb;
it is also a brand new design. I believe Petrol
Cases are now manufacturing the tripod cases
for Vinten (another Vitec Group plc. brand) and
what an improvement they are. The regular
Vinten cases always had a Velcro affair for a
handle with the usual cop-out canvas handle.
This has been replaced (and not a moment
too soon) with the new-improved tough plastic
lock-in type, which really does work a treat and
above all it is very comfortable and does not
cut into your hand like the old canvas affair. I
just love this case, it is a very tough ‘gig bag’
style case with a generous amount of padding
and rigidity. And this case comes just weeks
after I bought a new Vinten tripod case with
the old type handle from Prestons too; ouch.
The handle is cleverly placed two thirds of
the way along the case so it takes into account
New Quick-release plate
to the type of spreader i.e. Mid-level or Floor
spreader.
The tripod I had was the Pro-6HDVM with the
Mid-level spreader. At first I wasn’t blown away
by this mid-level spreader. It appeared a little
thin and spindly, but then I was comparing
it to my industrial mid-level spreader on my
Vinten Vision 8 and to be honest my mid-level
spreader alone cost more than the Pro6HDVM complete kit. However, after playing
8 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
REVIEW €€€
Mid-level spreader is okay, but could do with being
automated to spread all 3 legs at the same time.
the extra weight of the head. The only tiny
issue I had with the case (and this is nitpicking)
is the fact that there is no “Head This End”
sign stamped inside the case lining itself to
remind you which end of the bag to stick the
head end so it is balanced when you zip it
up and walk off with it. So many times I’ve
stuck my tripod in the case with the head at
the wrong end, I zip it up and grab the handle
and the head end hits the bloody pavement.
Then you have to mess around unzipping it
and putting the tripod in the other way around.
One day I’ll get around to scribbling a big white
circle inside my case at the head end so I’ll
remember. But it is touches like this that make
a product great, as opposed to just okay. I can
appreciate that the lining is ‘ribbed’, but this is
no excuse. If Vinten can engineer and design
great tripods and heads, I’m sure somebody
can figure out how to put some kind of mark
onto the inside of this ribbed bag; if not, we are
all in serious trouble.
Also included with the kit is a nice little
manual that explains how to set up the tripod
and get the best out of it in 8 languages;
nice touch Vinten. Other tripod manufactures
should take note here.
Apart from the ever-so-slight drift-back effect
when zoomed right in, no marking for
“head this end” inside the bag, the
only other thing that let it down was
the inclusion of a strap-on handle to
the actual tripod legs themselves.
Miller has had a built-in handle fixed
to the legs for years and it is a great
idea. Sometimes you want to pick up
your tripod in one hand, your camera
in the other and trek to the next
location, leaving the bag in the car. It
would have been so easy for Vinten
to manufacture some sort of clip-on
leg handle, and cheap too. Come on
Vinten, I’m sure every wedding and
event videographer in the land would
appreciate this, and these are the very
people who the Pro-6HDV is aimed at
after all.
This tripod could have been sheer
perfection for the money, but it falls
just a little short for the reasons
outlined above.
If you are already a Manfrotto or Vinten
Protouch fan, you will absolutely love this
tripod and the new balancing and camera
attachment features it offers, which work
incredibly well considering the cost. At the
time of going to press, the Pro-6HDVF will set
The new-improved Petrol-made Vinten case is quite simply the best
budget tripod case on the planet. Love that handle. However, I still
want that “head this end” label inside.
Pro-6HDV is ideal for cameras like Sony V1,
Z1, Panasonic HVX200, Canon XL-H1, JVC
GY-HD111 and similar.
you back £635 Incl VAT and the Pro-6HDVM
will set you back £665 Incl VAT and will be
available from your local dealer by the time this
article hits the streets. Even after your typical
dealer discount on these list prices, they
won’t be the cheapest systems on the market,
coming in at approximately £150 more than
some of the other budget-branded tripods.
But they are by far the best performing and
likely to outlast them all, so they are a good
investment for the professional videographer.
As always, do try-before-you-buy.
Rating:
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 9
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• DVuser
July 4
2007
• 11
A
nd so the pace of high definition
camera technology continues
unabated. Equipment has come on in
leaps and bounds in the last couple of years
signaling that we might, just might, be entering
an era where standard definition is entering its
final days. Some might say that this has been
the case for a while now. However standard
definition has still been the main form of
distribution up until now.
With Blu-Ray discs managing to break into
the top selling echelons of Amazon.coms’
charts, high definition has entered a new
phase of mass adoption. This has meant that
the demand for camera operators with their
own high definition cameras has increased
drastically even in the space of the last year
or so. To enable owner/operators a way
into professional high definition shooting
Panasonic initially released the HDX900.
The 900 offered a good route for those who
already owned or used the standard definition
SDX900 and who were established in a
DVCpro workflow. While the HDX900 offered a
smooth upgrade path it was still a tape based
camera, and as anyone who hasn’t been living
underground for the last 5 years or so knows,
tapeless is the way the industry is going.
Thus we arrive at the new HPX500
camcorder. The HPX500 has been designed
once again to allow a smooth upgrade path
for those wishing to get into low cost HD
production. One set of customers Panasonic
appear to be targeting with the 500 are
existing operators of HVX200’s who may be
looking to move to a more professional style
of camera.
Overview
On taking hold of
the HPX500 for the
first time the first
thing that strikes you
is the weight of the
body. Because there
are no mechanical
devices for recording
the overall weight is
incredibly low. Overall
the construction of the
body seems to be very
good. The viewfinder
adjustment was
smooth and solid, and
buttons and switches
are just where you would expect them to be
on a camera of this type. Interestingly the
user assignable buttons are hidden behind
slide covers. An interesting touch, although
I’m not sure what the advantages are given
that all other controls bar the shutter switch
are exposed. These can of course be left in
the open position if you need to access them
regularly.
General audio controls and switches are
behind the large LCD monitor at the rear of
the camera. Panasonic have sensibly made
sure that the levels controls for the main
stereo channels are above the screen and can
be accessed when the LCD is flush against
the body of the camera. Similarly they have
placed the timecode selection (F-run, Set,
R-Run) below the LCD so that these too are
accessible when the screen is folded away.
The LCD itself is, as you’d expect for this
type of display, of limited functionality. It does
12 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
the job and can act as a very rough guide, but
cannot be used for any critical colour viewing.
Like all LCD’s it suffers in the sunshine.
Something else that I was puzzled by was that
there didn’t appear to be any way to make
the LCD display full size audio levels and
timecode. While audio levels are displayed at
the bottom of the screen at a small size, it is a
shame that there isn’t a mode to display such
information specifically without showing video
throughput.
Below the LCD is a flap that opens to reveal
the playback and thumbnail navigation buttons.
Playback of a clip is initiated by pressing the
“Mode” button. This takes the camera from
its default “Cam” mode into “MCR” operation.
From here you can browse the clip thumbnails,
delete clips, add metadata, and perform other
general clip organisation and maintenance.
My personal preference would be to be able
to perform playback of a clip instantly, so the
need to enter a different mode does make the
process more cumbersome to a degree. I also
couldn’t find a way to easily delete the last
recorded clip without entering the thumbnail
mode. This is a function that I use a lot on
other tapeless cameras and I think it would
be a welcome addition in a future firmware
update.
Recording Formats
One thing that cannot be said about the
HPX500 is that it lacks recording formats! The
camera can record 1080i/p/50/60/25/30/24fps
720p/25/30/60/24fps as well as recording
standard definition progressive scan and
interlaced based imagery in both PAL and
NTSC modes. The 500 can also record
variable framerates for undercranking and
overcraking ability. These framerates are not
infinitely adjustable, but have been set at the
most commonly used settings based on the
REVIEW €€€
experience of Varicam operators. Interval
recording for timelapse sequences is also
available.
There is also an Operation Type selection
that allows the user to select between Video
Cam and Film Cam modes. Film Cam mode’s
main difference is that it displays the shutter as
an angle rather than in fractions of a second.
This helps when setting up the shutter to
match the variable framerate settings for crisp
motion.
Adjustability
As I mentioned earlier the HPX500 is partly
being aimed at current HVX200 owners
who might be aiming to move up to a more
professionally styled camera. The 500’s
prosumer roots become apparent when
entering the set up menus, and it is here that
the camera suffers from the most limitations.
Most settings such as Detail Level, Chroma
Level, and Detail Coring are only available to
adjust in very coarse steps (mostly -7 to +7).
Knee adjustments are similarly limited to just
low, medium, and high. But one of the main
omissions is the lack of a user adjustable
colour matrix. This set of adjustments is
essential for matching cameras, or for creating
your own individual look. When cameras
costing much less these days come with a
matrix adjustment it is confusing as to why
Panasonic left this out on the 500.
On the plus side Panasonic have included
their famed Cinelike gamma curves, which
are available in two versions. One for video
out (Cinelike-V), and the other for film out
(Cinelike-D) or more heavy grading. Cinelike-D
shows exceptional contrast handing abilities,
and when combined with the Cinelike preset
matrix setting provides a very nice natural
looking picture. Other gamma settings include
HD Norm, SD Norm, B.press (crushed blacks),
and News Gamma. This latter gamma curve
is designed to help news gatherers cope with
the wide range of conditions that they may
encounter. It can only be selected in interlaced
modes. In actual use I couldn’t quite tell what
it was doing that was different to the other
standard non-Cinelike gamma settings.
Using the HPX500
As I pointed out at the beginning of this review,
the HPX500 is a very light camcorder due
to the P2 recording method. In practice this
is both a blessing and a curse. My back has
been asking for cameras to become lighter
for a while now, but while this is happening
the accessories that hang off either end of
the device are causing things to go a bit skew
whiff! While lenses have to stay at the same
weight (you can’t change the weight of glass),
batteries are becoming smaller. This causes
an issue with a light camera such as the 500.
As a result it has the tendency to become front
heavy. To counter this you need a heavier
battery, which is all very well, but we want
things to become lighter don’t we? After all
the HPX with its solid-state recording has a
low power draw so the smaller batteries last
a decent amount of time. To be fair this is an
issue that is affecting a lot of the new cameras
these days as the equipment gradually
becomes smaller and lighter.
With a heavier battery on the back things
can be balanced out more, although the
HPX500 does not have any form of shoulder
pad adjustment. So fine-tuning of the balance
is out of the question, something that is
certainly required as extra accessories such
as matte boxes are added. The HPX500
is designed as a step up from the HVX200
though, and the price and resultant features
should be expected to reflect this. Panasonic
were never going to be able to release a
shoulder-mounted camera for this price without
making some concessions. So my comments
shouldn’t be taken too negatively.
Using the camera is a pleasant experience.
Operation is totally silent, and as with all
P2 cameras I find myself constantly double
checking that the record light has come on and
that the timecode is running because of this.
Our review sample from H Prestons only
came with one 8gb P2 card. However the
camera is available from them with 4x16gb
cards included for around £9800+VAT (lens
and mic are not included). In most modes this
should be enough storage for 64 minutes of
recording in DVCpro HD modes. Recording
time can be doubled by using the native
framerate modes such as 24PN and 25PN.
While I cannot say that I have been
convinced by the P2 workflow, things are
beginning to get better storage space wise.
