First of our BVE exclusive interviews is with Alister Chapman talking about Sony’s new V2 firmware for the PXW-FS7 out at the end of March 2015.

Alister explains why the XQD series of cards comes with its own card reader.

Going over the questions with Alister, we use the PXW-FS7 for the main interview filming XAVC I at 1080 50p 185Mbps and the Sony PXW-X70 filming 1080 50p XAVC HD (LongGOP) can you tell the difference.

For all your video production needs in Scotland, get in touch with Small Video Company Ltd

Den Lennie from F-Stop Academy was delivering interviews for Kit Plus today that were being transmitted all over BVE and the US.

The Photon Beam 80 was the RED HEAD LED light of the show for me as it has a hidden feature, without the phosphor disc you get a fantastic rich blue light, great for a background wash. It also has a TLCI (Television Lighting Consistency Index) of 95 which is a fantastic score. WARNING : If you buy this LED light you MUST NEVER point the raw blue LEDs at anyone as they are very dangerous to the retina (back of your eye). Price £759

The RODE Link was the audio feature of the show, pure digital sound for £300 is a snip and even although the transmitter is a tad chunky the quality of sound output is extremely clean.

Quality German Schneider XENON glass was my pick of the show but at around £3000 per lens you need to have big pockets to afford them.

No doubt the Sony PXW-FS7 was the camera of the show, everyone wants an FS7. I told at least 6 Canon C300 owners to wait till NAB to see what Canon has to announce.

Another very popular camera at the show was the ARRI Alexa mini, even at £25,000 everyone wanted to have a look at this wee full spec Super 35mm camera.

My camera of the show was the JVC GY-LS300 4K camcorder, JVC have pitched this Super 35mm sensor camera at a great price of £2600 and with a micro four thirds mount you have a ton of glass to choose from.

Loved this wee chap the BuggyCam which was on slow mode riding around the CVP stand, you can hire this wee chap from www.buggycam.com

This handheld gimble from Shape was another show stopper and so easy to use at £500 its a steal. I took it round BVE and it was flawless.

The Alphatron Bi Colour light was the camera top light of the show, its extremely robust, priced at £180 and has a TLCI of 84 (Television Lighting Consistency Index) which is extremely high score for any camera light.

Least I forget the new range of windshields from Rycote. The Cyclone is a furry less windshield thats so easy to remove and works a treat, it lists at £416.

For all your video production needs in Scotland, get in touch with Small Video Company Ltd

Could not resist this headline, CVP have enlisted the services of Percy S Diaz a fantastic ice sculptor who hand carved this wonderful ice sculpture of the Sony FS7.

While visiting CVP I managed to bump into Badger the roving reporter who knows his fstops from his frame rates. Badger was producing a show special with intern Alex using a Sony PMW-200.

Rob Tarrant from Panasonic was on hand to give us the update on the VariCam HS 4K camcorder.

Finally we get to see the Panasonic VariCam with a 4K Super 35mm sensor and a Fujinon lens to die for.

Filming Tim at Rycote, showing us the new Cyclone that is the result of more than a decade of continuous development.

Next up was a trip back to Sony to ask the price of the PXW-X70 4K upgrade, now the upgrade is free but you need to buy a licence to enable 4K 25p on your camera. The tentative price is around 450 euros.

We have a JVC lens cloth up for grabs, how many LEDs make up this screen and its over 100,000.

Spencer from Lite Panels was on hand to show me their new panel light which is extremely powerful and retails about the £900 mark.

Adobe had a very impressive 3.9mm LED wall from CUE AV Ltd. This is the future of large panel presentations. Contact Max at max@cueav.co.uk

Photon Beard and yes I did ask but its only a coincidence he has a beard, have produced this very sexy red head.

Photon Beard say they took a long time to enter the LED market because they believed that a lot of the LED lights did not offer good enough light quality. They spent a lot of time perfecting their LEDs and the result is the PhotonBeam 80 LED. Based on remote phosphor technology the new fixture offers a near full spectrum and a high CRI light output. Interestingly from the outside it looks like an old school redhead – they have adapted their PhotonBeam Redhead casing to offer an LED solution. Consuming just 80W it provides similar output to a 300W openface Redhead. The unit can be powered from mains or 11-17 Volt DC. The PhotonBeam 80 can operate on standard V or Gold mount camera batteries with an additional battery plate that connects to the unit.

