Another NAB has come and gone. While the published attendance was up from 88,000 last year to more than 92,000 this year, there seemed to be a lot more elbow room. There weren't as many earth-shattering new products as in other years, but there were some that stood out.
For more information and to ensure you are signed up for this fun event, please go to http://www.keydigital.com/UpCommingEvents_.aspxAzden came out with this new high-performance compact stereo mic to add to DSLRs in order to get better sound. The SMX-20 will also work with any camcorder used in the event business with an 1/8'' stereo mic input. It uses an LR-44 "button" battery for power.Key Digital Hercules Series(TM) KD-HDMS8x8 is a HDMI Matrix Switcher capable of switching up to 8 HDMI/DVI Video Sources/Inputs to 8 independent Zones/Outputs via HDMI and CAT5. It also features card slot architecture providing flexible Input/Output configurations.* Internal EDID Library features 8 default EDID configurations, in addition to Native EDID data for any Output/Display* Full Audio control per output for Volume, Treble, Bass, Balance, and Lip-Sync (Delay)** SD & HD: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080pNew products to be showcased at InfoComm 2011:I like finding inexpensive ways of tricking out my cameras, so I can fit on it what I need. The list pricing runs $22-$85 depending on the complexity of the unit. They are all made in K-Tek's factory in Southern California.* 16 active outputs (8 HDMI/DVI and 8 CAT5) enables flexible integrationBefore I get to the winners, I want to talk a little about what I'm seeing as "over-product burnout" in a couple of areas, especially for our industry. One recurring theme in my discussions with other attendees was that most people were sick of 3D. While almost everyone has an HDTV set, most consumers aren't signed up for HD content yet. Even fewer end users are prepared for 3D. Most attendees I spoke to see 3D as becoming more popular in theaters, but they think most people won't invest in 3D technology for the home, either because they don't want the expense or because they simply prefer 2D. In terms of how we shoot and what we're able to deliver as a result, in order to do a wedding in 3D, you lose the "run and gun" capability. Although I reported on some 3D breakthroughs in the last couple of years' Winner's Circle articles, I'm not going to waste anyone's time with 3D products this year.Manfrotto 509HD Tripod Head (pricing starts at $899)KD-HDMS8x8Now, here is my annual disclaimer. I roamed the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center for 4 days searching for new and exciting products to improve our creativity and workflow. If I missed one of the 1,100 exhibits, that goes with the territory. What's more, these are brief descriptions, not reviews or endorsements. In some cases the product is a concept or prototype. If a product doesn't make it on the list, I'm not casting aspersions on it; either I missed it, despite my best efforts, or I saw it but didn't see its applicability for event videographers/filmmakers. The list is broken down into two categories: Production and Postproduction.Making HDMI Plug & Play vs. Plug & Pray* Transmits 1080p/60Hz resolution up to 140 ft, 1080p/24, 1080i, 720p and 480i/p resolutions up to 270 ft, when used with KD-BBRX receiver BalunsK-Tek Shoe Department (multiple products; prices vary)* Supports lossless compressed digital audio (Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD Master Audio)While K-Tek is best known for its assorted boom poles for audio, this year the company has come out with a number of low-cost hot-shoe adapters of various sizes, some articulated, so you can mount additional mics, receivers, monitors, and the like on any camera or K-Tek's own Norbert or Norbert Sport, which have dozens of cold-shoe mounts.From my limited testing of the low-light capability in the booth, I can say it appears to be incredible. Even with 18 db of gain on a large monitor I could see no grain. The picture quality is phenomenal. It records the AVCHD format to Memory Stick Pro or SDHC/SDXC cards. The NEX-FS100 should ship in June.* Compatible with KD-HDMS4X4, 4 Inputs to 4 Outputs HDMI Matrix SwitcherThe 509HD is the big brother to the recently reviewed 504HD (http://bit.ly/ manfrotto504hd-edv). The 509HD can hold up to 29 lbs. (compared to 6.5 lbs. for the 504), but what makes it unique is its Advance Balancing Recorder (ABR) feature, which can electronically record the perfect balanced position for your camera equipment so that the position can be recalled later on. That can save a lot of time if you usually use the same camera on the tripod.Making HDMI Plug & Play vs. Plug & PrayCome Play with the Pros!It is interesting to note that as many are migrating to a tapeless workflow (or did so some time ago), there are many of us who are still shooting to tape, as tape remains the preferred archival format, and archiving after you shoot is just extra time spent running raw footage to a deck. To that end, there were several high-end LTO tape backup systems being shown for production houses. Amid so many people declaring tape dead, I found it interesting that Fujifilm launched a new line of Pro Grade HDV/DV tapes, the DV171HD line. As one who shoots with a Sony HVR-S270u and makes use of both the flash recorder and the tape drive on all my shoots, it's nice to know there is still a strong enough tape market to launch a new line.* Supports all SD, HD, and VESA (VGA, SVGA, XGA, WXGA, SXGA, UXGA) resolutions up to 1080p (60Hz & 50Hz)
The 509HD is the big brother to the recently reviewed 504HD (http://bit.ly/ manfrotto504hd-edv). The 509HD can hold up to 29 lbs. (compared to 6.5 lbs. for the 504), but what makes it unique is its Advance Balancing Recorder (ABR) feature, which can electronically record the perfect balanced position for your camera equipment so that the position can be recalled later on. That can save a lot of time if you usually use the same camera on the tripod.
Author: Franklin, Marc
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