iPad video journalism comes of age at NAB 2012

Ever since I saw the 3rd-generation iPad (2012), I began to have visions of its use for video journalism. Many of ProVideo Coalition magazine readers sent me private enthusiastic comments about my pre-NAB iPad articles like Avid now lets you edit video on your iPad for US$4.99. Should you?, Why an iPad is like a 4×5 view camera, and why you’ll need a black “focusing cloth” and later part 1 of my review called 1st handheld dynamic microphones with hybrid XLR/USB/iPad connectivity from Audio Technica. While I was translating/localizing brochures for Avid Latin America just before NAB 2012, I became aware that they were going to launch iNews Command for iPad. On the NAB 2012 floor, I saw several iPad video journalists. Ahead you’ll find several photos, a few videos, and comments about various iPad video accessories.

A Mobile Tripod System from NAB 2012

ProVideo Coalition - Sachtler ACE M Tripod System - NAB 2012 from RHED Pixel on Vimeo.

The Sachtler ACE Tripod System is a budget conscious solution for those on the go.

NAB 2012: Technicolor CineLights from the GoPro booth

I wandered into GoPro’s rather large booth on Thursday morning as they had both a Porsche 911 and Ford GT40 on display with a ton of GoPros attached. An announcement late in the NAB week was that an update to the tiny GoPro cameras would finally give them 24 frames per second capability. It was also a surprise that none other than Technicolor was going to supply a flat cinema-style picture profile for a bit more dynamic range in your GoPro footage as a part of that firmware update. I was even more surprised to see Technicolor demoing a new color correction application called CineLights in the GoPro booth as well.

NAB 2012: Trucolor Ohm Space Light

Next time you need to flood a room with soft light - in whatever color temperature - you should give the Ohm a look.

NAB 2012: EZ-Jib

I’ve always been intrigued by jib arms, and usually put off by their high prices.  EZ-FX might have a solution to that problem.

NAB 2012 applause! Blackmagic’s cinema camera uses HFS+ formatting rather than weak FAT32

As some of my colleagues at ProVideo Coalition magazine have already reported, at NAB 2012, Blackmagic announced its first digital motion picture camera, officially known as the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. For US$2999, Blackmagic gives you the camera, a license of DaVinci Resolve (US$995 value) and a license of UltraScope (US$695 value). Supply your own Canon EF or Zeiss ZE lens and recording media. I applaud Blackmagic for making one of the two best possible decisions regarding the formatting used on the removable SSDs (solid state drives), and for using standard códecs/file formats. Unlike what many traditional photo and video camera manufacturers have chosen to implement (the weak FAT32), Blackmagic chose to use HFS+ (aka HFS Plus or Mac OS Extended). In this first look, I’ll review the differences and advantages of either HFS+ or UDF over FAT32, and point out some other details, i.e. the audio connections and file formats.

NAB 2012: Profoto Reflector Umbrellas

When I walked past these the first time, I thought they might be antennas left on the Moon to shoot signals back to earth.  But a little research proved to me that these are great lighting devices.  NOTE: a big “Thanks!” to my colleague Erik Higgs for letting me edit on his laptop while I was in Vegas.

Top Ten Trends of NAB 2012

Lots of change this year - not just new products, but new KINDS of new products from companies we didn’t expect them from. Here’s some new tech, trends, and an attention seeking Top Ten List of my take on the show so far.

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