So that it from BVE 2015 I will produce a best of show tomorrow and some thoughts on the various bits of kit at the show.

For all your video production needs in Scotland, get in touch with Small Video Company Ltd

I am using BVE as a testing ground for the Sony FS7 and I soon realised the pitfalls of using the 28-135 lens for interviews.

Alister Chapman was virtually our first interview of the day, fortunately we have the PXW-X70 with us as a roving second camera to cut in and out of.

In order to get anywhere close to a mid shot you are having to position yourself further away than you would normally and the problem this causes in a busy environment is Alister being able to hear my questions.

Fortunately I had the Sony 10-18mm f4 lens with me that was far more useful for this type of interview. People at trade shows are often demonstrating kit and having a slightly looser shot is more advantageous.

Interestingly Dan Chungs cameraman was using the 24-70mm f2.8 Sony A mount lens for their interviews.

Sony also announced V2 FS7 firmware roadmap yesterday which is a free upgrade…

For all your video production needs in Scotland, get in touch with Small Video Company Ltd

Day one at BVE was exhausting, even with three of us 2 filming and 1 photographer, the FS7 and all the ancillary gear is a lot to humph round a show like BVE.

First port of call was Production Gear one of HD Warriors sponsors, Simon (above) was on hand to show me the latest copter the DJ Inspire with 4K and 1080 50p camera on board.

Next stop was Sony where Alister Chapman gave us an insight to the up and coming Sony FS7 firmware where we hope the majority of bugs will be tweaked out. Talking to Sony about the 28-135 servo zoom lens they are hoping to do something about the 4 second fast zoom speed in a further FW.

Next we interviewed the product manager for the Alexa mini camera, next to interview him was my good friend Dan Chung.

JVC were showing off their new 4K camcorder the LS300, they also told me they would send me one up for review.

Octica had a very nifty GoPro stabiliser which works a treat and just in case you want one its £500 plus vat…fantastic.

My other site sponsor, Holdan, had some interesting show stoppers the best for me was the Alphatron camera light that claims to be almost indestructible.

For all your video production needs in Scotland, get in touch with Small Video Company Ltd

Interesting move from ARRI, the new Alexa mini, I suspect its to combat the one major problem with the Alexa in general…its a big heavy camera. No doubt DoP’s have been feeding back to ARRI about a smaller lighter camera with the same specs as the bigger camera for more interesting shots.

* may not be available at product launch, but will become available as a software upgrade later in 2015

For all your video production needs in Scotland, get in touch with Small Video Company Ltd

One more day and its BVE 2015 at the Excel, London. We had a great time last year, in fact we had a Panasonic GH3 and a Tascam D60 sound recorder last year. Remember if you read HD Warrior come up and say hello…we don’t bite…honest !

This year we will be sporting our very own Sony PXW-FS7 to do interviews plus a Sony PXW-X70, not a DSLR in sight !

The big announcement last year was the Panasonic GH4 and brought a huge crowd to the Panasonic Broadcast stand.

Two of HD Warriors site sponsors will be at BVE 2015, Holdan and Production Gear, showing off some cool new gear, remember today is the last day for registering for free passes for the show.

Regester here  https://registration.n200.com/survey/1bhanu9jq0d6s?_ga=1.79939220.2089935954.1423684509 

For all your video production needs in Scotland, get in touch with Small Video Company Ltd

Over the last year we have been more involved with broadcast work, so I decided we needed a corporate look for this side of our business…4K Broadcast

Live inserts for Channel 4 news at the Labour Party Conference in Perth during 2014 with our JVC KY-HM650 camcorder.

Filming for TV2 Norway with our 10 bit 422 Panasonic PX270 camcorder.

Our most recent job was for Good Morning Britain, filming the stormy sea battering the shoreside down at Saltcoats.

We now have a camera not only fit for purpose in the Sony PXW-FS7 but one that goes beyond UK broadcast spec. We can also offer our micro studio for green screen mid shots, MCU and CU. Our iPad prompter with bluetooth remote has been re-designed to fit the Sony PXW-FS7. Deep black and white backgrounds as an alternative.

We have very competitive rates for all sectors of broadcast from live news to adverts, why not send us an email to smallvideo@mac.com and find out how competitive we are.