The cards themselves are housed behind a
slideable flap which I was initially concerned
wouldn’t protect them from the elements.
Luckily it seems to be pretty solid and well
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 13
€€€ REVIEW
sealed enough not to let any moisture in
should you get caught out in some nasty
conditions.
Much has been made in the video press
about the resolution of the CCD’s on the 500.
It is true that they are 960x540 and that the
high def resolution is achieved by way of pixel
shifting. Despite the publicity blurb this does
have drawbacks, but it also has advantages in
other areas.
Obtaining 1080p from pixel shifting in this
way is always going to be a stretch. Certainly
when viewed critically the image is softer
than other 1080 native cameras. This has to
be expected as there is no such thing as a
free lunch. Put it this way, if the image was
as sharp as a native 1080 imaging device all
the manufacturers would be saving money by
using low res chips!
In practice the 500 produces a nice smooth
picture. I’m sure a direct A/B comparison on
a grade one monitor, or shooting some zone
charts would show up deficiencies compared
to full raster cameras, but to do this would be
to miss the point. The 500 is a budget camera,
and it must be judged as such. For the short
time that I had the review sample I was unable
to perform any in depth tests so I had to let
an HD monitor and my eye be the judge. I
couldn’t find anything that stood out as being
nasty. This is after all how most people view
the image!
Panasonics decision to use such CCD’s has
however meant that the HPX500 suffers from
very little noise, and has exceptional low light
performance. Rated at f10@2000 lux I found
that it appeared to perform slightly better than
its paper specifications in this regard.
Strangely Panasonic have decided not to
include a microphone with the camera. They
do include a 1.5”
viewfinder, which
while functional is
not ideal. Being a
4:3 SD viewfinder
means that the
16:9 HD image
is letterboxed
making for
cramped viewing.
Focus is also
made more
difficult as a
result. Although
the 500 does
have a nifty little
trick up it’s sleeve
to help you with this. A flick of a switch brings
up a focus assist function that displays a graph
based on edge frequency.
High frequencies are on the right of the
graph, while low ones are on the left. The
idea is to make the object you are focusing on
bunch the graph towards the right, for want
of a better description! It is very intuitive to
use and it would be great to see innovative
features like this on other cameras. As high
definition becomes ever more the standard of
choice it is important that manufacturers get
to grips with ensuring we can capture sharp
images with the minimal fuss.
Using this function is a doddle and anything
that can help with focusing a high definition
image in a none intrusive way is to be
welcomed. Using this function leaves none of
the uncertainty that you have with the usual
peaking functions on a small viewfinder,
and for ENG style shooting where having an
external monitor is not an option in any way or
form, it is an essential one.
White balance functions include the usual
A/B memory options plus Preset. The 500
includes one filter wheel that selects the ND
filters, while the 5600k preset, like many
new cameras these days, is catered for
electronically by way of a button. Unlike other
cameras of its type you cannot dial in precise
colour balance in the camera menus. In
order to set the A/B white balance memories
you must perform a manual white balance
to a white card, or whatever your creative
preference feels like.
Another feature that is worth mentioning
at this point is the Chromatic Aberration
Compensation circuits. This is a function that
kicks in when lenses such as Canon’s new
KJ16, 10, and 21 series of lenses are used.
The idea behind it is to drastically reduce the
amount of chroma abberation that can occur
on high contrast edges. Panasonic also claim
that with compatible lenses it can also reduce
softening towards the edges of the picture.
Unfortunately no compatible lenses were
14 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
available for this review, but perhaps I will get
a chance to test the function out at a future
date as this is something that I feel will be very
important in judging the overall capabilities of
the camera.
Conclusions
The HPX500 is certainly affordable as a
camera body. The KJ series of lenses are
also priced reasonably compared with 2/3”
HD lenses of the past. Based on the limited
time I had with it, the 500 appears to be a
good solid performer, and while it is clearly
a camera that has been built to a budget, for
people who have invested in the P2 workflow
in other areas it makes for a good upgrade
path. Although if you are a current HVX200
owner who is hoping to upgrade you should
remember that purchasing a 2/3” camera is
about more than just purchasing the body and
the lens. You’ll need a tripod that can support
the extra weight, and you’ll need a good
battery system, all of which could add up to
almost half the price of the camera body itself.
With regard to P2 in general I have omitted
mention of the solid state workflow in this
review mainly because I feel that anything that
has been said on the various factors involved
has already been mentioned ad nauseum
throughout the interweb and in magazines. By
now most people have chosen their corners
and I don’t feel that I could add anything
meaningful to the debate. P2 cards have
come down in price and existing owners of
P2 equipment will be able to use their existing
cards with this camera, along with any others
they obtain through the many deal prices that
are being offered.
For those who have been sitting on the
fence for the last couple of years the choice of
whether to purchase this camera or go for one
of its rivals instead will come down to a very
personal preference. The only advice I feel
that is worth giving with regard to this is to rent
or borrow various tapeless camcorders from
different manufacturers to see which workflow
works best for you.
Pros
Affordable Camera body.
Great focus assist function.
Light weight (though see the caveats I made in
the review).
Low power draw (22w)
Variable framerate.
Number of recording formats including both
720p and 1080p.
Cons
Clip operations and playback can be fiddly.
Small 1.5” viewfinder.
Lack of shoulder pad adjustment.
No mic included.
Man that’s Handy!
Buy a
LS55(2A) @ £599.00
LS60 @ £849.00 or LS70 system @ £1149.00
and get an
Handyman 100
worth £349.00
absolutely FREE*
while stocks last
Offer only available through
*
Ianiro UK Ltd., Unit 7, Walkers Road,
Manorside Ind. Est., Redditch B98 9HE
Tel. 01527 596955 • Fax. 01527 596788
email. [email protected] • www.ianirodirect.com
Model shown: LS60
T
he use of keying a foreground
image over a background image to
form a composite is an established
and widely used technique in film and TV
production. For most cameramen this will
usually involve them in shooting a subject
against a coloured background, typically
green or blue. Sounds simple but reality
can be far from it, anecdotes abound of
nightmare green/blue screen shoots and
often much time is spent tinkering with the
task of lighting the coloured screen as poor
illumination can ruin any chance of a clean
key being achieved. These kind of shoots
can be a source of frustration but there are
products out there that actually achieve
clean keying every time and take only
minutes to set up, welcome to the hassle
free world of ‘Chromatte’ and ‘LiteRing’.
Reflecmedia manufacture products
that take the pain and hassle out of
chroma key shoots and can enable the
previously impossible to happen. The basic
components of their system are ‘Chromatte’
fabric and the ‘LiteRing’ LED fixture.
‘Chromatte’ is the specially designed
reflective fabric for use as a background in
chroma key production. On first seeing it the
biggest surprise being it is grey! Previously
green or blue backdrops were the norm so
how can grey possibly work?
The ‘Chromatte’ fabric is covered in
literally millions of tiny reflective beads
and has the advantage of allowing acute
angles from the camera lens to be used and
they also work in low lighting conditions.
Conventional green or blue screens
absorb light rather than reflect and as a
consequence require a large amount of
lighting to provide enough illumination
to perform a key against. Getting this
illumination right is a tedious and rather
finicky process.
The ‘Chromatte’ fabric reflects the light
falling upon it rather than absorbing it, which
is why low level screen illumination is all
that is required. This low level illumination
comes from the ‘LiteRing’ , a circular casing
featuring Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs).
“LiteRing’ comes in two versions, green or
blue.
So that’s basically it, a grey fabric
backdrop and some low output LEDs and
successfully keying is all yours, no more
headaches or frustrations, can it really be
true?
The kit I tested was the portable version
utilising a 2.1m x 2.1m square fabric
backdrop known as “ChromaFLex’ and the
green and blue ‘LiteRings’ as I wanted to
use a kit in a way I use
my current setup of
lightweight reversible
green/blue screen.
Often when shooting
green/blue screen
on location the
environment is less
than ideal with lots of
ambient light spill. This
all adds complications
and typically results
in lots of adjustments
to lighting levels and
positioning and often
adding compensating
gels to balance
colours...okay…it’s a
real pain!
Distance between
16 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
camera, subject and the backdrop is crucial
to ensure a successful key can be achieved
but often the space does not exist at a
location and even more effort is required to
make things work. This can take a lot of time
and often if the subject is a person they are
totally bored by the time everything is ready.
All through the shoot I often worry that
the key will not be good so I’m constantly
tweaking the screen lighting. Worse, if
daylight is present the light levels can
change dramatically if the Sun goes in or
out. It is a constant process of adjustment.
The only way to avoid this is to block out all
of the ambient light but in the real world this
is not always possible. Shooting green/blue
screen on location is always a compromise
but using the ‘Reflecmedia’ kit wiped out
most of these issues even the one of
ambient light spill.
Before the ‘Reflecmedia’ kit arrived I
confess I was intrigued especially as I had
just completed a green screen shoot and
had another one coming up. Unpacking the
kit revealed a circular soft case with a 90cm
diameter and a small black bag and that
was it, the full chroma keying kit for location
shooting!
Unzipping the circular case the 2.1 sq.m
‘ChromaFlex’ backdrop is revealed in its
storage position forming a 90cm circle.
When opened out the square backdrop has
four rounded corners and is actually quite
weighty and strong enough to stand up fully
supported on its own if placed against a
wall. It does have some ties allowing it to be
tied onto and suspended from a support if
required.
It was definitely grey, very grey and it had
a seam across the middle, how could this
REVIEW €€€
possibly work? Highly intrigued at this point
I set up the ‘LiteRing’ on my camera.
I used a PAL SD Sony DVW-709 Digibeta
camera, which is useful on chroma key
shoots as it uses 4:2:2 colour sampling, this
aids keying greatly. DV compression is so
poor that a lot of colour information is lost
requiring some extra effort at the actual post
production stage.
The small black bag contained two
‘LiteRings’, green and blue and some lens
ring adapters as well as a mounting for use
on matte box rails. The adapters enable
mounting on most cameras from big movie
cameras, broadcast cameras through to DV
cameras. Also in the bag was a controller
unit for regulating the amount of light output
from the ‘LiteRing’, this unit is essential to
the whole process and is the one part one
needs to master and get a feel for.
The kit I was using was Reflecmedia’s
demo stock so I should clarify that the retail
basic kit includes one coloured ‘LiteRing’
and one lens adapter. I was fortunate
enough to have two ‘LiteRings’, green and
blue, as well as several adapters to try out
so be aware these are extra purchases if
required.
On this test I used the 82mm adapter on
a Canon broadcast lens, this was simple to
fit and in less than a minute the ‘LiteRing’
was mounted on the camera. I plugged the
controller into the mains, switched it on and
to my amazement a bright evenly lit green
screen appeared in front of me. As I moved
sideways away from the camera the screen
went grey, I moved back towards the lens
and everything went green again…a well
strange experience.
The LED light reflects back perfectly
to the lens and the controller has a
surprising amount of control over the screen
illumination level, it is very versatile and fine
tuning is a piece of cake.
The LEDs are strong enough to illuminate
the screen but too weak to cast light onto
your subject. Also, spill from the screen
onto the subject was non-existent, all very
impressive and all after less than a few
minutes of set up time; it actually took me
longer to set up the tripod and camera.
