Browsing: Production

The art and science of making media.

Camera Gear

Note: This article was originally published by J.J. Kim and is reprinted here with his kind permission. I am very happy that I got to beta test the new Zacuto…

Camera Support

The pan, tilt and slide plate lock levers have stops preventing them from being accidentally unscrewed from the head. In addition, the slide plate lock lever has a 90-degree throw from horizontal against the “off” stop to vertically downward, which keeps it from swinging above the head plate, which would prevent it locking with some of the more “hippy” camera rigs. Should that change due to wear, it is adjustable using an Allen key. Interestingly, that lever shows no signs of self-locking during transit, which is a big plus, but its position down behind the RH pan bar rosette and lever is the usual pain for access. The head is very easy to level, perhaps the easiest of the bunch, as a result of having exceedingly smooth finishes to both the head ball and the receiver bowl, in combination with a very jitter free levelling bubble and a “bubble centre” dot aiding correct alignment, IF you can get a hand to the clamp knob, which I’ll go into later.

Camera Gear

Menu-wise, there are many similarities and many differences. As noted I won’t go into them here, the manufacturer’s websites have a fair amount listed and others will cover all of this. Suffice to say that both have many of the desired features such as image flip, focus assist and the like. The 5″ uniquely has framelines; the DP6 has a custom scaling feature. Whether you need either feature depends on how you use these monitors.

Camera Support

Right from the beginning, Vision Blue threw up some pretty major conundrums. On the one hand, the spec was for a system priced for amateurs and semi pro’s, which the proposed price most surely is. On the other hand, the spec was, to use a motoring analogy, like asking Rolls Royce to make a Mini at a Mini price but with all the quality and performance of a Rolls Royce. I just could not see how Vinten were going to square that circle without taking some serious liberties with something. Surely it couldn’t be done without cutting corners somewhere? So it was with an air of mild foreboding that I embarked on my investigation of the Vision Blue system.

Camera Support

Right from the beginning, Vision Blue threw up some pretty major conundrums. On the one hand, the spec was for a system priced for amateurs and semi pro’s, which the proposed price most surely is. On the other hand, the spec was, to use a motoring analogy, like asking Rolls Royce to make a Mini at a Mini price but with all the quality and performance of a Rolls Royce. I just could not see how Vinten were going to square that circle without taking some serious liberties with something. Surely it couldn’t be done without cutting corners somewhere? So it was with an air of mild foreboding that I embarked on my investigation of the Vision Blue system.

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