For all your video production needs in Scotland, get in touch with Small Video Company Ltd

The FAA proposal offers safety rules for small UAS (under 55 pounds) conducting non-recreational operations. The rule would limit flights to daylight and visual-line-of-sight operations. It also addresses height restrictions, operator certification, optional use of a visual observer, aircraft registration and marking, and operational limits.

The proposed rule also includes extensive discussion of the possibility of an additional, more flexible framework for “micro” UAS under 4.4 pounds. The FAA is asking the public to comment on this possible classification to determine whether it should include this option as part of a final rule. The FAA is also asking for comment about how the agency can further leverage the UAS test site program and an upcoming UAS Center of Excellence to further spur innovation at “innovation zones.”

The public will be able to comment on the proposed regulation for 60 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register, which can be found at www.regulations.gov.  Separate from this proposal, the FAA intends to hold public meetings to discuss innovation and opportunities at the test sites and Center of Excellence.  These meetings will be announced in a future Federal Register notice.

“Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace and this milestone allows federal regulations and the use of our national airspace to evolve to safely accommodate innovation,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

The proposed rule would require an operator to maintain visual line of sight of a small UAS. The rule would allow, but not require, an operator to work with a visual observer who would maintain constant visual contact with the aircraft. The operator would still need to be able to see the UAS with unaided vision (except for glasses). The FAA is asking for comments on whether the rules should permit operations beyond line of sight, and if so, what the appropriate limits should be.

“We have tried to be flexible in writing these rules,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We want to maintain today’s outstanding level of aviation safety without placing an undue regulatory burden on an emerging industry.”

Under the proposed rule, the person actually flying a small UAS would be an “operator.” An operator would have to be at least 17 years old, pass an aeronautical knowledge test and obtain an FAA UAS operator certificate. To maintain certification, the operator would have to pass the FAA knowledge tests every 24 months. A small UAS operator would not need any further private pilot certifications (i.e., a private pilot license or medical rating).

The new rule also proposes operating limitations designed to minimize risks to other aircraft and people and property on the ground:

• A small UAS operator must always see and avoid manned aircraft. If there is a risk of collision, the UAS operator must be the first to maneuver away.
• The operator must discontinue the flight when continuing would pose a hazard to other aircraft, people or property.
• A small UAS operator must assess weather conditions, airspace restrictions and the location of people to lessen risks if he or she loses control of the UAS.
• A small UAS may not fly over people, except those directly involved with the flight.
• Flights should be limited to 500 feet altitude and no faster than 100 mph.
• Operators must stay out of airport flight paths and restricted airspace areas, and obey any FAA Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs).

The proposed rule maintains the existing prohibition against operating in a careless or reckless manner. It also would bar an operator from allowing any object to be dropped from the UAS.

Operators would be responsible for ensuring an aircraft is safe before flying, but the FAA is not proposing that small UAS comply with current agency airworthiness standards or aircraft certification. For example, an operator would have to perform a preflight inspection that includes checking the communications link between the control station and the UAS. Small UAS with FAA-certificated components also could be subject to agency airworthiness directives.

The new rules would not apply to model aircraft.  However, model aircraft operators must continue to satisfy all of the criteria specified in Sec. 336 of Public Law 112-95, including the stipulation that they be operated only for hobby or recreational purposes. Generally speaking, the new rules would not apply to government aircraft operations, because we expect that these government operations will typically continue to actively operate under the Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) process unless the operator opts to comply with and fly under the new small UAS regulations.

In addition to this proposal, earlier today, the White House issued a Presidential Memorandum concerning transparency, accountability, and privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties protections for the Federal Government’s use of UAS in the national airspace system which directs the initiation of a multi-stakeholder engagement process to develop a framework for privacy, accountability, and transparency issues concerning commercial and private UAS use.

The current unmanned aircraft rules remain in place until the FAA implements a final new rule. The FAA encourages new operators to visit:
http://www.knowbeforeyoufly.org

You can view the FAA’s Small UAS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking later today at:
http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/recently_published/

An overview of the Small UAS rule can be viewed at:
http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/media/021515_sUAS_Summary.pdf

You can view the fact sheet at:
http://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=18297

Press Conference audio is available here.

For all your video production needs in Scotland, get in touch with Small Video Company Ltd

BVE is nearly upon us, why not take some time off work and see all the latest video equipment from Sony, Panasonic, JVC, BlackMagic ARRI, Ikegami, Canon to mention a few.

For all your video production needs in Scotland, get in touch with Small Video Company Ltd