Obviously lighting the subject will take
some time but you genuinely do not have
to concern yourself with lighting the screen,
the LED’s do this effortlessly.
Changing to blue screen literally took me
two minutes, as it was a case of swapping
over the green ‘LiteRing’ to the blue one
and plugging it into the controller. It doesn’t
get any easier than that, no reversing the
screen and re-lighting involved, hassle free
shooting.
The user manual recommends the camera
be 4 metres from the backdrop and the
subject at least 1 metre from the backdrop
and reasonably powerful lights are used to
illuminate the subject. Using these distances
and lighting set ups will ensure a perfect key
every time. However, some locations are
not going to co-operate with such ideals and
force compromise scenarios upon you.
Ambient light spill is one of the more
common problems so I had a few goes at
setting up such situations. My fist scenario
involved getting a subject for keying but
using only the available room light. There
was a window right behind the camera that
I could see was reflecting back from the
screen and the subject was posed a few
inches from the screen. This is what I would
call a green screen disaster zone and would
ensure no possibility of a key. I powered
up the green LED ring and looked at the
monitor. Unbelievably the screen was nearly
evenly lit with just a hint of the window
reflection lighting up part of the screen.
I used the controller to achieve as even
in a studio so I could have total control
over the lighting. Unfortunately, the studio
was being made available to me as a wee
favour and inevitably it was in use when I
planned to use it. Rapidly trying to find a
new location I was offered a tiny room at the
studio where there colour grading suite was
located. Having no choice I accepted it.
I propped the backdrop against a wall, set
up the camera and used low powered 100
Watt Dedo lighting to light the interviewees.
The result was the interviewee was four feet
from the front of the lens and one foot from
the backdrop. Each interview was being shot
as a single and despite my best efforts with
an illumination as possible and the green
began to dominate the window reflection
but some was still there. I recorded a few
minutes to see how well this would key later.
My next scenario came about unwillingly
as I had arranged to shoot five interviews
with these interviewees as the five people
were only available for a couple of hours.
Nervously looking at the monitor I was
surprised to see an evenly lit green screen,
no colour cast on the interviewee. No spill
from the screen onto them, my only concern
the Dedo lights there was a shadow from
the interviewee cast onto the screen. As
they were so close to the camera I feared
the LEDs would cast a colour onto them. I
saw a few of the studio’s staff shaking their
heads and looking far from encouraging as
they watched me set up but I had to get on
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 17
€€€ REVIEW
was the shadow on the screen. Biting the
bullet I just got on with the job and hoped
things would be okay.
Getting the recordings ready for keying
I was not feeling too confident I was
concerned about the interviews as this was
real fee paying job and it could all be ruined.
I loaded the first clip into ‘After Effects 7’
and applied the ‘Keylight’ filter and it was
evident from the start that the footage was
going to key no problem, I experienced
relief and delight. In fact I used less tweaks
in ‘Keylight’ than I typically use on my
traditional green screen shoots and they
didn’t have the shadow to contend with.
The ‘Chromatte’ fabric and ‘LiteRing’ do an
excellent job and remove the grief usually
encountered when fine tuning a key in post
production. For the record I captured the
footage from DigiBeta using SDI into the
edit computer and a 10-bit uncompressed
QuickTime codec so I was preserving the
colour space and maximising the potential
for clean keying. DV captures would not
have been as successful but personally I
always hate the look of DV keys anyway so
I’m probably biased.
Having got the fee paying job completed
successfully I decided to try out the initial
footage I shot which had no subject lighting
apart from available ambient light and the
window reflection interfering with the screen.
Again first set up in ‘Keylight’ rather shocked
me by keying rather well. After a few tweaks
it was a perfect key, I
was very surprised that
this worked. Despite the
window reflection the LEDs
green illumination was
enough to counter it.
I undertook a few
more shooting tests in
better conditions and
this enabled effortless
keying. I never used
lighting anywhere near the
power recommended in
the user manual and the
distances between camera,
subject and screen were
always much closer than
suggested in the manual
and I always achieved a
perfect key. In fact typically
I used a ‘Kino Flo’ Divalite
400 and two 100 watt Dedo
lights. Set ups for a green
or blue screen shoot now take under ten
minutes and always work.
There was a CD inside the small black
bag holding the ‘LiteRings’, controller and
adaptors that contained the user manual
in pdf format and a trial version of some
keying software called ‘Mattenee’. Naturally
I could not resist giving this a go and initially
installed it in ‘After Effects’. It worked okay
but was a touch clunky. However, I was
soon enlightened by ‘Refecmedia’ that the
latest version was now purely a plug in for
‘Premiere Pro 2’ and ‘Final Cut Pro’.
This is simple bit of software and works
surprisingly well. When applied to a clip
in the timeline of either program it does
a pretty good key and allows a bit of fine
tweaking to improve it. I reckon most of
the time this will give a reasonable result
but it did run out of options on the more
troublesome footage I shot but I was
impressed with the ease of it. If footage is
shot avoiding problems then this software
may be all you will ever need and avoid the
in depth tweaking and render times involved
in programs such as ‘After Effects’, ‘Motion’
and ‘Shake’.
The whole kit is highly portable and I liked
the carrying cases they came in. The cases
are very robust being well constructed and
are manufactured by KATA and customised
for ‘Reflecmedia’. The background fabric
fits into the 90 cm circular case and has a
comfortable carrying strap as well as some
useful and convenient handles making it
easier to stow and retrieve from a vehicle
or storage space. The small black case
also has a comfortable shoulder strap as
well as a carrying handle and a handy zip
compartment for any extras you may wish
18 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
to carry along with the ‘LiteRings’ and their
adaptors. It’s also very strong with a hard
tough base and front despite being mainly
fabric construction.
The blue LED lighting worked as well as
the green one and presented no noticeable
delays in set up if a background colour
change is required. In fact setting up this
kit takes minutes and one soon feels
comfortable with it. After a few sessions you
will develop the knack of getting the screen
illumination just right using the controller
but even if you are a wee bit off the mark a
successful key is usually possible, it is very
forgiving allowing a fair degree of latitude.
If I had any moans and this is nitpicking, I
would have liked more cable length from the
‘LiteRing’ to the controller.
For me, this combination of ‘ChromaFlex’
backdrop and ‘LiteRing’ was a winner. It
made chroma key shooting an enjoyable
experience and even enabled filming in tight
locations which would be impossible with
a traditional chroma key setup. The bottom
line is you are pretty much guaranteed a
result and if used in ideal conditions that
result will happen with minimal effort. For
bigger shots there are large drapes of
‘Chromatte’ fabric available along with floor
tiles.
I would be happy to use it all of the time
for future chroma key shoots as it works so
well and with such ease. I liked this kit a lot
and can best sum up by saying say it is a
cameraman’s dream.
Chromaflex Standard kit (flex+litering+co
ntroller+psu+adapter+bags) £1295 + vat
Extra LiteRing (green or blue) £345 + vat
Details visit: www.reflecmedia.com
Four LED's
provide 40W
Output with 12W
consumption
In built Dichroic
In built
barn doors
In built Diffuser
Fully controllable dimmer
Hot Shoe Mounting
AVAILABLE WITH D-TAP OR SONY/JVC/
PANASONIC/CANON DV BATTERY MOUNT'S
T: 01442 29 29 29
What’s different over Final Cut
Studio 1?
This is not going to be a full-blown review
on Final Cut Studio as there are loads of
Final Cut and Final Cut Studio reviews out
there already. Instead I’m simply going
to concentrate on the major differences
between Final Cut Studio, and this brand
new version; Final Cut Studio 2.
Final Cut Studio 2 has a wealth of
new features and I will come to them in
a moment, one of the main differences
of this release is that Final Cut Pro is no
longer sold as a stand alone application,
now you get FCP Studio 2 with all the
relevant applications bundled together in
one neat package.
Anyone upgrading should also read the
required hardware list to ensure that all
the applications will work. Some require
plenty of power and if you are still running
on the Power PC range, this may just be
the ideal time to upgrade to one of the new
Intel Macs. Having said that Final Cut Pro
runs well on the G5 but if you are using
FCP all the time you will find the newer
machines much faster and certainly worth
the investment.
FCP Studio 2 comprises of: Final Cut
Pro, Motion, Livetype, Soundtrack Pro,
Color (Colour), DVD Studio 4, Compressor
and Cinema Tools. As you can see we
have a new application called Color and
everything else except DVD Studio 4 are
upgrades and in most cases major ones.
Looking at the whole bundle of
applications one notices that most of them
have similar interfaces although Colour
has its own interface, which I will come
to later. Apple has cleverly enhanced
this suite of applications without making
them completely different. Apparently one
Apple Manager said that “changing the
FCP interface is not an
option”, this is because
users are so used to
using the FCP interface
that by changing it they
could migrate to other
packages.
Final Cut Pro 6 is
a fairly major upgrade
with some really nice
extras. The first new
tool is the ability to put
any type of footage
on the timeline, that
is anything that is
supported by the FCP real time processing
engine. You can drop HDV, DV or any
of the supported formats on the same
timeline. Mix PAL, NTSC, 16:9, 4:3 and it
will all work, mostly in real time. So that’s a
big advantage as we head from SD to HD,
it will allow the mixing of these formats.
The down side is that once you have
finished your film you will have to conform
it. Depending on how many formats there
are and what they are will determine the
conforming time. This is one reason for
ensuring that you have a powerful machine
as conforming can take a considerable
time.
Other features of FCP 6 are the ability
to work on Motion 3 Templates directly
within FCP; perhaps you have a series
of programmes that you need the same
titles except for say the episode number.
You can place the motion template directly
in FCP and then use the new feature
to update the various text blocks and
that’s how simple it is. Accessing Motion
templates can be from the Generator Menu
in the Viewer Window, from the Sequences
Menu ‘Add Master Template’ or through
the Effects Tab. Of course you can just do
the Motion job in Motion and then import it.
This is another case of a job well done.
SmoothCam has been added as a
filter, this little gem is so easy to use and
provides a way of getting rid of those
annoying camera shakes. The first thing
SmoothCam does is to analyse your
footage, this is done in the background
so you can continue working if you wish.
Another nice feature is that you can
send a batch of clips to SmoothCam
from the Browser window. A new column
has been created that informs you of
the SmoothCam status of each clip.
SmoothCam is easy to use and gives FCP
another useful tool which many will find
20 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
useful.
One of the annoying ‘features’ of the
previous version was the need to export
audio to Soundtrack so that Normalisation
and Gain could be adjusted, now you can
do it from the Modify Menu without going to
Soundtrack, very useful and another time
saver.
The whole package is now more
integrated, with FCP 6 at the centre.
Sending video or audio to the various
applications is easier, round tripping is
simplified and the whole interface seems
to be more fluid. There are lots of minor
changes that make things easier and
the new ‘Easy Setups’ is a case in point,
before the setup list was one big list of
available setups, now you can select the
type of setups from a drop down menu, so
for instance you can select HD and only
the setups that are relevant are shown, a
small feature but another time saver.
Motion 3 is an upgrade that will impress,
not only is the integration better but the
new features are outstanding, you can
now do 3d work within Motion, this is not a
replacement for stand alone 3d packages
but is a welcomed tool for the editor. It is
easy to use with the ability to set camera
angle and position. You can set the x,y and
z-axis and it is easy to do.
