New Tools of the Trade
December 10th, 2008 at 12:06 pm by Mark Jones under News
Well it’s official, our Hi-def cameras are now being field tested! These new hi-tech tools of the trade will allow us to deliver video from the field in full HD (high definition-1080i for you “techies”). These cameras will provide greatly improved color and resolution and will actually make our workflow in the field faster. These Sony PDW-335’s record to an optical disk that’s basically a re-writable Blu-Ray DVD that holds about 60 minutes of video. These “video files” can then be copied to our new laptop computer editors at 2 1/2 times normal speed. The camera also simultaneously records a low-res version of each file that can be copied to our reporters laptop in a matter of a few minutes. These features will allow us to log and edit our footage much faster than before and quickly provide our viewers with video on air and online. We’ve been training with this new gear for several weeks and are still learning how to fully integrate what it’s capable of. These cameras are also capable of shooting in SD (standard definition) so we’ve been able to try them out in the field. (Although you won’t be able to actually SEE the difference in quality-here’s a story recently shot with the camera by Photojournalist Evan Linnert.) Just to give you an idea of how advanced these cameras are, the menu has 84 PAGES of user-adjustable settings! The camera also has a memory stick to store user settings for the camera as well as settings for our Avid editing software. Keep checking out PHOTO OP for posts on our newest “toys”.
Tags: Avid, Blu-Ray, camera, PHOTO OP, photojournalist, Sony, tv technology, XD disc, XDCam
That’s a sharp camera.
I checked the info page about sony PDW-335, I wouldn’t want to be the one to break one those. That’s alot of money for a camera. I am sure we will get better video from the field.
$14,995 per camera! Boy, you guys better never drop it.
Mark – You mention the cameras are in HD. Does that mean the news stories within the newscast might be in HD?
Yes, eventually all our newscasts and videos within them will be in HD (except for any file footage that was shot/filed before the HD switchover). We’re still debating whether to “stretch” it to fit or pillar-box it with a graphic background. As far as the cost of our new cameras-that’s JUST the camera! By the time you add a HD lens and the other accessories we use it’s about a $25K package. Yes- we plan to take VERY good care of them! (Believe it or not this is actually about $5K LESS than our old cameras-broadcast quality gear is NOT cheap!) Some other stations weren’t given cameras this nice-we were lucky. We hope to have ours fully integrated in the field by the end of January, so if you happen to see one of us in the field feel free to stop and take a look.
At 8lbs how does this puppy stack up against older models?
That’s just the camera weight. Add another 4-5 pounds for the lens and a couple pounds or so for the battery, wireless mic receiver, shotgun mic and cable(s), and you’ve got about 15 pounds. That’s just slightly less than our previous cameras. We also regularly use a good tripod and ours weigh 20-25 pounds (depending on the model). Fortunately we don’t find ourselves carrying our gear all day long without some breaks here and there.