The ability to make titles has been
REVIEW €€€
improved and some of the HD templates
that are included will lead you in the right
direction. I found that many of the new
features are quiet intuitive, so it is not all
back to the manuals. Slow Motion has
been a bit of a sore point in FCP but now
you can do it in Motion and get a much
smoother job. Motion redraws all the
frames and does not just interpolate them
like FCP so you get a much smoother slow
motion. Yes it is an extra step but it’s easy
to do and well worth the effort.
As I said earlier Motion 3 Templates
can be used within FCP 6, but to get the
real power you need to be in Motion 3,
here you can edit the templates and make
your own using all the powerful Motion
Tools. Making titles used to be Livetypes
main purpose but with the new features of
Motion 3, I use this instead.
Livetype is still useful for doing lower
thirds quickly, but I feel that it has become
nearly redundant because of the power
and new features in Motion 3. I believe that
it’s the user who decides what workflow to
use whilst Apple give you the various tools
and options. Livetype has not changed
and it does what it is designed to do. Titles
and title animation using the inbuilt fonts is
reasonable but I prefer to use Motion 3.
Soundtrack Pro has been updated in
a major way, the interface has changed
and the methods although similar have
been enhanced. The way you round trip to
Soundtrack Pro from FCP 6 has changed
and now there are two types of files you
can send; Audio Files and Multitrack Files.
The file type you choose depends on
what you want to achieve. Choose an
Audio File Project when you only want to
modify one or more clips in Soundtrack
Pro, then they will be updated in your
sequence with your changes. The other
file type is called a Multitrack Project. In
the Multitrack mode, you send the entire
sequence to Soundtrack Pro for adding
sound effects and final mixing. You can
edit your audio non destructively, which
allows you to go back to your original
material if things do not work out.
We now come to Color (Colour) which
is a brand new application within Final
Cut Studio 2. Not only is it new it has a
completely different interface to the rest
of the suite. Instead of drag and drop and
using the mouse to move things, in Color
you use a more text orientated interface.
Color is powerful and in this respect
it requires some work in learning how it
works. The workflow is quite rigid; you
have eight
rooms where
you work on
your colour
correction.
Firstly you
go to setup
where you
set you
working
parameters,
you then go
to primary
In where
you perform
your primary colour correction and this
could also be all you need. The next
room is Secondaries where you can do
adjustments on parts of the image without
altering the rest of the image.
Colour FX is the room for applying
effects, the interface is like that in Shake,
a node-based interface. You can string as
many effects as you like into the sequence.
For instance you could bleach the image
and add a curve node before finishing with
the output node. The finished result would
look like a chemical film process. The next
room Primary Out contains the same tools
as Primary In and allows you to adjust the
overall image after everything Else has
been completed.
The Geometry Room provides a way
to zoom into shots, create pan and scan
effects, draw custom mattes for vignetted
secondary operations, and track moving
subjects to automate the animation of
vignettes and shapes. The Stills Store
allows you to make still images of your
work so that you can compare it later. And
finally you have the Render Queue where
you render you finished project.
There are some things that Colour can’t
do and one of them is that it will not alter
transitions. You can adjust the colour
of your clips and when it is sent back to
FCP 6 the clips will have there transitions
reinstated. The same applies to FCP
filters, they are ignored by Color but will
be reinstated once the clips are sent back
to FCP.
Color is a brilliant tool, but you will need
to do some reading and practice to make
it work. It is probably worth the upgrade
cost for this alone, after all in its previous
incarnation it cost thousands of pounds.
Compressor has been changed for the
better and now seems to work in a more
timely way with the new Apple ProRes
422 codec for HDV. The batch window has
changed for the better and I found it was
more intuitive than the previous version.
DVD Studio Pro remains unchanged
from the last version and as such will
probably be in line for an upgrade in the
next six months, especially as (to my
surprise) there was no support for Blu-ray
in it’s current version.
All in all this is a worthwhile upgrade from
FCP Studio, the price is a bit steeper than
the last upgrade but you do get a lot for
your money and having the new features
and new Color application is certainly
worthwhile. It seems to be fairly stable and
I have had no major problems with it in the
last month of testing.
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 21
PRO005
€€€ REVIEW
26 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
REVIEW €€€
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 23
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Horizontal 4 Steps
Horizontal 3 Steps
Vertical 4 Steps
Vertical 3 Steps
-75’ - +90’
-75’ - +90’
Touch & Go Tripod Plate Touch & Go Tripod Plate
100mm Bowl
100mm Bowl
1 Telescopic
1 Telescopic
19mm Dia.
19mm Dia.
NA
NA
3.6kg
40kg
40-150cm
69cm
Rubber Foot
Floor Spreader
Carbon Fibre
£725 (+VAT)
4kg
40kg
40-150cm
69cm
Rubber Foot
Floor Spreader
Aluminium
£545 (+VAT)
Apple 17" MacBookPro Package
17" MacBookPro
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2Gb DDR Ram
160Gb HDD
6x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics (256MB)
Final Cut Studio 2 (Now includes colour!)
Lacie D2 Quadra 500Gb HDD
Price, please call for details
Pro-X XD-L168 LED Light
Pro-X XD-L32 LED Light
Input voltage: DC 11V-17V
Power consumption: 12W
Brightness: 550 lux/1m
Colour Temperature: 3200K/5600K adjustable
Built in Dimmer (0-100%)
Operating temperature: 0-40°C
Weight: approx. 510g
Input voltage: DC 7V-17V
Power consumption: 6W
Brightness: 220 lux/1m (XD-L32) 300 lux/1m (XD-L56)
Colour Temperature: 5-40° C
Weight: approx. 260g
Dimensions: 100(W) x 100(H) x 60(D)mm
Powered by a Sony or
£85.00 (+VAT)
Panasonic DV batteries
£190.00 (+VAT)
• • • BUY NOW – PAY LATER • • •
Subject to status, terms and conditions
A
lthough the Matrox MXO has a few
tricks up it’s sleeve and carries out
a few different functions, I’m going
to concentrate on the Colour Grading
Monitor aspect.
More and more people are now shooting
in some High Definition format or another
such as HDV, DVCPro50, XDCAM HD,
HDCAM for example. No matter what HD
format we are shooting in, we all have one
thing in common, and that’s the need for
a decent post-production HD monitoring
solution that doesn’t cost the earth. Any
professional grader/colourist will tell you
that a decent HD edit suite monitor will
cost upwards of £15,000, which is very
true. These monitors are not only very
expensive, but they are very heavy CRT
affairs that require two strong guys to lift
one onto the desk. Unfortunately, this is
the kind of money you have to spend if
you care about how the ‘Colour’ will look
in your final edit; or is it? Roll the Matrox
MXO and an Apple 23” flat panel Cinema
Display.
Built for Mac
First up, the Matrox MXO is an Apple
Mac only product and was built/designed/
calibrated with Apple’s 23” Cinema
computer display in mind. This proves that
Matrox have set out to build a professional
HD monitoring device for a professional
editing system e.g. Apple’s Final Cut Pro,
and not a money making product. If money
was the name of the game, Matrox would
have build something for the mass PC
market, but they didn’t. It is for this reason
that I raised an eyebrow when I first heard
about the MXO.
The MXO cost £695 inc vat, and the
Apple 23” Cinema Display cost £599 inc
vat. You’ve probably worked out already
that this combo cost just £1,294 inc vat.
Approximately £14,000 cheaper than your
average professional 22” CRT grading
monitor. But does it do the same thing?
Matrox seem to hint that it does.
This is the part where all the
professional Soho editors and graders
jump up and shout, “yeah right,
professional HD colour monitoring for
under £1,500, that’s a hoot!” and they
would be totally forgiven for thinking this
way. I must admit to similar thoughts
echoing around my mind too, but hold on
guys, not so fast, read on.
What it does
The MXO has been built and designed
to basically turn an Apple Mac 23”
Cinema computer display into a high-end
professional HD colour grading monitor.
Until now the only choices have been very
expensive Grade 1 monitors, mediocre
grading monitors for around £3,995,
standard definition monitors with a device
in-line to downscale your HD footage
out, or a regular computer monitor with
very inaccurate results as far as colour,
contrast, latitude and the like go. Enter
the MXO, which is now here to put all this
behind us.
How does it do it?
I must admit that the MXO’s reliance on
the Mac’s DVI output to generate a true
YUV output gave me cause for concern. I
assumed that the DVI’s output signal would
have to be converted from RGB to YUV by
the MXO for output to the monitor. Since
the signal has already been converted
by the Mac’s graphics card from YUV to
RGB, this could theoretically lead to some
significant color shifts. Dedicated video
capture and
output cards
such as the
Decklink and
Kona cards
don’t have the
same issues
as they work
exclusively
in the YUV
space from
the start.
Having said
all that,
the Matrox
engineers
have skillfully avoided color space
conversions by tapping directly into the
Mac’s graphics card before the YUV
signal is converted to RGB, so the MXO
performs in exactly the same was as a
dedicated video card would. The signal
taken from the DVI output into the MXO
is a true genlocked YUV PAL (or NTSC)
colour broadcast signal. This means you
can output HD or HDV in real-time to a
wide variety of HD or Analog formats. The
DVI output colour space is fed though
the MXO and into your Apple 23” Cinema
Display. Without the MXO in-line between
your Mac’s DVI port and the Apple Cinema
display, the Cinema display would simply
look like a regular LCD computer display.
But with the MXO in-line the Cinema
Display takes on a whole new look; a
professional broadcast colour grading
monitor look that plays back interlaced
and progressive HD and SD footage with
the correct ‘motion’ characteristics and the
correct ‘look’.
First Impressions
When I first took delivery of the MXO and
unpacked it I was a little surprised to find
a tiny little lightweight silver/grey box, how
can this be worth £695 I thought. Although
the MXO has a very small footprint of just
16x13.5cm and is just 4.5cm high and is
incredibly light too, it is in fact made out of
tough metal and is designed cosmetically
so it integrates well with any Mac Pro set
up. It has the same metal grated front as
the Mac Pro computers in pretty much
the same shade too; Apple couldn’t have
designed it better themselves. I especially
liked the funky blue light that shines
though the grated metal front; it looks
pretty cool.
It’s obvious from the physical design of
the MXO that the design team at Matrox
have been hanging around lots of Apple
Mac Pro and Apple Cinema displays. This
is good news, I like it when a company
builds something that not only works
with the project it was designed for, but
looks good sitting next to it too; well done
Matrox.
The Socketry
So I’ve established that the MXO looks
good and is built like a cricket ball, but
what about the practical usability of the
MXO? The front top and sides are free
of anything, apart from the word Matrox
etched onto the top. The base of the MXO
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 25
€€€ REVIEW
simply has four rubber feet to prevent it
scratching any surface you decide to place
it on.
On the rear is where it all happens,
there are sockets for Y/Video, Pb/Y, Pr/C,
REF in, R and L Audio out, DVI in and out
for connection to computer and monitor,
SDI, power and a USB for connection to
your computer.
The sockets are nicely laid out and
are clearly marked. You can’t go wrong
connecting this up, I didn’t even need
the manual. The MXO comes with a very
high quality multi-cable that has DVI and
USB on one end, and DVI, USB, mini jack
audio (male) and mini jack audio (female)
on the other. The DVI and USB plug into
the MXO, whilst the rest on the other
end of the cable plug into your Mac. The
female mini jack can have you somewhat
confused and you could be forgiven for
thinking this is where you then plug in
your audio monitor system. This is not the
case, you plug your audio monitors into the
MXO directly via it’s two phono sockets.
My personal audio monitoring system is a
Bose Companion, which is made up of two
desktop mid-range/tweater speakers, and
a sub/bass unit that sits on the floor. If you
have a similar system to this, which has a
single stereo mini-jack from the sub/bass
unit straight to your Mac, you’ll have to buy
a short patch-lead with two male phono
sockets on one end and a single female
stereo mini-jack on the other. If you leave
your audio speakers plugged directly into
the Mac you will experience audio/video
sync issues during monitoring. To insure
perfect sync it is best to plug your speaker
system into the MXO’s two phono sockets
directly.
Monitor Calibration
Matrox have recently released version 2 of
the firmware for the MXO and among the
many new features is a software-based
monitor calibration interface that allows
you to calibrate your monitor; secondary
computer monitor that is. This feature was
not in previous versions of the firmware
simply because Matrox designed the MXO
for Mac only and it was designed, set up,
tuned and calibrated to an Apple Cinema
display. In other words, it was set up to
perfection out of the box; sort of. However,
Matrox have realized that people may need
to tweak the calibration of the monitor
themselves.
It’s important to turn on your Apple
Cinema display and leave it on for at least
20 minutes to warm up before carrying out
the calibration. The calibration settings are
software based and once installed they are
found in the Mac’s System Preferences
pain on the dock under ‘Other’. There are
settings for Hue, Chroma, Brightness,
Contrast and even a ‘Blue Only’,
everything a big boy needs for perfect HD
monitor calibration. On top of this, Matrox
include some SD and HD ‘bars’ QuickTime
clips so you don’t even need to launch
Final Cut Pro to calibrate your Apple
Setting up and installation
It only takes about10 minutes to connect
the MXO up to your Mac and install the
software that comes on the CD. The
product is very straightforward in terms of
its socketry. Once the software is installed
it is then accessed via the Mac’s System
Preferences on the Dock. Under ‘Other’
you will be presented with the new MXO
icon, this is where monitor calibration is
carried out.
26 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
Cinema Display. Once you have calibrated
it, you can then save it as a default setting.
Although there are instructions on how
to carry out the monitor calibration, the
manual is flawed with some glaring errors,
if you follow them you will end up with a
seriously naff picture; read on.
I must warn any potential purchasers of
the MXO that there are a few nasty flaws
in the printed manual on the pages that
explain how to calibrate the monitor. They
caught me out and will probably catch you
out too. For some reason the chap who
wrote up the manual assumes for some
very strange reason that we PAL users in
Britain don’t need to adjust the ‘Brightness’
setting when calibrating a monitor. The
manual quite literally states “If you’re
working with PAL color bars, proceed to
the next step”. Of course if you chose to
follow this advice you won’t be doing any
Brightness adjustment during monitor
calibration. Due to the default setting in
the MXO’s software for Brightness, this will
leave your monitor looking very flat, milky,
glazed over and generally very washed out
and rather naff looking. The manual also
tells PAL users to ignore the Hue setting
and again states “If you’re working with
PAL color bars, proceed to the next step”.
REVIEW €€€
So, PAL users, take it from me, DO NOT
proceed to the next step as the manual
instructs, but go ahead with the instruction
for NTSC users and calibrate the
Brightness and Hue settings or the MXO
will make the picture 50 times worse than
if it simply wasn’t there to start with. I’ve
since informed Wayne Andrews at Matrox
in Canada about these terrible errors and
he is on it for future manuals, but don’t
expect this change to be in the box if you
buy one next week. However, it might be
worth checking the Matrox web site for a
recent instruction manual download.
In Use
Connecting the MXO up to your Mac is a
breeze, so is creating a calibrated colour
profile on the Mac, and then calibrating
the monitor. Chances are you’ve used
the Mac’s colour calibration software
already, in the System Prefs/Displays, then
clicking on the Color tab and selecting the
Calibrate button. This is not too dissimilar
and the included manual explains how to
do this.
Once I’d set this up and calibrated the
monitor it was time to feed it some footage
from the timeline in Final Cut Pro to see if
this little device does what Matrox say it
does.
I decided to go for it with some native
Sony XDCAM HD footage of 1440x1080
resolution. This is why Matrox recommend
the Apple 23” Cinema display as it has a
native resolution of 1920x1200, XDCAM
HD footage, like HDV footage plays out
at 1920x1080 so the Cinema Display
is perfect. The MXO will do both 1-to-1
pixel or scale-to-fit. I’d recommend the
exact 1-to-1 pixel method as it retains the
exact resolution of your HD footage and
won’t stretch it to fit the screen. As long
as you are using HD or HDV footage of
1080i/1080p the Apple Cinema display
will only have a tiny letterbox across the
top/bottom as it’s resolution is 1200 and
not 1080, in other words you will get the
difference in the letter box i.e. 60 pixels at
the top and 60 pixels at the bottom; I think
this looks quite good
and gives a more
cinematic look to the
footage presented to
your Apple Cinema
display.
In Final Cut Pro,
the MXO instantly
adds a ton of new
output options to the
View/Video Playback
dropdown menu. This
huge array of presets
should accommodate every conceivable
combination of aspect ratio and codec.
The MXO also has the ability to output
your Final Cut Pro sequence to SD or HD
on the fly without having to transcode your
footage. If you are working with HDV the
MXO will perform a down-res or up-res of
your HDV footage. Full HD uses a picture
size of 1920x1080 with a color sampling
of 4:2:2. HDV records at 1280x720 or
1440x1080 using a color sampling of 4:1:1.
The Matrox MXO will either up-res HDV,
DVCPRO HD and the like, or Dynamic RT
segments to full output resolution or downres your HD sequence to SD.
The MXO will solve annoying formatting
issues that have been the bane of desktop
video editors for as long as I care to
remember. For example, the MXO can
reformat widescreen HD content into SD
formats (letterboxed, anamorphic or center
crop) in real time, as playback occurs
from the editorial timeline. It’s all done in
hardware via the MXO. Not only does the
MXO allow you to calibrate your secondary
computer monitor, but it also keeps
things playing smoothly, with no flicker,
at broadcast quality, without any issues
whatsoever.
I decided to take my Sony PDW-F350
XDCAM HD camera and shoot some
footage in my back garden. Now this might
not seem very exotic, but I did this for a
very good reason; which I’ll explain all in
good time. I shot in both 1080i interlace as
well as 1080p progressive. I shot various
sequences in the garden, which included
the shed and perimeter fence panels,
both of which are painted with a rusty-red
coloured creosote, the light beige concrete
path, plumb coloured pebbles, flowers and
other foliage. I then dragged these files
from the XDCAM camcorder directly into
Final Cut Pro and played them back in the
timeline and checked the ‘look’ out on the
newly calibrated monitor that was hooked
up to the MXO.
My first impressions were quite simply
WOW!!! What had happened to my 23”
Apple Cinema Display? It been turned into
one seriously professional looking Grade
1 monitor. I kid you now, the Apple Cinama
Display now looked like a £12,000 grading
monitor; yes really!!
The colours where absolutely spot
on and the ‘motion’ of the image in both
interlace and progressive was exactly how
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 27
€€€ REVIEW
it should be.
Since the MXO can be bypassed via
software, there’s no need to disconnect
it when it’s not needed. This also means
you can quickly change the timeline output
from MXO to regular desktop preview
i.e. by-passing the MXO. This comes in
handy for checking to see what the MXO
is actually doing. Without the MXO the
rusty-red creosote job on my garden shed
turns into a gaudy vomit red monstrosity
with more bleeding than a Tarantino movie;
I mean it was horrible.
Without the MXO the colours are wildly
exaggerated with chronic colour bleed
in vibrant red areas and they are way off
the mark and totally inaccurate; pretty
much useless for colour grading on any
level. The reason I shot footage in my
back garden is because my edit suite
room window overlooks it. So 10 minutes
after shooting it I was playing it back via
the timeline in Final Cut Pro, and whilst it
was playing back I could look out of the
window at the same
scene to check the
colours of the monitor
with the real-life scene.
I was amazed at how
identical they were. The
red brickwork on nearby
houses, natural light
coloured timber fencing,
rusty red fencing and
shed, green trees,
plants and foliage, light
stone coloured path,
vibrant blue BMW… all
of them looked spot on
when comparing the
monitor with the outside
view. The MXO brings
absolutely nothing to
the party, it simply
reproduces the colours
in the most natural way possible, which is
what you need for serious colour grading.
As for the motion. Well I’ve been
shooting in progressive for over a year
now; I decided to leave the interlaced
world behind and am heading for the
future. The MXO/Apple Cinema Display
combo plays back progressively shot
footage perfectly, with beautiful movement,
just as it should. However, it is when you
come to view interlaced footage that you
are in for a real treat. If you are shooting
1080i from a Z1 or the like, you will be
in seventh heaven. Interlaced footage
actually plays back and looks just like
interlaced footage. This totally blew me
away, it is just like watching the news on
TV; it looks so real. If you switch-out (or
take away) the MXO the same interlace
footage turns into a stuttering travesty
with more field-tearing interlaced artefacts
than you can shake a stick at. As for edge
definition, without
the MXO it has more
steps than St.Pauls
Cathedral.
I don’t know what
sort of scientific
hardware/software
wizardry the MXO
is performing, but
it is certainly doing
all the right things
to produce perfect
monitoring from your
Macs second DVI
port to a secondary
Apple Cinema
Display.
The picture on
the Apple Cinema
Display is so sharp
28 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
with it’s native HD resolution that it was
like looking through a window; well pretty
damn close anyway. I’d even say the Apple
Cinema Display is actually sharper than
a Grade 1 CRT grading monitor, the latter
don’t have the same resolution.
I know a couple of high-end professional
colour graders in the USA who are now
using the MXO/Apple Cinema Display
combo instead of their $20,000 Grade 1
monitors because the colour reproduction
is identical, but the MXO/Apple combo
is actually sharper; pin sharp. My good
friend Ged Yeates from the Isle of Lewis
has recently invested heavily in an Apple
Mac Final Cut Pro system, with the MXO
as part of it. You might know of Ged as he
has written a few articles for DVuser in the
past, but more importantly he is a full-time
cameraman who is constantly working for
BBC Scotland. Ged is one of the fussiest
cameramen I know; especially when it
comes to monitors and post-production
grading. I’m happy to report that Ged is
very impressed with the MXO, here is a
cut/paste of part of recent email to me from
Ged:
“I’ve been tweaking mine quite a bit and
I have surprisingly squeezed quite a bit
more range out of it. I now have pretty
decent blacks and the highlights are not
too bad.
I’ve been attempting to match the
colour to my Sony Grade 2 EBU phosphors
CRT monitor utilising its SDI input and the
23 inch Sony LCD fed with the
MXO is getting quite close. I did do some
tweaks on the Sony LCD’s menu to
adjust the red and blue slightly as the LCD
display is a touch more yellow
than the CRT which is a bit warmer.
I am talking marginal stuff here but the
CRT still exhibits a bit more punch
in the whites but I think I would be
confident to grade now on the LCD which
is of course very nice in HD. I do like the
way the MXO can display
interlace footage without field tearing. It
does a better job than the
Blackmagic HD link.
Getting the settings for replay is crucial
though and I have begun to get
the feel for it now and am now enjoying
hassle free playback from Final Cut
Pro 6.”
Although the above might not sound as
enthusiastic as my own personal views
of the MXO, as I’ve explained, Ged is
one very difficult customer to please so
I for one take his words as a firm seal of
approval. I would feel totally confident
REVIEW €€€
grading tropical fish with this set up, that’s
how good it is.
The MXO is a well-behaved peripheral.
When your Mac goes to sleep, the MXO
goes to sleep. When the Mac wakes, the
MXO wakes. And when you shut down
Final Cut Pro the MXO is bypassed and
your secondary display goes back to a
regular secondary display as the MXO
says Au Revoir.
Matrox also advise users to monitor the
MXO’s temperature periodically. The MXO
will automatically shut down if it ever
exceeds the recommended maximum
operating temperature of 158 degrees
Fahrenheit. After a days testing I found
the operating temperature never crept
above 130 degrees on my unit. However,
it is important to keep the front of the MXO
unobstructed as it acts as an air intake.
DVD Studio Pro
The MXO can also be used with Apple’s
DVD Studio Pro. Here it is just as versatile
as it is with Final Cut Pro. By selecting
‘Digital Cinema Desktop Preview’ in the
DVD Studio Pro Preferences (as opposed
to ‘Simulator
Window’), DVD
Studio Pro will
route the simulator
display through the
secondary desktop
where the MXO will
display it in real
time on your Apple
monitor in full YUV
PAL broadcast
colour space. Many
people forget the
need to actually
‘colour grade’ their
DVD menus also. If
you are putting in
text links etc in the
DVD menus they
will need checking on a grading monitor,
especially if you use gaudy red coloured
text fonts as you could be in for bleed. If
you are creating your own DVD menus in
a programme like Photoshop, After FX,
Motion etc, again, you’ll need to check
the colours are all legal and okay via a
monitor. The MXO allows you to check the
colours of your DVD
Studio Pro project
menus for colour
bleed and general
colour grading; nice
one Matrox!
The MXO’s video
output is from DVD
Studio Pro is smooth,
flickerless and
beautiful. Before I
would simply preview
my DVD Studio
Pro projects in the
‘Simulator Window’
within DVD Studio
Pro’s interface, which
was okay for basic
checks, but no good
for any colour adjustments. Now I have
the DVD play out onto the secondary Mac
monitor in all it’s glory; just like viewing it
on a proper TV. It really does look stunning
– especially in HD – there is no way I could
go back to working with that little simulator
window in DVDSP. This is one massive
bonus of the MXO, it really does have
to be used to be believed. A proper PAL
video preview has been missing from DVD
Studio Pro for a while, but by adding the
MXO to your Mac DVD authoring workflow
will give you this much needed feature. For
me, the MXO is worth the money for this
single function alone.
Additional capabilities
Although the MXO has been designed as
a device to turn an Apple Cinema Display
into a professional colour-grading monitor;
there is also a bit more to it. The MXO
can also be used in ‘presentation mode’
which displays the output of the secondary
monitor to a PAL or HD monitor. This can
be a useful feature for PowerPoint and
Keynote presentations. It also allows
you to record the output of your Mac’s
desktop to pretty much any video recording
deck such as a dedicated HDV, DVCAM,
XDCAM, Digibeta, DVCPRO, whatever.
This works like a regular scan-converter;
great for making training DVD on computer
software programmes. When used in
presentation mode, the MXO can also feed
the Mac’s audio output to the recording
device via stereo RCA outputs.
It was very tempting to say that the
MXO is a bit on the pricy side at the thick
end of £700. After all, the components that
make up the MXO are no more expensive
to produce than those that make up a
£20 transistor radio. However, unlike
the transistor radio, the MXO is not a
cheap mass-produced pile of unreliable
junk made in China. The MXO is built
in Canada, and to a very high standard.
Another way of looking at it is to compare
the MXO’s price to a professional colour
grading monitor. Even a Kona card
equivalent to the MXO will cost three times
as much and the professional grading
monitor will cost twenty times as much.
So with this in mind, the MXO is a real
bargain, in fact I’d go so far as quoting
Tom’s famous line in the movie Lock Stock
& Two Smoking Barrels, where he is selling
Nick the Greek the Hi-Fi amplifier and he
says “It’s a deal, it’s a steal. It’s the sale of
the f**king century”.
The MXO is perfect in every way. Brilliant
colour grading at a pittance compared to
a Grade 1 monitor, beautifully reproduced
motion; especially interlaced footage which
needs it the most on computer displays,
which are progressive by nature. Easy
to set up and use and keep updated
via future firmware updates. The only
negative I can think of is the manual. If
you follow the manual you will think the
MXO is a crap product. Matrox need to fix
the manual before UK purchasers start
sending the box back for a refund.
For more details: www.matrox.com/video
Rating:
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 29
€€€ SONY AT NAB 2007
30 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
PROFILE ON IANIRO UK €€€
products that are sold in Italy, but these
have been substituted with a solid line up
Working in the video & film industry you
of equipment”. It turns out Ianiro UK are
sometimes convince yourself that you know
not only the UK Agents for ABC Cranes
every mover, shaker and player; this is after
and Dollies, Luggy
Bags & cases, Kupo
Grip Equipment,
California Sunbounce
Light reflection
systems but also the
European Distributor
for Libec Camera
Support Equipment.
The purpose
of this article is to
showcase a few of
the more unusual
Ianiro MD Nick Allen-Miles products
Ianiro....who are they?
all still a ‘cottage industry’. I was asked by
somebody a few days ago who Ianiro were?
After a little thought I answered “I think they
make redheads, don’t they?”
After a little research I have since discovered
Ianiro in Italy were the original manufacturer
of the 800w redhead, so named as that was
the only colour fibre glass available at the
time of manufacture. Labelling them as just
a manufacturer of this one light does them a
grave injustice, They make a massive range
of lights for studio & location from soft lights
and cool lights to tungsten and Fresnel’s and
also some cracking little on board camera
lights!
Ianiro in Italy (Based in Rome) also
distribute a huge range of lighting, Grip
and camera support systems as well as
being the Italian distributor for Dedo and
Fujinon Lenses. Their project integration
work is now world famous and they have
been responsible for the installation of major
lighting projects all over the world. I decided
to find out more so rang Ianiro UK and was
invited down for a visit.
Situated in the heart of England at Redditch,
Worcestershire the warehouse and
showroom are easily reached form the M40/
M42/M5 and M6 motorways. On entering
the showroom you are met with an Aladdin’s
Cave of Lighting & Grip.
So how does the Ianiro UK line up of
products match up with its sister company
in Italy? Managing Director Nick Allen-Miles
explains. “The core products of Ianiro own
manufactured and branded equipment
obviously is identical; therefore the lighting
fixtures, lighting stands and truss systems
are all stocked and marketed by the
UK operation. International agreements
prevent us from handling some of the
California Sunbounce
The system consist of a patented threedimensional dismountable framework
made from finest aluminium. This unique
frame works perfectly together with various
screens which are reflective, translucent or
light blocking. You can choose from different
sizes. They are super lightweight and superstrong and can be broken down to fit into a
tube-like bag of about 2 to 3 inches (5-8cm)
diameter and a maximum length of about 4
feet (130cm).
I personally had never come across
this system before but I have to say it was
mighty impressive. The soft tones created by
the surfaces were terrific.
ABC G-Force
The camera stabilisation market had
become inundated with product recently, but
the G force system caught my eye in the
showroom so I thought I would give it a try.
The Top of the range G-Force Pro CN is a
high-end camera stabilization system which
is part of the modular G-Force family. This
version allows stabilization of cameras up to
8 Kg of weight.
The vest system has been conceived for
a comfortable fit; it is lightweight and will
adjust for all body sizes. Shoulder and chest
straps can be easily adjusted. A double
aluminum profile in S-shape supports your
spine. Air inlets allow a good circulation
during use reducing sweating and improving
comfort of use. The quality of the system
is carried through all the way down to the
less expensive models and in fact there
is an upgrade path all the way through the
systems.
I particularly found the balancing quite
simple and would recommend anybody
looking to use mobile support system to try
one of these!
Libec Jib JB30
I can honestly say I have used a number of
Jibs over the years, but never have I come
across a piece of equipment with such
build quality, smoothness and ease of use.
Weighing at a little less than 20kg yet able to
support cameras of the same weight, the jib
is a must for sweeping low shots and general
fluid movements. To prove it out, I borrowed
the JIB for a shoot I was doing the next day
on a farm. I used the Jib for every shot bar
one.
The future for Ianiro UK?
Nick Allen-Miles is upbeat about the future;
“We have had a tremendous first 3 years of
trading, developing a diverse customer base
in over 20 different countries, in fact 64% of
our business is now export. The next year
will see an introduction of some innovative
products, for example, LED light technology,
so without doubt we will achieve further
growth”.
For more info visit: www.ianirouk.com
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 31
AUDIO EQUIPMENT
Beyerdynamic UK Ltd
17 Albert Drive, Burgess Hill,
West Sussex RH15 9TN
Tel: 01444 258 258 Fax: 01444 258 444
Web: www.beyerdynamic.co.uk
Canford Audio PLC
Crowther Road, Washington,
Tyne & Wear. NE38 0BW
Tel: 0191 418 1000 Fax: 0191 418 1001
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.canford.co.uk
Digital Village
86 Mill Road, Cambridge,
Cambs. CB1 2AS
Tel: 01223 316091 Fax: 01223 353857
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.dv247.com
First Sense Broadcast & Film Gear
The Television Centre, Bath Road
Bristol. BS4 3HG
Tel: 0117 980 3500 Fax: 0117 972 2217
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.firstsense.co.uk
HHB Communications Ltd
73 - 75 Scrubs Lane,
London, NW10 6QU.
Tel: 020 8962 5000 Fax: 020 8962 5050
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.hhb.co.uk
Media Atlantic
PO Box 5050, Derby. DE23 8ZW
Tel: 0870 161 5050 Fax: 0870 161 5051
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mediaatlantic.com
River Pro Audio
Unit 3, Grange Yard, London. SE1 3AG
Tel: 020 7231 4805
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.riverproaudio.co.uk
Rycote Microphone Windshields Ltd
Libby’s Drive, Slad Road, Stroud
Gloucestershire. GL5 1RN
Tel: 01453 759338 Fax 01453 764249
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.rycote.co.uk
Sennheiser U.K Ltd
3 Century Point, Halifax Road,
High Wycombe, Bucks. HP12 3SL
Tel: 01494 551 551 Fax: 01494 551 550
Web: www.sennheiser.co.uk
Soundgenie
Unit 2, Heybridge Enterprice Center, The
Street, Heybridge, Maldon,
Essex. CM9 4NN
Tel: 01621 843200
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.wirelessmics.co.uk
Soundkit
12 Earle Place, Canton, Cardiff. CF5 NZ
Tel: 02920 342907 Fax: 29020 231235
Email: [email protected]
BATTERIES & POWER
Web: www.soundkit.co.uk
Total Audio Solutions
3 Woden Court Park, Saxon Business
Park, Hanbury Road, Bromsgrove,
Worcs. B60 4AD
Tel: 01527 880051
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.totalaudio.co.uk
BATTERIES & POWER
DS Video Facilities
Unit 27, Metro Centre, Britannia Way,
Coronation Road, London. NW10 7PR
Tel: 020 8965 8060
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.dsvideo.co.uk
JVC Professional Europe
JVC House, JVC Business Park,
12 Priestley Way, London. NW2 7BA
Tel: 020 8208 6200
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.jvcpro.co.uk
Canopus Europe
Unit 4, The Duran Centre, 14 Arkwright
Rd, Reading, Berkshire. RG2 0LS
Tel: 0118 921 0150
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.canopus-uk.com
Hawk-Woods Ltd
Briscall House, Wotton Road,
Ashford, Kent. TN23 6LW
Tel: 01233 638715
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.hawkwoods.com
Panasonic Broadcast Europe
West Forest Gate, Wellington Road,
Wokingham, Berkshire. RG40 2AQ
Tel: 0118 902 9200
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.panasonic-broadcast.com
CVP Imaging Solutions Ltd
Priory Mill, Castle Road, Studley,
Warks. B80 7AA
Tel: 01527 854222
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.creativevideo.co.uk
IDX Technology Europe Ltd
34 Taunton Road, Metropolitan Centre,
Uxbridge, Middlesex. UB6 8UQ
Tel: 020 8813 1666 Fax: 020 8813 1777
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.idx.tv
Sony Pro Broadcast UK
The Heights, Brooklands, Weybridge,
Surrey. KT13 0XW
Tel: 01932 816 275
Web: www.sonybiz.net
Datavision Ltd
Russell Farm, New Road, Maulden,
Bedfordshire. MK45 2BG
Tel: 01525 406886
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.datavision.co.uk
PAG
565 Kingston Road, Raynes Park,
London. SW20 8SAww
Tel: 020 8543 3131
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.paguk.com
Pro-X
P.O. Box 2035, Watford,
Hertfordshire. WD18 9WZ
Tel: 01923 712712 Fax: 01923 712777
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.dvbuyer.co.uk
Rhino Power & Light Ltd
Pinewood Studios, Pinewood Road,
Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire. SLO 0NH
Tel: 01753 651444 Fax: 01753 651334
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.rhinopower.tv
BLANK TAPES, DVDs, CDs & MEDIA
DVDR.CO.UK
1 Ravenscourt Park, London, W6 0TZ
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.dvdr.co.uk
Double Vision Group
The Studio, Half Key Farm, Malvern,
Worcestershire. WR14 1UP
Tel: 01886 830084 Fax: 01886 833783
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.dvtapes.co.uk
KVJ Fairdeal
76 Whitechapel, High Street,
London. E1 7QX
Tel: 020 7247 6029 Fax: 020 7247 5099
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.kvjfairdeal.com
MVS Video
Alkham Valley Road, Folkestone,
Kent. CT18 7EH
Tel: 01303 891468
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mvsvideo.com
Penridge Milti-Media
The Barn, Rashwood Meadow,
Droitwich Spa,
Worcestehrsire. WR9 0BS
Tel: 01527 861911
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.penridge.com
Pricebusters
27 Springfield Road, Harrow
Middlesex. HA1 1QF
Tel: 0870 800 3444 Fax: 020 8930 8782
Web: www.pricebuster.org.uk
CAMCORDER MANUFACTURERS
Canon UK Ltd
Woodhatch, Reigate, Surrey. RH2 8BF
Tel: 08705 143723 Fax: 01737 220022
E: [email protected]
Web: www.canon.co.uk
CASES & BAGS
CP Cases
Worton Hall Industrial Estate,
Worton Road, Isleworth,
Middlesex. TW7 6ER
Tel: 020 8568 1881 Fax: 020 8568 1141
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.cpcases.com
Kata Cases
Official UK reseller: Proactive UK Ltd
1 Eastman Way,
Hemel Hempsted. HP2 7DU
Tel: 01442 253313 Fax: 01442 260913
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.proav.co.uk
Pyser-SGI Ltd (Portabrace)
Broadcast Products Division,
Fircroft Way, Edenbridge,
Kent. TN8 6HA
Tel: 01732 864111 Fax: 01732 865544
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.pyser-sgi.com
TV Cases
9 Elmsdale, Wightwick, Wolverhampton.
West Midlands. WV6 8ED
Tel: 07976 369776
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.tvcases.co.uk
Digital Video Computing Ltd
Phoenix House, 17-19 Norway Street
Portslade, Sussex. BN41 1GN
Tel: 01273 707200 Fax: 01273 439985
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.dvc.uk.com
Edirol Europe
Studio 3.4, 114 Power Road,
London. W4 5PY
Tel: 0870 3501515
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.edirol.co.uk
Holdan Ltd
Unit 2 Waterside Business Park,
Waterside, Hadfield, Glossop,
Derbyshire. SK13 1BE
Tel: 0845 1304445
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.holdan.co.uk
Pinnacle Systems
Building 7, The Grand Union Office Park,
Packet Boat Lane, Uxbridge,
Middlesex. UB8 2GH
Tel: 01895 424210
Web: www.pinnaclesys.co.uk
CHROMAKEY & BACKGROUNDS
Planet PC
The Old School, 690 Bradford Road,
Birkenshaw, West Yorkshire, BD11 2DR
Tel: 01274 713400
Web: www.planetdv.net
Bristol UK Ltd
Unit 3, Sutherland Court,
Tolpits Lane, Watford. WD18 9SP
Tel: 01923 779333 Fax: 01923 779666
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.bristolpaint.com
Siren Technology
178 Radcliffe New Road, Whitefield,
Manchester. M45 7RG
Tel: 0161 796 5279 Fax: 0161 796 3208
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.sirentechnology.co.uk
Colorama Photodisplay Limited
Unit 7, Ace Business Park,
Mackadown Lane, Kitts Green,
Birmingham. B33 0LD
Tel: 0121 783 9931 Fax:0121 783 1674
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.coloramaphotodisplay.co.uk
Ulead
PO Box 835, Canterbury,
Kent. CT2 7WE
Tel: 01227 379 481
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.ulead.co.uk
Lastolite Professional
1 & 2 Vulcan Court, Hermitage Ind Est,
Coalville, Leicestershire. LE67 3FW
Tel: 01530 813 381 Fax: 01530 830 408
Web: www.lastolite.com
ZEN Computer Services
3 Carolina Way, Salford Quays,
Manchester. M50 2ZY
Tel: 0161 736 5300 Fax: 0161 736 5303
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.zenvideo.co.uk
COMPUTER HARDWARE/SOFTWARE
DVD DUPLICATION & REPLICATION
Adobe Systems UK
3 Roundwood Avenue, Stockley Park,
Uxbridge. UB11 1AY
Tel: 020 8606 1100 Fax: 020 8606 4004
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.adobe.co.uk
24-7 DVD Ltd
1 Ravenscourt Park, London. W6 0TZ
Tel: 020 8748 2247 Fax: 020 8237 1247
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.24-7dvd.co.uk
Apple Computers UK Ltd
2 Furzeground Way, Stockley Park Ind
Est, Uxbridge, Middlesex. UB11 1BB
Tel: 020 8218 1000 Fax: 020 8218 1310
Web: www.apple.com/uk
Disc Makers
Units 15/16 Raynham Road Trading Est.
Bishops Stortford, Herts. CM23 5PD
Tel: 0845 130 2200 Fax: 01279 657115
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.discmakers.co.uk
Avid Technology UK
3rd Floor, Swan House, 52 Poland
Street, London. W1F 7NH
Tel: 020 7534 2800 Fax: 020 7534 2801
Emai: [email protected]
Web: www.avid.co.uk
Double Vision Group
The Studio, Half Key Farm, Malvern,
Worcestershire. WR14 1UP
Tel: 01886 830084 Fax: 01886 833783
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.doublevisiongroup.co.uk
G et y our c ompany liste d h e r e , c a l l s a l e s o n 0 1 4 8 0 3 7 4 0 3 6
32 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
Lemon Media Ltd
Hub, Warne Road, Weston Supermare,
Somerset. BS23 2UU
Tel: 01934 423 023 Fax: 01934 645 834
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.lemonmedia.co.uk
Prokit
111 Power Road, Chiswich,
London. W4 5PY
Tel: 020 8995 4664 Fax: 020 8995 4656
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.prokit.co.uk
MVS Video
Alkham Valley Road, Folkestone,
Kent. CT18 7EH
Tel: 01303 891468
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mvsvideo.com
T2 Direct
Bridge House, Royal Quay, Park Lane,
Harefield, Middlesex. UB9 6JA
Tel: 01895 855655 Fax: 01895 822232
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.t2direct.com
Penridge Milti-Media
The Barn, Rashwood Meadow,
Droitwich Spa,
Worcestehrsire. WR9 0BS
Tel: 01527 861911
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.penridge.com
TNP Broadcast Sales
P.O. Box 2035, Watford,
Hertfordshire. WD18 9WZ
Tel: 01923 712 712 Fax: 01923 712777
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.tnpbroadcast.co.uk
Planet Duplication Ltd
Unit 6, Woodlands Business Village,
Basingstoke, Hampshire. RG21 4JX
Tel: 01256 474234 Fax: 01256 819076
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.planetduplication.co.uk
Visual Impact
Units 3-4 Teddington Business Park,
Station Road, Teddington,
Middlesex. TW11 9BQ
Tel: 0 20 8977 1222 Fax: 020 8943 5307
Web: www.visuals.co.uk
EQUIPMENT SERVICE & REPAIRS
EQUIPMENT RENTAL COMPANIES
3rd Eye Broadcast Ltd.
202b Productions Office,
120 Vyse Street, Birmingham. B18 6NF
Tel: 0121 693 9977
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.3rdeyecamerahire.co.uk
Kitroom Monkey Ltd
Ealing Film Studios, Ealing Green,
London. W5 5EP
Tel: 0845 166 2509
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.kitroommonkey.co.uk
EQUIPMENT RETAILERS & DEALERS
Creative Video Productions
Priory Mill, Castle Road,
Studley, Warks. B80 7AA
Tel: 01527 854222
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.creativevideo.co.uk
Clyde Cunningham Broadcast Eng.
96 Downs Road, South Wonston,
Winchester, Hampshire. SO21 3EW
Tel: 01962 881740
E: [email protected]
Web: www.dvcamservice.co.uk
MVS Video
Alkham Valley Road, Folkestone,
Kent. CT18 7EH
Tel: 01303 891468
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mvsvideo.com
True Lens Services
20 Bank Terrace, Barwell,
Leicester. LE9 8GG
Tel: 01455 848411 Fax: 01455 848 311
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.truelens.co.uk
INSURANCE COMPANIES
CKE Distribution Ltd
Crown House, John Street, Shipley,
West Yorkshire, BD18 3HU
Tel: 01274 533996 Fax: 01274 533997
Web: www.cke.co.uk
Aaduki Multimedia Insurance
2d Cranmere Road
Oakhampton,
Devon. EX20 1UE
Tel: 0845 8386933 Fax: 0845 8386944
Web: www.aaduki.com
Gearhouse Broadcast
Unit 14, Olympic Industrial Estate,
Fulton Road, Wembley. HA9 0TF
Tel: 020 8795 1866 Fax: 020 8795 1868
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.gearhousebroadcast.com
AUA Insurance
De Vere H ouse, 90 St Faiths Lane,
Norchich. NR1 1NL
Tel: 01603 623227 Fax: 01603 665516
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.aua-insurance.com
H Preston Professional Video
103 Worcester Road, Malvern,
Worcester. WR14 1EP
Tel: 01684 575486 Fax: 01684 575594
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.hpreston.co.uk
Towergate Camerasure
Funtley Court, Funtley Hill,
Fareham, Hants. PO16 7UY
Tel: 0870 4115511
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.towergate.co.uk
Mitcorp UK Ltd
23 Shield Drive, West Cross Ind Est,
Brentford, London. TW8 9EX
Tel: 020 8380 7400 Fax: 020 8380 7410
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mitcorp.co.uk
Proactive UK Ltd
1 Eastman Way,
Hemel Hempsted. HP2 7DU
Tel: 01442 253313 Fax: 01442 260913
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.proav.co.uk
Production Gear
Millennium Studios, Elstree Way
Borehamwood, Herts. WD6 1SF
Tel: 020 8236 1212 Fax: 020 8236 1414
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.productiongear.co.uk
LENSES, MATTE BOXES & FILTERS
Canon UK Ltd
Woodhatch, Reigate, Surrey. RH2 8BF
Tel: 08705 143723 Fax: 01737 220022
Web: www.canon.co.uk
Pyser-SGI Ltd (Vocas matte boxes)
Fircroft Way, Edenbridge,
Kent. TN8 6HA
Tel: 01732 864111 Fax: 01732 865544
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.pyser-sgi.com
Lee Filters
Central Way, Walworth Industrial Estate
Andover, Hampshire SP10 5AN
Tel: 01264 366245 Fax: 01264 355058
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.leefilters.com
Fujinon
Distributer: Pyser-SGI Ltd
Broadcast Products Division,
Fircroft Way, Edenbridge,
Kent. TN8 6HA
Tel: 01732 864111 Fax: 01732 865544
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.pyser-sgi.com
South London Filters Ltd
3 Richbourne Terrace,
London. SW8 1AS
Tel: 020 7735 1900 Fax: 020 7820 1718
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.camerafilters.co.uk
True Lens Services
20 Bank Terrace, Barwell,
Leicester. LE9 8GG
Tel: 0 1455 848411 Fax: 01455 848 311
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.truelens.co.uk
LIGHTING EQUIPMENT
Arri (GB) Ltd
2 High Bridge, Oxford Road,
Uxbridge, Middlesex. UB8 1LX
Tel: 01895 475000
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.arri-gb.com
Cirro Lite
3 Barretts Green Road,
London. NW10 7AE
Tel: 020 8955 6700
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.cirrolite.com
David Lawrence Lighting
Unit 7 New Lydenbur Com. Estate,
New Lydenberg Street, Woolwich,
London. SE7 8NF
Tel: 020 8858 2820 Fax: 020 8858 2820
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.studiolighting.co.uk
Ianiro UK Ltd
Unit 7 Walkers Road, Manorside Ind Est,
Redditch, Worcs. B98 9HE
Tel: 01527 596955 Fax: 01527 596788
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.ianiro.com
Photon Beard Ltd
Unit K3, Cherry Court Way, Stanbridge
Rd, Leighton Buzzard,
Bedfordshire. LU7 4UH
Tel: 01525 850911
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.photonbeard.com
ROYALTY FREE MUSIC CDs
AKM Music
PO Box 3199, Kenilworth. CV8 2ZP
Tel: 01926 864068
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.akmmusic.co.uk
Trackline Music Services
68 Alton Street, Crew,
Cheshire. CW2 7QB
Tel: 01270 665750
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.trackline.com
YOPO Production Music
PO Box 4700, Bath. BA1 6AH
Tel: 01225 470011
Web: www.yopo.co.uk
STABILIZERS & SUPPORTS
B-Hague Camera Supports
Mile End Road, Colwick,
Nottingham. NG4 2DW
Tel: 0115 987 0031
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.b-hague.co.uk
Glidecam
Distributer: CKE Distribution Ltd
Crown House, John Street, Shipley,
West Yorkshire, BD18 3HU
Tel: 01274 533996 Fax: 01274 533997
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.cke.co.uk
TRAINING & SHORT COURSES
Bill Curtis Associates
Lighting, Camera, Sound, Editing
Tel: 01959 563326 Mob: 07958 719099
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.bcassociates.org
Nick Way
Sound & Sound recording
Web: www.nickway.co.uk
Ravensbourne College
Walden Road, Chislehurst
Kent. BR7 5SN
Tel: 020 8289 4900 Fax: 020 8325 8320
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.rave.ac.uk
TRIPODS & GRIP EQUIPMENT
Libec Tripods Europe
Unit 7 Walkers Road, Manorside Ind Est.
Redditch, Worcs. B98 9HE
Tel: 01527 596955 Fax: 01527 596788
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.libeceurope.com
Manfrotto Tripods
Distributor: DayMen International
Tel: 0870 420 5113
Web: www.manfrotto.com
Sachtler Tripods
Distributer: Visual Impact
Tel: 020 8977 1222
Web: www.sachtler.com
Vinten Tripods
Western Way, Bury St.Edmunds,
Suffolk. IP33 3TB
Tel: 01284 752121
Web: www.vinten.com
VIDEO ACCESSORIES
Liongate Enterprise
Unit 15, Longate Enterprice Park,
80 Morden Road, Mitcham,
Surrey. CR4 4NY
Tel: 020 8687 9700
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.compositevideo.co.uk
Keene Electronics
Old Hall, Unit 9 Mills Bus Pk, Station
Road, Little Eaton, Derby. DE21 5DN
Tel: 01332 830550
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.keene.co.uk
VOICEOVER ARTISTS
Geoffrey Annis
261 Boothferry Road, Hessle,
East Yorkshire. HU13 0NG
Tel: 01482 647461
Email: [email protected]
W: www.voiceovers.co.uk/geoffrey.annis
Colin Days Overnight Voiceovers
The Old Rectory, Ombersley,
Worcs. WR9 0EW
Tel: 01562 8222222
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.voiceover-uk.co.uk
First Person Digital Media
40 Viaduct Drive, Woverhampton,
West Midlands. WV6 0UX
Tel: 01902 772455
Web: www.firstpersondigitalmedia.com
YOPO Voiceover Services
PO Box 4700, Bath. BA1 6AH
Tel: 01225 470011
Web: www.yopo.co.uk
G et y our c ompany liste d h e r e , c a l l s a l e s o n 0 1 4 8 0 3 7 4 0 3 6
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 33
DV0707
CABLES - CONVERTORS - ADAPTORS – IR CONTROLLERS – VIDEO SCALERS – FORMAT CONVERTORS – VIDEO OVER CAT5 – FLAT SCREEN MOUNTS - FULL LIST AT WWW.KEENE.CO.UK – ASK FOR OUR FREE 2007 CATALOGUE
34 • July 2007 • DVuser Magazine • www.dvuser.co.uk
CABLES - CONVERTORS – IR CONTROLLERS – FORMAT CONVERTORS – VIDEO OVER CAT5 – FLAT SCREEN MOUNTS – ASK FOR OUR FREE 2007 CATALOGUE
CABLES - CONVERTORS - ADAPTORS – IR CONTROLLERS – VIDEO SCALERS – FORMAT CONVERTORS – VIDEO OVER CAT5 – FLAT SCREEN MOUNTS - FULL LIST AT WWW.KEENE.CO.UK – ASK FOR OUR FREE 2007 CATALOGUE
CABLES - CONVERTORS – IR CONTROLLERS – FORMAT CONVERTORS – VIDEO OVER CAT5 – FLAT SCREEN MOUNTS – ASK FOR OUR FREE 2007 CATALOGUE
www.dvuser.co.uk • DVuser Magazine • July 2007 • 35
Sony is a registered trademark of the Sony Corporation, Japan.
Only buy Sony where you see this sign.
The Sony Specialist Dealer Network. Super choice!
Sony stands right at the heart of today’s ever-changing broadcast world. A renowned innovator and supplier
of cutting-edge equipment, we provide rock-solid broadcast solutions for all needs and budgets. But that’s
only one reason for our unrivalled success. Sony is committed to supporting its customers through a network of
specialist dealers with a complete package of marketing and financial support. We go beyond the call of duty
to make sure broadcasters get exactly the tools they need to create an exciting new breed of programming.
For more information call 0870 60 60 456 or visit www.sonybiz.net/dealer
London and South East
G.V. Multi-Media Ltd
Tel: 020 8814 5950
www.gvmulti-media.co.uk
GearBox
(Sound and Vision) Limited
Tel: 020 8963 8633
www.gearbox.com
Gearhouse Broadcast
Tel: 0845 820 0000
www.gearhousebroadcast.com
Mitcorp UK Ltd
Tel: 020 8380 7400
www.mitcorp.co.uk
PEC Video Ltd
Tel: 020 7437 4633
www.pec.co.uk
www.sonybiz.net/dealer
Proactive UK Ltd
Tel: 01442 292929
www.proav.co.uk
GearBox South West
Tel: 029 2067 0610
www.gearbox.com/southwest
H Preston Professional Video
Tel: 01684 575486
www.videokit.co.uk
Mitcorp UK Ltd
Tel: 0113 220 3380
www.mitcorp.co.uk
Top-Teks Ltd
Tel: 01895 825 619
www.top-teks.co.uk
Visual Impact Bristol Ltd
Tel: 0117 939 3333
www.visuals.co.uk
Jigsaw Systems Ltd
Tel: 0870 730 6868
www.jigsaw24.com
Visual Impact North Ltd
Tel: 01606 42225
www.visuals.co.uk
Visual Impact UK Ltd
Tel: 020 8977 1222
www.visuals.co.uk
Visuals Cardiff
Tel: 02920 464656
www.visuals.co.uk
Total Audio
Tel: 01527 880051
www.totalaudio.co.uk
Scotland
WTS Broadcast
Tel: 020 8594 3336
www.wtsbroadcast.com
Midlands
North
South West
CVP Imaging Solution
Tel: 01527 854222
www.creativevideo.co.uk
G.V. Multi-Media Ltd
Tel: 01392 499 399
www.gvmulti-media.co.uk
GV Multi-Media Ltd
Tel: 01455 221587
www.gvmulti-media.co.uk
G.V. Multi-Media Ltd
Tel: 01942 884 433
Tel: 01642 240 770
www.gvmulti-media.co.uk
GearBox North
Tel: 0113 261 5850
www.gearbox.com/north
Mitcorp UK Ltd
Tel: 0141 564 2710
www.mitcorp.co.uk
Ireland
Eurotek
Tel: 00353 1295 7811
www.eurotek.ie